Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 5: “The Creative Impetus”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Eleven
SB5.11.9
TEXT 9
ekādaśāsan manaso hi vṛttaya
ākūtayaḥ pañca dhiyo ’bhimānaḥ
mātrāṇi karmāṇi puraṁ ca tāsāṁ
vadanti haikādaśa vīra bhūmīḥ
SYNONYMS
ekādaśa—eleven; āsan—there are; manasaḥ—of the mind; hi—certainly; vṛttayaḥ—activities; ākūtayaḥ—senses of action; pañca—five; dhiyaḥ—senses for gathering knowledge; abhimānaḥ—the false ego; mātrāṇi—different sense objects; karmāṇi—different material activities; puram ca—and the body, society, nation, family or place of nativity; tāsām—of those functions; vadanti—they say; ha—oh; ekādaśa—eleven; vīra—O hero; bhūmīḥ—fields of activity.
TRANSLATION
There are five working senses and five knowledge-acquiring senses. There is also the false ego. In this way, there are eleven items for the mind’s functions. O hero, the objects of the senses [such as sound and touch], the organic activities [such as evacuation] and the different types of bodies, society, friendship and personality are considered by learned scholars the fields of activity for the functions of the mind.
PURPORT
The mind is the controller of the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the five working senses. Each sense has its particular field of activity. In all cases, the mind is the controller or owner. By the false ego one thinks oneself the body and thinks in terms of “my body, my house, my family, my society, my nation” and so on. These false identifications are due to the expansions of the false ego. Thus one thinks that be is this or that. Thus the living entity becomes entangled in material existence.
SB5.11.10 TEXT 10 gandhākṛti-sparśa-rasa-śravāṁsi visarga-raty-arty-abhijalpa-śilpāḥ ekādaśaṁ svīkaraṇaṁ mameti śayyām ahaṁ dvādaśam eka āhuḥ SYNONYMS gandha—smell; ākṛti—form; sparśa—touch; rasa—taste; śravāṁsi—and sound; visarga—evacuating; rati—sexual intercourse; arti—movement; abhijalpa—speaking; śilpāḥ—grasping or releasing; ekādaśam—eleventh; svīkaraṇam—accepting as; mama—mine; iti—thus; śayyām—this body; aham—I; dvādaśam—twelfth; eke—some; āhuḥ—have said.
TRANSLATION Sound, touch, form, taste and smell are the objects of the five knowledge-acquiring senses. Speech, touch, movement, evacuation and sexual intercourse are the objects of the working senses. Besides this, there is another conception by which one thinks, “This is my body, this is my society, this is my family, this is my nation,” and so forth. This eleventh function, that of the mind, is called the false ego. According to some philosophers, this is the twelfth function, and its field of activity is the body. PURPORT There are different objects for the eleven items. Through the nose we can smell, by the eyes we can see, by the ears we can hear, and in this way we gather knowledge. Similarly, there are the karmendriyas, the working senses—the hands, legs, genitals, rectum, mouth and so forth. When the false ego expands, it makes one think. “This is my body, family, society, country,” etc.
SB5.11.11 TEXT 11 dravya-svabhāvāśaya-karma-kālair ekādaśāmī manaso vikārāḥ sahasraśaḥ śataśaḥ koṭiśaś ca kṣetrajñato na mitho na svataḥ syuḥ SYNONYMS dravya—by physical objects; sva-bhāva—by nature as the cause of development; āśaya—by culture; karma—by predestined resultant actions; kālaiḥ—by time; ekādaśa—eleven; amī—all these; manasaḥ—of the mind; vikārāḥ—transformations; sahasraśaḥ—in thousands; śataśaḥ—in hundreds; koṭiśaḥ ca—and in millions; kṣetra-jñataḥ—from the original Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; mithaḥ—one another; na—nor; svataḥ—from themselves; syuḥ—are.
TRANSLATION The physical elements, nature, the original cause, culture, destiny and the time element are all material causes. Agitated by these material causes, the eleven functions transform into hundreds of functions and then into thousands and then into millions. But all these transformations do not take place automatically by mutual combination. Rather, they are under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT One should not think that all the interactions of the physical elements, gross and subtle, that cause the transformation of mind and consciousness are working independently. They are under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), Kṛṣṇa says that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart (sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca). As mentioned herein, Supersoul (kṣetrajña) is directing everything. The living entity is also kṣetrajña, but the supreme kṣetrajña is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the witness and order giver. Under His direction, everything takes place. The different inclinations of the living entity are created by his own nature or his expectations, and he is trained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the agency of material nature. The body, nature and the physical elements are under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They do not function automatically. Nature is neither independent nor automatic. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is behind nature.
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” (Bg. 9.10)
SB5.11.12 TEXT 12 kṣetrajña etā manaso vibhūtīr jīvasya māyā-racitasya nityāḥ āvirhitāḥ kvāpi tirohitāś ca śuddho vicaṣṭe hy aviśuddha-kartuḥ SYNONYMS kṣetra-jñaḥ—the individual soul; etāḥ—all these; manasaḥ—of the mind; vibhūtīḥ—different activities; jīvasya—of the living entity; māyā-racitasya—created by the external, material energy; nityāḥ—from time immemorial; āvirhitāḥ—sometimes manifested; kvāpi—somewhere; tirohitāḥ ca—and not manifested; śuddhaḥ—purified; vicaṣṭe—sees this; hi—certainly; aviśuddha—unpurified; kartuḥ—of the doer.
TRANSLATION The individual soul bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have been existing from time immemorial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep [unconsciousness] or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life [jīvan-mukta] can see all these things vividly. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3), kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. There are two kinds of kṣetrajña, or living beings. One is the individual living being, and the other is the supreme living being. The ordinary living being knows about his body to some extent, but the Supreme, Paramātmā, knows the condition of all bodies. The individual living being is localized, and the Supreme. Paramātmā. is all-pervading. In this śloka the word kṣetrajña refers to an ordinary living being, not the supreme living being. This ordinary living being is of two kinds—nitya-baddha or nitya-mukta. One is eternally conditioned and the other eternally liberated. The eternally liberated living being; are in the Vaikuṇṭha jagat, the spiritual world, and they never fall into the material world. Those in the material world are conditioned souls, nitya-baddha. The nitya-baddhas can become liberated by controlling the mind because the cause of conditioned life is the mind. When the mind is trained and the soul is not under the mind’s control, the soul can be liberated even in this material world. When it is liberated, one is called jīvan-mukta. A jīvan-mukta knows how he has become conditioned; therefore he tries to purify himself and return home, back to Godhead. The eternally conditioned soul is eternally conditioned because he is controlled by the mind. The conditioned state and liberated state are compared to the sleeping, unconscious state and the awakened state. Those who are sleeping and unconscious are eternally conditioned, but those who are awake understand that they are eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore even in this material world, they engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service. As confirmed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: īhā yasya harer dāsye. If one takes to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is liberated, even though he appears to be a conditioned soul within the material world. Jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate. In any condition, one is to be considered liberated if his only business is to serve Kṛṣṇa.
SB5.11.13-14 TEXTS 13–14 kṣetrajña ātmā puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ sākṣāt svayaṁ jyotir ajaḥ pareśaḥ nārāyaṇo bhagavān vāsudevaḥ sva-māyayātmany avadhīyamānaḥ yathānilaḥ sthāvara-jaṅgamānām ātma-svarūpeṇa niviṣṭa īśet evaṁ paro bhagavān vāsudevaḥ kṣetrajña ātmedam anupraviṣṭaḥ SYNONYMS kṣetra-jñaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ātmā—all-pervading, present everywhere; puruṣaḥ—the unrestricted controller, who has unlimited power; purāṇaḥ—the original; sākṣāt—perceivable by hearing from the authorities and by direct perception; svayam—personal; jyotiḥ—manifesting His bodily rays (the Brahman effulgence); ajaḥ—never born; pareśaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nārāyaṇaḥ—the resting place of all living entities; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead with six full opulences; vāsudevaḥ—the shelter of everything, manifested and nonmanifest; sva-māyayā—by His own potency; ātmani—in His own self, or in the ordinary living entities; avadhīyamānaḥ—existing as the controller; yathā—as much as; anilaḥ—the air; sthāvara—of nonmoving living entities; jaṅgamānām—and of the moving living entities; ātma-svarūpeṇa—by His expansion as the Supersoul; niviṣṭaḥ—entered; īśet—controls; evam—thus; paraḥ—transcendental; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevaḥ—the shelter of everything; kṣetra-jñaḥ—known as kṣetrajña; ātmā—the vital force; idam—this material world; anupraviṣṭaḥ—entered within.
TRANSLATION There are two kinds of kṣetrajña—the living entity, as explained above, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is explained as follows. He is the all-pervading cause of creation. He is full in Himself and is not dependent on others. He is perceived by hearing and direct perception. He is self-effulgent and does not experience birth, death, old age or disease. He is the controller of all the demigods, beginning with Lord Brahmā. He is called Nārāyaṇa, and He is the shelter of living entities after the annihilation of this material world. He is full of all opulences, and He is the resting place of everything material. He is therefore known as Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By His own potency, He is present within the hearts of all living entities, just as the air or vital force is within the bodies of all beings, moving and nonmoving. In this way He controls the body. In His partial feature, the Supreme Personality of Godhead enters all bodies and controls them. PURPORT This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15). Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. Every living being is controlled by the supreme living being, Paramātmā, who resides within everyone’s heart. He is the puruṣa, the puruṣa-avatāra, who creates this material world. The first puruṣa-avatāra is Mahā-Viṣṇu, and that Mahā-Viṣṇu is the plenary portion of the plenary portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s first expansion is Baladeva, and His next expansions are Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha and Pradyumna. Vāsudeva is the original cause of the brahmajyoti, and the brahmajyoti is the expansion of the rays of the body of Vāsudeva.
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi- “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.” (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.40) The Supreme Personality of Godhead is thus described in Bhagavad-gītā:
mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Bg. 9.4)
This is the position of the plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa as the all-pervading Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.
SB5.11.15 TEXT 15 na yāvad etāṁ tanu-bhṛn narendra vidhūya māyāṁ vayunodayena vimukta-saṅgo jita-ṣaṭ-sapatno vedātma-tattvaṁ bhramatīha tāvat SYNONYMS na—not; yāvat—as long as; etām—this; tanu-bhṛt—one who has accepted a material body; narendra—O King; vidhūya māyām—washing away the infection accumulated because of contamination by the material world; vayunā udayena—by awakening of transcendental knowledge due to good association and study of the Vedic literatures; vimukta-saṅgaḥ—free from all material association; jita-ṣaṭ-sapatnaḥ—conquering the six enemies (the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the mind); veda—knows; ātma-tattvam—spiritual truth; bhramati—he wanders; iha—in this material world; tāvat—until that time.
TRANSLATION My dear King Rahūgaṇa, as long as the conditioned soul accepts the material body and is not freed from the contamination of material enjoyment, and as long as he does not conquer his six enemies and come to the platform of self-realization by awakening his spiritual knowledge, he has to wander among different places and different species of life in this material world. PURPORT When one’s mind is absorbed in the material conception, he thinks that he belongs to a particular nation, family, country or creed. These are all called upādhis, designations, and one has to become freed from them (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]). As long as one is not freed, he has to continue conditioned life in material existence. The human form of life is meant for cleansing away these misconceptions. If this is not done, one has to repeat the cycle of birth and death and thus suffer all material conditions.
SB5.11.16 TEXT 16 na yāvad etan mana ātma-liṅgaṁ saṁsāra-tāpāvapanaṁ janasya yac choka-mohāmaya-rāga-lobha- vairānubandhaṁ mamatāṁ vidhatte SYNONYMS na—not; yāvat—as long as; etat—this; manaḥ—mind; ātma-liṅgam—existing as the false designation of the soul; saṁsāra-tāpa—of the miseries of this material world; āvapanam—the growing ground; janasya—of the living being; yat—which; śoka—of lamentation; moha—of illusion; āmaya—of disease; rāga—of attachment; lobha—of greed; vaira—of enmity; anubandham—the consequence; mamatām—the sense of ownership; vidhatte—gives.
TRANSLATION The soul’s designation, the mind, is the cause of all tribulations in the material world. As long as this fact is unknown to the conditioned living entity, he has to accept the miserable condition of the material body and wander within this universe in different positions. Because the mind is affected by disease, lamentation, illusion, attachment, greed and enmity, it creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within this material world. PURPORT The mind is the cause of both material bondage and liberation. The impure mind thinks, “I am this body.” The pure mind knows that he is not the material body; therefore the mind is considered to be the root of all material designations. Until the living entity is aloof from the association and contaminations of this material world, the mind will be absorbed in such material things as birth, death, disease, illusion, attachment, greed and enmity. In this way the living entity is conditioned, and he suffers material miseries.
SB5.11.17 TEXT 17 bhrātṛvyam enaṁ tad adabhra-vīryam upekṣayādhyedhitam apramattaḥ guror hareś caraṇopāsanāstro jahi vyalīkaṁ svayam ātma-moṣam SYNONYMS bhrātṛvyam—the formidable enemy; enam—this mind; tat—that; adabhra-vīryam—very, very powerful; upekṣayā—by neglecting; adhyedhitam—unnecessarily increased in power; apramattaḥ—one who is without illusion; guroḥ—of the spiritual master; hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; caraṇa—of the lotus feet; upāsanā-astraḥ—applying the weapon of worshiping; jahi—conquer; vyalīkam—false; svayam—personally; ātma-moṣam—which covers the constitutional position of the living entity.
TRANSLATION This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Do this with great care. PURPORT There is one easy weapon with which the mind can be conquered—neglect. The mind is always telling us to do this or that; therefore we should be very expert in disobeying the mind’s orders. Gradually the mind should be trained to obey the orders of the soul. It is not that one should obey the orders of the mind. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say that to control the mind one should beat it with shoes many times just after awakening and again before going to sleep. In this way one can control the mind. This is the instruction of all the śāstras. If one does not do so, one is doomed to follow the dictations of the mind. Another bona fide process is to abide strictly by the orders of the spiritual master and engage in the Lord’s service. Then the mind will be automatically controlled. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva When one receives the seed of devotional service by the mercy of the guru and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s real life begins. If one abides by the orders of the spiritual master, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa he is freed from service to the mind.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Eleventh Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa.” THIS WEB PAGE URL: http://causelessmercy.com/SB5.11.1.htm
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja