Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Two

SB2.2.19

TEXT 19

ittham munis tuparamed vyavasthito

vijnana-drg-virya-surandhitasayah

sva-parsninapidya gudam tato ’nilam

sthanesu satsunnamayej jita-klamah

SYNONYMS

ittham—thus, by Brahman realization; munih—the philosopher; tu—but; uparamet—should retire; vyavasthitah—well situated; vijnana-drk—by scientific knowledge; virya—strength; su-randhita—well regulated; asayah—aim of life; sva-parsnina—with the heel of one’s foot; apidya—by blocking; gudam—the air hole; tatah—thereafter; anilam—life air; sthanesu—in the places; satsu—six primary; unnamayet—must be lifted; jita-klamah—by extinguishing material desires.

TRANSLATION

By the strength of scientific knowledge, one should be well situated in absolute realization and thus be able to extinguish all material desires. One should then give up the material body by blocking the air hole [through which stool is evacuated] with the heel of one’s foot and by lifting the life air from one place to another in the six primary places.

PURPORT

There are many duratmas who claim to have realized themselves as Brahman and yet are unable to conquer material desires. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.54) it is clearly explained that an absolutely self-realized soul becomes completely aloof from all material desires. Material desires are based on the false ego of the living being and are exhibited by his childish and useless activities to conquer the laws of material nature and by his desire to lord it over the resources of the five elements. With such a mentality, one is led to believe in the strength of material science, with its discovery of atomic energy and space travel by mechanical vehicles, and by such tiny advancements in material science the false egoist tries to challenge even the strength of the Supreme Lord, who can finish all man’s tiny endeavors in less than a second. The well-situated self, or Brahman-realized soul, perfectly understands that the Supreme Brahman, or the personality of Godhead, is the all-powerful Vasudeva and that he (the self-realized living being) is a part and parcel of the supreme whole. As such, his constitutional position is to cooperate with Him in all respects in the transcendental relation of the served and the servitor. Such a self-realized soul ceases to exhibit his useless activities of attempting to lord it over material nature. Being scientifically well informed, he fully engages himself in faithful devotion to the Lord.

The expert yogi who has thoroughly practiced the control of the life air by the prescribed method of the yoga system is advised to quit the body as follows. He should plug up the evacuating hole with the heel of the foot and then progressively move the life air on and on to six places: the navel, abdomen, heart, chest, palate, eyebrows and cerebral pit. Controlling the life air by the prescribed yogic process is mechanical, and the practice is more or less a physical endeavor for spiritual perfection. In olden days such practice was very common for the transcendentalist, for the mode of life and character in those days were favorable. But in modern days, when the influence of Kali Age is so disturbing, practically everyone is untrained in this art of bodily exercise. Concentration of the mind is more easily attained in these days by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The results are more effective than those derived from the inner exercise of the life air.

SB2.2.20

TEXT 20

nabhyam sthitam hrdy adhiropya tasmad

udana-gatyorasi tam nayen munih

tato ’nusandhaya dhiya manasvi

sva-talu-mulam sanakair nayeta

SYNONYMS

nabhyam—on the navel; sthitam—situated; hrdi—in the heart; adhiropya—by placing; tasmat—from there; udana—soaring; gatya—force; urasi—on the chest; tam—thereafter; nayet—should draw; munih—the meditative devotee; tatah—them; anusandhaya—just to search out; dhiya—by intelligence; manasvi—the meditative; sva-talu-mulam—at the root of the palate; sanakaih—slowly; nayeta—may be brought in.

TRANSLATION

The meditative devotee should slowly push up the life air from the navel to the heart, from there to the chest and from there to the root of the palate. He should search out the proper places with intelligence.

PURPORT

There are six circles of the movement of the life air, and the intelligent bhakti-yogi should search out these places with intelligence and in a meditative mood. Among these, mentioned above is the svadhisthana-cakra, or the powerhouse of the life air, and above this, just below the abdomen and navel, is the mani-puraka-cakra. When upper space is further searched out in the heart, one reaches the anahata-cakra, and further up, when the life air is placed at the root of the palate, one reaches the visuddhi-cakra.

SB2.2.21

TEXT 21

tasmad bhruvor antaram unnayeta

niruddha-saptayatano ’napeksah

sthitva muhurtardham akuntha-drstir

nirbhidya murdhan visrjet param gatah

SYNONYMS

tasmat—from there; bhruvoh—of the eyebrows; antaram—in between; unnayeta—should be brought in; niruddha—by blocking; sapta—seven; ayatanah—outlets of the life air; anapeksah—independent of all material enjoyment; sthitva—by keeping; muhurta—of a moment; ardham—half; akuntha—back home, back to Godhead; drstih—one whose aim is targeted like that; nirbhidya—punching; murdhan—the cerebral hole; visrjet—should give up his body; param—the Supreme; gatah—having gone to.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter the bhakti-yogi should push the life air up between the eyebrows, and then, blocking the seven outlets of the life air, he should maintain his aim for going back home, back to Godhead. If he is completely free from all desires for material enjoyment, he should then reach the cerebral hole and give up his material connections, having gone to the Supreme.

PURPORT

The process of giving up all material connections and returning home, back to Godhead, the Supreme, is recommended herein. The condition is that one should be completely freed from desire for material enjoyment. There are different grades of material enjoyments in respect to duration of life and sensual gratification. The highest plane of sensual enjoyment for the longest period of life is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (9.20). All are but material enjoyments, and one should be thoroughly convinced that he has no need of such a long duration of life, even in the Brahmaloka planet. He must return home, back to Godhead, and must not be attracted by any amount of material facilities. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.59) it is said that this sort of material detachment is possible to attain when one is acquainted with the supreme association of life. Param drstva nivartate. One cannot be freed from material attraction unless he has complete understanding of the nature of spiritual life. The propaganda by a certain class of impersonalists that spiritual life is void of all varieties is dangerous propaganda to mislead the living beings into becoming more and more attracted by material enjoyments. As such, persons with a poor fund of knowledge cannot have any conception of the param, the Supreme; they try to stick to the varieties of material enjoyments, although they may flatter themselves as being Brahman-realized souls. Such less intelligent persons cannot have any conception of the param, as mentioned in this verse, and therefore they cannot reach the Supreme. The devotees have full knowledge of the spiritual world, the Personality of Godhead and His transcendental association in unlimited spiritual planets called Vaikunthalokas. Herein akuntha-drstih is mentioned. Akuntha and vaikuntha convey the same import, and only one who has his aim fixed upon that spiritual world and personal association with the Godhead can give up his material connections even while living in the material world. This param and the param dhama mentioned in several places in the Bhagavad-gita are one and the same thing. One who goes to the param dhama does not return to the material world. This freedom is not possible even by reaching the topmost loka of the material world.

The life air passes through seven openings, namely two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and one mouth. Generally it passes through the mouth at the time of an ordinary man’s death. But the yogi, as above mentioned, who controls the life air in his own way, generally releases the life air by puncturing the cerebral hole in the head. The yogi therefore blocks up all the above-mentioned seven openings, so that the life air will naturally burst forth through the cerebral hole. This is the sure sign of a great devotee’s leaving the material connection.

SB2.2.22

TEXT 22

yadi prayasyan nrpa paramesthyam

vaihayasanam uta yad viharam

astadhipatyam guna-sannivaye

sahaiva gacchen manasendriyais ca

SYNONYMS

yadi—however; prayasyan—maintaining a desire; nrpa—O King; paramesthyam—the governing planet of the material world; vaihayasanam—of the beings known as the Vaihayasas; uta—it is said; yat—what is; viharam—place of enjoyment; asta-adhipatyam—lording it over with eightfold achievements; guna-sannivaye—in the world of three modes of nature; saha—along with; eva—certainly; gacchet—should go; manasa—accompanied by the mind; indriyaih—and the senses; ca—also.

TRANSLATION

However, O King, if a yogi maintains a desire for improved material enjoyments, like transference to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, or the achievement of the eightfold perfections, travel in outer space with the Vaihayasas, or a situation in one of the millions of planets, then he has to take away with him the materially molded mind and senses.

PURPORT

In the upper status of the planetary systems there are facilities thousands and thousands of times greater for material enjoyments than in the lower planetary systems. The topmost planetary systems consist of planets like Brahmaloka and Dhruvaloka (the polestar), and all of them are situated beyond Maharloka. The inhabitants of those planets are empowered with eightfold achievements of mystic perfection. They do not have to learn and practice the mystic processes of yoga perfection and achieve the power of becoming small like a particle (anima-siddhi), or lighter than a soft feather (laghima-siddhi). They do not have to get anything and everything from anywhere and everywhere (prapti-siddhi), to become heavier than the heaviest (mahima-siddhi), to act freely even to create something wonderful or to annihilate anything at will (isitva-siddhi), to control all material elements (vasitva-siddhi), to possess such power as will never be frustrated in any desire (prakamya-siddhi), or to assume any shape or form one may even whimsically desire (kamavasayita-siddhi). All these expediencies are as common as natural gifts for the inhabitants of those higher planets. They do not require any mechanical help to travel in outer space, and they can move and travel at will from one planet to any other planet within no time. The inhabitants of the earth cannot move even to the nearest planet except by mechanical vehicles like spacecraft, but the highly talented inhabitants of such higher planets can do everything very easily.

Since a materialist is generally inquisitive to experience what is actually in such planetary systems, he wants to see everything personally. As inquisitive persons tour all over the world to gain direct local experience, the less intelligent transcendentalist similarly desires to have some experience of those planets about which he has heard so many wonderful things. The yogi can, however, easily fulfill his desire by going there with the present materialistic mind and senses. The prime inclination of the materialistic mind is to lord it over the material world, and all the siddhis mentioned above are features of domination over the world. The devotees of the Lord are not ambitious to dominate a false and temporary phenomenon. On the contrary, a devotee wants to be dominated by the supreme predominator, the Lord. A desire to serve the Lord, the supreme predominator, is spiritual or transcendental, and one has to attain this purification of the mind and the senses to get admission into the spiritual kingdom. With the materialistic mind one can reach the best planet in the universe, but no one can enter into the kingdom of God. Senses are called spiritually purified when they are not involved in sense gratification. Senses require engagements, and when the senses are engaged totally in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they have no chance to become contaminated by material infections.

SB2.2.23

TEXT 23

yogesvaranam gatim ahur antar-

bahis-tri-lokyah pavanantar-atmanam

na karmabhis tam gatim apnuvanti

vidya-tapo-yoga-samadhi-bhajam

SYNONYMS

yoga-isvaranam—of the great saints and devotees; gatim—destination; ahuh—it is said; antah—within; bahih—without; tri-lokyah—of the three planetary systems; pavana-antah—within the air; atmanam—of the subtle body; na—never; karmabhih—by fruitive activities; tam—that; gatim—speed; apnuvanti—achieve; vidya—devotional service; tapah—austerities; yoga—mystic power; samadhi—knowledge; bhajam—of those who entertain.

TRANSLATION

The transcendentalists are concerned with the spiritual body. As such, by the strength of their devotional service, austerities, mystic power and transcendental knowledge, their movements are unrestricted, within and beyond the material worlds. The fruitive workers, or the gross materialists, can never move in such an unrestricted manner.

PURPORT

The materialistic scientist’s endeavor to reach other planets by mechanical vehicles is only a futile attempt. One can, however, reach heavenly planets by virtuous activities, but one can never expect to go beyond Svarga or Janaloka by such mechanical or materialistic activities, either gross or subtle. The transcendentalists who have nothing to do with the gross material body can move anywhere within or beyond the material worlds. Within the material worlds they move in the planetary systems of the Mahar-, Janas-, Tapas- and Satya-loka, and beyond the material worlds they can move in the Vaikunthas as unrestricted spacemen. Narada Muni is one of the examples of such spacemen, and Durvasa Muni is one of such mystics. By the strength of devotional service, austerities, mystic powers and transcendental knowledge, everyone can move like Narada Muni or Durvasa Muni. It is said that Durvasa Muni traveled throughout the entirety of material space and part of spiritual space within one year only. The speed of the transcendentalists can never be attained by the gross or subtle materialists.

SB2.2.24

TEXT 24

vaisvanaram yati vihayasa gatah

susumnaya brahma-pathena socisa

vidhuta-kalko ’tha harer udastat

prayati cakram nrpa saisumaram

SYNONYMS

vaisvanaram—the controlling deity of fire; yati—goes; vihayasa—by the path in the sky (the Milky Way); gatah—by passing over; susumnaya—by the Susumna; brahma—Brahmaloka; pathena—on the way to; socisa—illuminating; vidhuta—being washed off; kalkah—dirt; atha—thereafter; hareh—of Lord Hari; udastat—upwards; prayati—does reach; cakram—circle; nrpa—O King; saisumaram—named Sisumara.

TRANSLATION

O King, when such a mystic passes over the Milky Way by the illuminating Susumna to reach the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he goes first to Vaisvanara, the planet of the deity of fire, wherein he becomes completely cleansed of all contaminations, and thereafter he still goes higher, to the circle of Sisumara, to relate with Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

The polar star of the universe and the circle thereof is called the Sisumara circle, and therein the local residential planet of the Personality of Godhead (Ksirodakasayi Visnu) is situated. Before reaching there, the mystic passes over the Milky Way to reach Brahmaloka, and while going there he first reaches Vaisvanara-loka, where the demigod controls fire. On Vaisvanara-loka the yogi becomes completely cleansed of all dirty sins acquired while in contact with the material world. The Milky Way in the sky is indicated herein as the way leading to Brahmaloka, the highest planet of the universe.

SB2.2.25

TEXT 25

tad visva-nabhim tv ativartya visnor

aniyasa virajenatmanaikah

namaskrtam brahma-vidam upaiti

kalpayuso yad vibudha ramante

SYNONYMS

tat—that; visva-nabhim—navel of the universal Personality of Godhead; tu—but; ativartya—crossing over; visnoh—of Lord Visnu, the Personality of Godhead; aniyasa—due to mystic perfection; virajena—by the purified; atmana—by the living entity; ekah—alone; namaskrtam—worshipable; brahma-vidam—by those who are transcendentally situated; upaiti—reaches; kalpa-ayusah—a period of 4,300,000,000 solar years; yat—the place; vibudhah—self-realized souls; ramante—do enjoy.

TRANSLATION

This Sisumara is the pivot for the turning of the complete universe, and it is called the navel of Visnu [Garbhodakasayi Visnu]. The yogi alone goes beyond this circle of Sisumara and attains the planet [Maharloka] where purified saints like Bhrgu enjoy a duration of life of 4,300,000,000 solar years. This planet is worshipable even for the saints who are transcendentally situated.

SB2.2.26

TEXT 26

atho anantasya mukhanalena

dandahyamanam sa niriksya visvam

niryati siddhesvara-yusta-dhisnyam

yad dvai-parardhyam tad u paramesthyam

SYNONYMS

atho—thereupon; anantasya—of Ananta, the resting incarnation of Godhead; mukha-analena—by the fire emanating from His mouth; dandahyamanam—burning to ashes; sah—he; niriksya—by seeing this; visvam—the universe; niryati—goes out; siddhesvara-yusta-dhisnyam—airplanes used by the great purified souls; yat—the place; dvai-parardhyam—15,480,000,000,000 solar years; tat—that; u—the exalted; paramesthyam—Satyaloka, where Brahma resides.

TRANSLATION

At the time of the final devastation of the complete universe [the end of the duration of Brahma’s life], a flame of fire emanates from the mouth of Ananta [from the bottom of the universe]. The yogi sees all the planets of the universe burning to ashes, and thus he leaves for Satyaloka by airplanes used by the great purified souls. The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years.

PURPORT

It is indicated herein that the residents of Maharloka, where the purified living entities or demigods possess a duration of life calculated to be 4,300,000,000 solar years, have airships by which they reach Satyaloka, the topmost planet of the universe. In other words, the Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us many clues about other planets far, far away from us which modern planes and spacecraft cannot reach, even by imaginary speeds. The statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam are accepted by great acaryas like Sridhara Svami, Ramanujacarya and Vallabhacarya. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu specifically accepts Srimad-Bhagavatam as the spotless Vedic authority, and as such no sane man can ignore the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam when it is spoken by the self-realized soul Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, who follows in the footsteps of his great father, Srila Vyasadeva, the compiler of all Vedic literatures. In the creation of the Lord there are many wonderful things we can see with our own eyes every day and night, but we are unable to reach them equipped by modern materialistic science. We should not, therefore, depend on the fragmentary authority of materialistic science for knowing things beyond the range of scientific purview. For a common man, both modern science and Vedic wisdom are simply to be accepted because none of the statements either of modern science or of Vedic literature can be verified by him. The alternative for a common man is to believe either of them or both of them. The Vedic way of understanding, however, is more authentic because it has been accepted by the acaryas, who are not only faithful and learned men, but are also liberated souls without any of the flaws of conditioned souls. The modern scientists, however, are conditioned souls liable to so many errors and mistakes; therefore the safe side is to accept the authentic version of Vedic literatures, like Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is accepted unanimously by the great acaryas.

SB2.2.27

TEXT 27

na yatra soko na jara na mrtyur

nartir na codvega rte kutascit

yac cit tato ’dah krpayanidam-vidam

duranta-duhkha-prabhavanudarsanat

SYNONYMS

na—never; yatra—there are; sokah—bereavement; na—nor; jara—old age; na—nor; mrtyuh—death; na—nor; artih—pains; na—nor; ca—also; udvegah—anxieties; rte—save and except; kutascit—sometimes; yat—because of; cit—consciousness; tatah—therefore; adah—compassion; krpaya—out of heartfelt sympathy; an-idam-vidam—of those who are ignorant of the process of devotional service; duranta—unsurpassable; duhkha—misery; prabhava—repeated birth and death; anudarsanat—by successive experience.

TRANSLATION

In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and therefore there are no anxieties, save that sometimes, due to consciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of the process of devotional service, who are subjected to unsurpassable miseries in the material world.

PURPORT

Foolish men of materialistic temperament do not take advantage of successive authorized knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is authorized and is acquired not by experiment but by authentic statements of the Vedic literatures explained by bona fide authorities. Simply by becoming an academic scholar one cannot understand the Vedic statements; one has to approach the real authority who has received the Vedic knowledge by disciplic succession, as clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2). Lord Krsna affirmed that the system of knowledge as explained in the Bhagavad-gita was explained to the sun-god, and the knowledge descended by disciplic succession from the sun-god to his son Manu, and from Manu to King Iksvaku (the forefather of Lord Ramacandra), and thus the system of knowledge was explained down the line of great sages, one after another. But in due course of time the authorized succession was broken, and therefore, just to reestablish the true spirit of the knowledge, the Lord again explained the same knowledge to Arjuna, who was a bona fide candidate for understanding due to his being a pure devotee of the Lord. Bhagavad-gita, as it was understood by Arjuna, is also explained (Bg. 10.12–13), but there are many foolish men who do not follow in the footsteps of Arjuna in understanding the spirit of Bhagavad-gita. They create instead their own interpretations, which are as foolish as they themselves, and thereby only help to put a stumbling block on the path of real understanding, misdirecting the innocent followers who are less intelligent, or the sudras. It is said that one should become a brahmana before one can understand the Vedic statements, and this stricture is as important as the stricture that no one shall become a lawyer who has not qualified himself as a graduate. Such a stricture is not an impediment in the path of progress for anyone and everyone, but it is necessary for an unqualified understanding of a particular science. Vedic knowledge is misinterpreted by those who are not qualified brahmanas. A qualified brahmana is one who has undergone strict training under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.

The Vedic wisdom guides us to understanding our relation with the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna and to acting accordingly in order to achieve the desired result of returning home, back to Godhead. But materialistic men do not understand this. They want to make a plan to become happy in a place where there is no happiness. For false happiness they try to reach other planets, either by Vedic rituals or by spacecraft, but they should know for certain that any amount of materialistic adjustment for becoming happy in a place which is meant for distress cannot benefit the misguided man because, after all, the whole universe with all its paraphernalia will come to an end after a certain period. Then all plans of materialistic happiness will automatically come to an end. The intelligent person therefore makes a plan to return home, back to Godhead. Such an intelligent person surpasses all the pangs of material existence, like birth, death, disease and old age. He is actually happy because he has no anxieties of material existence, but as a compassionate sympathizer he feels unhappiness for the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally comes before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of going back to Godhead. All the bona fide acaryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.

SB2.2.28

TEXT 28

tato visesam pratipadya nirbhayas

tenatmanapo ’nala-murtir atvaran

jyotirmayo vayum upetya kale

vayv-atmana kham brhad atma-lingam

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; visesam—particularly; pratipadya—by obtaining; nirbhayah—without any doubt; tena—by that; atmana—pure self; apah—water; anala—fire; murtih—forms; atvaran—by surpassing; jyotih-mayah—effulgent; vayum—atmosphere; upetya—having reached there; kale—in due course of time; vayu—air; atmana—by the self; kham—ethereal; brhat—great; atma-lingam—the real form of the self.

TRANSLATION

After reaching Satyaloka, the devotee is specifically able to be incorporated fearlessly by the subtle body in an identity similar to that of the gross body, and one after another he gradually attains stages of existence from earthly to watery, fiery, glowing and airy, until he reaches the ethereal stage.

PURPORT

Anyone who can reach Brahmaloka, or Satyaloka, by dint of spiritual perfection and practice is qualified to attain three different types of perfection. One who has attained a specific planet by dint of pious activities attains places in terms of his comparative pious activities. One who has attained the place by dint of virat or Hiranyagarbha worship is liberated along with the liberation of Brahma. But one who attains the place by dint of devotional service is specifically mentioned here, in relation to how he can penetrate into the different coverings of the universe and thus ultimately disclose his spiritual identity in the absolute atmosphere of supreme existence.

According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, all the universes are clustered together up and down, and each and every one of them is separately sevenfold-covered. The watery portion is beyond the sevenfold coverings, and each covering is ten times more expansive than the previous covering. The personality of Godhead who creates all such universes by His breathing period lies above the cluster of the universes. The water of the Causal Ocean is differently situated than the covering water of the universe. The water that serves as covering for the universe is material, whereas the water of the Causal Ocean is spiritual. As such, the watery covering mentioned herein is considered to be the false egoistic covering of all living entities, and the gradual process of liberation from the material coverings, one after another, as mentioned herein, is the gradual process of being liberated from false egoistic conceptions of the material gross body, and then being absorbed in the identification of the subtle body till the attainment of the pure spiritual body in the absolute realm of the kingdom of God.

Srila Sridhara Svami confirms that a part of the material nature, after being initiated by the Lord, is known as the mahat-tattva. A fractional portion of the mahat-tattva is called the false ego. A portion of the ego is the vibration of sound, and a portion of sound is atmospheric air. A portion of the airy atmosphere is turned into forms, and the forms constitute the power of electricity or heat. Heat produces the smell of the aroma of the earth, and the gross earth is produced by such aroma. And all these combined together constitute the cosmic phenomenon. The extent of the cosmic phenomenon is calculated to be diametrically (both ways) four billion miles. Then the coverings of the universe begin. The first stratum of the covering is calculated to extend eighty million miles, and the subsequent coverings of the universe are respectively of fire, effulgence, air and ether, one after another, each extending ten times further than the previous. The fearless devotee of the Lord penetrates each one of them and ultimately reaches the absolute atmosphere where everything is of one and the same spiritual identity. Then the devotee enters one of the Vaikuntha planets, where he assumes exactly the same form as the Lord and engages in the loving transcendental service of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of devotional life. Beyond this there is nothing to be desired or achieved by the perfect yogi.

SB2.2.29

TEXT 29

ghranena gandham rasanena vai rasam

rupam ca drstya svasanam tvacaiva

srotrena copetya nabho-gunatvam

pranena cakutim upaiti yogi

SYNONYMS

ghranena—by smelling; gandham—aroma; rasanena—by taste; vai—exactly; rasam—palate; rupam—forms; ca—also; drstya—by vision; svasanam—contact; tvaca—touch; eva—as it were; srotrena—by vibration of the ear; ca—also; upetya—by achieving; nabhah-gunatvam—identification of ether; pranena—by sense organs; ca—also; akutim—material activities; upaiti—attains; yogi—the devotee.

TRANSLATION

The devotee thus surpasses the subtle objects of different senses like aroma by smelling, the palate by tasting, vision by seeing forms, touch by contacting, the vibrations of the ear by ethereal identification, and the sense organs by material activities.

PURPORT

Beyond the sky there are subtle coverings, resembling the elementary coverings of the universes. The gross coverings are a development of partial ingredients of the subtle causes. So the yogi or devotee, along with liquidation of the gross elements, relinquishes the subtle causes like aroma by smelling. The pure spiritual spark, the living entity, thus becomes completely cleansed of all material contamination to become eligible for entrance into the kingdom of God.

Next verse (SB2.2.30)