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asisrpsoh—desiring to go everywhere; purah—in different bodies; puryah—from one body; nabhi-dvaram—the navel or abdominal hole; apanatah—was manifested; tatra—thereupon; apanah—stopping of the vital force; tatah—thereafter; mrtyuh—death; prthaktvam—separately; ubhaya—both; asrayam—shelter.

Thereafter, when He desired to move from one body to another, the navel and the air of departure and death were combinedly created. The navel is the shelter for both, namely death and the separating force.

The prana-vayu continues the life, and the apana-vayu stops the living force. Both the vibrations are generated from the abdominal hole, the navel. This navel is the joint from one body to the other. Lord Brahma was born of the abdominal hole of Garbhodakasayi Visnu as a separate body, and the same principle is followed even in the birth of any ordinary body. The body of the child develops from the body of the mother, and when the child is separated from the body of the mother, it is separated by cutting the navel joint. And that is the way the Supreme Lord manifested Himself as separated many. The living entities are therefore separated parts, and thus they have no independence.

SB2.10.29

TEXT 29

aditsor anna-pananam

asan kuksy-antra-nadayah

nadyah samudras ca tayos

tustih pustis tad-asraye

aditsoh—desiring to have; anna-pananam—of food and drink; asan—there became; kuksi—the abdomen; antra—the intestines; nadayah—and the arteries; nadyah—the rivers; samudrah—seas; ca—also; tayoh—of them; tustih—sustenance; pustih—metabolism; tat—of them; asraye—the source.

When there was a desire to have food and drink, the abdomen and the intestines and also the arteries became manifested. The rivers and seas are the source of their sustenance and metabolism.

The controlling deities of the intestines are the rivers, and those of the arteries, the seas. Fulfillment of the belly with food and drink is the cause of sustenance, and the metabolism of the food and drink replaces the waste of the bodily energies. Therefore, the body’s health is dependent on healthy actions of the intestines and the arteries. The rivers and the seas, being the controlling deities of the two, keep the intestines and the arteries in healthy order.

SB2.10.30

TEXT 30

nididhyasor atma-mayam

hrdayam nirabhidyata

tato manas candra iti

sankalpah kama eva ca

nididhyasoh—being desirous to know; atma-mayam—own energy; hrdayam—the location of the mind; nirabhidyata—was manifested; tatah—thereafter; manah—the mind; candrah—the controlling deity of the mind, the moon; iti—thus; sankalpah—determination; kamah—desire; eva—as much as; ca—also.

When there was a desire to think about the activities of His own energy, then the heart (the seat of the mind), the mind, the moon, determination and all desire became manifested.

tvak-carma-mamsa-rudhira-

The heart of every living entity is the seat of the Supersoul, Paramatma, a plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without His presence the living entity cannot get into the working energy according to his past deeds. The living entities who are conditioned in the material world are manifested in the creation in terms of respective inclinations inherent in them, and the requisite material body is offered to each and every one of them by the material energy under the direction of the Supersoul. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita (9.10). When, therefore, the Supersoul is situated in the heart of the conditioned soul, the requisite mind is manifested in the conditioned soul, and he becomes conscious of his occupation as one is conscious of his duty after waking up from slumber. Therefore the material mind of the living entity develops when the Supersoul sits on his heart, after which the mind, the controlling deity (moon), and then the activities of the mind (namely thinking, feeling and willing) all take place. The activities of the mind cannot begin without the manifestation of the heart, and the heart becomes manifested when the Lord wants to see the activities of the material creation.

SB2.10.31

TEXT 31

medo-majjasthi-dhatavah

bhumy-ap-tejomayah sapta

prano vyomambu-vayubhih

tvak—the thin layer on the skin; carma—skin; mamsa—flesh; rudhira—blood; medah—fat; majja—marrow; asthi—bone; dhatavah—elements; bhumi—earth; ap—water; tejah—fire; mayah—predominating; sapta—seven; pranah—breathing air; vyoma—sky; ambu—water; vayubhih—by the air.

The seven elements of the body, namely the thin layer on the skin, the skin itself, the flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bone, are all made of earth, water and fire, whereas the life breath is produced by the sky, water and air.

The construction of the whole material world is prominently made by three elements, namely earth, water and fire. But the living force is produced by sky, air and water. So water is the common element in both the gross and subtle forms of all material creation, and it should be noted herewith that due to necessity, water, being most prominent in the material creation, is the principal element of all the five. This material body is thus an embodiment of the five elements, and the gross manifestation is perceived because of three, namely earth, water, and fire. Sensations of touch are perceived due to the thin layer on the skin, and bone is as good as hard stone. The breathing air of life is produced of sky, air and water, and therefore open air, regular bath and ample space in which to live are favorable for healthy vitality. Fresh produce from the earth like grains and vegetables, as well as fresh water and heat, is good for the upkeep of the gross body.

SB2.10.32

TEXT 32

gunatmakanindriyani

bhutadi-prabhava gunah

manah sarva-vikaratma

buddhir vijnana-rupini

guna-atmakani—attached to the qualities; indriyani—the senses; bhuta-adi—material ego; prabhavah—influenced by; gunah—the modes of material nature; manah—the mind; sarva—all; vikara—affection (happiness and distress); atma—form; buddhih—intelligence; vijnana—deliberation; rupini—featuring.

The sense organs are attached to the modes of material nature, and the modes of material nature are products of the false ego. The mind is subjected to all kinds of material experiences (happiness and distress), and the intelligence is the feature of the mind’s deliberation.

Illusioned by the material nature, the living entity identifies with false ego. More clearly, when the living entity is entrapped by the material body, he at once identifies with the bodily relationships, forgetting his own identity as spirit soul. This false ego associates with different modes of material nature, and thus the senses become attached to the modes of material nature. Mind is the instrument for feeling different material experiences, but intelligence is deliberative and can change everything for the better. The intelligent person, therefore, can attain salvation from the illusion of material existence by proper use of intelligence. An intelligent person can detect the awkward position of material existence and thus begin to inquire as to what he is, why he is subjected to different kinds of miseries, and how to get rid of all miseries, and thus, by good association, an advanced intelligent person can turn towards the better life of self-realization. It is advised, therefore, that an intelligent person associate with the great sages and saints who are on the path of salvation. By such association, one can receive instructions which are able to slacken the conditioned soul’s attachment for matter, and thus the intelligent man gradually gets rid of the illusion of matter and false ego and is promoted to the real life of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

SB2.10.33

TEXT 33

etad bhagavato rupam

sthulam te vyahrtam maya

mahy-adibhis cavaranair

astabhir bahir avrtam

etat—all these; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; rupam—form; sthulam—gross; te—unto you; vyahrtam—explained; maya—by me; mahi—the planets; adibhih—and so on; ca—unlimitedly; avaranaih—by coverings; astabhih—by eight; bahih—external; avrtam—covered.

Thus by all this, the external feature of the Personality of Godhead is covered by gross forms such as those of planets, which were explained to you by me.

As explained in the Bhagavad-gita (7.4), the separated material energy of the Personality of Godhead is covered by eight kinds of material coverings: earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego. All these are emanations from the Personality of Godhead as His external energy. These coverings are just like the covering of clouds for the sun. The cloud is a creation of the sun, yet it actually covers the eyes so that one cannot see the sun. The sun cannot be covered by the clouds. The cloud can at utmost extend a few hundreds of miles in the sky, but the sun is far greater than millions of miles. So a hundred-mile covering is not competent to cover millions of miles. Therefore, one of the various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot, of course, cover the Lord. But these coverings are created by Him to cover the eyes of the conditioned souls who want to lord it over the material nature. Actually the conditioned souls are covered by the illusory creative cloud of matter, and the Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to their eyes. Because they have no eyes of transcendental vision and because they cannot see the Personality of Godhead, they therefore deny the existence of the Lord and the transcendental form of the Lord. The covering of the gigantic material feature is accepted by such men with a poor fund of knowledge, and how this is so is explained in the following verse.

SB2.10.34

TEXT 34

atah param suksmatamam

avyaktam nirvisesanam

anadi-madhya-nidhanam

nityam van-manasah param

atah—therefore; param—transcendental; suksmatamam—finer than the finest; avyaktam—unmanifested; nirvisesanam—without material features; anadi—without beginning; madhya—without an intermediate stage; nidhanam—without end; nityam—eternal; vak—words; manasah—of the mind; param—transcendental.

Therefore beyond this [gross manifestation] is a transcendental manifestation finer than the finest form. It has no beginning, no intermediate stage and no end; therefore it is beyond the limits of expression or mental speculation and is distinct from the material conception.

The gross external body of the Supreme is manifested at certain intervals, and thus the external feature or form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not the eternal form of the Lord, which has no beginning, no intermediate stage and no end. Anything which has a beginning, interim and end is called material. The material world is begun from the Lord, and thus the form of the Lord, before the beginning of the material world, is certainly transcendental to the finest, or the finer material conception. The ether in the material world is considered to be the finest. Finer than the ether is mind, intelligence, and false ego. But all eight of the outward coverings are explained as outer coverings of the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is therefore beyond the expression and speculation of the material conception. He is certainly transcendental to all material conceptions. This is called nirvisesanam. One should not, however, misunderstand nirvisesanam as being without any transcendental qualifications. Visesanam means qualities. Therefore nir added to it means that he has no material qualities or variegatedness. This nullifying expression is described in four transcendental qualifications, namely unmanifested, transcendental, eternal, and beyond the conception of mind or word. Beyond the limits of words means negation of the material conception. Unless one is transcendentally situated, it is not possible to know the transcendental form of the Lord.

SB2.10.35

TEXT 35

amuni bhagavad-rupe

maya te hy anuvarnite

ubhe api na grhnanti

maya-srste vipascitah

amuni—all these; bhagavat—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rupe—in the forms; maya—by me; te—unto you; hi—certainly; anuvarnite—described respectively; ubhe—both; api—also; na—never; grhnanti—accepts; maya—external; srste—being so manifested; vipah-citah—the learned one who knows.

Neither of the above forms of the Lord, as just described unto you from the material angle of vision, is accepted by the pure devotees of the Lord who know Him well.

The impersonalists think of the Absolute Personality of Godhead in two different ways, as above mentioned. On the one hand they worship the Lord in His visva-rupa, or all-pervading universal form, and on the other they think of the Lord’s unmanifested, indescribable, subtle form. The theories of pantheism and monism are respectively applicable to these two conceptions of the Supreme as gross and subtle, but both of them are rejected by the learned pure devotees of the Lord because they are aware of the factual position. This is very clearly mentioned in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, which records Arjuna’s experience of the visva-rupa of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna.

adrsta-purvam hrsito ’smi drstva
bhayena ca pravyathitam mano me
tad eva me darsaya deva rupam
prasida devesa jagan-nivasa

(Bg. 11.45)

Arjuna, as a pure devotee of the Lord, never previously saw the contemplated universal form of the Lord (visva-rupa), but when he did see it, his curiosities were satisfied. But he was not happy to see such a form of the Lord because of his attachment as a pure devotee. He was afraid to see the gigantic form of the Lord. He therefore prayed to the Lord to assume His four-handed Narayana or Krsna form, which alone could please Arjuna. Undoubtedly the Lord has the supreme potency to exhibit Himself in multifarious forms, but the pure devotees of the Lord are interested in His forms as eternally exhibited in the abode of the Lord, known as the tripad-vibhuti or kingdom of God. The Lord in the tripad-vibhuti abode exhibits Himself in two forms, either with four hands or with two hands. The visva-rupa exhibited in the material manifestation has unlimited hands and unlimited dimensions with everything unlimited. The pure devotees of the Lord worship Him in His Vaikuntha forms as Narayana or Krsna. Sometimes the same Vaikuntha forms of the Lord are in the material world also by His grace as Sri Rama, Sri Krsna, Sri Narasimhadeva, etc., and thus the pure devotees also worship them. Usually the features shown in the material world have no existence in the Vaikuntha planets, and thus they are not accepted by the pure devotees. What the pure devotees worship from the very beginning are eternal forms of the Lord existing in the Vaikuntha planets. The nondevotee impersonalists imagine the material forms of the Lord, and ultimately they merge in the impersonal brahmajyoti of the Lord, whereas the pure devotees of the Lord are worshipers of the Lord both in the beginning and also in the perfect stage of salvation, eternally. The worship of the pure devotee never stops, whereas the worship of the impersonalist stops after his attainment of salvation, when he merges in the impersonal form of the Lord known as the brahmajyoti. Therefore the pure devotees of the Lord are described here as vipascita, or the learned who are in the knowledge of the Lord perfectly.

SB2.10.36

TEXT 36

sa vacya-vacakataya

bhagavan brahma-rupa-dhrk

nama-rupa-kriya dhatte

sakarmakarmakah parah

sah—He; vacya—by His forms and activities; vacakataya—by His transcendental qualities and entourage; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; brahma—absolute; rupa-dhrk—by accepting visible forms; nama—name; rupa—form; kriya—pastimes; dhatte—accepts; sa-karma—engaged in work; akarmakah—without being affected; parah—transcendence.

He, the Personality of Godhead, manifests Himself in a transcendental form, being the subject of His transcendental name, quality, pastimes, entourage and transcendental variegatedness. Although He is unaffected by all such activities, He appears to be so engaged.

Whenever there is a need of material creation, the transcendental Personality of Godhead accepts forms in the material world for creation, maintenance and destruction. One should be intelligent enough to know His activities in truth and not be biased to conclude that He descends to the material world by accepting a form created by material nature. Any form accepted from the material nature has its affection for everything done in the material world. A conditioned soul who accepts a material form for undergoing a certain term of material activities is subjected to the laws of matter. But here in this verse it is clearly stated that although the forms and activities of the Lord appear to be the same as those of a conditioned soul, they are supernatural and impossible for the conditioned soul. He, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always unaffected by such activities. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.14) the Lord says:

na mam karmani limpanti
na me karma-phale sprha
iti mam yo ’bhijanati
karmabhir na sa badhyate

The Lord is never affected by the activities which He apparently performs by His different incarnations and personalities, nor does He have any desire to achieve success by fruitive activities. The Lord is full by His different potencies of wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, and thus He has no reason for physical exertion like the conditioned soul. Therefore an intelligent person who can distinguish between the transcendental activities of the Lord and the activities of the conditioned souls is also not bound by the reactions of activities. The Lord as Visnu, Brahma and Siva conducts the three modes of material nature. From Visnu is born Brahma, and from Brahma is born Siva. Sometimes Brahma is a separated part of Visnu, and sometimes Brahma is Visnu Himself. Thus Brahma creates the different species of life all over the universe, which means that the Lord creates the whole manifestation either by Himself or through the agency of His authorized deputies.

SB2.10.37-40

TEXTS 37–40

praja-patin manun devan

rsin pitr-ganan prthak

siddha-carana-gandharvan

vidyadhrasura-guhyakan

kinnarapsaraso nagan

sarpan kimpurusan naran

matr raksah-pisacams ca

preta-bhuta-vinayakan

kusmandonmada-vetalan

yatudhanan grahan api

khagan mrgan pasun vrksan

girin nrpa sarisrpan

dvi-vidhas catur-vidha ye ’nye

jala-sthala-nabhaukasah

kusalakusala misrah

karmanam gatayas tv imah

praja-patin—Brahma and his sons like Daksa and others; manun—the periodical heads like Vaivasvata Manu; devan—like Indra, Candra and Varuna; rsin—like Bhrgu and Vasistha; pitr-ganan—the inhabitants of the Pita planets; prthak—separately; siddha—the inhabitants of the Siddha planet; carana—the inhabitants of the Carana planet; gandharvan—the inhabitants of the Gandharva planets; vidyadhra—the inhabitants of the Vidyadhara planet; asura—the atheists; guhyakan—the inhabitants of the Yaksa planet; kinnara—the inhabitants of the Kinnara planet; apsarasah—the beautiful angels of the Apsara planet; nagan—the serpentine inhabitants of Nagaloka; sarpan—the inhabitants of Sarpaloka (snakes); kimpurusan—the monkey-shaped inhabitants of the Kimpurusa planet; naran—the inhabitants of earth; matr—the inhabitants of Matrloka; raksah—the inhabitants of the demoniac planet; pisacan—the inhabitants of Pisacaloka; ca—also; preta—the inhabitants of Pretaloka; bhuta—the evil spirits; vinayakan—the goblins; kusmanda—will-o’-the-wisp; unmada—lunatics; vetalan—the jinn; yatudhanan—a particular type of evil spirit; grahan—the good and evil stars; api—also; khagan—the birds; mrgan—the forest animals; pasun—the household animals; vrksan—the ghosts; girin—the mountains; nrpa—O King; sarisrpan—reptiles; dvi-vidhah—the moving and the standing living entities; catuh-vidhah—living entities born from embryos, eggs, perspiration and seeds; ye—others; anye—all; jala—water; sthala—land; nabha-okasah—birds; kusala—in happiness; akusalah—in distress; misrah—in mixed happiness and distress; karmanam—according to one’s own past deeds; gatayah—as result of; tu—but; imah—all of them.

O King, know from me that all living entities are created by the Supreme Lord according to their past deeds. This includes Brahma and his sons like Daksa, the periodical heads like Vaivasvata Manu, the demigods like Indra, Candra and Varuna, the great sages like Bhrgu, Vyasa and Vasistha, the inhabitants of Pitrloka and Siddhaloka, the Caranas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, Asuras, Yaksas, Kinnaras and angels, the serpentines, the monkey-shaped Kimpurusas, the human beings, the inhabitants of Matrloka, the demons, Pisacas, ghosts, spirits, lunatics and evil spirits, the good and evil stars, the goblins, the animals in the forest, the birds, the household animals, the reptiles, the mountains, the moving and standing living entities, the living entities born from embryos, from eggs, from perspiration and from seeds, and all others, whether they be in the water, land or sky, in happiness, in distress or in mixed happiness and distress. All of them, according to their past deeds, are created by the Supreme Lord.

The varieties of living entities are mentioned in this list, and, with no exception from the topmost planet down to the lowest planet of the universe, all of them in different species of life are created by the Almighty Father, Visnu. Therefore no one is independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gita (14.4) the Lord therefore claims all living entities as His offspring in the following verse:

sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita

The material nature is compared to the mother. Although every living being is seen to come out of the mother’s body, it is still a fact that the mother is not the ultimate cause of such a birth. The father is the ultimate cause of birth. Without the father’s seed, no mother can give birth to a child. Therefore the living beings in different varieties of forms and positions within the innumerable universes are all born of the seeds of the Almighty Father, the Personality of Godhead, and only to the man with a poor fund of knowledge they appear to be born of the material nature. Being under the material energy of the Supreme Lord, all living entities beginning from Brahma down to the insignificant ant are manifested in different bodies according to their past deeds.

The material nature is one of the energies of the Lord (Bg. 7.4). The material nature is inferior in comparison to the living entities, the superior nature. The superior nature and inferior nature of the Lord combine to manifest all universal affairs.

Some of the living entities are relatively happy in better conditions of life, whereas others are in distressed conditions of life. But factually, none of them are actually happy in material conditional life. No one can be happy in prison life, although one may be a first-class prisoner and another a third-class prisoner. The intelligent person should not try to be promoted from third-class prison life to first-class prison life, but should try to be released from the prison altogether. One may be promoted to first-class prisoner, but the same first-class prisoner is again degraded to a third-class prisoner in the next term. One should try to be free from prison life and go back home, back to Godhead. That is the real goal for all types of living entities.

SB2.10.41

TEXT 41

sattvam rajas tama iti

tisrah sura-nr-narakah

tatrapy ekaikaso rajan

bhidyante gatayas tridha

yadaikaikataro ’nyabhyam

sva-bhava upahanyate

sattvam—the mode of goodness; rajah—the mode of passion; tamah—the mode of darkness; iti—thus; tisrah—the three; sura—demigod; nr—human being; narakah—one who is suffering hellish conditions; tatra api—even there; ekaikasah—another; rajan—O King; bhidyante—divide into; gatayah—movements; tridha—three; yada—at that time; ekaikatarah—one in relation with another; anyabhyam—from the other; sva-bhavah—habit; upahanyate—develops.

According to the different modes of material nature—the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness—there are different living creatures, who are known as demigods, human beings and hellish living entities. O King, even a particular mode of nature, being mixed with the other two, is divided into three, and thus each kind of living creature is influenced by the other modes and acquires its habits also.