The most Beautiful world

His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Bhagavad-gita as it is The abode of Lord Sri Krsna is described in the Bhagavad-gita,Fifteenth Chapter, sixth verse:

na tad bhasayate suryona sasanko na pavakahyad gatva na nivartantetad dhama paramam mama

"That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor byelectricity and anyone who reaches it never comes back to this materialworld."This verse gives a description of that eternal sky. Of course we have amaterial conception of the sky, and we think of it in relationship tothe sun, moon, stars and so on, but in this verse the Lord states thatin the eternal sky there is no need for the sun nor for the moon norfire of any kind because the spiritual sky is already illuminated bythe brahmajyoti, the rays emanating from the Supreme Lord. We aretrying with difficulty to reach other planets, but it is not difficultto understand the abode of the Supreme Lord. This abode is referred toas Goloka. In the Brahma-samhita (5.37) it is beautifully described:goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah. The Lord resides eternally in His abode Goloka, yet He can be approached from this world, and to this endthe Lord comes to manifest His real form, sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. WhenHe manifests this form, there is no need for our imagining what Helooks like. To discourage such imaginative speculation, He descends andexhibits Himself as He is, as Syamasundara. Unfortunately, the lessintelligent deride Him because He comes as one of us and plays with usas a human being. But because of this we should not consider that theLord is one of us. It is by His omnipotency that He presents Himself in

His real form before us and displays His pastimes, which are prototypesof those pastimes found in His abode.In the effulgent rays of the spiritual sky there are innumerableplanets floating. The brahmajyoti emanates from the supreme abode,Krsnaloka, and the anandamaya-cinmaya planets, which are not material,float in those rays. The Lord says, na tad bhasayate suryo na sasankona pavakah. yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama. One who canapproach that spiritual sky is not required to descend again to thematerial sky. In the material sky, even if we approach the highestplanet (Brahmaloka), what to speak of the moon, we will find the sameconditions of life, namely birth, death, disease and old age. No planetin the material universe is free from these four principles of materialexistence. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita, abrahma-bhuvanallokah punar avartino 'rjuna. The living entities are traveling from oneplanet to another, not by a mechanical arrangement but by a spiritualprocess. This is also mentioned: yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yantipitr-vratah. No mechanical arrangement is necessary if we wantinterplanetary travel. The Gita instructs: yanti deva-vrata devan. Themoon, the sun and higher planets are called Svargaloka. There are threedifferent statuses of planets: higher, middle and lower planetarysystems. The earth belongs to the middle planetary system. Bhagavadgitainforms us how to travel to the higher planetary systems(Devaloka) with a very simple formula: yanti deva-vrata devan. One needonly worship the particular demigod of that particular planet and inthat way go to the moon, the sun or any of the higher planetarysystems.Yet Bhagavad-gita does not advise us to go to any of the planets inthis material world because even if we go to Brahmaloka, the highestplanet, through some sort of mechanical contrivance by maybe travelingfor forty thousand years (and who would live that long?), we will stillfind the material inconveniences of birth, death, disease and old age.But one who wants to approach the supreme planet, Krsnaloka, or any ofthe other planets within the spiritual sky, will not meet with thesematerial inconveniences. Amongst all of the planets in the spiritualsky there is one supreme planet called Goloka Vrndavana, which is theoriginal planet in the abode of the original Personality of Godhead SriKrsna. All of this information is given in Bhagavad-gita, and we aregiven through its instruction information how to leave the materialworld and begin a truly blissful life in the spiritual sky.In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, the real picture of thematerial world is given. It is said there:

urdhva-mulam adhah-sakhamasvattham prahur avyayamchandamsi yasya parnaniyas tam veda sa veda-vit

"The Supreme Lord said: There is a banyan tree which has its rootsupward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. Onewho knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas." (Bg 15.1) Here thematerial world is described as a tree whose roots are upwards and

branches are below. We have experience of a tree whose roots areupward: if one stands on the bank of a river or any reservoir of water,he can see that the trees reflected in the water are upside down. Thebranches go downward and the roots upward. Similarly, this materialworld is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is buta shadow of reality. In the shadow there is no reality orsubstantiality, but from the shadow we can understand that there issubstance and reality. In the desert there is no water, but the miragesuggests that there is such a thing as water. In the material worldthere is no water, there is no happiness, but the real water of actualhappiness is there in the spiritual world.The Lord suggests that we attain the spiritual world in the followingmanner (Bg. 15.5):nirmana-moha jita-sanga-dosaadhyatma-nitya vinivrtta-kamahdvandvair vimuktah sukha-duhkha-samjnairgacchanty amudhah padam avyayam tatThat padam avyayam or eternal kingdom can be reached by one who isnirmana-moha. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someonewants to become "sir," someone wants to become "lord," someone wants tobecome the president or a rich man or a king or something else. As longas we are attached to these designations, we are attached to the bodybecause designations belong to the body. But we are not these bodies,and realizing this is the first stage in spiritual realization. We areassociated with the three modes of material nature, but we must becomedetached through devotional service to the Lord. If we are not attachedto devotional service to the Lord, then we cannot become detached fromthe modes of material nature. Designations and attachments are due toour lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature.As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it overmaterial nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom ofthe Supreme, the sanatana-dhama. That eternal kingdom, which is neverdestroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by theattractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in theservice of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach thatsupreme abode.Elsewhere in the Gita (8.21) it is stated:avyakto 'ksara ity uktastam ahuh paramam gatimyam prapya na nivartantetad dhama paramam mamaAvyakta means unmanifested. Not even all of the material world ismanifested before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot evensee all of the stars within this material universe. In Vedic literaturewe can receive much information about all the planets, and we canbelieve it or not believe it. All of the important planets aredescribed in Vedic literatures, especially Srimad-Bhagavatam, and thespiritual world, which is beyond this material sky, is described asavyakta, unmanifested. One should desire and hanker after that supremekingdom, for when one attains that kingdom, he does not have to returnto this material world.Next, one may raise the question of how one goes about approaching thatabode of the Supreme Lord. Information of this is given in the Eighth

Chapter. It is said there:anta-kale ca mam evasmaran muktva kalevaramyah prayati sa mad-bhavamyati nasty atra samsayah"Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attainsimmediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this." (Bg. 8.5) Onewho thinks of Krsna at the time of his death goes to Krsna. One mustremember the form of Krsna; if he quits his body thinking of this form,he approaches the spiritual kingdom. Mad-bhavam refers to the supremenature of the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is sac-cid-anandavigraha--eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. Our present body is notsac-cid-ananda. It is asat, not sat. It is not eternal; it isperishable. It is not cit, full of knowledge, but it is full ofignorance. We have no knowledge of the spiritual kingdom, nor do weeven have perfect knowledge of this material world where there are somany things unknown to us. The body is also nirananda; instead of beingfull of bliss it is full of misery. All of the miseries we experiencein the material world arise from the body, but one who leaves this bodythinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at once attains a saccid-ananda body, as is promised in the fifth verse of the Eight Chapterwhere Lord Krsna says, "He attains My nature."The process of quitting this body and getting another body in thematerial world is also organized. A man dies after it has been decidedwhat form of body he will have in the next life. Higher authorities,not the living entity himself, make this decision. According to ouractivities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is apreparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in thislife to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, afterquitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just likethe Lord's.As explained before, there are different kinds of transcendentalists,the brahma-vadi, paramatma-vadi, and the devotee, and, as mentioned, inthe brahmajyoti (spiritual sky) there are innumerable spiritualplanets. The number of these planets is far, far greater than all ofthe planets of this material world. This material world has beenapproximated as only one quarter of the creation (ekamsena sthitojagat). In this material segment there are millions and billions ofuniverses with trillions of planets and suns, stars and moons. But thiswhole material creation is only a fragment of the total creation. Mostof the creation is in the spiritual sky. One who desires to merge intothe existence of the Supreme Brahman is at once transferred to thebrahmajyoti of the Supreme Lord and thus attains the spiritual sky. Thedevotee, who wants to enjoy the association of the Lord, enters intothe Vaikuntha planets, which are innumerable, and the Supreme Lord byHis plenary expansions as Narayana with four hands and with differentnames like Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Govinda, etc., associates with himthere. Therefore at the end of life the transcendentalists either thinkof the brahmajyoti, the Paramatma or the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Sri Krsna. In all cases they enter into the spiritual sky, but only thedevotee, or he who is in personal touch with the Supreme Lord, entersinto the Vaikuntha planets. The Lord further adds that of this "thereis no doubt." This must be believed firmly. We should not reject thatwhich does not tally with our imagination; our attitude should be thatof Arjuna: "I believe everything that You have said." Therefore whenthe Lord says that at the time of death whoever thinks of Him asBrahman or Paramatma or as the Personality of Godhead certainly entersinto the spiritual sky, there is no doubt about it. There is noquestion of disbelieving it.The information on how to think of the Supreme Being at the time ofdeath is also given in the Gita (8.6):yam yam vapi smaran bhavamtyajaty ante kalevaramtam tam evaiti kaunteyasada tad-bhava-bhavitah"In whatever condition one quits his present body, in his next life hewill attain to that state of being without fail." Material nature is adisplay of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In the Visnu Purana(6.7.61) the total energies of the Supreme Lord are delineated:visnu-saktih para proktaksetra-jnakhya tatha paraavidya-karma-samjnanyatrtiya saktir isyateThe Supreme Lord has diverse and innumerable energies which are beyondour conception; however, great learned sages or liberated souls havestudied these energies and have analyzed them into three parts. All ofthe energies are of visnu-sakti, that is to say they are differentpotencies of Lord Visnu. That energy is para, transcendental. Livingentities also belong to the superior energy, as has already beenexplained. The other energies, or material energies, are in the mode ofignorance. At the time of death we can either remain in the inferiorenergy of this material world, or we can transfer to the energy of thespiritual world.In life we are accustomed to thinking either of the material or thespiritual energy. There are so many literatures which fill our thoughtswith the material energy--newspapers, magazines, novels, etc. Ourthinking, which is now absorbed in these literatures, must betransferred to the Vedic literatures. The great sages, therefore, havewritten so many Vedic literatures such as the Puranas, etc. The Puranasare not imaginative; they are historical records. In the Caitanyacaritamrta(Madhya 20.122) there is the following verse:maya-mugdha jivera nahi svatah krsna-jnanajivere krpaya kaila krsna veda-puranaThe forgetful living entities or conditioned souls have forgotten theirrelationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinkingof material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to thespiritual sky, Krsna-dvaipayana Vyasa has given a great number of Vedicliteratures. First he divided the Vedas into four, then he explainedthem in the Puranas, and for less capable people he wrote theMahabharata. In the Mahabharata there is given the Bhagavad-gita. Thenall Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedanta-sutra, and for future

guidance he gave a natural commentation on the Vedanta-sutra, calledSrimad-Bhagavatam. We must always engage our minds in reading theseVedic literatures. Just as materialists engage their minds in readingnewspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we musttransfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us byVyasadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember theSupreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested bythe Lord, and He guarantees the result: "There is no doubt."tasmat sarvesu kalesumam anusmara yudhya camayy arpita-mano-buddhirmam evaisyasy asamsayah"Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same timeyou should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind andactivities always fixed on Me and everything engaged in Me, you willattain to Me without any doubt." (Bg. 8.7)He does not advise Arjuna to simply remember Him and give up hisoccupation. No, the Lord never suggests anything impractical. In thismaterial world, in order to maintain the body one has to work. Humansociety is divided, according to work, into four divisions of socialorder--brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. The brahmana class orintelligent class is working in one way, the ksatriya or administrativeclass is working in another way, and the mercantile class and thelaborers are all tending to their specific duties. In the humansociety, whether one is a laborer, merchant, warrior, administrator, orfarmer, or even if one belongs to the highest class and is a literaryman, a scientist or a theologian, he has to work in order to maintainhis existence. The Lord therefore tells Arjuna that he need not give uphis occupation, but while he is engaged in his occupation he shouldremember Krsna (mam anusmara). If he doesn't practice remembering Krsnawhile he is struggling for existence, then it will not be possible forhim to remember Krsna at the time of death. Lord Caitanya also advisesthis. He says, kirtaniyah sada harih: one should practice rememberingthe Lord by chanting the names of the Lord always. The names of theLord and the Lord are nondifferent. So Lord Krsna's instructions toArjuna to "remember Me" and Lord Caitanya's injunction to "always chantthe names of Lord Krsna" are the same instruction. There is nodifference, because Krsna and Krsna's name are nondifferent. In theabsolute status there is no difference between reference and referent.Therefore we have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty-fourhours a day, by chanting His names and molding our life's activities insuch a way that we can remember Him always.How is this possible? The acaryas give the following example. If amarried woman is attached to another man, or if a man has an attachmentfor a woman other than his wife, then the attachment is to beconsidered very strong. One with such an attachment is always thinkingof the loved one. The wife who is thinking of her lover is alwaysthinking of meeting him, even while she is carrying out her householdchores. In fact, she carries out her household work even more carefullyso her husband will not suspect her attachment. Similarly, we shouldalways remember the supreme lover, Sri Krsna, and at the same timeperform our material duties very nicely. A strong sense of love is

required here. If we have a strong sense of love for the Supreme Lord,then we can discharge our duty and at the same time remember Him. Butwe have to develop that sense of love. Arjuna, for instance, was alwaysthinking of Krsna; he was the constant companion of Krsna, and at thesame time he was a warrior. Krsna did not advise him to give upfighting and go to the forest to meditate. When Lord Krsna delineatesthe yoga system to Arjuna, Arjuna says that the practice of this systemis not possible for him.arjuna uvacayo 'yam yogas tvaya proktahsamyena madhusudanaetasyaham na pasyamicancalatvat sthitim sthiram"Arjuna said, O Madhusudana, the system of yoga which You havesummarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind isrestless and unsteady." (Bg. 6.33)But the Lord says:yoginam api sarvesammad-gatenantaratmanasraddhavan bhajate yo mamsa me yuktatamo matah"Of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshipingMe in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Mein yoga, and is the highest of all." (Bg. 6.47) So one who thinks ofthe Supreme Lord always is the greatest yogi, the supermost jnani, andthe greatest devotee at the same time. The Lord further tells Arjunathat as a ksatriya he cannot give up his fighting, but if Arjuna fightsremembering Krsna, then he will be able to remember Him at the time ofdeath. But one must be completely surrendered in the transcendentalloving service of the Lord.We work not with our body, actually, but with our mind andintelligence. So if the intelligence and the mind are always engaged inthe thought of the Supreme Lord, then naturally the senses are alsoengaged in His service. Superficially, at least, the activities of thesenses remain the same, but the consciousness is changed. The Bhagavadgitateaches one how to absorb the mind and intelligence in the thoughtof the Lord. Such absorption will enable one to transfer himself to thekingdom of the Lord. If the mind is engaged in Krsna's service, thenthe senses are automatically engaged in His service. This is the art,and this is also the secret of Bhagavad-gita: total absorption in thethought of Sri Krsna.Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has nottried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has fifty yearsof life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivatingthis practice of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thispractice is the devotional process of:sravanam kirtanam visnohsmaranam pada-sevanamarcanam vandanam dasyamsakhyam atma-nivedanam(Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23)These nine processes, of which the easiest is sravanam, hearingBhagavad-gita from the realized person, will turn one to the thought ofthe Supreme Being. This will lead to nisala, remembering the Supreme

Lord, and will enable one, upon leaving the body, to attain a spiritualbody which is just fit for association with the Supreme Lord.The Lord further says:abhyasa-yoga-yuktenacetasa nanya-gaminaparamam purusam divyamyati parthanucintayan"By practicing this remembering, without being deviated, thinking everof the Supreme Godhead, one is sure to achieve the planet of theDivine, the Supreme Personality, O son of Kunti." (Bg. 8.8)This is not a very difficult process. However, one must learn it froman experienced person, from one who is already in the practice. Themind is always flying to this and that, but one must always practiceconcentrating the mind on the form of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, oron the sound of His name. The mind is naturally restless, going hitherand thither, but it can rest in the sound vibration of Krsna. One mustthus meditate on paramam purusam, the Supreme Person, and thus attainHim. The ways and the means for ultimate realization, ultimateattainment, are stated in the Bhagavad-gita, and the doors of thisknowledge are open for everyone. No one is barred out. All classes ofmen can approach the Lord by thinking of Him, for hearing and thinkingof Him is possible for everyone.The Lord further says (Bg. 9.32-33):mam hi partha vyapasrityaye 'pi syuh papa-yonayahstriyo vaisyas tatha sudraste 'pi yanti param gatimkim punar brahmanah punyabhakta rajarsayas tathaanityam asukham lokamimam prapya bhajasva mam"O son of Prtha, anyone who will take shelter in Me, whether a woman,or a merchant, or one born in a low family, can yet approach thesupreme destination. How much greater then are the brahmanas, therighteous, the devotees, and saintly Kings! In this miserable world,these are fixed in devotional service to the Lord."Human beings even in the lower statuses of life (a merchant, a woman ora laborer) can attain the Supreme. One does not need highly developedintelligence. The point is that anyone who accepts the principle ofbhakti-yoga and accepts the Supreme Lord as the summum bonum of life,as the highest target, the ultimate goal, can approach the Lord in thespiritual sky. If one adopts the principles enunciated in Bhagavadgita,he can make his life perfect and make a perfect solution to allthe problems of life which arise out of the transient nature ofmaterial existence. This is the sum and substance of the entireBhagavad-gita.In conclusion, Bhagavad-gita is a transcendental literature which oneshould read very carefully. It is capable of saving one from all fear.nehabhikrama-naso 'sti pratyavayo na vidyatesvalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat"In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a littleadvancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous typeof fear." (Bg. 2.40) If one reads Bhagavad-gita sincerely andseriously, then all of the reactions of his past misdeeds will notreact upon him. In the last portion of Bhagavad-gita (18.66), Lord SriKrsna proclaims:sarva-dharman parityajyamam ekam saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyomoksayisyami ma sucah"Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me;and in return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Therefore,you have nothing to fear." Thus the Lord takes all responsibility forone who surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies all the reactions ofsin.One cleanses himself daily by taking a bath in water, but one who takeshis bath only once in the sacred Ganges water of the Bhagavad-gitacleanses away all the dirt of material life. Because Bhagavad-gita isspoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read anyother Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hearand read Bhagavad-gita. In the present age, mankind is so absorbed withmundane activities that it is not possible to read all of the Vedicliteratures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gita,will suffice because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures andbecause it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is saidthat one who drinks the water of the Ganges certainly gets salvation,but what to speak of one who drinks the waters of Bhagavad-gita? Gitais the very nectar of the Mahabharata spoken by Visnu Himself, for LordKrsna is the original Visnu. It is nectar emanating from the mouth ofthe Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Ganges is said to beemanating from the lotus feet of the Lord. Of course there is nodifference between the mouth and the feet of the Supreme Lord, but inour position we can appreciate that the Bhagavad-gita is even moreimportant than the Ganges.The Bhagavad-gita is just like a cow, and Lord Krsna, who is a cowherdboy, is milking this cow. The milk is the essence of the Vedas, andArjuna is just like a calf. The wise men, the great sages and puredevotees, are to drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gita.In this present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God,one religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripturefor the whole world--Bhagavad-gita. And let there be one God only forthe whole world--Sri Krsna. And one mantra only--Hare Krsna, HareKrsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, HareHare. And let there be one work only--the service of the SupremePersonality of Godhead.THE DISCIPLIC SUCCESSIONEvam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh (Bhagavad-gita 4.2). ThisBhagavad-gita As It Is is received through this disciplic succession:1. Krsna 17. Brahmanya Tirtha2. Brahma 18. Vyasa Tirtha3. Narada 19. Laksmipati4. Vyasa 20. Madhavendra Puri5. Madhva 21. Isvara Puri, (Nityananda,Advaita)6. Padmanabha 22. Lord Caitanya7. Nrhari 23. Rupa, (Svarupa, Sanatana)8. Madhava 24. Raghunatha, Jiva9. Aksobhya 25. Krsnadasa10. Jaya Tirtha 26. Narottama11. Jnanasindhu 27. Visvanatha12. Dayanidhi 28. (Baladeva) Jagannatha13. Vidyanidhi 29. Bhaktivinoda14. Rajendra 30. Gaurakisora15. Jayadharma 31. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati16. Purusottama 32. His Divine Grace A. C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada BG 8 chapter TEXT 20

paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanahyah sa sarvesu bhutesunasyatsu na vinasyati

SYNONYMSparah--transcendental; tasmat--from that; tu--but; bhavah--nature;anyah--another; avyaktah--unmanifest; avyaktat--from the unmanifest;sanatanah--eternal; yah--that; sah--which; sarvesu--all; bhutesu--manifestation; nasyatsu--being annihilated; na--never; vinasyati--annihilated. TRANSLATIONYet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental tothis manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is neverannihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remainsas it is. PURPORTKrsna's superior spiritual energy is transcendental and eternal. It isbeyond all the changes of material nature, which is manifest andannihilated during the days and nights of Brahma. Krsna's superiorenergy is completely opposite in quality to material nature. Superiorand inferior nature are explained in the Seventh Chapter.

TEXT 21avyakto 'ksara ity uktastam ahuh paramam gatimyam prapya na nivartantetad dhama paramam mama

SYNONYMSavyaktah--unmanifested; aksarah--infallible; iti--thus; uktah--said;tam--that which; ahuh--is known; paramam--ultimate; gatim--destination;yam--that which; prapya--gaining; na--never; nivartante--comes back;tat dhama--that abode; paramam--supreme; mama--Mine. TRANSLATIONThat supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible, and it is thesupreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That isMy supreme abode. PURPORTThe supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is described inthe Brahma-samhita as cintamani-dhama, a place where all desires arefulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrndavana isfull of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees which arecalled "desire trees," that supply any type of eatable upon demand, andthere are cows known as surabhi cows which supply a limitless supply ofmilk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands ofgoddesses of fortune (Laksmis), and He is called Govinda, the primalLord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow Hisflute (venum kvanantam). His transcendental form is the most attractivein all the worlds--His eyes are like the lotus petals and the color ofHis body is like clouds. He is so attractive that His beauty excelsthat of thousands of Cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland aroundHis neck and a peacock feather in His hair. In the Gita Lord Krsnagives only a small hint of His personal abode (Goloka Vrndavana) which

is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. A vivid descriptionis given in the Brahma-samhita. Vedic literature (Katha Upanisad1.3.11) states that there is nothing superior to the abode of theSupreme Godhead, and that that abode is the ultimate destination(purusan na param kincit sa kastha parama gatih). When one attains toit, he never returns to the material world. Krsna's supreme abode andKrsna Himself are nondifferent, being of the same quality. On thisearth, Vrndavana, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, is a replica of thatsupreme Goloka Vrndavana located in the spiritual sky. When Krsnadescended on this earth He sported on that particular tract of landknown as Vrndavana in the district of Mathura, India. TEXT 22

purusah sa parah parthabhaktya labhyas tv ananyayayasyantah-sthani bhutaniyena sarvam idam tatam

SYNONYMSpurusah--the Supreme Personality; sah--He; parah--the Supreme, thanwhom no one is greater; partha--O son of Prtha; bhaktya--by devotionalservice; labhyah--can be achieved; tu--but; ananyaya--unalloyed,undeviating devotion; yasya--whom; antah-sthani--within; bhutani--allof this material manifestation; yena--by whom; sarvam--all; idam--whatever we can see; tatam--distributed. TRANSLATIONThe Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, isattainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode,He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.PURPORTIt is here clearly stated that the supreme destination from which thereis no return is the abode of Krsna, the Supreme Person. The Brahmasamhitadescribes this supreme abode as ananda-cinmaya-rasa, a placewhere everything is full of spiritual bliss. Whatever variegatedness ismanifest there is all of the quality of spiritual bliss--there isnothing material. All variegatedness is expanded as the spiritualexpansion of the Supreme Godhead Himself, for the manifestation thereis totally of the spiritual energy, as explained in Chapter Seven. Asfar as this material world is concerned, although the Lord is always inHis supreme abode, He is nonetheless all-pervading by His materialenergy. So by His spiritual and material energies He is presenteverywhere--both in the material and in the spiritual universes.Yasyantah-sthani means that everything is sustained by Him, whether itbe spiritual or material energy.It is clearly stated here that only by bhakti, or devotional service,can one enter into the Vaikuntha (spiritual) planetary system. In allthe Vaikunthas there is only one Supreme Godhead, Krsna, who hasexpanded Himself into millions and millions of plenary expansions.These plenary expansions are four-armed, and They preside over theinnumerable spiritual planets. They are known by a variety of names--Purusottama, Trivikrama, Kesava, Madhava, Aniruddha, Hrsikesa,Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Sridhara, Vasudeva, Damodara, Janardana,Narayana, Vamana, Padmanabha, etc. These plenary expansions are likenedunto the leaves of a tree, and the main tree is likened to Krsna.Krsna, dwelling in Goloka Vrndavana, His supreme abode, systematicallyconducts all affairs of both universes (material and spiritual) without

a flaw by power of His all-pervasiveness.

TEXT 21te tam bhuktva svarga-lokam visalamksine punye martya-lokam visantievam trayi-dharmam anuprapannagatagatam kama-kama labhanteSYNONYMSte--they; tam--that; bhuktva--enjoying; svarga-lokam--heaven; visalam--vast; ksine--being exhausted; punye--merits; martya-lokam--mortalearth; visanti--fall down; evam--thus; trayi--three Vedas; dharmam--doctrines; anuprapannah--following; gata-agatam--death and birth; kamakamah--desiring sense enjoyments; labhante--attain.TRANSLATIONWhen they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return tothis mortal planet again. Thus, through the Vedic principles, theyachieve only flickering happiness.PURPORTOne who is promoted to those higher planetary systems enjoys a longerduration of life and better facilities for sense enjoyment, yet one isnot allowed to stay there forever. One is again sent back to thisearthly planet upon finishing the resultant fruits of pious activities.He who has not attained perfection of knowledge, as indicated in theVedanta-sutra (janmady asya yatah), or, in other words, he who fails tounderstand Krsna, the cause of all causes, becomes baffled in achievingthe ultimate goal of life and is thus subjected to the routine of beingpromoted to the higher planets and then again coming down, as ifsituated on a ferris wheel which sometimes goes up and sometimes comesdown. The purport is that instead of being elevated to the spiritualworld where there is no longer any possibility of coming down, onesimply revolves in the cycle of birth and death on higher and lowerplanetary systems. One should better take to the spiritual world toenjoy eternal life of full bliss and knowledge and never return to thismiserable material existence.

TEXTS 3-4na rupam asyeha tathopalabhyatenanto na cadir na ca sampratisthaasvattham enam su-virudha-mulamasanga-sastrena drdhena chittvatatah padam tat parimargitavyamyasmin gata na nivartanti bhuyahtam eva cadyam purusam prapadyeyatah pravrttih prasrta purani

SYNONYMSna--not; rupam--form; asya--of this tree; iha--in this; tatha--also;upalabhyate--can be perceived; na--never; antah--end; na--never; ca--also; adih--beginning; na--never; ca--also; sampratistha--thefoundation; asvattham--banyan tree; enam--this; su-virudha--strongly;mulam--rooted; asanga-sastrena--by the weapon of detachment; drdhena--strong; chittva--by cutting; tatah--thereafter; padam--situation; tat--that; parimargitavyam--has to be searched out; yasmin--where; gatah--going; na--never; nivartanti--comes back; bhuyah--again; tam--to Him;

eva--certainly; ca--also; adyam--original; purusam--the Personality ofGodhead; prapadye--surrender; yatah--from whom; pravrttih--beginning;prasrta--extended; purani--very old. TRANSLATIONThe real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world. No onecan understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundationis. But with determination one must cut down this tree with the weaponof detachment. So doing, one must seek that place from which, havingonce gone, one never returns, and there surrender to that SupremePersonality of Godhead from whom everything has began and in whomeverything is abiding since time immemorial. PURPORTIt is now clearly stated that the real form of this banyan tree cannotbe understood in this material world. Since the root is upwards, theextension of the real tree is at the other end. No one can see how farthe tree extends, nor can one see the beginning of this tree. Yet onehas to find out the cause. "I am the son of my father, my father is theson of such and such a person, etc." By searching in this way, onecomes to Brahma, who is generated by the Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Finally,in this way, when one reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thatis the end of research work. One has to search out the origin of thistree, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the association ofpersons who are in knowledge of that Supreme Personality of Godhead.Then by understanding one becomes gradually detached from this falsereflection of reality, and by knowledge one can cut off the connectionand actually become situated in the real tree.The word asanga is very important in this connection because theattachment for sense enjoyment and lording it over material nature isvery strong. Therefore one must learn detachment by discussion ofspiritual science based on authoritative scriptures, and one must hearfrom persons who are actually in knowledge. As a result of suchdiscussion in the association of devotees, one comes to the SupremePersonality of Godhead. Then the first thing one must do is surrenderto Him. The description of that place whence going no one returns tothis false reflected tree is given here. The Supreme Personality ofGodhead, Krsna, is the original root from whom everything has emanated.To gain favor of that Personality of Godhead, one has only tosurrender, and this is a result of performing devotional service byhearing, chanting, etc. He is the cause of this extension of thematerial world. This has already been explained by the Lord Himself:aham sarvasya prabhavah, "I am the origin of everything." Therefore toget out of the entanglement of this strong banyan tree of materiallife, one must surrender to Krsna. As soon as one surrenders untoKrsna, he becomes detached automatically from this material extension

Srimad Bhagavatam TEXTtenatmanatmanam upaiti santamanandam anandamayo 'vasaneetam gatim bhagavatim gato yahsa vai punar neha visajjate 'ngaSYNONYMStena--by that purified; atmana--by the self; atmanam--the Supersoul;upaiti--attains; santam--rest; anandam--satisfaction; ananda-mayah--naturally so being; avasane--being freed from all material contamination;

etam--such; gatim--destination; bhagavatim--devotional; gatah--attainedby; yah--the person; sah--he; vai--certainly; punah--again; na--never;iha--in this material world; visajjate--becomes attracted; anga--OMaharaja Pariksit.TRANSLATIONOnly the purified soul can attain the perfection of associating withthe Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in hisconstitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate such devotionalperfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he neverreturns.PURPORTWe should specially note in this verse the description of gatimbhagavatim. To become merged in the rays of the Parabrahman, the SupremePersonality of Godhead, as desired by the brahmavadi impersonalist, isnot bhagavatim perfection. The bhagavatas never accept merging in theimpersonal rays of the Lord, but always aspire after personal associationwith the Supreme Lord in one of the Vaikuntha spiritual planets in thespiritual sky. The whole of the spiritual sky, of which the total numberof the material skies is only an insignificant part, is full of unlimitednumbers of Vaikuntha planets. The destination of the devotee (thebhagavata) is to enter into one of the Vaikuntha planets, in each ofwhich the Personality of Godhead, in His unlimited personal expansions,enjoys Himself in the association of unlimited numbers of pure devoteeassociates. The conditioned souls in the material world, after gainingemancipation by devotional service, are promoted to these planets. Butthe number of ever-liberated souls is far, far greater than the number ofconditioned souls in the material world, and the ever-liberated souls inthe Vaikuntha planets never care to visit this miserable material world.The impersonalists, who aspire to merge in the impersonal brahmajyotieffulgence of the Supreme Lord but have no conception of lovingdevotional service to Him in His personal form in the spiritualmanifestation, may be compared to certain species of fish, who, beingborn in the rivers and rivulets, migrate to the great ocean. They cannotstay in the ocean indefinitely, for their urge for sense gratificationbrings them back to the rivers and streams to spawn. Similarly, when thematerialist becomes frustrated in his attempts to enjoy himself in thelimited material world, he may seek impersonal liberation by mergingeither with the Causal Ocean or with the impersonal brahmajyotieffulgence. However, as neither the Causal Ocean nor the impersonalbrahmajyoti effulgence affords any superior substitute for associationand engagement of the senses, the impersonalist will fall again into thelimited material world to become entangled once more in the wheel ofbirths and deaths, drawn on by the inextinguishable desire for sensualengagement. But any devotee who enters the kingdom of God bytranscendental engagement of his senses in devotional service, and whoassociates with the liberated souls and the Personality of Godhead there,will never be attracted to the limited surroundings of the material

world.In the Bhagavad-gita (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lordsays, "The great mahatmas, or the bhakti-yogis, after attaining Myassociation, never come back to this material world, which is full ofmiseries and is nonpermanent." The highest perfection of life, therefore,is to attain His association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogi, beingcompletely engaged in the Lord's service, has no attraction for any otherprocess of liberation like jnana or yoga. A pure devotee is a one hundredpercent devotee of the Lord and nothing more.We should further note in this verse the two words santam and anandam,which denote that devotional service of the Lord can really bestow uponthe devotee two important benedictions, namely peace and satisfaction.The impersonalist is desirous of becoming one with the Supreme, or inother words, he wants to become the Supreme. This is a myth only. Themystic yogis become encumbered by various mystic powers and so haveneither peace nor satisfaction. So neither the impersonalists nor theyogi can have real peace and satisfaction, but the devotee can becomefully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the completewhole. Therefore, merging in the Absolute or attaining some mystic powershas no attraction for the devotee.Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all otherattractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as becoming areligious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming Godhimself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully bygetting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should berejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive hisdormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of theabovementioned material things by perfection of devotion. But a puredevotee has none of the tinges of the above contaminations, which are theinfluence of material desires, impersonal speculations and attainment ofmystic powers. One can attain the stage of love of God by pure devotionalservice, or by "a learned labor of love," for the sake of the devotee'slovable object, the Personality of Godhead.To be more clear, if one wants to attain the stage of love of Godhead,he must give up all desires for material enjoyment, he should refrainfrom worshiping any of the demigods, and he should devote himself only tothe worship of the Supreme personality of Godhead. He must give up thefoolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and the desire to have somewonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world. Thepure devotee is only favorably engaged in the service of the Lord,without any hope of emolument. This will bring about love of Godhead, orthe stage of santam and anandam, as stated in this verse TEXTtenatmanatmanam upaiti santamanandam anandamayo 'vasane

etam gatim bhagavatim gato yahsa vai punar neha visajjate 'ngaSYNONYMStena--by that purified; atmana--by the self; atmanam--the Supersoul;upaiti--attains; santam--rest; anandam--satisfaction; ananda-mayah--naturally so being; avasane--being freed from all material contamination;etam--such; gatim--destination; bhagavatim--devotional; gatah--attainedby; yah--the person; sah--he; vai--certainly; punah--again; na--never;iha--in this material world; visajjate--becomes attracted; anga--OMaharaja Pariksit.TRANSLATIONOnly the purified soul can attain the perfection of associating withthe Personality of Godhead in complete bliss and satisfaction in hisconstitutional state. Whoever is able to renovate such devotionalperfection is never again attracted by this material world, and he neverreturns.PURPORTWe should specially note in this verse the description of gatimbhagavatim. To become merged in the rays of the Parabrahman, the SupremePersonality of Godhead, as desired by the brahmavadi impersonalist, isnot bhagavatim perfection. The bhagavatas never accept merging in theimpersonal rays of the Lord, but always aspire after personal associationwith the Supreme Lord in one of the Vaikuntha spiritual planets in thespiritual sky. The whole of the spiritual sky, of which the total numberof the material skies is only an insignificant part, is full of unlimitednumbers of Vaikuntha planets. The destination of the devotee (thebhagavata) is to enter into one of the Vaikuntha planets, in each ofwhich the Personality of Godhead, in His unlimited personal expansions,enjoys Himself in the association of unlimited numbers of pure devoteeassociates. The conditioned souls in the material world, after gainingemancipation by devotional service, are promoted to these planets. Butthe number of ever-liberated souls is far, far greater than the number ofconditioned souls in the material world, and the ever-liberated souls inthe Vaikuntha planets never care to visit this miserable material world.The impersonalists, who aspire to merge in the impersonal brahmajyotieffulgence of the Supreme Lord but have no conception of lovingdevotional service to Him in His personal form in the spiritualmanifestation, may be compared to certain species of fish, who, beingborn in the rivers and rivulets, migrate to the great ocean. They cannotstay in the ocean indefinitely, for their urge for sense gratificationbrings them back to the rivers and streams to spawn. Similarly, when thematerialist becomes frustrated in his attempts to enjoy himself in thelimited material world, he may seek impersonal liberation by mergingeither with the Causal Ocean or with the impersonal brahmajyotieffulgence. However, as neither the Causal Ocean nor the impersonalbrahmajyoti effulgence affords any superior substitute for associationand engagement of the senses, the impersonalist will fall again into the

limited material world to become entangled once more in the wheel ofbirths and deaths, drawn on by the inextinguishable desire for sensualengagement. But any devotee who enters the kingdom of God bytranscendental engagement of his senses in devotional service, and whoassociates with the liberated souls and the Personality of Godhead there,will never be attracted to the limited surroundings of the materialworld.In the Bhagavad-gita (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lordsays, "The great mahatmas, or the bhakti-yogis, after attaining Myassociation, never come back to this material world, which is full ofmiseries and is nonpermanent." The highest perfection of life, therefore,is to attain His association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogi, beingcompletely engaged in the Lord's service, has no attraction for any otherprocess of liberation like jnana or yoga. A pure devotee is a one hundredpercent devotee of the Lord and nothing more.We should further note in this verse the two words santam and anandam,which denote that devotional service of the Lord can really bestow uponthe devotee two important benedictions, namely peace and satisfaction.The impersonalist is desirous of becoming one with the Supreme, or inother words, he wants to become the Supreme. This is a myth only. Themystic yogis become encumbered by various mystic powers and so haveneither peace nor satisfaction. So neither the impersonalists nor theyogi can have real peace and satisfaction, but the devotee can becomefully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the completewhole. Therefore, merging in the Absolute or attaining some mystic powershas no attraction for the devotee.Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all otherattractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as becoming areligious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming Godhimself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully bygetting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should berejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive hisdormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of theabovementioned material things by perfection of devotion. But a puredevotee has none of the tinges of the above contaminations, which are theinfluence of material desires, impersonal speculations and attainment ofmystic powers. One can attain the stage of love of God by pure devotionalservice, or by "a learned labor of love," for the sake of the devotee'slovable object, the Personality of Godhead.To be more clear, if one wants to attain the stage of love of Godhead,he must give up all desires for material enjoyment, he should refrainfrom worshiping any of the demigods, and he should devote himself only tothe worship of the Supreme personality of Godhead. He must give up thefoolish idea of becoming one with the Lord and the desire to have somewonderful powers just to get the ephemeral adoration of the world. Thepure devotee is only favorably engaged in the service of the Lord,

without any hope of emolument. This will bring about love of Godhead, orthe stage of santam and anandam, as stated in this verse.

TEXTiti vyavasita rajanharyasva eka-cetasahprayayus tam parikramyapanthanam anivartanamSYNONYMSiti--thus; vyavasitah--being fully convinced by the instructions ofNarada Muni; rajan--O King; haryasvah--the sons of Prajapati Daksa; ekacetasah--all being of the same opinion; prayayuh--left; tam--Narada Muni;parikramya--circumambulating; panthanam--on the path; anivartanam--whichdoes not bring one back again to this material world.TRANSLATIONSukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, after hearing theinstructions of Narada, the Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, werefirmly convinced. They all believed in his instructions and reached thesame conclusion. Having accepted him as their spiritual master, theycircumambulated that great sage and followed the path by which one neverreturns to this world.PURPORTFrom this verse we can understand the meaning of initiation and theduties of a disciple and spiritual master. The spiritual master neverinstructs his disciple, "Take a mantra from me, pay me some money, and bypracticing this yoga system you will become very expert in materialisticlife." This is not the duty of a spiritual master. Rather, the spiritualmaster teaches the disciple how to give up materialistic life, and thedisciple's duty is to assimilate his instructions and ultimately followthe path back home, back to Godhead, from whence no one returns to thismaterial world.After hearing the instructions of Narada Muni, the Haryasvas, the sonsof Prajapati Daksa, decided not to be entangled in materialistic life bybegetting hundreds of children and having to take care of them. Thiswould have been unnecessarily entangling. The Haryasvas did not considerpious and impious activities. Their materialistic father had instructedthem to increase the population, but because of the words of Narada Muni,they could not heed that instruction. Narada Muni, as their spiritualmaster, gave them the sastric instructions that they should give up thismaterial world, and as bona fide disciples they followed hisinstructions. One should not endeavor to wander to different planetarysystems within this universe, for even if one goes to the topmostplanetary system, Brahmaloka, one must return again (ksine punye martyalokamvisanti). The endeavors of karmis are a useless waste of time. One

should endeavor to return home, back to Godhead. This is the perfectionof life. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (8.16):abrahma-bhuvanal lokahpunar avartino 'rjunamam upetya tu kaunteyapunar janma na vidyate"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, allare places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. Butonewho attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again."TEXT 22TEXTsvara-brahmani nirbhatahrsikesa-padambujeakhandam cittam avesyalokan anucaran munihSYNONYMSsvara-brahmani--in spiritual sound; nirbhata--placing clearly beforethe mind; hrsikesa--of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, themaster of the senses; padambuje--the lotus feet; akhandam--unbroken;cittam--consciousness; avesya--engaging; lokan--all the planetarysystems; anucarat--traveled around; munih--the great sage Narada Muni.TRANSLATIONThe seven musical notes--sa, r, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni--are used inmusical instruments, but originally they come from the Sama Veda. Thegreat sage Narada vibrates sounds describing the pastimes of the SupremeLord. By such transcendental vibrations, such as Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, hefixes his mind at the lotus feet of the Lord. Thus he directly perceivesHrsikesa, the master of the senses. After delivering the Haryasvas,Narada Muni continued traveling throughout the planetary systems, hismind always fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Our constituional pozicionTEXTS 108-109TEXTjivera 'svarupa' haya----krsnera 'nitya-dasa'krsnera 'tatastha-sakti' 'bhedabheda-prakasasuryamsa-kirana, yaiche agni-jvala-cayasvabhavika krsnera tina-prakara 'sakti' hayaSYNONYMSjivera--of the living entity; sva-rupa--the constitutional position; haya--is; krsnera--of Lord Krsna; nitya-dasa--eternal servant; krsnera--of Lord Krsna;tatastha--marginal; sakti--potency; bheda-abheda--one and different; prakasa--manifestation; surya-amsa--part and parcel of the sun; kirana--a ray ofsunshine; yaiche--as; agni-jvala-ca ya--molecular particle of fire; svabhavika--naturally; krsnera--of Lord Krsna; tina-prakara--three varieties; sakti--energies; haya--there are.TRANSLATION"It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant

of Krsna because he is the marginal energy of Krsna and a manifestationsimultaneously one and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle ofsunshine or fire. Krsna has three varieties of energy.PURPORTSrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura paraphrases these verses as follows: Sri SanatanaGosvami asked Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "Who am I?" In answer, the Lord replied,"You are a pure living entity. You are neither the material body nor the subtlebody composed of mind and intelligence. Actually you are a spirit soul, eternalpart and parcel of the Supreme Soul, Krsna. Therefore you are His eternalservant. You belong to Krsna's marginal potency. There are two worlds--thespiritual world and the material world--and you are situated between thematerial and spiritual potencies. You have a relationship with both the materialand spiritual worlds; therefore you are called the marginal potency. You arerelated with Krsna as one and simultaneously different. Because you are spiritsoul, you are one in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, butbecause you are a very minute particle of spirit soul, you are different fromthe Supreme Soul. Therefore your position is simultaneously one with anddifferent from the Supreme Soul. The examples given are those of the sun itselfand the small particles of sunshine and of a blazing fire and the smallparticles of fire." Another explanation of these verses can be found in Adi-lila(Chapter Two, verse 96).

Human life is meant for plain living and high thinking. Since allconditioned living beings are under the control of the Lord's thirdenergy, this material world is designed so that one is obliged to work.The Supreme Personality of Godhead has three primary energies, orpotencies. The first is called antaranga-sakti, or the internal potency.The second is called tatastha-sakti, or the marginal potency. The thirdis called bahiranga-sakti, or the external potency. The living entitiesconstitute the marginal potency, and they are situated between theinternal and external Potencies. Being subordinate as eternal servantsof the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the jivatmas, or atomic livingentities, must remain under the control of either the internal orexternal potency. When they are under the control of the internalpotency, they display their natural, constitutional activity--namely,constant engagement in the devotional service of the Lord. This isstated in Bhagavad-gita (9.13):mahatmanas tu mam parihadaivim prakrtim asritah

bhajanty ananya-manasojnatva bhutadim avyayam"O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, areunder the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged indevotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality ofGodhead, original and inexhaustible."The word mahatma refers to those who are broadminded, not crippleminded.Cripple-minded persons, always engaged in satisfying theirsenses, sometimes expand their activities in order to do good for othersthrough some "ism" like nationalism, humanitarianism or altruism. Theymay reject personal sense gratification for the sense gratification ofothers, like the members of their family, community or society--eithernational or international. Actually all this is extended sensegratification, from personal to communal to social. This may all be verygood from the material point of view, but such activities have nospiritual value. The basis of such activity is sense gratification,either personal or extended. Only when a person gratifies the senses ofthe Supreme Lord can he be called a mahatma, or broadminded person.In the above-quoted verse from Bhagavad-gita, the words daivimprakrtim refer to the control of the internal potency, or pleasurepotency, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This pleasure potency ismanifested as Srimati Radharani, or Her expansion Laksmi, the goddess offortune. When the individual jiva souls are under the control of theinternal energy, their only engagement is the satisfaction of Krsna, orVisnu. This is the position of a mahatma. If one is not a mahatma, he isa duratma, or a cripple-minded person. Such mentally crippled duratmasare put under the control of the Lord's external potency, mahamaya.Indeed, all living entities within this material world are underthe control of mahamaya, whose business is to subject them to theinfluence of threefold miseries: adhidaivika-klesa (sufferings caused bythe demigods, such as droughts, earthquakes and storms), adhibhautikaklesa(sufferings caused by other living entities like insects orenemies), and adhyatmika-klesa (sufferings caused by one's own body andmind, such as mental and physical infirmities). Daiva-bhutatma-hetavah:the conditioned souls, subjected to these three miseries by the controlof the external energy, suffer various difficulties

IsopanisadaTEXT 4

Although His energies are innumerable, they can be divided intothree principal categories: the internal potency, the marginal potencyand the external potency. There are hundreds and millions of subheadingsto each of these categories. The dominating demigods who are empoweredto control and administer natural phenomena such as air, light, rain,etc., are all classified within the marginal potency of the Absoluteperson. Living beings, including humans, are also products of the Lord's

marginal potency. The material world is the creation of the Lord'sexternal potency, and the spiritual sky or kingdom of God is themanifestation of His internal potency.

TEXT 7yasmin sarvani bhutanyatmaivabhud vijanatahtatra ko mohah kah sokaekatvam anupasyatahyasmin--in the situation; sarvani--all; bhutani--living entities; atma--the spiritual spark; eva--only; abhut--exist as; vijanatah--of one whoknows; tatra--therein; kah--what; mohah--illusion; kah--what; sokah--anxiety; ekatvam--oneness in quality; anupasyatah--of one who seesthrough authority, or one who sees constantly like that.TRANSLATIONOne who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, inquality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then,can be illusion or anxiety for him?PURPORTBut for the madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari discussed above,no one can correctly see the spiritual position of a living being. Theliving entities are qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, just as thesparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the nature of fire. Yetsparks are not fire as far as quantity is concerned, for the quantity ofheat and light present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire. Themaha-bhagavata, the great devotee, sees oneness in the sense that hesees everything as the energy of the Supreme Lord. Since there is nodifference between the energy and the energetic, there is the sense ofoneness. Although heat and light from the analytical point of view aredifferent from fire, there is no meaning to the word "fire" without heatand light. But in synthesis, heat, light and fire are all the same.The Sanskrit words ekatvam anupasyatah indicate that one should seethe unity of all living entities from the viewpoint of revealedscriptures. The individual sparks of the supreme whole possess almosteighty percent of the known qualities of the whole, but they are notquantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are present inminute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcelof the supreme whole. To use another simile, the quantity of saltpresent in a drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present inthe complete ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitativelyequal in chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean. Ifthe individual living being were equal to the Supreme Lord bothqualitatively and quantitatively, there would be no question of hisbeing under the influence of material energy. In the previous mantras ithas already been discussed that no living being--not even the powerfuldemigods--can surpass the Supreme Being in any respect; thereforeekatvam does not mean that a living being is equal in all respects tothe Supreme Lord. It does, however, indicate that in a broader sensethere is one interest, just as in a family the interest of all membersis one, or in a nation the national interest is one, although there aremany different individual citizens. The living entities are all parts

and parcels of the same supreme family, and the interest of the SupremeBeing and that of the parts and parcels is not different. Every livingbeing is the son of the Supreme Being. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (Bg.14.3-4), all living creatures throughout the universe--including birds,reptiles, ants, aquatics, trees and so on--are emanations of themarginal potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all of them belong tothe family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of interest inspiritual life.The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment. By nature andconstitution, every living being--including the Supreme Lord and eachpart and parcel--is meant for eternal enjoyment. The living beings whoare encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly seeking enjoyment,but they are seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from this materialworld, there is the spiritual platform where the Supreme Being enjoysHimself with His innumerable associates. On that platform there is notrace of material qualities, and therefore that platform is callednirguna. On the nirguna platform there is never a clash over the objectof enjoyment. Here in the material world there is always a clash betweendifferent individual beings because here the proper center of enjoymentis missed. The real center of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, who is thecenter of the sublime and spiritual rasa dance. We are all meant to joinHim and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without anyclash. That is the high platform of spiritual interest, and as soon asone realizes this perfect form of oneness, there can be no question ofillusion or lamentation.Nectar of Devotion

It has been seen that great Mayavadi (impersonalist) sannyasis--very highlyeducated and almost realized souls--may sometimes take to political activitiesor to social welfare activities. The reason is that they actually do not deriveany ultimate transcendental happiness in the impersonal understanding andtherefore must come down to the material platform and take to such mundaneaffairs. There are many instances, especially in India, where these Mayavadisannyasis descend to the material platform again. But a person who is fully inKrsna consciousness will never return to any sort of material platform. Howeveralluring and attracting they may be, he always knows that no material welfareactivities can compare to the spiritual activity of Krsna consciousness

Similarly, we can offer many services with our bodily activities. But allsuch activities must be in relationship with Krsna. This relationship is

established by connecting oneself with the bona fide spiritual master, who isthe direct representative of Krsna in disciplic succession. Therefore, theexecution of Krsna conscious activities with the body should be directed by thespiritual master and then performed with faith. The connection with thespiritual master is called initiation. From the date of initiation by thespiritual master, the connection between Krsna and a person cultivating Krsnaconsciousness is established. Without initiation by a bona fide spiritualmaster, the actual connection with Krsna consciousness is never performed.This cultivation of Krsna consciousness is not material. The Lord has threegeneral energies--namely the external energy, the internal energy and themarginal energy. The living entities are called marginal energy, and thematerial cosmic manifestation is the action of the external, or material,energy. Then there is the spiritual world, which is a manifestation of theinternal energy. The living entities, who are called marginal energy, performmaterial activities when acting under the inferior, external energy. And whenthey engage in activities under the internal, spiritual energy, their activitiesare called Krsna conscious. This means that those who are great souls or greatdevotees do not act under the spell of material energy, but act instead underthe protection of the spiritual energy. Any activities done in devotionalservice, or in Krsna consciousness, are directly under the control of spiritualenergy. In other words, energy is a sort of strength, and this strength can bespiritualized by the mercy of both the bona fide spiritual master and Krsna.In the Caitanya-caritamrta, by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Lord Caitanyastates that it is a fortunate person who comes in contact with a bona fidespiritual master by the grace of Krsna. One who is serious about spiritual lifeis given by Krsna the intelligence to come in contact with a bona fide spiritualmaster, and then by the grace of the spiritual master one becomes advanced inKrsna consciousness. In this way the whole jurisdiction of Krsna consciousnessis directly under the spiritual energy--Krsna and the spiritual master.

BG

TEXT 3sri-bhagavan uvacaaksaram brahma paramamsvabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyatebhuta-bhavodbhava-karovisargah karma-samjnitahSYNONYMSsri-bhagavan uvaca--the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; aksaram--indestructible; brahma--Brahman; paramam--transcendental; svabhavah--eternal nature; adhyatmam--the self; ucyate--is called; bhuta-bhavaudbhava-karah--action producing the material bodies of the livingentities; visargah--creation; karma--fruitive activities; samjnitah--iscalled.TRANSLATIONThe Supreme Lord said: The indestructible, transcendental living entityis called Brahman and his eternal nature is called the self. Actionpertaining to the development of these material bodies is called karma,or fruitive activities.PURPORTBrahman is indestructible and eternally existing, and its constitutionis not changed at any time. Beyond Brahman there is Parabrahman.Brahman refers to the living entity, and Parabrahman refers to theSupreme Personality of Godhead. The constitutional position of theliving entity is different from the position he takes in the materialworld. In material consciousness, his nature is to try to be the lordof matter, but in spiritual (Krsna) consciousness, his position is toserve the Supreme. When the living entity is in material consciousness,he has to take on various bodies in the material world. That is calledkarma, or varied creation by the force of material consciousness.In Vedic literature the living entity is called jivatma and Brahman,but he is never called Parabrahman. The living entity (jivatma) takesdifferent positions--sometimes he merges into the dark material natureand identifies himself with matter, and sometimes he identifies himselfwith the superior spiritual nature. Therefore he is called the SupremeLord's marginal energy. According to his identification with materialor spiritual nature, he receives a material or spiritual body. Inmaterial nature he may take a body from any of the 8,400,000 species oflife, but in spiritual nature he has only one body. In material naturehe is sometimes manifested as a man, demigod, animal, beast, bird,etc., according to his karma. To attain material heavenly planets andenjoy their facilities, he sometimes performs sacrifices (yajna), butwhen his merit is exhausted, he returns to earth again in the form of aman.In the process of sacrifice, the living entity makes specificsacrifices to attain specific heavenly planets and consequently reachesthem. When the merit of sacrifice is exhausted, then the living entitydescends to earth in the form of rain, then takes on the form ofgrains, and the grains are eaten by man and transformed into semen,which impregnates a woman, and thus the living entity once againattains the human form to perform sacrifice and so repeat the samecycle. In this way, the living entity perpetually comes and goes on the

material path. The Krsna conscious person, however, avoids suchsacrifices. He takes directly to Krsna consciousness and therebyprepares himself to return to Godhead.Impersonalist commentators on the Gita unreasonably assume that Brahmantakes the form of jiva in the material world, and to substantiate thisthey refer to Chapter Fifteen, verse 7, of the Gita. But this versealso speaks of the living entity as "an eternal fragment of Myself."The fragment of God, the living entity, may fall down into the materialworld, but the Supreme Lord (Acyuta) never falls down. Therefore thisassumption that the Supreme Brahman assumes the form of jiva is notacceptable. It is important to remember that in Vedic literatureBrahman (the living entity) is distinguished from Parabrahman (theSupreme Lord).