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adi—the beginning; antau—and the end; asya—of this manifested cosmos or of anything material or visible; yat—that which; madhyam—between the beginning and the end, the sustenance; idam—this cosmic manifestation; anyat—anything other than You; aham—the wrong mental conception; bahih—outside of You; yatah—because of; avyayasya—the inexhaustible; na—not; etani—all these differences; tat—that; satyam—the Absolute Truth; brahma—the Supreme; cit—spiritual; bhavan—Your Lordship.

The manifest, the unmanifest, false ego and the beginning, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation all come from You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because You are the Absolute Truth, the supreme absolute spirit soul, the Supreme Brahman, such changes as birth, death and sustenance do not exist in You.

According to the Vedic mantras, yato va imani bhutani jayante: everything is an emanation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (7.4):

bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.” In other words, the ingredients of the cosmic manifestation also consist of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This does not mean, however, that because the ingredients come from Him, He is no longer complete. purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate: “Because He is the complete whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” Thus the Lord is called avyaya, inexhaustible. Unless we accept the Absolute Truth as acintya-bhedabheda, simultaneously one and different, we cannot have a clear conception of the Absolute Truth. The Lord is the root of everything. Aham adir hi devanam: He is the original cause of all the devas, or demigods. Aham sarvasya prabhavah: everything emanates from Him. In all cases—nominative, objective, positive, negative and so on—whatever we may conceive of in this entire cosmic manifestation is in fact the Supreme Lord. For Him there are no such distinctions as “this is mine, and this belongs to someone else,” because He is everything. He is therefore called avyaya—changeless and inexhaustible. Because the Supreme Lord is avyaya, He is the Absolute Truth, the fully spiritual Supreme Brahman.

SB8.12.6

TEXT 6

tavaiva caranambhojam

sreyas-kama nirasisah

visrjyobhayatah sangam

munayah samupasate

tava—Your; eva—indeed; carana-ambhojam—lotus feet; sreyah-kamah—persons desiring the ultimate auspiciousness, the ultimate goal of life; nirasisah—without material desire; visrjya—giving up; ubhayatah—in this life and the next; sangam—attachment; munayah—great sages; samupasate—worship.

Pure devotees or great saintly persons who desire to achieve the highest goal in life and who are completely free from all material desires for sense gratification engage constantly in the transcendental service of Your lotus feet.

tvam brahma purnam amrtam vigunam visokam

One is in the material world when he thinks, “I am this body, and everything with reference to my body is mine.” Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is the symptom of material life. In the materialistic conception of life, one thinks, “This is my house, this is my land, this is my family, this is my state,” and so on. But those who are munayah, saintly persons following in the footsteps of Narada Muni, simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without any personal desire for sense gratification. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]. Either in this life or in the next, the only concern of such saintly devotees is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus they are also absolute because they have no other desires. Being freed from the dualities of material desire, they are called sreyas-kamah. In other words, they are not concerned with dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), or kama (sense gratification). The only concern of such devotees is moksa, liberation. This moksa does not refer to becoming one with the Supreme like the Mayavadi philosophers. Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained that real moksa means taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead. The Lord clearly explained this fact while instructing Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya wanted to correct the word mukti-pade in Srimad-Bhagavatam, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu informed him that there is no need to correct any word in Srimad-Bhagavatam. He explained that mukti-pade refers to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, who offers mukti and is therefore called Mukunda. A pure devotee is not concerned with material things. He is not concerned with religiosity, economic development or sense gratification. He is interested only in serving the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB8.12.7

TEXT 7

ananda-matram avikaram ananyad anyat

visvasya hetur udaya-sthiti-samyamanam

atmesvaras ca tad-apeksatayanapeksah

tvam—Your Lordship; brahma—the all-pervading Absolute Truth; purnam—fully complete; amrtam—never to be vanquished; vigunam—spiritually situated, free from the material modes of nature; visokam—without lamentation; ananda-matram—always in transcendental bliss; avikaram—changeless; ananyat—separated from everything; anyat—yet You are everything; visvasya—of the cosmic manifestation; hetuh—the cause; udaya—of the beginning; sthiti—maintenance; samyamanam—and of all the directors controlling the various departments of the cosmic manifestation; atma-isvarah—the Supersoul giving direction to everyone; ca—also; tat-apeksataya—everyone depends upon You; anapeksah—always fully independent.

My Lord, You are the Supreme Brahman, complete in everything. Being completely spiritual, You are eternal, free from the material modes of nature, and full of transcendental bliss. Indeed, for You there is no question of lamentation. Since You are the supreme cause, the cause of all causes, nothing can exist without You. Yet we are different from You in a relationship of cause and effect, for in one sense the cause and effect are different. You are the original cause of creation, manifestation and annihilation, and You bestow benedictions upon all living entities. Everyone depends upon You for the results of his activities, but You are always independent.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead says in Bhagavad-gita (9.4):

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” This explains the philosophy of simultaneous oneness and difference, known as acintya-bhedabheda. Everything is the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, yet the Supreme Person is differently situated from everything. Indeed, because the Lord is differently situated from everything material, He is the Supreme Brahman, the supreme cause, the supreme controller. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. The Lord is the supreme cause, and His form has nothing to do with the material modes of nature. The devotee prays: “As Your devotee is completely free from all desires, Your Lordship is also completely free from desires. You are fully independent. Although all living entities engage in Your service, You do not depend on the service of anyone. Although this material world is created complete by You, everything depends on Your sanction. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness come from You. Nothing can be done independently, yet You act independently of the service rendered by Your servants. The living entities depend on Your mercy for liberation, but when You want to give them liberation, You do not depend on anyone else. Indeed, by Your causeless mercy, You can give liberation to anyone. Those who receive Your mercy are called krpa-siddha. To reach the platform of perfection takes many, many lives (bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]). Nonetheless, even without undergoing severe austerities, one can attain perfection by Your mercy. Devotional service should be unmotivated and free from impediments (ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati). This is the position of nirasisah, or freedom from expectations for results. A pure devotee continuously offers transcendental loving service to You, but You may nonetheless offer mercy to anyone, without depending on his service.”

SB8.12.8

TEXT 8

ekas tvam eva sad asad dvayam advayam ca

svarnam krtakrtam iveha na vastu-bhedah

ajnanatas tvayi janair vihito vikalpo

yasmad guna-vyatikaro nirupadhikasya

ekah—the only one; tvam—Your Lordship; eva—indeed; sat—which is existing, as the effect; asat—which is nonexistent, as the cause; dvayam—both of them; advayam—without duality; ca—and; svarnam—gold; krta—manufactured into different forms; akrtam—the original source of gold (the gold mine); iva—like; iha—in this world; na—not; vastu-bhedah—difference in the substance; ajnanatah—only because of ignorance; tvayi—unto You; janaih—by the general mass of people; vihitah—it should be done; vikalpah—differentiation; yasmat—because of; guna-vyatikarah—free from the differences created by the material modes of nature; nirupadhikasya—without any material designation.

My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy. Thus the body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in Bhagavad-gita (7.4–5):

bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
yayedam dharyate jagat

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Thus both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord. Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything. In this regard, the example may be given of gold that has not been molded and gold that has been molded into various ornaments. A gold earring and the gold in a mine are different only as cause and effect; otherwise they are the same. The Vedanta-sutra describes that Brahman is the cause of everything. Janmady asya yatah [Bhag. 1.1.1]. Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The Mayavadis’ differentiation between Brahman and maya is only due to ignorance.

Srimad Viraraghava Acarya, in his Bhagavata-candra-candrika, describes the Vaisnava philosophy as follows. The cosmic manifestation is described as sat and asat, as cit and acit. Matter is acit, and the living force is cit, but their origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in whom there is no difference between matter and spirit. According to this conception, the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetarah: “This cosmic manifestation is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him.” In Bhagavad-gita (9.4) the Lord says:

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” Thus although someone may say that the Supreme Person is different from the cosmic manifestation, actually He is not. The Lord says, maya tatam idam sarvam: “In My impersonal feature I am spread throughout the world.” Therefore, this world is not different from Him. The difference is a difference in names. For example, whether we speak of gold earrings, gold bangles or gold necklaces, ultimately they are all gold. In a similar way, all the different manifestations of matter and spirit are ultimately one in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ekam evadvitiyam brahma. This is the Vedic version (Chandogya Upanisad 6.2.1). There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is. The Vaisesika philosophers, however, because of their Mayavada conception, create differences. They say, brahma satyam jagan mithya: “The Absolute Truth is real, and the cosmic manifestation is false.” But why should the jagat be considered mithya? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat is also truth.

Vaisnavas, therefore, do not consider the jagat to be mithya; rather, they regard everything as reality in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate

prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate

“Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Krsna, one’s renunciation is called yuktam vairagyam. Whatever is favorable for the rendering of service to the Lord should be accepted and should not be rejected as a material thing.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.255–256) The jagat should not be rejected as mithya. It is truth, and the truth is realized when everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. A flower accepted for one’s sense gratification is material, but when the same flower is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by a devotee, it is spiritual. Food taken and cooked for oneself is material, but food cooked for the Supreme Lord is spiritual prasada. This is a question of realization. Actually, everything is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. In this regard, Srila Jiva Gosvami says that although the sun is the only light, the sunshine, which is exhibited in seven colors, and darkness, which is the absence of sunshine, are not different from the sun, for without the existence of the sun such differentiations cannot exist. There may be varied nomenclature because of different conditions, but they are all the sun. The puranas therefore say:

eka-desa-sthitasyagner
jyotsna vistarini yatha
parasya brahmanah saktis
tathedam akhilam jagat

“Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe.” (Visnu Purana 1.22.53) Materially, we can directly perceive the sunshine spreading itself according to different names and activities, but ultimately the sun is one. Similarly, sarvam khalv idam brahma: everything is an expansion of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, the Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB8.12.9

TEXT 9

tvam brahma kecid avayanty uta dharmam eke

eke param sad-asatoh purusam paresam

anye ’vayanti nava-sakti-yutam param tvam

kecin maha-purusam avyayam atma-tantram

tvam—You; brahma—the supreme truth, the Absolute Truth, Brahman; kecit—some people, namely the group of Mayavadis known as the Vedantists; avayanti—consider; uta—certainly; dharmam—religion; eke—some others; eke—some others; param—transcendental; sat-asatoh—to both cause and effect; purusam—the Supreme person; paresam—the supreme controller; anye—others; avayanti—describe; nava-sakti-yutam—endowed with nine potencies; param—transcendental; tvam—unto You; kecit—some; maha-purusam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; avyayam—without loss of energy; atma-tantram—supremely independent.