Verse: Srimad Bhagvatam 3.5.31
Date: February 22nd, 2010
Place: Mayapur, India
Transcription: Krishna Rupa Mataji
Edited: Radhikeswari Mataji & Syamsundar Krishna Prabhu
[SB 3.5.31]
taijasānīndriyāṇyeva
jñāna-karma-mayāni ca
SYNONYMS
taijasāni — the mode of passion; indriyāṇi — the senses; eva — certainly; jñāna — knowledge, philosophical speculations; karma — fruitive activities; mayāni — predominating; ca — also.
TRANSLATION
The senses are certainly products of the mode of passion in false ego, and therefore philosophical speculative knowledge and fruitive activities are predominantly products of the mode of passion.
PURPORT
The chief function of the false ego is godlessness. When a person forgets his constitutional position as an eternally subordinate part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and wants to be happy independently, he functions mainly in two ways. He first attempts to act fruitively for personal gain or sense gratification, and after attempting such fruitive activities for a considerable time, when he is frustrated, he becomes a philosophical speculator and thinks himself to be on the same level as God. This false idea of becoming one with the Lord is the last snare of the illusory energy, which traps a living entity into the bondage of forgetfulness under the spell of false ego.
The best means of liberation from the clutches of false ego is to give up the habit of philosophical speculation regarding the Absolute Truth. One should know definitely that the Absolute Truth is never realized by the philosophical speculations of the imperfect egoistic person. The Absolute Truth, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is realized by hearing about Him in all submission and love from a bona fide authority who is a representative of the twelve great authorities mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By such an attempt only can one conquer the illusory energy of the Lord, although for others she is unsurpassable, as confirmed in Bhagavad-Gītā (7.14).
LECTURE: REVOLUTION OF THE FALSE EGO - GIVING UP THE DESIRE TO ENJOY
DYNAMICS OF MATERIAL NATURE – MANIFEST & UNMANIFEST
The verse in Bhagavad Gita 7.14 is:
daivīhyeṣāguṇa-mayī
mama māyāduratyayā
māmeva ye prapadyante
māyāmetāṁtarantite
In this chapter, it is wonderfully explained how different aspects of material nature are manifested – the pradhana, mahat tattva, ahamkara and here it has been described how this ahankara or false ego, due to its interaction with different modes of the material nature, gives rise to different aspects of material nature. The Vedic philosophy describes elaborately about different elements of the material nature; and Sankhya philosophy describes in detail about twenty-four different considerations of material nature: the five elements, the five senses, the five objects of the senses, the five working senses (four fives are twenty), then three subtle elements, and then mahat tattva (the basic ingredients for material creation). Prakrti, the material nature, has an element and the material nature becomes manifested due to the transformation of that element known as mahat tattva. Therefore, the material nature has two stages of existence: the material nature is sometimes vyakta and sometimes avyakta. Avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata [Bhagavad Gita 2.28]. This material nature has a stage called avyakta, or unmanifest. The basic state of existence of the material nature is avyakta, however, madhyani, in between the avyakta stages, the material nature becomes manifest. So, how does the material nature become manifest? That also has been very nicely explained by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita [7.5]:
Apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
This apara prakrti, is the inferior nature of Krishna – or we can say, this material nature is the inferior nature of Krishna (apareyam). However, itas tv anyāṁ - beyond this material nature, there is a parā prakrti or a superior nature. prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām and jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat. jiva bhutam, the living entities, are coming from that parā prakrti (that superior nature), and the living entities are sustaining this material nature. Therefore, we can understand that this material nature becomes manifest when the living entities come to this material nature and when the living entities are withdrawn from the material nature then the material nature become avyakta (unmanifest). One important point to note here is that Vaisnavas never accept this material nature to be mithya, or false or unreal. The only thing is, according to Vaisnava understanding, this material nature is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest.
EVERYTHING IS IN ESSENCE SPIRITUAL
This material nature is transformation of the spiritual energy of the Lord. Sarvamkhalvidam brahma [Chandogya Upanisad] – everything is transformation of brahma. Therefore, this material nature is also transformation of brahma; it is not mithya as the Mayavadis claim this material nature to be. They say that this material nature is false, but Vaisnavas say, “No, this material nature is reflection of the spiritual nature.” And sometimes, this material nature is manifest and sometimes the material nature is unmanifest, but prakrti is nitya, which has also been established by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita deals with five aspects: isvara, jiva, prakrti, kala and karma. Out of these five, four are eternal. According to Bhagvad Gita, Isvara is eternal, jiva is eternal, prakrti is eternal and kala is eternal (time is eternal. The only thing that is temporary is: karma – the activities of a living entity. Therefore, we can conclude that this material nature is eternal because this material nature is Krishna’s energy.
KRISHNA SAYS: “MY MAYA”
As Prabhupada pointed out in the Bhagavad Gita [reference 7.14]: daivī hyeṣāguṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Krishna is saying, “This material nature is consisting of three modes – she is endowed with the three modes – and this material nature is Mine; mama māyāduratyayā - This material nature is impossible to surmount.” Krishna mentioned that: daivi. Daivi means divine. Therefore, this material nature is also divine – why? Because this nature also is Krishna’s energy. viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā kṣetrajñākhyā tathāparā [ViṣṇuPurāṇa]. Kṣetra and kṣetrajñā. So, this material nature is viṣṇu-śaktiḥ– the energy of Viṣṇu– which is known as ksetra, and Krishna is the ultimate ksetrajna. And on a limited scale, the living entity’s body is ksetra and the living entity’s spirit soul is ksetrajna. Since, material nature is Krishna’s energy and Krishna is eternal, therefore, material nature is also eternal.
The manifested and unmanifested aspects of material nature have been very appropriately analyzed or exemplified through an example - After monsoon, there is a pool of water in the field – (we notice this especially in Mayapur) and when the field is water-logged, then we can see the reflection of the tree in that pool of water. But, after autumn starts and the field dries, the reflection disappears. Although the reflection sometimes appears and sometimes disappears, the tree is existing, irrespective of the accumulation of water in the field. Similarly, this material nature is the reflection of the spiritual nature, and sometimes this reflection (the material nature) is visible and sometimes the reflection is not there but the real reality – the spiritual sky – is eternally existing.
The living entities actually sustain this material nature, for example, we can consider that individually, as long as we are in this material nature, this material nature will be manifest to us, but as soon as we die, this material nature will disappear, or this material nature will not exist for us. Now, this principle applies to every single individual: as long as we are alive, this material nature is manifest to us, but the moment we die, the material nature will disappear from us. Now, if all the living entities are withdrawn, if there is no living entity in this material nature, then will the material nature be manifest or not? The answer is: No, the material nature will not manifest.
WHEN MAHA VISHNU WITHDRAWS HIS GLANCE
When living entities are withdrawn by Krishna or by Viṣṇu, it is in avyakta stage. The material nature becomes manifest when living entities are injected in the womb of this material nature by the glance of Viṣṇu. Mahaviṣṇu glances at the material nature and as a result, the living entities are projected into this material nature, resulting in material nature becoming agitated; and the material nature becomes manifest. The living entities – those who are in a dormant stage or in a stage of deep sleep (the Sanskrit expression for that is susupti), the living entities who are in a ‘susupti,’ in a deep slumber – they again wake up and when they wake up then all the activities start in the material nature. However, when Viṣṇu withdraws His glance, the total annihilation takes place at that time, and all the living entities are withdrawn back to Viṣṇu. Unfortunately, since those living entities are not Krishna conscious, even though they are very, very close to Viṣṇu, although they go back to Viṣṇu, they do not really realize that they have gone back to Him. Because their consciousness is in the material nature, they wake up in this material nature again after a long, long time. But it doesn’t matter: a long time – when one is asleep then it doesn’t matter whether he slept for one second or whether he slept for one million kalpas. When one is asleep then he doesn’t have any awareness; doesn’t have any consciousness. In this way, the living entities are sustaining this material nature.
THE SPIRITUAL SKY – NO ROOM FOR PRETENTIONS
Often people ask: why Krishna created this material nature? The answer is: Krishna didn’t create this material nature for His own sake. Krishna created this material nature for the sake of the living entities who wanted to enjoy without Him - the rebellious living entities. Krishna, very mercifully, when He saw that these spirit souls are so adamant that they are not going to listen to any of His advice or reasoning, then Krishna said, “Okay, go, and enjoy yourself.” We cannot enjoy without Krishna in the spiritual sky because the spiritual sky is the nature of the Absolute Truth and there is no room for any pretensions. Now, our trying to enjoy without Krishna, or our desire to enjoy independently, is false and unreal desire. It can never be successful. Therefore, there is no room for fulfilling that desire in the spiritual sky. Therefore, Krishna creates this material nature – an illusory nature where the living entities (those who wanted to enjoy independent of Krishna) are getting a chance to enjoy; getting a chance to indulge in so-called enjoyment.
THE MORE HE TRIES TO ENJOY, THE MORE HE SUFFERS
In fact, the more he tries to enjoy, the more he suffers, and in this way, he learns a lesson. Sometimes this material nature is compared to a prison house. The prison house is a place for rectification – reformation – i.e. the living entities who have developed a contaminated consciousness (polluted consciousness), they are actually being rectified and processed in the prison house of this material nature. How does he get processed here? The more he tries to give vent to his desires, the more he endeavors to enjoy independently, the more he suffers. And what is the suffering? The suffering is done by the trident of Devi. Durga has a trident in her hand and with the trident she kills the demons. Here the demoniac propensity actually means the propensity to try to enjoy without Krishna.
A demon means a person who competes with Krishna, so we have the demon in our hearts who wants to compete with Krishna, who wants to enjoy without Krishna; but the more this demon tries to enjoy without Krishna, the more Maya punishes us by piercing us with the trident. Thus, the more we try to enjoy, the more we are punished by the trident of Maya. Now, what are those three śūla in the hand of Durga? It is the tri-tapa-dukha: the threefold miseries (adhyatmika, adhidaivika, and adhibhautika). The more we try to enjoy, the more intense becomes our suffering in this material nature. Therefore, in this way, being constantly pierced or poked by the threefold miseries of Maya, at a certain point, one wonders: “Why am I suffering?”
At that time, when he becomes ārta, really distressed, he prays to Krishna; he turns toward God. Although he may not have the understanding, he may not have any knowledge about God (Krishna), but unconsciously he turns towards Him: “Please deliver me from this suffering.” Actually, everybody has some understanding about God. Everybody, at the heart of his heart, is a devotee. Therefore, when one turns toward Krishna, then this actually is ajñātasukṛti. He turns toward Krishna and immediately Krishna starts to help him. As a result of this help, he becomes convinced about Krishna consciousness. The help from Krishna comes in the form of devotees, in the form of maha-prasad, in the form of Tulasi, in the form of His Deity; in various ways, Krishna helps this living entity to come close to Him.