Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter One
The Manus, Administrators of the Universe
SB8.1Summary
First of all, let me offer my humble, respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda. Sometime in the year 1935 when His Divine Grace was staying at Rādhā-kuṇḍa, I went to see him from Bombay. At that time, he gave me many important instructions in regard to constructing temples and publishing books. He personally told me that publishing books is more important than constructing temples. Of course, those same instructions remained within my mind for many years. In 1944 I began publishing my Back to Godhead, and when I retired from family life in 1958 I began publishing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Delhi. When three parts of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam had been published in India, I then started for the United States of America on the thirteenth of August, 1965.
I am continuously trying to publish books, as suggested by my spiritual master. Now, in this year, 1976, I have completed the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and a summary of the Tenth Canto has already been published as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, the Eighth Canto, Ninth Canto, Tenth Canto, Eleventh Canto and Twelfth Canto are yet to be published. On this occasion, therefore, I am praying to my spiritual master to give me strength to finish this work. I am neither a great scholar nor a great devotee; I am simply a humble servant of my spiritual master, and to the best of my ability I am trying to please him by publishing these books, with the cooperation of my disciples in America. Fortunately, scholars all over the world are appreciating these publications. Let us cooperatively publish more and more volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam just to please His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.
This First Chapter of the Eighth Canto may be summarized as a description of four Manus, namely Svāyambhuva, Svārociṣa, Uttama and Tāmasa. After hearing descriptions of the dynasty of Svāyambhuva Manu until the end of the Seventh Canto, Mahārāja Parīkṣit desired to know about other Manus. He desired to understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends—not only in the past but at the present and in the future—and how He acts in various pastimes as Manu. Since Parīkṣit Mahārāja was eager to know all this, Śukadeva Gosvāmī gradually described all the Manus, beginning with the six Manus who had appeared in the past.
The first Manu was Svāyambhuva Manu. His two daughters, namely Ākūti and Devahūti, gave birth to two sons, named Yajña and Kapila respectively. Because Śukadeva Gosvāmī had already described the activities of Kapila in the Third Canto, he now described the activities of Yajña. The original Manu, along with his wife, Śatarūpā, went into the forest to practice austerities on the bank of the River Sunandā. They practiced austerities for a hundred years, and then Manu, in a trance, formed prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rākṣasas and asuras then attempted to devour him, but Yajña, accompanied by his sons the Yāmas and the demigods, killed them. Then Yajña personally took the post of Indra, the King of the heavenly planets.
The second Manu, whose name was Svārociṣa, was the son of Agni, and His sons were headed by Dyumat, Suṣeṇa and Rociṣmat. In the age of this Manu, Rocana became Indra, the ruler of the heavenly planets, and there were many demigods, headed by Tuṣita. There were also many saintly persons, such as Ūrja and Stambha. Among them was Vedaśirā, whose wife, Tuṣitā, gave birth to Vibhu. Vibhu instructed eighty-eight thousand dṛḍha-vratas, or saintly persons, on self-control and austerity.
Uttama, the son of Priyavrata, was the third Manu. Among his sons were Pavana, Sṛñjaya and Yajñahotra. During the reign of this Manu, the sons of Vasiṣṭha, headed by Pramada, became the seven saintly persons. The Satyas, Devaśrutas and Bhadras became the demigods, and Satyajit became Indra. From the womb of Sunṛtā, the wife of Dharma, the Lord appeared as Satyasena, and He killed all the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas who were fighting with Satyajit.
Tāmasa, the brother of the third Manu, was the fourth Manu, and he had ten sons, including Pṛthu, Khyāti, Nara and Ketu. During his reign, the Satyakas, Haris, Vīras and others were demigods, the seven great saints were headed by Jyotirdhāma, and Triśikha became Indra. Harimedhā begot a son named Hari in the womb of his wife Hariṇī. This Hari, an incarnation of God, saved the devotee Gajendra. This incident is described as gajendra-mokṣaṇa. At the end of this chapter, Parīkṣit Mahārāja particularly asks about this incident.
SB8.1.1 TEXT 1 śrī-rājovāca svāyambhuvasyeha guro vaṁśo ’yaṁ vistarāc chrutaḥ yatra viśva-sṛjāṁ sargo manūn anyān vadasva naḥ SYNONYMS śrī-rājā uvāca—the King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit) said; svāyambhuvasya—of the great personality Svāyambhuva Manu; iha—in this connection; guro—O my spiritual master; vaṁśaḥ—dynasty; ayam—this; vistarāt—extensively; śrutaḥ—I have heard (from you); yatra—wherein; viśva-sṛjām—of the great personalities known as the prajāpatis, such as Marīci; sargaḥ—creation, involving the birth of many sons and grandsons from the daughters of Manu; manūn—Manus; anyān—other; vadasva—kindly describe; naḥ—to us.
TRANSLATION King Parīkṣit said: O my lord, my spiritual master, now I have fully heard from Your Grace about the dynasty of Svāyambhuva Manu. But there are also other Manus, and I want to hear about their dynasties. Kindly describe them to us. SB8.1.2 TEXT 2 manvantare harer janma karmāṇi ca mahīyasaḥ gṛṇanti kavayo brahmaṁs tāni no vada śṛṇvatām SYNONYMS manvantare—during the change of manvantaras (one Manu following another); hareḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; janma—appearance; karmāṇi—and activities; ca—also; mahīyasaḥ—of the supremely glorified; gṛṇanti—describe; kavayaḥ—the great learned persons who have perfect intelligence; brahman—O learned brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī); tāni—all of them; naḥ—to us; vada—please describe; śṛṇvatām—who are very eager to hear.
TRANSLATION O learned brāhmaṇa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the great learned persons who are completely intelligent describe the activities and appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead during the various manvantaras. We are very eager to hear about these narrations. Kindly describe them. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead has different varieties of incarnations, including the guṇa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, līlā-avatāras and yuga-avatāras, all of which are described in the śāstras. Without reference to the śāstras there can be no question of accepting anyone as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, as especially mentioned here, gṛṇanti kavayaḥ: the descriptions of various incarnations are accepted by great learned scholars with perfect intelligence. At the present time, especially in India, so many rascals are claiming to be incarnations, and people are being misled. Therefore, the identity of an incarnation should be confirmed by the descriptions of the śāstras and by wonderful activities. As described in this verse by the word mahīyasaḥ, the activities of an incarnation are not ordinary magic or jugglery, but are wonderful activities. Thus any incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be supported by the statements of the śāstra and must actually perform wonderful activities. Parīkṣit Mahārāja was eager to hear about the Manus of different ages. There are fourteen Manus during a day of Brahmā, and the age of each Manu lasts for seventy-one yugas. Thus there are thousands of Manus during the life of Brahmā.
SB8.1.3 TEXT 3 yad yasminn antare brahman bhagavān viśva-bhāvanaḥ kṛtavān kurute kartā hy atīte ’nāgate ’dya vā SYNONYMS yat—whatever activities; yasmin—in a particular age; antare—manvantara; brahman—O great brāhmaṇa; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; viśva-bhāvanaḥ—who has created this cosmic manifestation; kṛtavān—has done; kurute—is doing; kartā—and will do; hi—indeed; atīte—in the past; anāgate—in the future; adya—at the present; vā—either.
TRANSLATION O learned brāhmaṇa, kindly describe to us whatever activities the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who created this cosmic manifestation, has performed in the past manvantaras, is performing at present, and will perform in the future manvantaras. PURPORT In Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Personality of Godhead said that both He and the other living entities present on the battlefield had existed in the past, they existed at present, and they would continue to exist in the future. Past, present and future always exist, both for the Supreme Personality of Godhead and for ordinary living entities. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. Both the Lord and the living entities are eternal and sentient, but the difference is that the Lord is unlimited whereas the living entities are limited. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator of everything, and although the living entities are not created but exist with the Lord eternally, their bodies are created, whereas the Supreme Lord’s body is never created. There is no difference between the Supreme Lord and His body, but the conditioned soul, although eternal, is different from his body.
SB8.1.4 TEXT 4 śrī-ṛṣir uvāca manavo ’smin vyatītāḥ ṣaṭ kalpe svāyambhuvādayaḥ ādyas te kathito yatra devādīnāṁ ca sambhavaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-ṛṣiḥ uvāca—the great saint Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; manavaḥ—Manus; asmin—during this period (one day of Brahmā); vyatītāḥ—already past; ṣaṭ—six; kalpe—in this duration of Brahmā’s day; svāyambhuva—Svāyambhuva Manu; ādayaḥ—and others; ādyaḥ—the first one (Svāyambhuva); te—unto you; kathitaḥ—I have already described; yatra—wherein; deva-ādīnām—of all the demigods; ca—also; sambhavaḥ—the appearance.
TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: In the present kalpa there have already been six Manus. I have described to you Svāyambhuva Manu and the appearance of many demigods. In this kalpa of Brahmā, Svāyambhuva is the first Manu. SB8.1.5 TEXT 5 ākūtyāṁ devahūtyāṁ ca duhitros tasya vai manoḥ dharma-jñānopadeśārthaṁ bhagavān putratāṁ gataḥ SYNONYMS ākūtyām—from the womb of Ākūti; devahūtyām ca—and from the womb of Devahūti; duhitroḥ—of the two daughters; tasya—of him; vai—indeed; manoḥ—of Svāyambhuva Manu; dharma—religion; jñāna—and knowledge; upadeśa-artham—for instructing; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; putratām—sonhood under Ākūti and Devahūti; gataḥ—accepted.
TRANSLATION Svāyambhuva Manu had two daughters, named Ākūti and Devahūti. From their wombs, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as two sons named Yajñamūrti and Kapila respectively. These sons were entrusted with preaching about religion and knowledge. PURPORT Devahūti’s son was known as Kapila, and Ākūti’s son was known as Yajñamūrti. Both of Them taught about religion and philosophical knowledge.
SB8.1.6 TEXT 6 kṛtaṁ purā bhagavataḥ kapilasyānuvarṇitam ākhyāsye bhagavān yajño yac cakāra kurūdvaha SYNONYMS kṛtam—already done; purā—before; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kapilasya—Kapila, the son of Devahūti; anuvarṇitam—fully described; ākhyāsye—I shall describe now; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yajñaḥ—of the name Yajñapati or Yajñamūrti; yat—whatever; cakāra—executed; kuru-udvaha—O best of the Kurus.
TRANSLATION O best of the Kurus, I have already described [in the Third Canto] the activities of Kapila, the son of Devahūti. Now I shall describe the activities of Yajñapati, the son of Ākūti. SB8.1.7 TEXT 7 viraktaḥ kāma-bhogeṣu śatarūpā-patiḥ prabhuḥ visṛjya rājyaṁ tapase sabhāryo vanam āviśat SYNONYMS viraktaḥ—without attachment; kāma-bhogeṣu—in sense gratification (in gṛhastha life); śatarūpā-patiḥ—the husband of Śatarūpā, namely Svāyambhuva Manu; prabhuḥ—who was the master or king of the world; visṛjya—after renouncing totally; rājyam—his kingdom; tapase—for practicing austerities; sa-bhāryaḥ—with his wife; vanam—the forest; āviśat—entered.
TRANSLATION Svāyambhuva Manu, the husband of Śatarūpā, was by nature not at all attached to enjoyment of the senses. Thus he gave up his kingdom of sense enjoyment and entered the forest with his wife to practice austerities. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.2), evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ: “The supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” All the Manus were perfect kings. They were rājarṣis. In other words, although they held posts as kings of the world, they were as good as great saints. Svāyambhuva Manu, for example, was the emperor of the world, yet he had no desire for sense gratification. This is the meaning of monarchy. The king of the country or the emperor of the empire must be so trained that by nature he renounces sense gratification. It is not that because one becomes king he should unnecessarily spend money for sense gratification. As soon as kings became degraded, spending money for sense gratification, they were lost. Similarly, at the present moment, monarchy having been lost, the people have created democracy, which is also failing. Now, by the laws of nature, the time is coming when dictatorship will put the citizens into more and more difficulty. If the king or dictator individually, or the members of the government collectively, cannot maintain the state or kingdom according to the rules of Manu-saṁhitā, certainly their government will not endure.
SB8.1.8 TEXT 8 sunandāyāṁ varṣa-śataṁ padaikena bhuvaṁ spṛśan tapyamānas tapo ghoram idam anvāha bhārata SYNONYMS sunandāyām—on the bank of the River Sunandā; varṣa-śatam—for one hundred years; pada-ekena—on one leg; bhuvam—the earth; spṛśan—touching; tapyamānaḥ—he performed austerities; tapaḥ—austerities; ghoram—very severe; idam—the following; anvāha—and spoke; bhārata—O scion of Bharata.
TRANSLATION O scion of Bharata, after Svāyambhuva Manu had thus entered the forest with his wife, he stood on one leg on the bank of the River Sunandā, and in this way, with only one leg touching the earth, he performed great austerities for one hundred years. While performing these austerities, he spoke as follows. PURPORT Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that the word anvāha means that he chanted or murmured to himself, not that he lectured to anyone.
SB8.1.9 TEXT 9 śrī-manur uvāca yena cetayate viśvaṁ viśvaṁ cetayate na yam yo jāgarti śayāne ’smin nāyaṁ taṁ veda veda saḥ SYNONYMS śrī-manuḥ uvāca—Svāyambhuva Manu chanted; yena—by whom (the personality of Godhead); cetayate—is brought into animation; viśvam—the whole universe; viśvam—the whole universe (the material world); cetayate—animates; na—not; yam—He whom; yaḥ—He who; jāgarti—is always awake (watching all activities); śayāne—while sleeping; asmin—in this body; na—not; ayam—this living entity; tam—Him; veda—knows; veda—knows; saḥ—He.
TRANSLATION Lord Manu said: The supreme living being has created this material world of animation; it is not that He was created by this material world. When everything is silent, the Supreme Being stays awake as a witness. The living entity does not know Him, but He knows everything. PURPORT Here is a distinction between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. According to the Vedic version, the Lord is the supreme eternal, the supreme living being. The difference between the Supreme Being and the ordinary living being is that when this material world is annihilated, all the living entities remain silent in oblivion, in a dreaming or unconscious condition, whereas the Supreme Being stays awake as the witness of everything. This material world is created, it stays for some time, and then it is annihilated. Throughout these changes, however, the Supreme Being remains awake. In the material condition of all living entities, there are three stages of dreaming. When the material world is awake and put in working order, this is a kind of dream, a waking dream. When the living entities go to sleep, they dream again. And when unconscious at the time of annihilation, when this material world is unmanifested, they enter another stage of dreaming. At any stage in the material world, therefore, they are all dreaming. In the spiritual world, however, everything is awake.
SB8.1.10 TEXT 10 ātmāvāsyam idaṁ viśvaṁ yat kiñcij jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam SYNONYMS ātma—the Supersoul; āvāsyam—living everywhere; idam—this universe; viśvam—all universes, all places; yat—whatever; kiñcit—everything that exists; jagatyām—in this world, everywhere; jagat—everything, animate and inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—allotted; bhuñjīthāḥ—you may enjoy; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—accept; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the property.
TRANSLATION Within this universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Supersoul feature is present everywhere, wherever there are animate or inanimate beings. Therefore, one should accept only that which is allotted to him; one should not desire to infringe upon the property of others. PURPORT Having described the situation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as transcendental, Svāyambhuva Manu, for the instruction of the sons and grandsons in his dynasty, is now describing all the property of the universe as belonging to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Manu’s instructions are not only for his own sons and grandsons, but for all of human society. The word “man”—or, in Sanskrit, manuṣya—has been derived from the name Manu, for all the members of human society are descendants of the original Manu. Manu is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (4.1), where the Lord says:
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” Svāyambhuva Manu and Vaivasvata Manu have similar duties. Vaivasvata Manu was born of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and his son was Ikṣvāku, the King of the earth. Since Manu is understood to be the original father of humanity, human society should follow his instructions.
Svāyambhuva Manu instructs that whatever exists, not only in the spiritual world but even within this material world, is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present everywhere as the Superconsciousness. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3), kṣetra jñam. cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: in every field—in other words, in every body—the Supreme Lord is existing as the Supersoul. The individual soul is given a body in which to live and act according to the instructions of the Supreme Person, and therefore the Supreme Person also exists within every body. We should not think that we are independent; rather, we should understand that we are allotted a certain portion of the total property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This understanding will lead to perfect communism. Communists think in terms of their own nations, but the spiritual communism instructed here is not only nationwide but universal. Nothing belongs to any nation or any individual person; everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the meaning of this verse. Ātmāvāsyam idaṁ viśvam: whatever exists within this universe is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The modern communistic theory, and also the idea of the United Nations, can be reformed—indeed, rectified—by the understanding that everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is not a creation of our intelligence; rather, He has created us. Ātmāvāsyam idaṁ viśvam. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. This universal communism can solve all the problems of the world.
One should learn from the Vedic literature that one’s body is also not the property of the individual soul, but is given to the individual soul according to his karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. The 8,400,000 different bodily forms are machines given to the individual soul. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” The Lord, as the Supersoul, sits in everyone’s heart and observes the various desires of the individual soul. The Lord is so merciful that He gives the living entity the opportunity to enjoy varieties of desires in suitable bodies, which are nothing but machines (yantrārūḍhāni māyayā). These machines are manufactured by the material ingredients of the external energy, and thus the living entity enjoys or suffers according to his desires. This opportunity is given by the Supersoul.
Everything belongs to the Supreme, and therefore one should not usurp another’s property. We have a tendency to manufacture many things. Especially nowadays, we are building skyscrapers and developing other material facilities. We should know, however, that the ingredients of the skyscrapers and machines cannot be manufactured by anyone but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The whole world is nothing but a combination of the five material elements (tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayaḥ). A skyscraper is a transformation of earth, water and fire. Earth and water are combined and burnt into bricks by fire, and a skyscraper is essentially a tall construction of bricks. Although the bricks may be manufactured by man, the ingredients of the bricks are not. Of course, man, as a manufacturer, may accept a salary from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is stated here: tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ. One may construct a big skyscraper, but neither the constructor, the merchant nor the worker can claim proprietorship. Proprietorship belongs to the person who has spent for the building. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has manufactured water, earth, air, fire and the sky, and one can use these and take a salary (tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ). However, one cannot claim proprietorship. This is perfect communism. Our tendency to construct great buildings should be used only for constructing large and valuable temples in which to install the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then our desire for construction will be fulfilled.
Since all property belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything should be offered to the Lord, and we should take only prasāda (tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ). We should not fight among ourselves to take more than we need. As Nārada said to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira:
yāvad bhriyeta jaṭharaṁ “One may claim proprietorship to as much wealth as required to maintain body and soul together, but one who desires proprietorship over more than that must be considered a thief, and he deserves to be punished by the laws of nature.” (Bhāg. 7.14.8) Of course, we need to be maintained in eating, sleeping, mating and defending (āhāra-nidra-bhaya-maithuna), but since the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, has provided these necessities of life for the birds and bees, why not for mankind? There is no need for economic development; everything is provided. Therefore one should understand that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and with this idea, one may take prasāda. However, if one interferes with the allotments of others, he is a thief. We should not accept more than what we actually need. Therefore, if by chance we get an abundance of money, we should always consider that it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we are getting sufficient money, but we should never think that the money belongs to us; it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be equally distributed to the workers, the devotees. No devotee should claim that any money or property belongs to him. If one thinks that any portion of property of this huge universe belongs to anyone, he is to be considered a thief and is punishable by the laws of nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: no one can surpass the vigilance of material nature or hide his intentions from material nature. If human society unlawfully claims that the property of the universe, either partially or wholly, belongs to mankind, all of human society will be cursed as a society of thieves and will be punished by the laws of nature.
SB8.1.11 TEXT 11 yaṁ paśyati na paśyantaṁ cakṣur yasya na riṣyati taṁ bhūta-nilayaṁ devaṁ suparṇam upadhāvata SYNONYMS yam—He who; paśyati—the living entity sees; na—not; paśyantam—although always seeing; cakṣuḥ—eye; yasya—whose; na—never; riṣyati—diminishes; tam—Him; bhūta-nilayam—the original source of all living entities; devam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; suparṇam—who accompanies the living entity as a friend; upadhāvata—everyone should worship.
TRANSLATION Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly watches the activities of the world, no one sees Him. However, one should not think that because no one sees Him, He does not see, for His power to see is never diminished. Therefore, everyone should worship the Supersoul, who always stays with the individual soul as a friend. PURPORT Offering prayers to Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas, said, alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām antar bahir avasthitam: “Kṛṣṇa, You reside both inside and outside of everything, yet the unintelligent conditioned souls cannot see You.” In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that one can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead through jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ, eyes of knowledge. He who opens these eyes of knowledge is called a spiritual master. Thus we offer our prayers to the spiritual master with the following śloka:
om ajñāna-timirāndhasya “I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.” (Gautamīya Tantra) The guru’s task is to open the disciple’s eyes of knowledge. When the disciple is awakened from ignorance to knowledge, he can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere because the Lord actually is everywhere. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham. The Lord resides within this universe, He resides within the hearts of all living entities, and He resides even within the atom. Because we lack perfect knowledge, we cannot see God, but a little deliberation can help us to see God everywhere. This requires training. With a little deliberation, even the most degraded person can perceive the presence of God. If we take into account whose property is the vast ocean, whose property is the vast land, how the sky exists, how the numberless millions of stars and planets are set in the sky, who has made this universe and whose property it is, we should certainly come to the conclusion that there is a proprietor of everything. When we claim proprietorship over a certain piece of land, whether individually or for our families or nations, we should also consider how we became the proprietors. The land was there before our birth, before we came to the land. How did it become our property? Such deliberation will help us understand that there is a supreme proprietor of everything—the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Supreme Godhead is always awake. In the conditioned stage we forget things because we change our bodies, but because the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not change His body, He remembers past, present and future. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.1), imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam: “I spoke this science of God—Bhagavad-gītā—to the sun-god at least forty million years ago.” When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa how He could remember incidents that had taken place so long ago, the Lord answered that Arjuna was also present at that time. Because Arjuna is Kṛṣṇa’s friend, wherever Kṛṣṇa goes, Arjuna goes. But the difference is that Kṛṣṇa remembers everything, whereas the living entity like Arjuna, being a minute particle of the Supreme Lord, forgets. Therefore it is said, the Lord’s vigilance is never diminished. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15). Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature is always present within the hearts of all living entities, and from Him come memory, knowledge and forgetfulness. This is also indicated in this verse by the word suparṇam, which means “friend.” In the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.6) it is therefore said, dvā suparṇa-sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte: two birds are sitting on the same tree as friends. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other is simply observing. This observing bird is always present as a friend to the eating bird and giving him remembrance of things he wanted to do. Thus if we take into account the Supreme Personality of Godhead in our daily affairs, we can see Him or at least perceive His presence everywhere.
The words cakṣur yasya na riṣyati mean that although we cannot see Him, this does not mean that He cannot see us. Nor does He die when the cosmic manifestation is annihilated. The example is given in this connection that the sunshine is present when the sun is present, but when the sun is not present, or when we cannot see the sun, this does not mean that the sun is lost. The sun is there, but we cannot see it. Similarly, although we cannot see the Supreme Personality of Godhead in our present darkness, our lack of knowledge, He is always present, seeing our activities. As the Paramātmā, He is the witness and adviser (upadraṣṭā and anumantā). Therefore, by following the instructions of the spiritual master and studying authorized literatures, one can understand that God is present before us, seeing everything, although we have no eyes with which to see Him.
SB8.1.12 TEXT 12 na yasyādy-antau madhyaṁ ca svaḥ paro nāntaraṁ bahiḥ viśvasyāmūni yad yasmād viśvaṁ ca tad ṛtaṁ mahat SYNONYMS na—neither; yasya—of whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); ādi—a beginning; antau—end; madhyam—middle; ca—also; svaḥ—own; paraḥ—others; na—nor; antaram—inside; bahiḥ—outside; viśvasya—of the whole cosmic manifestation; amūni—all such considerations; yat—whose form; yasmāt—from He who is the cause of everything; viśvam—the whole universe; ca—and; tat—all of them; ṛtam—truth; mahat—very, very great.
TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning, no end and no middle. Nor does He belong to a particular person or nation. He has no inside or outside. The dualities found within this material world, such as beginning and end, mine and theirs, are all absent from the personality of the Supreme Lord. The universe, which emanates from Him, is another feature of the Lord. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the ultimate truth, and He is complete in greatness. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1):
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ “Kṛṣṇa, known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes.” For the Lord’s existence there is no cause, for He is the cause of everything. He is in everything (mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam), He is expanded in everything, but He is not everything. He is acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different. That is explained in this verse. In the material condition we have a conception of beginning, end and middle, but for the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are no such things. The universal cosmic manifestation is also the virāṭ-rūpa that was shown to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore, since the Lord is present everywhere and all the time, He is the Absolute Truth and the greatest. He is complete in greatness. God is great, and how He is great is explained here.
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proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
tāvat svatvaṁ hi dehinām
adhikaṁ yo ’bhimanyeta
sa steno daṇḍam arhati
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam