Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.4 Nitai: “(As His pastimes, that Supreme Personality of Godhead, the greatest of the great,) accepted the subtle material energy, which is invested with the three material modes of nature and which is related with Visnu.” Prabhupada: sa esa prakrtim suksmam daivim gunamayim vibhuh yadrcchayaivopagatam abhyapadyata lilaya So Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He says that sambhavamy atma-mayaya… [Bg. 4.6]. Sambhavamy atma-mayaya. Krsna and the living entities, both of them are the same quality, but when the living entities come in this material world, he is forced by the prakrti, by the material nature. But when Krsna comes, He is not forced, but by His free will, yadrcchaya upagatam… Yadrcchayaivopagatam abhyapadyata lilaya. Sometimes the Mayavadi philosophers, they also take the living entities within this material world as lila. That is not lila. Lila refers to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Never… Nobody says that the living entity has come in this material world for lila. At least, the Vaisnava philosophers do not agree that. It is contradictory. Krsna said that “When I come…” yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata abhyutthanam adharmasya… [Bg. 4.7] We should not accept Krsna’s coming within this material world and our coming in this material world as the same process. Krsna comes as He is. He does not change. And because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, almighty, even if He comes within this material world, the material qualities do not affect Him. That is isanam, isanam. Just like a physician, a doctor, medical man. He goes to the hospital to treat the infected patients. So he is not affected by the infection. He has got such precautionary measures, or he is so equipped with, that he is not infected with the disease. Those who are weak… That is stated in the Bhagavatam: etad isanam isasya. That is isa. Isa means the controller. Rather, if something infectious come in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it becomes purified. Tejiyasam na dosaya, it is said. Another example can be given: just like the sun. The sunshine absorbs water even from urine or any infectious place. Any filthy place, the sun absorbs the water. But the sun is not infected, because it is very powerful. Similarly, if you try to absorb water from the urine, then you will be infected. That is called etad isasya isanam. Even those who are devotees, they are not infected by the three modes of material nature. We have many times repeated this verse of Bhagavad-gita: mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26] So even ordinary living entities, those who are devotees, they are not infected by the three modes of material nature. How we can expect the Supreme Lord can be infected by the three modes of material nature? That is not possible. This is not… Even from ordinary argument, it cannot be accepted. Krsna or Krsna’s incarnation… There are hundred and thousands of incarnation: ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.39] Krsna has innumerable expansions, ramadi. Rama, Lord Ramacandra, is also Krsna’s expansion. Ramadi-murtisu kala. Kala means expansion of the expansion. Just like… I have given this example many times: the original candle, and you ignite another candle. That is second candle, and from the second, from the third; from the third, the fourth. In this way, all the candles, although you say, “This is first candle, second candle, third candle, fourth candle,” but they are all equally powerful. So far candle-power is concerned, they are equally the same. Similarly, Krsna’s incarnation, Krsna is the origin, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam, the origin, person, adi-purusa. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. Still, the expansion of Krsna… Just like the first expansion is Balarama. Then Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha. Then Narayana. Then again Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha. Then Maha-Visnu. Then, from Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu. From Garbhodakasayi Visnu to Ksirodakasayi Visnu. From Ksirodakasayi Visnu there are innumerable expansions, Paramatma expansion. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61] So in this way there is… The Srimad-Bhagavata says, “Expansion of Krsna are so many, just like incessant waves in the river or in the ocean.” So that is one status of expansion. And another expansion is the jiva-tattva. We are also expansion. In the Varaha Purana it is said, svamsa and vibhinnamsa. The vibhinnamsa expansion, they are also innumerable, jivas. We are also expansion of Krsna. But svamsa and vibhinnamsa. So the vibhinnamsa expansion, they are minute, and the svamsa expansion, they are vibhu, unlimited. So in this way we have to understand the distinction between svamsa and vibhinnamsa. When svamsa expansion comes within this material world, He remains vibhu, or prabhu, and the vibhinnamsa expansion is always anu, very small, or servant. One is prabhu, and the other is servant. One is vibhu and the other is anu. So the anu, vibhinnamsa jiva, when he comes within this material world, he becomes entrapped or his that jyoti… In the previous verse you have studied jyoti. Vibhinnamsa living entity, we are also jyoti. Just like spark. The original fire is also fire, and the spark fire, that is also fire. Quality, the same, but a spark, when falls down on your cloth, it can burn a little portion. Similarly, if the whole fire comes, then you become burned into pieces. The same example again: the sun and the sunshine. Sunshine is combination small particle of shining molecules. Similarly, we are also the same spark. Diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya dipayate [Bs. 5.46]. So Krsna and His expansion, They are all the same. And we, vibhinnamsa jiva, we are very small. Therefore our condition is different from Krsna. Krsna is not infected by the material qualities but, we become infected. Na mam karmani limpanti na me karma-phale sprha [Bg. 4.14], it is said in the Bhagavad-gita. The activities in this material world, Krsna remains unaffected, but we, being a small particle, we become infected by the qualities: tribhir gunamayair bhavaih. So those who are too much infected by these material qualities, they cannot understand Krsna. Naham prakasah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavrtah [Bg. 7.25]. They think that “Krsna and we are the same.” But that is not the fact. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. Because Krsna comes as human being, we may think that “Krsna is as good as I am.” No, that should not be… Krsna is vibhu, and we are anu. Krsna is master, and we are servant. That is our eternal relationship. We should not forget that. And sa esa prakrtim suksmam daivim gunamayim vibhuh. Prakrti, prakrti, this prakrti is also Krsna’s. Krsna, the supreme powerful, He can utilize the prakrti as He likes. He is not controlled by prakrti. But we are controlled by prakrti. Because He is vibhu… Vibhu means the great. So you cannot say great maya, or prakrti is greater than Krsna. You cannot say. Then your God is not great. If something is greater than God, then you cannot say God is great. If you accept this, that there is no more greater identity than Krsna, then you can say, “Krsna is great, or…” Krsna cannot be entrapped. Nunam mahatan tatra. If you are smaller, then you can be overpowered by the great. If your strength is lesser than another man… Say, two wrestler. If one wrestler is more powerful, he can defeat the other wrestler. So therefore, here it is said that vibhuh… Krsna is vibhuh, and if He is covered by maya… As the Mayavadi philosopher thinks, that “When God comes within this material world, He is also covered by maya…” He is not covered by maya. If maya is greater than Krsna, then maya can cover Krsna. But that is not the fact. Krsna says, mama maya. That means… Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. If one surrenders to Krsna, then he becomes free from the clutches of maya. So how Krsna can be caught by maya? This is contradictory. If anyone surrenders to Krsna, he becomes free from the influence of maya, simply by surrendering. Then how Krsna can be influenced by maya? It is common sense. By surrendering to Krsna, by becoming a devotee of Krsna, you become free from the clutches of maya. Mam eva ye prapadyante. Simply by surrendering. Mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. So never think that Krsna… The Mayavadi thinks like that, that “We are one, Krsna and we. We are one.” Yes, we are one—in quality. The same thing: just like the fire and the spark, one in burning capacity. Even a small spark of the fire, it can burn. So we are one in the spiritual quality, but in quantity, we are different. Same example: vibhu and anu. This is very nice verse in the Bhagavad-gita, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. In another verse is there, bhakti-yogena manasi samyak pranihite ’male apasyat purusam purnam mayam ca tad-apasrayam Vyasadeva, Vyasadeva, when he was instructed by his spiritual master Narada Muni to write Srimad-Bhagavatam, at that time, by bhakti-yoga meditation, he could see the Supreme Personality of Godhead and this maya also. But it is said, mayam ca tad-apasrayam. Maya is situated in the back side, back side, without any influence upon Krsna, apasrayam, under the control. So maya is always controlled. Krsna is the controller of maya. In another place, in the Brahma-samhita it is said, srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44] Durga is the material energy, and she has got immense power. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktih. She is controlling this creation or this whole universe, srsti, and sthiti, its maintenance, and pralaya. Three things she is controlling. She is so powerful. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44]. The durga-sakti, material energy, she is so powerful, but it is working chayeva, just like shadow. Shadow has no independent capacity; it is dependent on the substance. Substance and shadow. So Krsna is the substance, and the power derived from Krsna, partially exhibited by the durga-sakti. In the Upanisad also it is said, na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of God, He has nothing to do. Na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate na tat-samah. Nobody is equal to Him. Krsna also says in the Bhagavad-gita, mattah parataram nanyat kincit: [Bg. 7.7] “There is nothing superior than Me, the Supreme.” In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also it is said, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, satyam param dhimahi. That is the Supreme Truth. So all the sastras will say that Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has got different expansions unlimited. Although Krsna is one, but He can expand Himself into many, many millions. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rupam. And each rupam is acting in some universe. Just like at this time, here, you find darkness in Bombay, but the sun is present in all his different phases all over the world. Sun rises in the morning at, say, seven o’clock. So this seven o’clock to next seven o’clock, in the evening seven o’clock, you will find, if you immediately take information, somewhere it is seven o’clock, somewhere it is twelve o’clock, somewhere it is six o’clock, somewhere it is… All the time formula of the sun is present, although we are seeing there is no sun. Similarly, Krsna is present throughout the whole universe in some feature. In one universe you will find Krsna is taking birth, Janmastami. In some universe you will see Krsna is playing with the cowherd boys. Somewhere… In this way. Therefore it is called nitya-lila. Nitya-lila means the janmastami-lila is going on permanently somewhere or other. Therefore it is called lilaya, yadrcchaya. So this is a great science, Krsna science, krsna-tattva. So we have to learn from the authorized Vedic literature about Krsna. And that is required in human life. Because if we simply understand the truth about Krsna, janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9], which are divine transcendental, yo janati tattvatah, if you try to understand and if you become fortunate to understand the divine nature of Krsna’s lila, then you become liberated, immediately: tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9]. The Sankhya philosophy of Kapiladeva is explained in this way to understand Krsna. So Krsna, yadrcchayaivopagatam abhyapadyata lilaya. Krsna is lila, and our coming here is not lila. We are forced. We are forced. Karmana daiva-netrena dehopapattaye. Krsna’s body is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. Krsna’s body is not material. Even if we think it is material, still, it is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Just like one can argue that “Here is Krsna’s form. It is made of stone. How it is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha?” But if you know the nature of Krsna, even He appears as stone, still He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. How? Because the stone is also energy of Krsna. That is said in the Upanisad: na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate… So the stone is also another energy of Krsna, another energy of Krsna. And Sri Krsna is all-powerful. He can utilize His energy in anyway. He can utilize His energy in any way. Just like an electrician—he knows how to utilize electricity for the refrigerator and the heater, although the heating process is just opposite of the cooling process. We see opposite. Similarly, material nature and spiritual nature, just opposite, but the same way: the electricity utilize for heating and electricity utilized for cooling. The energy is the same, but it is the manipulation of the engineer which can turn heat into cold and cold into heat. So therefore, for Krsna there is no material nature. Everything is spiritual nature. Even Krsna appears as material form, as stone, as matter, still, one who knows Krsna, he can derive Krsna’s favor from any form. Otherwise the devotees are recommended to worship the Deity in the temple. So do you think that the acaryas and the sastra have advised them to waste their time by worshiping a stone? It is all recommended by the acaryas, big, big acaryas. Just like Ramanujacarya. He established hundreds of temples all over India, Laksmi-Narayana temple especially, the Ramanuja-sampradaya. Similarly, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sampradaya established hundreds of temples of Radha-Krsna. Big, big acarya. Do you mean to say they did mistake? As some people of our India, they say, “There is no need of worshiping in the temple.” No. Why not need? Acaryopasanam, that is recommended, jnana. Acarya… Acaryas, they have established temples, many hundreds of thousands of temples, of Visnu mandira. So this should be worshiped. Otherwise you cannot… Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. If you do not follow acaryas, then… tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah [Bg. 4.34] The acaryas are tattva-darsi. They know how to make you devotee. Therefore they have prescribed, and Krsna in His any condition, life, He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1] Unless Krsna becomes available to your service, then how you can serve? We have, at the present moment, no eyes to see Krsna. Therefore Krsna, out of His causeless mercy, He has appeared in His original form just to receive or accept service from you. You cannot serve Krsna in His virad-rupa. Therefore Krsna has come to you to accept your service in this metal or stone form. But He is not metal or stone. This is called krsna-tattva-jnana. Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih. These things are forbidden. You cannot… Arcye visnau sila-dhih. Krsna or Visnu, the same thing—if you think that this murti is made of stone, sila-dhih, or Salagrama-sila, if you think it is sila or stone, this is naraki-buddhih. This is not recommended. It is… Don’t think. Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih. And those who are guru, spiritual master, Vaisnava, if you think of them that he is ordinary human being, that is forbidden. Ganga-jala or caranamrta, if you think ordinary water, that is forbidden. Vaisnave jati-buddhih. Vaisnava, who has become devotee of Krsna, if you think that he belongs to this caste, he belongs to that caste, that is also forbidden. Naraki-buddhih. These things are naraki-buddhih. At least, those who do not know how Krsna can be transcendental in all His features… Therefore we are forbidden, “Don’t take like that.” It is a fact that this Krsna in this temple is the same origin Krsna who is in the Vaikuntha, but because we have no eyes to see, because we are not mature to see Krsna, therefore we should accept this, I mean to say, negation, that “Don’t think like that.” Then we will be able to understand. So that janma karma me divyam. Nothing is Krsna’s anything material. Everything is spiritual. But by His lilaya, to manifest different lila, He accept different types of body. But they are all Krsna, the same original person. Advaitam acyutam… Acyuta, He does not fall down. Therefore His name is Acyuta. Acyuta means never falls down, never deviates. He is always in His sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1] Not that because He has appeared for my convenience to accept my service in this form which I am seeing or the atheist is seeing, that it is stone. No. He is not stone. Advaitam acyutam. He doesn’t fall. He does not deviate. Otherwise, there are many stories. That, in the Caitanya-caritamrta, the Saksi-gopala. Saksi-gopala temple is there in Jagannatha Puri. Just one station before Puri there is Saksi-gopala station. And there is a temple. Saksi, saksi means the witness. That vigraha, that Deity, was in Vrndavana. He came to give evidence for His devotee. Therefore He is known as Saksi-gopala. So devotee talks. Even if you think, “This is stone,” or “This is metal,” but devotee can talk, and Krsna talks with him. There are many instances. That requires advancement of spiritual life. So this is called tattva, to know about Krsna perfectly. And the informations are there in the sastras. And simply to understand it, we require a little qualification. We require little qualification. Otherwise, everything is there. That qualification is to increase the temper of your devotion, or increase the quality of your love for Krsna. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilo… [Bs. 5.38]. And that love can be increased by the process: adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango ’tha bhajana-kriya tato ’nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah This is step by step. So our this Krsna consciousness movement is giving, educating people how to become Krsna conscious, how to know the science of Krsna. Krsna-tattva-vetta. And anyone who knows Krsna perfectly well… That is… Caitanya Mahaprabhu approves that it doesn’t matter what he is, a scientist. Yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei ‘guru’ haya: [Cc. Madhya 8.128] “Anyone who knows perfectly well the science of Krsna,” krsna-tattva-vetta, “in truth, he is guru.” Nobody can become guru unless he knows the science of Krsna. Therefore it is said in the sastra that sat-karma-nipuno viprah. Vipra means brahmana. Brahmana, he is supposed to know six kind of activities, sat-karma. Sat means six. What is that six kinds of? Pathana pathana. Brahmana must be very learned, very expert, expertly learned in Vedic knowledge. That is called pathana. And pathana: and he must teach others. He must be teacher, not that “I know and keep all the knowledge in my belly.” No. Therefore formerly all the brahmanas they had catuspathi. The brahmana will sit down anywhere and begin teaching others. The student will come. That is brahmana’s business. Pathana… But unless he is himself learned, how he can teach? So therefore, first of all he must be learned, pathana, and then pathana, then he can teach others. Pathana pathana yajana yajana. He must worship the Supreme Lord, and he must teach others how to worship the Supreme. That… What is this, Visvanatha Cakravarti’s verse? Niyunjato ’pi. Sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana **. One of the symptoms of guru is described by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, sri-vigraha aradhana: “He knows how to worship the Deity.” Sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-srngara-tan-mandira -marjanadau **. Dressing the Deity and tan-mandira-marjanadau, and cleansing the temple, keeping everything fit in the temple. So the guru knows it, how to do it, and he teaches his disciple. sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-srngara-tan-mandira-marjanadau yuktasya bhaktams ca niyunjato ’pi… ** He is personally engaged, and he engages disciples. Not that you make a disciple and you keep him aside, “You cannot touch.” This is going on. How? Then how he has become your disciple? If you have accepted him as disciple, how you can keep him aloof? No. “You are sudra. You are mleccha.” Therefore vaisnave jati-buddhih. You cannot make Vaisnava… As soon as he becomes Vaisnava, no more jati. He is transcendental. Sa gunan sama… Jati—brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra—that is within this material world, not in the spiritual world. Spiritual world, everyone is eternal servant of Krsna. There is no more jati, no more distinction. Everything serving. That one. The master is also spiritual, and the servant is also spiritual, and there is no other relationship. Here in the material world we artificially want to become…, we want to become God. But in the spiritual world there is no such conception. In the spiritual world there are also living entities. They are called nitya-siddha. Nitya-siddha means eternally perfect. There are two kinds of living entities: nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha, eternally conditioned. Yesterday we were reading that nitya-supta-buddhih. Here in this material world, however we may be acting, we are sleeping. Ya nisa sarva-bhutanam. They are sleeping. We may show very good activities everywhere, but a saintly person will see that “All these rascals are sleeping.” And these rascals will see the devotee is sleeping. Because they will see that “These rascals, they have taken to Krsna consciousness, doing nothing for their bodily comfort and sense gratification. They are sleeping. They are misusing this life.” And the devotees are seeing that “These rascal, those who are not Krsna conscious, they are sleeping.” So ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami. So this is going on, opposite of… Actually, the conditioned soul in this material world, they are sleeping. Therefore Vedas says, uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata, that “You rascal, you are why sleeping?” They are not sleeping. They are thinking, “I’m so busy.” But that busy-ness is also dream, just like a man sleeping and dreaming that he is very busy. So this kind of life is condemned. Therefore the Veda says, “Get up! Get up! Now you have got this…” Prapya varan nibodhata: “You have got this human form of life. You try to understand Krsna. You try to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Try to understand your relationship and act accordingly. Then your life will be successful. Otherwise you are wasting your time.” Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bombay, December 16, 1974