VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
11.3.31
smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca
bibhraty utpulakāḿ tanum
(31) Remembering and reminding one another is one by the bhakti unto the Lord who puts an end to the chain of sins, awakened and has one of the devotion a body that is moved by ecstasy [see also 11.2: 40].
The word aghaugha-haram is very significant in this verse. Agha refers to that which is inauspicious or sinful. The living entity is actually sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], or eternal and full of bliss and knowledge, but by neglecting his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, he commits sinful activities and undergoes the inauspicious result in the form of material suffering. The chain of sinful reactions is called ogha, or a relentless wave of suffering. Kṛṣṇa is aghaugha-haraḿ harim; He takes away the sinful reactions of His devotees, who are thus entitled to experience the inconceivable bliss of the kingdom of God even while remaining in this world.
The words bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā indicate that there are two divisions of bhakti-yoga: sādhana-bhakti and rāgānuga-bhakti. Śrīla Prabhupāda has elaborately explained in his book The Nectar of Devotion the progress of the devotee from sādhana-bhakti, or the execution of regulative principles, to rāgānuga-bhakti, or service executed in love of Godhead. According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, a liberated soul is always enthusiastic due to the appearance of transcendental ecstasy within his body. Thus he always aspires to remain overwhelmed in chanting the glories of the Personality of Godhead, Hari.
11.3.32
dhasanti nandanti vadanty alaukikāḥ
(32) Sometimes one cries by the thought of Acyuta, sometimes one laughs, takes one great pleasure and speaks one, acts one wondrously, dances and sings one and sometimes is one, after the example of the Unborn One getting silent, freed from distress and attains one the Supreme [see also 10.35].
the symptoms of love of Godhead. Rudanti: The devotees cry, thinking, "Another day has passed, and still I could not obtain Kṛṣṇa. Then what will I do, where will I go, from whom shall I inquire, and who can possibly help me reach Kṛṣṇa?" Hasanti: It is late at night, the sky is dark, and Kṛṣṇa is determined to steal from the house of one of the elderly gopīs. He is hiding underneath a tree in the corner of the courtyard belonging to one of the cowherd men. Although Kṛṣṇa thinks that He is completely concealed, He suddenly hears a voice from one of the elderly members of the family. "Who are You there? Who are You? I say." Thus Kṛṣṇa has been caught, and He begins to flee the courtyard. When this humorous scene is revealed to the devotee, the devotee begins to laugh heartily. Nandanti: When Kṛṣṇa actually reveals His transcendental form to the devotee, the devotee experiences the highest transcendental bliss. Vadanti: The devotee says to the Lord, "O Kṛṣṇa, after so many days I have finally achieved You."
When all of the devotee's senses are absorbed in Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the devotee has successfully transcended the material condition of life. This is indicated by the word alaukikāḥ. Alaukikāḥ, or the transcendental platform, is explained by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):
mām ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman."
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, ajaḿ harim, anuśīlayanti tal-līlām abhinayanti: "Anuśīlayanti indicates that out of extreme ecstasy the devotees sometimes imitate or act out the pastimes of the Supreme Lord." This ecstatic symptom was manifested by the gopīs in Vṛndāvana during Kṛṣṇa's absence.
In the twenty-first verse of this chapter it was stated that one who has understood that there is no happiness either on earth or in material heaven must surrender at the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. Tasmād guruḿ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. The following verses gave many detailed instructions regarding the activities of a bona fide disciple. Now this verse is describing the mature fruit of devotional service, namely, pure love of Godhead. Everyone has the opportunity to come to this platform of transcendental bliss by taking the dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa's representative on his head. One should give up the mentality of envy and false prestige and humbly take shelter of the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master is to be considered the incarnation of the Lord's mercy. There is absolutely no doubt that a sincere soul who serves a bona fide spiritual master will achieve the highest perfection of life (śreya uttamam). He will enjoy eternal bliss and knowledge in the personal abode of the Lord.
11.3.33
(33) Thus learning about the bhâgavata dharma and by the resulting bhakti completely being devoted to Nârâyana, crosses one easily over the mâyâ that is so difficult to overcome [see also 1.1: 2].'
which is described in this verse by the words māyām añjas tarati dustarām, is actually a by-product or secondary result of pure love of Godhead. In the second verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is pointed out, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāḿ satāḿ/ vedyaḿ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaḿ tāpa-trayonmūlanam [SB 1.1.2]. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam teaches the science of devotional service, in which the ultimate goal is pure love of Godhead. According to the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, mukti, or liberation, is a by-product of love of Godhead. Śivadaḿ tāpa-trayonmūlanam. One should not approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for liberation, since one is automatically liberated by obeying the order of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa's order is given at the end of Bhagavad-gītā: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Every living being should give up his mundane conceptions of life and take full shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. If one carries out this order the Lord automatically provides liberation (mukti). Actual happiness comes from loving God without any tinge of mental speculation or fruitive desire.
anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaḿ
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
[Madhya 19.167]
"One should render transcendental loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11) So crossing over the insurmountable ocean of illusion, as described here, is not actually the principal result of bhāgavata-dharma, or devotional service to the Lord, but is a by-product of pure love of Godhead.11.3.34
śrī-rājovāca
nārāyaṇābhidhānasya
(34) The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'Please, all of you expert knowers of the spiritual, be so kind as to describe to us the transcendental situation of the Supersoul of the Absolute Truth that is associated with the name of Nârâyana [see also 1.2: 11].'
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, in the previous verse the sages informed the King, nārāyaṇa-paro māyām añjas tarati dustarām: simply by unalloyed devotion to Lord Nārāyaṇa, one can very easily cross over the ocean of material illusion. Therefore, in this verse the King is requesting specific information about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. It is significant in this verse that the King refers to the Supreme Lord as Nārāyaṇa, Brahman and Paramātmā. Although King Nimi is already understood to be a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by his question he wants to clarify that the Personality of Godhead is the highest transcendental truth. In the Bhāgavatam (1.2.11):
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
brahmeti paramātmeti
"Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān." Therefore it is to be understood that the word nārāyaṇa in this verse refers to the Bhagavān feature of the Supreme Lord in the spiritual world.Generally the speculative philosophers become attracted to the impersonal Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth, whereas the mystic yogīs meditate upon the Paramātmā, the Supersoul within everyone's heart. On the other hand, those who have achieved mature transcendental knowledge surrender directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, who is eternally situated in His own abode, called Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa clearly says, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: "I am the source of the impersonal Brahman." Similarly, it is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the Supersoul, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is a secondary plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. King Nimi wants the sages to make clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original feature of the Absolute Truth, and therefore he places his question before the next of the nine Yogendras, Pippalāyana.
11.3.35
(35) S'rî Pippalâyana said: 'Please o King, know the Supreme [Personality of Godhead] to encompass the following: the Causeless Cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe, which in wakefulness, in the dream state and in deep sleep, as well as external to these states exists and by which the bodies, the senses, the life airs and the minds of each being separately are enlivened and acting.
In the previous verse King Nimi inquired about various aspects of the Absolute Truth, namely Nārāyaṇa, Brahman and Paramātmā. Now the sage Śrī Pippalāyana explains these three features of the Absolute Truth in the same order in which the King mentioned them. Sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetuḥ refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who expands Himself as the triple puruṣa incarnations — Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. As described in the Bhāgavatam (1.3.1):
jagṛhe pauruṣaḿ rūpaḿ
"In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the puruṣa incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there was the creation of the sixteen principles of material action. This was for the purpose of creating the material universe." Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, is mentioned here as hetuḥ, or the supreme cause of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the cosmic situation. Still, there is no cause of the Lord Himself; He is ahetuḥ. As expressed in the Brahma-saḿhitā, anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam [Bs. 5.1]. The Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, and being the eternal Absolute Truth, He has no cause of Himself. The word ahetuḥ has also been explained by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī to indicate that the Supreme Lord has His original form as Kṛṣṇa in His own transcendental abode, called Kṛṣṇaloka. Since Kṛṣṇa is always engaged in His blissful pastimes in the company of His eternally liberated associates, He is aloof from the affairs of this world, which is created by His external potency, known as māyā. Therefore it is stated, jagṛhe pauruṣaḿ rūpam. The Lord expands Himself as Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇu to facilitate the gross illusion and gradual rectification of the conditioned souls. The Lord's aloofness from the material creation is also described in the Vedas: na tasya kāryaḿ karaṇaḿ ca vidyate. The Absolute Truth has nothing to do, since everything is done self-sufficiently by His multipotencies. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has pointed out that even though the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is ahetuḥ, or causeless and aloof from the cause of material creation, the Lord is also described in this verse as hetuḥ, or the ultimate cause of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material manifestation, because He expands Himself as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, who acts as the prime mover of the cosmic manifestation.
The word ahetuḥ may also be understood in another way. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.5) the Lord says,
apareyam itas tv anyāḿ
The conditioned living entities (jīva-bhūta) desire to engage in sense gratification with their material senses (manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg. 15.7]). Thus the creation of the material world becomes necessary. In fact, the material cosmic manifestation continues to exist because of the desires of the conditioned souls to exploit it (yayedaḿ dhāryate jagat). The government must create a prison to accommodate those citizens who are inclined to criminal activity. There is no need for any citizen to live in the obnoxious conditions of the prison, but because a certain portion of the population is inclined toward antisocial behavior, the prison becomes necessary. In a higher sense, the prisoners themselves can be considered the hetuḥ, or the cause, for the construction of the prison. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands His internal potency according to His own desire to increase the ānanda, or transcendental bliss, of Himself and His pure devotees, but He manifests the material universe in response to the illicit desires of the conditioned souls to live a life of sense gratification in willful forgetfulness of Him. Therefore the conditioned living entities themselves can be considered the hetuḥ, or cause, of the material manifestation. The external potency of the Lord, māyā, who is charged with the duty of material manifestation, is called chāyā, or the shadow of the Lord's internal potency. Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir eka/ chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā [Bs. 5.44]. The Lord does not personally desire to manifest the shadow potency, called Durgā or māyā. The blissful spiritual planets, eternally manifest, contain the best possible facilities for the living entities who are parts and parcels of the Lord. But the conditioned souls, rejecting the inconceivable, eternal living arrangements the Lord has kindly provided, prefer to seek their misfortune in the shadow kingdom called the material world. Thus, both Durgā and the conditioned living entities may be considered the hetuḥ, or cause, of the material manifestation. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is ultimately sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam [Bs. 5.1], the cause of all causes, He is to be known as the ultimate supreme cause. But how the Lord functions as the supreme cause of the material manifestation (sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetuḥ) is described in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. Upadraṣṭānumantā ca: the Lord acts as overseer and permitter. The actual desire of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is stated very clearly in Bhagavad-gītā: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. The Lord desires every living entity to give up the shadow potency māyā and return to the actual substance (vāstavaḿ vastu), which is the eternal kingdom of God.
Although various aspects of the Absolute Truth are being described, the Absolute Truth is ultimately one, as stated in this verse (tad avehi paraḿ narendra). King Nimi inquired about Brahman, and now this verse says, yat svapna-jāgara-susuptiṣu sad bahiś ca. The Lord's all-pervading feature within wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep, and His existence beyond these three mental states, are understood to be manifestations of Brahman, the spiritual potency of the Lord. Finally, the statement dehendriyāsu-hṛdayāṇi caranti yena sañjīvitāni can be understood to refer to the Paramātmā feature of the Lord. When the Lord expands Himself as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the third of the three Viṣṇu features, and enters the heart of every living entity, the gross and subtle organs of the body become enlivened for continuing the chain of fruitive activity called karma.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the multifarious manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not compromise His supremacy as one without a second. The Absolute Truth is paramavyoma-nātha, or the Lord of the spiritual sky, who appears as two-armed Śyāmasundara, as four-armed, as eight-armed or as having one thousand arms. In each aspect His body is eternal and full of bliss and knowledge (sac-cid-ānanda-mūrti). He appears on earth as Vāsudeva and within the Causal Ocean as Mahā-Viṣṇu. He lies on the Milk Ocean as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and rescues His helpless young devotee as Nṛsiḿhadeva. Appearing as Lord Rāmacandra, He acts. as a perfect king. And appearing as Kṛṣṇa He steals the heart of everyone, and especially of young beautiful women. All these features of the Lord are indicated by the word Nārāyaṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the word president indicates not only the official duties of the president but his personal family life and long intimate friendships as well. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. When one transcends an official understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and comes to the superior status of love of God, one can understand the Lord to be Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes. The innumerable Viṣṇu expansions of the Lord are also understood to be plenary portions of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. As the Lord Himself states in Bhagavad-gītā, ahaḿ sarvasya prabhavaḥ. These points have been explicitly clarified in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as well as in the opening verse, oḿ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣu [SB 1.1.1].
11.3.36
(36) This can nor by the mind, by the faculties of speech, sight, intelligence, the life air or the senses be covered, just as a fire cannot be covered by its own sparks. Not even the vedic word may express it. For the Vedas deny that the Supreme Self can be expressed in words - that can only be achieved by indirect expressions, words that refer to that without which the scriptural restrictions would have no ultimate purpose [compare 10.87].
The small sparks generated by a blazing fire have no power to illuminate the original fire, nor can they burn it. The quantity of heat and light in the original fire is always superior to the quantity found in the insignificant sparks. Similarly, the minute living entity is generated from the internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as stated in Vedānta-sūtra (janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]) and Bhagavad-gītā (ahaḿ sarvasya prabhavaḥ, mamaivāḿśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ [Bg. 15.7]). The minute living entities, being aḿśaḥ, or sparks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can never equal the Supreme Godhead in the quantity of their potency. The quantity of knowledge and bliss in the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always superior. Therefore, when a foolish conditioned soul tries to illuminate the subject matter of the highest truth with his tiny brain, he merely illuminates his own foolishness. The Personality of Godhead has personally spoken Bhagavad-gītā, which is the blazing fire of perfect knowledge that burns to ashes the insignificant speculations and theories of so-called philosophers and scientists regarding the ultimate truth.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called Hṛṣīkeśa, or the Lord of everyone's senses. Because the Personality of Godhead has supreme seeing power, hearing power, touching power, smelling power and tasting power, the living entities in a limited sense can also see, hear, touch, smell and taste, by the mercy of Hṛṣīkeśa. This idea is expressed in the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.18): prāṇasya prāṇam uta cakṣuṣaś cakṣur uta śrotrasya śrotram annasyānnaḿ manaso ye mano viduḥ. "The Supreme Truth is understood to be the life air sustaining everyone's life air, the vision of everyone's eyes, the hearing power of the ear, and the sustenance of food itself." The obvious conclusion is that the Supreme Truth can be known by His own causeless mercy, and not by our foolish attempts to bring the all-pervading truth within the insignificant boundaries of our intelligence. It is stated in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.4.1), yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha: "The descriptive power of speech fails in the realm of the Supreme Truth, and the speculative power of the mind cannot achieve Him."
But because such statements of Vedic śrutis are in themselves descriptions of the Absolute Truth, one may consider such Vedic statements contradictory. Therefore, in this connection it is stated, śabdo 'pi bodhaka-niṣedhatayātma-mūlam arthoktam āha: although the Vedic śruti (śabda) forbids us to speculate upon the Absolute Truth, such restrictive injunctions indirectly constitute positive assertions of the existence of the supreme living entity. In fact, the Vedic restrictions are meant to save one from the false path of mental speculation and ultimately bring one to the point of devotional surrender. As Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself states in Bhagavad-gītā, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: [Bg. 15.15] by all Vedic literatures the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known. The assertion that a particular process, such as mental speculation, is useless (yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha) constitutes an indirect assertion of the existence of a correct path of achieving the Supreme. As Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has stated, sarvasya niṣedhasya sāvadhitvāt: "Every negative injunction is understood to have a specific limit. Negative injunctions cannot be taken as applicable in all cases." For example, a negative injunction is that no living entity can be equal to or greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam clearly states that because of the intense love of the residents of Vṛndāvana for Kṛṣṇa, they sometimes assume a superior position. Thus mother Yaśodā binds Kṛṣṇa with ropes, and the influential cowherd boys sometimes ride on the shoulders of Kṛṣṇa or defeat Him in wrestling. Negative injunctions, therefore, may sometimes be adjusted according to the transcendental situation.
Although the Absolute Truth is transcendental to the material creation and therefore beyond the scope of material senses, when those same material senses are saturated with love of Godhead they become spiritualized and empowered to perceive the Absolute Truth. As stated in Brahma-saḿhitā (5.38),
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
"I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda. who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara within the heart of the devotee." In Bhagavad-gītā (11.8) Lord Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna,na tu māḿ śakyase draṣṭum
"But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic opulence." Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes many incidents in which the Supreme Absolute Truth revealed Himself to His devotee, as in the histories of Prahlāda Mahārāja, Dhruva Mahārāja, Pṛthu Mahārāja, Kardama Muni, the Pāṇḍavas and the gopīs. Therefore, the Vedic assertions that the Absolute Truth is beyond the power of the eyes refer to those who have not received transcendental eyes by the mercy of the Personality of Godhead. But the Lord's own transcendental senses, which are the source of our limited senses, are confirmed in the śruti, as in the following statement from the Kena Upaniṣad (1.4): yad vācānabhyuditaḿ yena vāg abhyudyate/ tad eva brahma tvaḿ viddhi nedaḿ yad idam upāsate. "Brahman, the Absolute, should be understood to be that which cannot be ascertained by the material power of speech; speech itself is evinced by that Supreme Truth." By the statement yena vāg abhyudyate, "our power of speech is expressed by the Absolute Truth," it is clearly expressed that the Absolute Truth has His own transcendental senses. Therefore He is called Hṛṣīkeśa.
Śrīla Nārada Muni has stated, hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaḿ bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Our senses cannot approach the Absolute Truth by their own power, but when engaged in loving devotional service to satisfy the Lord of the senses, our limited senses must become connected with the Lord's unlimited senses, and thus by the Lord's mercy He can be understood.
Śrīla Madhvācārya has quoted the following statement from the Brahma-tarka:
ānando nedṛśānanda
pratibhāti na cābhāti
"The transcendental bliss of the Absolute Truth cannot be compared to the ordinary happiness of the material world." Similarly, in the Vedānta-sūtra the Absolute Truth is described as ānandamaya, or full of bliss.According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, in this verse Śrī Pippalāyana is more or less describing the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. The nine Yogendras were themselves devotees of the personal feature of the Lord, so King Nimi asked his question about the different features of the Absolute Truth to clarify that the Personality of Godhead is the source of all the variegated aspects of the advaya-jñāna, or transcendental reality. This is also expressed by the following statement in śruti: taḿ tv aupaniṣadaḿ puruṣaḿ pṛcchāmi. "I am inquiring about that Supreme Person revealed in the Upaniṣads."
If the Absolute Truth were actually inaccessible by words, there would be no meaning to the Vedic literature, which consists of collections of transcendental words. Since the Vedic descriptions of the truth are to be taken as infallible, it is impossible to maintain that the power of speech is in all cases unable to describe the truth. After all, the Vedic mantras themselves are meant to be spoken and heard. Therefore, the injunction that neither the mind nor speech can approach the Absolute Truth (naitan mano viśati vāg uta) cannot be taken as applicable in all cases; rather, it is a warning to those who foolishly try to encompass the Absolute Truth by their own puny speculative powers. Since the Vedic injunctions, either positive or negative, are to be taken as realistic descriptions of the Absolute Truth, the process of hearing and repeating Vedic knowledge (śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ [SB 7.5.23]) can be understood as a separate process in which one's hearing and speaking power becomes spiritualized by submissive reception of transcendental knowledge. This process depends upon one's faith in the bona fide spiritual master, who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is stated,
yasya deve parā bhaktir
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
[ŚU 6.23]
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) As the Lord Himself states in the Hari-vaḿśa,tat-paraḿ paramaḿ brahma
"That Supreme Truth, Parabrahman, expands itself into all the variegatedness of this universe. You should know it to be My own concentrated effulgence, O Bhārata." The words jñātum arhasi, "you must know it," spoken by the Lord Himself, indicate that the Absolute Truth is to be known, but one must surrender to the truth, rather than waste time in foolish speculation.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has pointed out that according to authorized statements of Vedic literature the Lord's transcendental form is understood to be brahmamaya, or completely spiritual, with no trace of material contamination. Therefore, in such statements as nīlotpala-dala-śyāmam, "the Lord's form is beautifully manifest with the hue of dark blue lotus petals," it is understood that a transcendental dark blue color is being described. Still, the Lord is inconceivably merciful to His devotees, even those on the neophyte platform who are trying to come to the state of love of Godhead. Therefore the Lord gradually purifies the senses of a conditioned soul who is trying to understand Him, and eventually the Lord appears before such a rectified servitor. According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, prākṛta-nīlotpala-varṇatvena bhaktair dhyātam atādṛśam api. In the beginning, being conditioned by previous materialistic activities, a devotee meditating on the Lord's transcendental form may base his meditation on his experience of material forms and colors within this world. The Lord's transcendental form has nothing to do with material forms and colors, but since the object of this meditation is Kṛṣṇa, such meditation will eventually be transformed into transcendental experience of the actual form, color, activities, pastimes and entourage of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, transcendental knowledge depends not on material logic but on the pleasure of the Personality of Godhead. If the Lord is pleased by His devotee's sincere attempt to understand Him, the Lord can immediately circumvent all the so-called technicalities of material logic and Vedic injunctions and reveal Himself to His pure devotee. Unless one accepts this omnipotency of the Personality of Godhead, there is no hope of approaching the Absolute Truth. Therefore it is stated in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.3.12), dṛśyate tv agryayā buddhyā: the Absolute Truth is seen by transcendental intelligence.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has pointed out that knowledge acquired through the interaction of the material senses with the modes of nature is merely hypothetical and not factual. Empirical knowledge deals with our ephemeral experience of the sense objects generated by material nature. For example, there are many wars currently going on because of a false concept of nationalism. Similarly, there is conflict throughout the world, and great world leaders fight like cats and dogs for the economic development of their countries. Thus, material language is used to designate temporary objects perceived by the eyes, nose, tongue, touch and taste. This type of language and experience is useless for approaching the Absolute Truth. But the transcendental sound from the spiritual sky has a completely different effect. We should not foolishly try to use materially concocted language to include the Supreme Personality of Godhead as an object of the material world. The Supreme Lord is completely transcendental and is known as ātma-prakāśa, or self-manifested. Therefore, as stated in the Padma Purāṇa,
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
[BRS. 1.2.234]
"Material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa's holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. But when a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord's holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord's food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is." If one surrenders to the Supreme Lord, taking shelter at His lotus feet, one's spiritualized senses gradually become empowered to perceive the Lord. Mere empiricism and material logic have a limited jurisdiction within the external energy of the Supreme Lord and cannot apply to those things which are eternal. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has quoted the following verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.32):naiṣāḿ matis tāvad urukramāńghriḿ
"Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination."
Although Śrī Pippalāyana is expressing that the Absolute Truth cannot be approached by material senses, the sage himself is describing the Absolute Truth with transcendental senses, and King Nimi is able to understand this transcendental sound because he has surrendered at the lotus feet of pure devotees, the nava-yogendras. Therefore, one should not foolishly try to understand this verse out of context, in an impersonal way, but should follow the example of King Nimi, who was trying to understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ultimately the source of everything.
11.3.37
(37) In the beginning being One became the goodness, passion and ignorance thereafter known as the threefold that associated with the power to act, the power of consciousness and the I-awareness is called the individual living being [the jîva]. That individuality assumed the forms of spiritual knowledge [the gods], the actions [the senses] and the fruits [of good and bad results]. Thus possessing great varieties of energy is it the Supreme alone beyond both the gross and the subtle that is manifest [as the Absolute Truth or Brahman, see also mahat-tattva, pradhâna, 4.29: 79, B.G. 10: 42, 13: 13 & 7: 14].
In the previous verse the sage Pippalāyana described the Absolute, Brahman, as being beyond the range of material sense perception and mental speculation. At the same time, it was stated, ātma-mūlam arthoktam āha yad-ṛte na niṣedha-siddhiḥ: the negative injunctions of the Vedas indirectly indicate the existence of the Absolute Truth. This Absolute Truth can be approached by correct means. Now, in the present verse, it is clearly described that the Absolute Truth possesses innumerable potencies (uru-śakti brahmaiva bhāti). Thus by the expansion of the Absolute Truth the gross and subtle features of the material world become manifest. As stated by Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, kāryaḿ kāraṇād bhinnaḿ na bhavati: "The result is not different from its cause." Therefore, since the Absolute is eternal existence, this material world, being the potency of the Absolute, must also be accepted as real, although the various manifestations of the material world are temporary and thus illusory. The material world should be understood to consist of the bewildering interactions of real elements. The material world is not false in the imaginary sense of the Buddhists and Māyāvādīs, who state that in fact the material world does not exist outside the mind of the observer. The material world, as the potency of the Absolute, has real existence. But the living entity becomes bewildered by the temporary manifestations, foolishly taking them to be permanent. Thus the material world functions as an illusory potency, causing the living entity to forget the spiritual world, wherein life is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge. Because the material world thus bewilders the conditioned soul, it is called illusory. When a magician performs his tricks onstage, that which the audience apparently sees is an illusion. But the magician actually exists, and the hat and rabbit exist, although the appearance of a rabbit coming out of a hat is an illusion. Similarly, when the living entity identifies himself as part and parcel of the material world, thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Russian," "I am black," "I am white," he is bewildered by the magic of the Lord's illusory potency. The conditioned soul must come to understand, "I am a pure spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Now let me stop my useless activities and serve Kṛṣṇa, since I am part of Him." Then he is free from the illusion of māyā. If one artificially tries to escape the clutches of the illusory energy by declaring that there is no illusory potency and that this world is false, he merely falls into another illusion created by māyā to keep him in ignorance. Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14),
daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī
Unless one surrenders at the lotus feet of Māyeśa, the Lord of the illusory potency, there is no possibility of escaping from illusion. Childishly declaring that there is no illusory potency is useless, since māyā is duratyayā, or insurpassable for the tiny living entity. But Lord Kṛṣṇa, the omnipotent Personality of Godhead, can immediately call off the illusory potency.
In this verse the expansion of the material world from Brahman, the Absolute, is described. Since Brahman is one of the subordinate features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate), one who understands this material world to be Brahman is freed from the tendency to exploit the material energy through sense gratification and mental speculation aimed at one's own satisfaction.
The question may be raised, Since Brahman is stated to be ekam, or one, how does it become manifest in the innumerable varieties of the material world? Therefore this verse uses the word uru-śakti. The Absolute contains multipotencies, as stated in the Vedas (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad): parasya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. The Absolute Truth is not śakti, or energy, but śaktimān, the possessor of innumerable potencies. According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, one should submissively hear these authorized descriptions of the Absolute Truth. As stated in the previous verse, yathānalam arciṣaḥ svāḥ: the insignificant sparks of a fire have no power to illuminate the blazing fire, which is itself the source of illumination. Similarly, the tiny living entity, who is like a spark of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot illuminate the Personality of Godhead by his insignificant intellectual power. One may argue that the sun expands its potency in the form of its rays and it is through the illumination of those rays that we are able to see the sun. In the same way, we should be able to perceive the Absolute Truth by the expansion of its potency. In answer to this it may be stated that if the sun creates a cloud covering the sky, then despite the presence of sun rays the sun cannot be seen. Therefore, ultimately the power to see the sun depends not only on the sun's rays but on the presence of a clear sky, which is also an arrangement by the sun. Similarly, as stated in this verse, one can understand the existence of the Absolute Truth by the expansion of its potencies.
Although in the previous verse the power of the material senses and mind was rejected, the authorized descriptions given here inform us that one can directly perceive everything that exists to be the potency of the Personality of Godhead. In this regard, Nārada Muni advised King Prācīnabarhi as follows:
atas tad apavādārthaḿ
"You should always know that this cosmic manifestation is created, maintained and annihilated by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently, everything within this cosmic manifestation is under the control of the Lord. To be enlightened by this perfect knowledge, one should always engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord." (Bhāg. 4.29.79) As stated here, bhaja sarvātmanā harim: one must worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that one's consciousness will become clean and pure, just like the clear blue sky in which the potent sun is fully manifest. When one sees the sun, he immediately sees the sun's rays in full potency. Similarly, if one engages in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, one's mind becomes cleansed of material dirt, and thus he can see not only the Lord but the Lord's expansions as the spiritual world, as the pure devotees, as the Paramātmā, as the impersonal Brahman effulgence and as the subsequent creation of the material world, the shadow of the kingdom of God (chāyeva), in which so many material varieties become manifest.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the word phalam can also be understood to mean puruṣārtha-svarūpam, or the actual form of the goal of life, or, in other words, the transcendental form of the Lord Himself. The living entity in his original pure state is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, the infinite multicolored opulence of the kingdom of God, called Vaikuṇṭha, is nondifferent in quality from the Lord. Thus when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is personally present with His unparalleled opulence and His pure spiritual servitors, the living entities, a very happy situation is created. The mundane concept of family is a perverted reflection of the happy situation created when the Lord is united in full spiritual opulence with His pure devotees. Every living entity has the option to join the Lord in His opulent eternal kingdom. Thus one should understand from this verse that everything within the gross and subtle cosmic manifestations is the potency of the Lord and is therefore meant to be used in the Lord's service. Īśāvāsyam idaḿ sarvam.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has given an elaborate explanation proving that the entire cosmic situation is the natural potency of the Absolute Truth. Sometimes superstitious people, without knowledge of the Personality of Godhead, say that material activities are controlled by an independent devil and that God is struggling with such a devil. Such gross ignorance of the omnipotent status of the Personality of Godhead can be removed by understanding the purport of this verse. Just as a spark is a tiny emanation from a blazing fire, everything that exists is but an insignificant spark of the potency of the Personality of Godhead. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.42),
athavā bahunaitena
ekāḿśena sthito jagat
"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." The omnipotent Personality of Godhead is actually the well-wishing friend of every living entity (suhṛdaḿ sarva-bhūtānām). Therefore, if one becomes sane and understands that one's well-wishing friend Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source and controller of everything that exists, one attains immediate peace (jñātvā māḿ śāntim ṛcchati). Fear and illusion arise when one foolishly thinks that even one atom of the creation is not the controlled potency of the Personality of Godhead. Bhayaḿ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt. Denying the existence of the material world also creates a very dangerous situation of illusion. Both types of atheism — namely, seeing the material world as belonging to oneself (and therefore being meant for one's sense gratification) and declaring the nonexistence of the material world — are futile attempts to avoid one's eternal subordination to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the actual owner and enjoyer of everything. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has quoted the following question stated by Śrī Maitreya to Śrī Parāśara in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.3.1):nirguṇasyāprameyasya
śuddhasyāpy amalātmanaḥ
kathaḿ sargādi-kartṛtvaḿ
brahmaṇo 'bhyupagamyate
"How are we to understand that Brahman, the Supreme Soul, is the executor of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world, even though it is devoid of qualities, immeasurable, unembodied and free from any fault?" In reply, Śrī Parāśara stated:śaktayaḥ sarva-bhāvānām
yato 'to brahmaṇas tās tu
pāvakasya yathoṣṇatā
"Mere logic cannot explain how even material objects expand their potency. These things can be understood by mature observation. The Absolute Truth expands His potency in the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world just as fire expands its potency of heat." (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.3.2) Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that one can understand the power of a valuable gem not by logical statements but by observing the effect of the gem. Similarly, one can understand the potency of a mantra by observing its power to achieve a particular effect. Such potency doesn't depend on so-called logic. There is no logical necessity for a seed's growing into a tree and giving fruits that nourish the human body. One may argue that the genetic code for the entire tree is contained within the seed. But there is no logical necessity for the existence of the seed, nor for the seed's expanding itself into a gigantic tree. Ex post facto, or after the manifestation of the wonderful material nature, the foolish material scientist traces out the expansion of a seed's potency in an apparently logical sequence of events. But there is nothing within the realm of so-called pure logic that dictates that a seed should expand into a tree. Rather, such expansion should be understood to be the potency of the tree. Similarly, the potency of a jewel is its mystic power, and various mantras also contain innate potencies. Ultimately the mahā-mantra — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare — has the potency to transfer one to the spiritual world of bliss and knowledge. In the same way, the Absolute Truth has the natural quality of expanding itself into innumerable varieties of material and spiritual worlds. We may logically describe this expansion after the fact, but we cannot deny the expansion of the Absolute Truth. The conditioned soul who purifies his consciousness through the process of devotional service can scientifically observe the expansion of the Absolute Truth as described here, just as one who is not blind can observe the expansion of a seed into a huge tee. One can understand the potency of a seed not by speculation but rather by practical observation. Similarly, one must purify his vision so that he can practically observe the expansion of the Absolute Truth. Such observation can take place either by the ears or by the eyes. Vedic knowledge is śabda-brahma, or transcendental potency in the form of sound vibration. Therefore, one can observe the functions of the Absolute Truth through submissive hearing of transcendental sound. Śāstra-cakṣus. When one's consciousness becomes fully purified one can perceive the Absolute Truth with all of one's spiritualized senses.The Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is devoid of material qualities such as mundane goodness, passion and ignorance because He is an ocean of transcendental qualities and therefore has no need for the inferior qualities of the material world. As stated in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.10), māyāḿ tu prakṛtiḿ vidyān māyinaḿ tu maheśvaram: "Understand that māyā is the material energy whereas the Supreme Lord is the Supreme Lord of māyā."Similarly, it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, māyāḿ ca tad-apāśrayām: māyā is always under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Just as it is understood from the above discussion that the material world is an emanation from the impersonal Brahman potency of the Lord, Brahman itself is an expansion of the potency of Kṛṣṇa, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham).
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
(Brahma-saḿhitā 5.40)
11.3.38
nātmā jajāna na mariṣyati naidhate 'sau
prāṇo yathendriya-balena vikalpitaḿ sat
(38) This Soul, never born and never dying, grows nor decays; it is the knower of the times of living of the living beings subjected to change, and that Soul, omnipresent and everlasting, is pure consciousness the same way as the [one] life air [prâna] within that by the power of the senses manifested itself as being divided [see also B.G. 2: 23-30 and ***].
The Vedic aphorism sarvaḿ khalv idaḿ brahma, "Everything is Brahman," has been explained in this chapter of the Bhāgavatam. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. By expanding His internal potency, He manifests the spiritual world, and by expanding His external potency He manifests the material cosmos. The conditioned living entity is originally part and parcel of the superior, internal potency of the Lord, but being in contact with illusion, he falls under the clutches of the external potency. In any case, since everything is an expansion of the potency of the Supreme Brahman, everything is part and parcel of the Lord's spiritual potency. Bhayaḿ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād īśād apetasya viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ. When a living entity thinks that the material world is not part and parcel of the Lord's potency but is a separate existence, liable to be controlled and enjoyed by the tiny jīva soul, he is under viparyayaḥ, or a wrong conception. Asmṛtiḥ. Thus the living entity forgets that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything, everything being an expansion of the Lord.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has pointed out that although the Lord's external potency is subject to transformations such as birth, growth, decay and death, one should not foolishly conclude that the Lord's internal potency, the living entity, is also subject to these changes. Both the living entity and material nature are ultimately Brahman, being expansions of the Supreme Brahman. But the Vedas clearly say, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: the Lord's potencies are vividhā, or multifarious. Thus, according to this verse, nātmā jajāna na mariṣyati naidhate 'sau na kṣīyate: the soul is never born, nor does he die, and he certainly cannot grow or decay like a material body. Although the visible material body passes through boyhood, adolescence and old age, or although one may take birth as a demigod, human being, plant or animal, the spirit soul never changes his eternal constitutional position. Rather, he falsely identifies with the external transformations of the material body and thus imposes upon himself a psychological condition called illusion. This miserable illusory experience of seeing oneself transformed and ultimately annihilated by the laws of nature can be nullified by transcendental knowledge of one's eternal status as the superior energy of the Lord.
The word sarvatra in this verse should not be foolishly misinterpreted to mean that the individual jīva soul is all-pervading. The soul is not born, nor does he die. Yet in our present conditioned state we falsely identify with the birth and death of the body. Therefore, because an all-pervading soul would never fall into illusion, sarvatra cannot indicate that the individual soul is all-pervading. Illusion implies an incomplete understanding of reality, which would not be possible for an all-pervading entity. Therefore, the word sarvatra is understood to mean that the pure spiritual soul exists in all material conditions. In deep sleep, for example, consciousness may not overtly be manifest, and yet the spirit soul is understood to be present within the body. Similarly, it is understood from Bhagavad-gītā that the spirit soul (nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ) may exist even within fire, water or outer space, since the existence of the soul never depends upon material conditions but is an eternal fact. The consciousness of the soul is more or less manifest according to the possibilities offered by a particular material situation, just as electric light is manifest in a particular intensity and color according to the bulb available. The electrical energy is one, but it is manifested variously according to material conditions.
The argument may be raised that although the spirit soul is pure consciousness (upalabdhi-mātram), it is our practical experience that consciousness is constantly transformed. If I am thinking of a blue object such as the sky, then my previous thought of a yellow object such as a flower is destroyed. Similarly, if I become aware that I am hungry, then my consciousness of the blue sky is destroyed. In this way, consciousness is constantly being transformed. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has replied that consciousness itself is eternal, but in contact with the material senses it may be manifest in various ways. The example of the life air is very appropriate. Prāṇa, or the life air, is one, but in contact with the different senses it is manifest as the power to see, the power to hear, and so on. Similarly, consciousness, being spiritual, is ultimately one, but when in contact with the various senses it may be perceived in terms of particular sensory functions. But the state of consciousness is an eternal fact that cannot be changed, although it may be temporarily covered by māyā.
When one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is understood to be dhīra (dhīras tatra na muhyati). At that time one is no longer subject to bewilderment by falsely identifying his consciousness with the transformations of material nature.
From the statement tat tvam asi, found in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, it is to be understood that spiritual knowledge is not impersonal but entails gradually perceiving the pure spiritual soul within the material body. Just as in Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa repeatedly says aham, or "I," this Vedic aphorism uses the word tvam, or "you," to indicate that just as the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the individual spark of Brahman (tat) is also an eternal personality (tvam). Therefore, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī it is to be understood that the individual spark of Brahman is eternally conscious. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has further pointed out that instead of wasting time trying to understand the truth in its impersonal aspect, which is merely the negation of temporary material variety, one should try to understand oneself to be an eternally conscious entity in the jīva category. In other words, one should understand oneself to be eternally a conscious servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In this regard Śrīla Madhvācārya has quoted the following statement from the Mokṣa-dharma section of the Mahābhārata:
ahaḿ hi jīva-saḿjño vai
maivaḿ tvayānumantavyaḿ
dṛṣṭo jīvo mayeti ha
ahaḿ śreyo vidhāsyāmi
yathādhikāram īśvaraḥ
"The living entity, known as jīva, is not different from Me, for he is My expansion. Thus the living entity is eternal, as I am, and always exists within Me. But you should not artificially think, 'Now I have seen the soul.' Rather, I, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will bestow this benediction upon you when you are actually qualified."11.3.39
aṇḍeṣu peśiṣu taruṣv aviniściteṣu
prāṇo hi jīvam upadhāvati tatra tatra
(39) [With beings] from eggs, from embryos, from plants and from the indistinct of moisture [micro-organisms] accompanies the vital air the individual soul [see also linga] from one [life form] to the other. The same way as the soul, apart from the thought process invariably stays the same when remembrance restores from a deep sleep in which the ego and the senses together had merged [see B.G. 2: 22].
When a living entity is awake the material senses and mind are constantly active. Similarly, when one is sleeping the false ego recollects one's waking experiences, and thus one experiences dreams or fragments of dreams while sleeping. But in the state of prasupti, or deep sleep, both the mind and the senses become inactive, and the false ego does not recall previous experiences or desires. The subtle mind and false ego are called lińga-śarīra, or the subtle material body. This linga-śarīra is experienced in the form of temporary material designations such as "I am a rich man," "I am a strong man," "I am black," "I am white," "I am American," "I am Chinese." The sum total of one's illusory conceptions of oneself is called ahańkāra, or false ego. And due to this illusory conception of life the living entity transmigrates from one species of life to another, as clearly explained in Bhagavad-gītā. The spirit soul, however, does not change its constitutional position of eternity, knowledge and bliss, although the soul may temporarily forget this position. To cite an analogous situation, if one dreams at night that he is walking in the forest, such a dream does not change one's actual position of lying in bed within his apartment. Thus it is stated in this verse, kūṭa-stha āśayam ṛte: despite the transformations of the subtle body, the spirit soul does not change. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has given the following example to illustrate this point. Etāvantaḿ kālaḿ sukham aham asvāpsam, na kiñcid avediṣam. One often thinks, "I was sleeping very peacefully, although I was not dreaming or aware of anything." It can be logically understood that one cannot remember something of which he has had no experience. Therefore, since one remembers peacefully sleeping although there was no mental or sensual experience, such a memory should be understood to be a vague experience of the spirit soul.
Śrīla Madhvācārya has explained that the demigods, who are a superior race of humanlike entities on the higher planetary systems of this universe, do not actually undergo the gross ignorance of deep sleep as do ordinary human beings. Because the demigods have superior intelligence, they are not merged into ignorance at the time of sleeping. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaḿ ca [Bg. 15.15]. Sleep is apohanam, or forgetfulness. Sometimes by dreaming there is smṛti, or memory of one's actual condition, although in a dream one may experience one's family or friends in an altered, illusory state. But all such conditions of remembering and forgetting are due to the presence of the Supersoul within the heart. By the mercy of the Supersoul one can have a preliminary glimpse of the soul by remembering how one was peacefully resting even without mental or sensual experience.
According to the authorized commentaries on this verse, aviniściteṣu means sveda-jeṣu, or born from perspiration. Śrīla Madhvācārya has pointed out, bhū-svedena hi prāyo jāyante: the earth's dew is to be considered the perspiration of the earth, and various species of life are generated from dew.
In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.9) the situation of the soul in relation to prāṇa is explained:
eṣo 'ṇur ātmā cetasā veditavyo
"The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air [prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna]. The soul is situated within the heart, and it spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited." Thus in the innumerable species of life the spiritual soul remains situated within prāṇa, or the material life air.
11.3.40
(40) When one desires the feet of the One With the Lotus-navel is the dirt of the heart, which sprouted from the fruitive action according the modes of nature, cleansed away by the power of bhakti and is, when one is fully purified, directly the truth of the soul realized, about the same way as one with the naked eye can see the sunshine [B.G. 2: 55 & 6: 20-23 and nyâyika].'
In the previous verse it was explained that one can have a preliminary glimpse of the eternal, unchanging soul by remembering one's experience of peacefully sleeping even while the mind and senses were totally inactive. One may ask, If in deep sleep there is a preliminary experience of the soul, why upon waking does one return to illusory material existence? It may be answered that because of material desires lodged within the heart the conditioned soul is addicted to the nescience of material sense gratification. A prisoner may glimpse through the bars the free light outside the prison window but still remain captive behind the bars. Similarly, although a conditioned soul may have a glimpse of the spirit soul, he remains captured within the bondage of material desires. Therefore, although one may have a preliminary understanding of the eternal soul that exists within the temporary body, or even of the Supersoul that accompanies the individual soul within the heart, a specific process is still required to eliminate the cause of material existence, namely material desire.
As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6),
yaḿ yaḿ vāpi smaran bhāvaḿ
"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail." According to one's desire at the time of death a suitable material body is awarded by material nature. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. According to one's fruitive desires and actions and under the jurisdiction of the representatives of the Lord called demigods, the living entity is awarded a particular material body, which is inevitably subject to harassment by birth, death, old age and disease. If one can eliminate the cause of a particular phenomenon, logically he also eliminates the effect. Therefore, this verse states that one should desire only to achieve shelter at the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead. One should give up illusory desires for material society, friendship and love, since such desires cause further material bondage. One should fix his mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, so that without fail one can remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. As the Lord states,
anta-kāle ca mām eva
yāti nāsty atra saḿśayaḥ
"Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt." (Bg. 8.5) The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the actual shelter for every living being. And the Lord can be directly perceived as soon as one's heart has become transparently clean through bhakti-yoga.Bhagavad-gītā describes the state of achieving the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the words tato māḿ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram, and sometimes impersonalists falsely interpret these words to be a description of brahma-sāyujyam, or impersonal merging into the existence of the Lord. It is clearly mentioned in this verse that one must fix his mind and devotion on the lotus feet of abja-nābha, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If the individual living entity were equal to the Personality of Godhead, the living entity could simply think of himself in order to be purified. But even then a contradiction would arise: the Personality of Godhead has no need to be purified, since He is described in Bhagavad-gītā as pavitraḿ paramam, or the supreme pure. Therefore, one should not artificially try to twist an impersonal meaning out of the statements of the Vedic literature.
11.3.41
śrī-rājovāca
puruṣo yena saḿskṛtaḥ
vidhūyehāśu karmāṇi
(41) The honorable king said: 'Please explain to us the karma yoga by which being refined a person in this life quickly gets rid of his fruitive actions and, freed from karmic reactions, enjoys the transcendental [see also B.G. 1-6 or 3: 5].
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.5),
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api
"All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." Since the living entity cannot remain inactive, he must learn to dedicate his activities to the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse from Bhagavad-gītā as follows: "It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the śāstras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him."
Ordinary people often question the busy activities of the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, mistaking such activities to be ordinary material work. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has stated in this connection, kāmya-karmāṇy eva tyājitāni, na tu nitya-naimittikāni, phalasyaiva vininditatvāt. One should give up selfish activities performed for one's personal sense gratification, since the result of such thoughtless work is further material bondage. But one should offer one's regular or occasional occupational duties to the Supreme Lord, and thus such activities become transcendental devotional service. By the words tasmād guruḿ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21], this chapter has clearly explained that dovetailing one's work with the service of the Lord is an art one should learn at the lotus feet of the bona fide spiritual master. Otherwise, if one whimsically declares his materialistic work to be transcendental devotional service, there will be no actual result. Therefore, according to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, one should not mistake the word naiṣkarmyam to indicate inactivity; rather, it indicates transcendental activity under the guidance of the Lord and His representative.
11.3.42
apṛcchaḿ pitur antike
nābruvan brahmaṇaḥ putrās
(42) In front of my father [Ikshvâku see also 9.6: 4] I asked the sages [the Kumâras] a similar question in the past, but the sons of Brahmâ didn't answer, please, for that reason, speak about it.' According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī the words brahmaṇaḥ putrāḥ, "the sons of Brahmā," refer to the four Kumāras headed by Sanaka Ṛṣi. Śrīla Madhvācārya has quoted a verse from the Tantra-bhāgavata stating that the reason the four sons of Lord Brahmā, although mahājanas and experts in the science of devotional service, declined to answer King Nimi was that they wanted to demonstrate clearly that even those who are expert in the cultivation of speculative knowledge cannot understand the actual science of pure devotional service. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has further commented that the sages avoided answering the question from the King because at that time King Nimi was a young boy and therefore not mature enough to understand the answer fully.
11.3.43
karmākarma vikarmeti
vedasya ceśvarātmatvāt
(43) S'rî Âvirhotra replied: 'Karma, akarma and vikarma are, because they originating from the Controller not being worldly, are subject matter understood through the Vedas, something about which even the great scholars are confused [see also B.G. 4: 16-17 and 4.29: 26-27].
Prescribed duties authorized by revealed scripture are called karma, whereas the failure to execute one's highest duty is called akarma. The performance of forbidden activities is called vikarma. Thus karma, akarma and vikarma are established by the authorized explanations of Vedic literature. They cannot be ascertained merely through mundane exercises in logic. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.16.51) the Lord says, śabda-brahma paraḿ brahma mamobhe śāśvatī tanū: "I am the form of the transcendental vibrations of the Vedas, such as oḿkāra and Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma, and I am the Supreme Absolute Truth. These two forms of Mine — namely, the transcendental Vedic sound and the eternally blissful spiritual form of the Deity — are My eternal forms; they are not material. " Similarly, it is stated in the Bhāgavatam (6.1.40), vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt svayambhūr iti śuśruma: "The Vedas are directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, and are self-born. This we have heard from Yamarāja." In the Puruṣa-sūkta (Ṛg Veda, maṇḍala 10, sūkta 90, mantra 9) it is stated, tasmād yajñāt sarva-huta ṛcaḥ sāmāni jajñjire/ chandāḿsi jajñjire tasmāt: "From Him, Yajña, came all sacrificial offerings, hymns of invocation and songs of praise. All the mantras of the Vedas come from the Lord." All the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are completely transcendental and free from the four defects of conditional life, namely mistakes, illusion, cheating and imperfect senses. So Vedic knowledge, being a plenary manifestation of the Supreme Lord, is similarly infallible and transcendental.
11.3.44
(44) In covert terms do the Vedas, offering guidance for the childlike human beings to be freed from their karma, indeed prescribe material activities just as one prescribes a medicine [see also B.G. 3: 26, see 5.5: 17, 10.24: 17-18].
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. The Vedas apparently offer fruitive results within the three modes of material nature. Those who perform ritualistic ceremonies or austerities in the mode of goodness are offered the chance for promotion to the higher planetary systems called Svargaloka. Aśnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān. Similarly, those who perform karma-kāṇḍa, or fruitive religious activities in the mode of passion, are allowed to become great rulers or wealthy men on earth and enjoy great prestige and earthly power. But as stated in the Manu-saḿhitā, pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāḿ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā: "Although fruitive religious activities are very much popular among the conditioned souls, the actual perfection of life is achieved when one gives up all fruitive endeavor."
If a father tells his child, "You must take this medicine by my order," the child may become fearful and rebellious and reject the medicine. Therefore, the father entices his child by saying, "I am going to give you a delicious piece of candy. But if you want this candy, first just take this little bit of medicine, and then you can have the candy." Such indirect persuasion is called parokṣa-vādaḥ, or an indirect description that conceals the actual purpose. The father presents his proposal to the child as if the ultimate goal were to receive the candy and only a minor condition must be fulfilled to receive it. Actually, however, the father's goal is to administer the medicine to the child and cure him of his disease. Thus, describing the primary purpose indirectly and concealing it with a secondary proposal is called parokṣa-vādaḥ, or indirect persuasion.
Since the great majority of conditioned souls are addicted to sense gratification (pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānām), the Vedic karma-kāṇḍa rituals offer them a chance to become free from temporary materialistic sense gratification by making them greedy for fruitive Vedic results such as promotion to heaven or a powerful ruling position on earth. In all Vedic rituals Viṣṇu is worshiped, and thus one is gradually promoted to the understanding that one's actual self-interest is to surrender to Viṣṇu. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiḿ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]. Such an indirect method is prescribed for bālānām, those who are childish or foolish. An intelligent person can immediately understand by direct analysis the actual purpose of Vedic literature as described by the Lord Himself (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]). All Vedic knowledge ultimately aims at achieving shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without such shelter one must rotate within the 8,400,000 species offered by the illusory energy of the Lord. Ordinary material vision, either through gross sense perception or the subtle perception of rational induction, always yields imperfect knowledge distorted by the desire for illusory material enjoyment. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that the cultivation of impersonal self-realization is also a disturbance to the conditioned souls, since the impersonal speculative process is an artificial attempt to become completely formless. Such an attempt is not at all in accord with the proper judgment of the Vedas, which is described in Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]).
11.3.45
nācared yas tu vedoktaḿ
svayam ajño 'jitendriyaḥ
(45) The one, who not having subdued his senses, ignorantly not performs what the Vedas prescribe, will, by his irreligion defying the duty, achieve death time and again [see also B.G. 3: 8, 16: 23-24, 17: 5-6, 18: 7].
In the previous verse it was stated that although fruitive activities are prescribed in the Vedas, the actual goal of human life is to free oneself from all materialistic activities. Therefore, one may conclude that there is no need to perform the Vedic rituals, which offer regulated sense gratification. But an ignorant person, or, in other words, one who has not understood that he is not the material body but an eternal spiritual soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, will invariably be unable to control the urges of the material senses. Therefore, if such a materially inclined person neglects the Vedic injunctions that administer regulated sense gratification, he will surely fall down into unregulated sense gratification in pāpa, or sinful life. For example, those who are affected by sexual desire are ordered to accept the vivāha-yajña, or religious marriage ceremony. We often see that because of false pride a so-called brahmacārī, or celibate student of Vedic knowledge, rejects the marriage ceremony as māyā, or material illusion. But if such a celibate student is unable to control his senses he will undoubtedly degrade himself by eventually engaging in illicit sex, which has no connection to Vedic culture. Similarly, a neophyte in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is encouraged to eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam to his full satisfaction. Sometimes an immature practitioner of bhakti-yoga tries to make a show of severe eating habits and eventually falls down into eating unregulated and abominable foodstuffs.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the words mṛtyor mṛtyum upaiti mean that a sinful person is awarded a free ticket to hell by the lord of death himself, Yamarāja. This is also described in the Vedas as follows: mṛtvā punar mṛtyum āpadyate ardyamānaḥ sva-karmabhiḥ. "Persons who cause themselves severe pain by their materialistic activities gain no relief at the moment of death, for they are placed again in a situation in which death will occur." Therefore, Vedic ritualistic activities such as the wedding ceremony or the relishing of sumptuous yajña-śiṣṭa, or food remnants of sacrifice, should not be given up by those whose senses are not yet controlled.
The previous verse gave the example of a father's administering candy to his son to induce the child to take medicine. If the child rejects the father's offer, thinking that the candy is unnecessary, the child also misses the opportunity to take the medicine that will cure him. Similarly, if a materialistic person rejects the Vedic injunctions that administer prescribed sense gratification, he will not be purified but instead will be further degraded. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has described a materialistic person as one whose mind and intelligence are not faithfully fixed in the message of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā Śrī Bhagavān, Lord Kṛṣṇa, gives wonderful explanations to the conditioned souls, represented by Arjuna, concerning the actual goal of life. One who cannot fix his mind on these instructions is to be considered a materialistic person who is inclined toward sinful activities and who must therefore submit himself to the standard Vedic injunctions. Such Vedic injunctions, even though fruitive. are considered puṇya, or pious, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, and thus one who strictly performs them will not go to hell. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself states in the Bhāgavatam (11.20.9),
tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta
"One should continue to perform the Vedic ritualistic activities until one actually becomes detached from material sense gratification and develops faith for hearing and chanting about Me."
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