Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 2: “The Cosmic Manifestation”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Six

SB2.6.18

TEXT 18

so ’mrtasyabhayasyeso

martyam annam yad atyagat

mahimaisa tato brahman

purusasya duratyayah

SYNONYMS

sah—He (the Lord); amrtasya—of deathlessness; abhayasya—of fearlessness; isah—the controller; martyam—dying; annam—fruitive action; yat—one who has; atyagat—has transcended; mahima—the glories; esah—of Him; tatah—therefore; brahman—O brahmana Narada; purusasya—of the Supreme Personality; duratyayah—immeasurable.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of immortality and fearlessness, and He is transcendental to death and the fruitive actions of the material world. O Narada, O brahmana, it is therefore difficult to measure the glories of the Supreme Person.

PURPORT

The glories of the Lord, in the transcendental seventy-five percent of the Lord’s internal potency, are stated in the Padma Purana (Uttara-khanda). It is said there that those planets in the spiritual sky, which comprises the seventy-five percent expansion of the internal potency of the Lord, are far, far greater than those planets in the total universes composed of the external potency of the Lord. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, the total universes in the external potency of the Lord are compared to a bucketful of mustard seeds. One mustard seed is calculated to be a universe itself. In one of the universes, in which we are now living, the number of planets cannot be counted by human energy, and so how can we think of the sum total in all the universes, which are compared to a bucketful of mustard seeds? And the planets in the spiritual sky are at least three times the number of those in the material sky. Such planets, being spiritual, are in fact transcendental to the material modes; therefore they are constituted in the mode of unalloyed goodness only. The conception of spiritual bliss (brahmananda) is fully present in those planets. Each of them is eternal, indestructible and free from all kinds of inebrieties experienced in the material world. Each of them is self-illuminating and more powerfully dazzling than (if we can imagine) the total sunshine of millions of mundane suns. The inhabitants of those planets are liberated from birth, death, old age and diseases and have full knowledge of everything; they are all godly and free from all sorts of material hankerings. They have nothing to do there except to render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Narayana, who is the predominating Deity of such Vaikuntha planets. Those liberated souls are engaged incessantly in singing songs mentioned in the Sama Veda (vedaih sanga-pada-kramopanisadair gayanti yam samagah). All of them are personifications of the five Upanisads. Tripad-vibhuti, or the seventy-five percent known as the internal potency of the Lord, is to be understood as the kingdom of God far beyond the material sky; and when we speak of pada-vibhuti, or the twenty-five percent comprising His external energy, we should understand that this refers to the sphere of the material world. It is also said in the Padma Purana that the kingdom of tripad-vibhuti is transcendental, whereas the pada-vibhuti is mundane; tripad-vibhuti is eternal, whereas the pada-vibhuti is transient. The Lord and His eternal servitors in the transcendental kingdom all have eternal forms which are auspicious, infallible, spiritual and eternally youthful. In other words, there is no birth, death, old age and disease. That eternal land is full of transcendental enjoyment and full of beauty and bliss. This very fact is also corroborated in this verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the transcendental nature is described as amrta. As described in the Vedas, utamrtatvasyesanah: the Supreme Lord is the Lord of immortality, or in other words, the Lord is immortal, and because He is the Lord of immortality He can award immortality to His devotees. In the Bhagavad-gita (8.16) the Lord also assures that whoever may go to His abode of immortality shall never return to this mortal land of threefold miseries. The Lord is not like the mundane lord. The mundane master or lord never enjoys equally with his subordinates, nor is a mundane lord immortal, nor can he award immortality to his subordinate. The Supreme Lord, who is the leader of all living entities, can award all the qualities of His personality unto His devotees, including immortality and spiritual bliss. In the material world there is always anxiety or fearfulness in the hearts of all living entities, but the Lord, being Himself the supreme fearless, also awards the same quality of fearlessness to His pure devotees. Mundane existence is itself a kind of fear because in all mundane bodies the effects of birth, death, old age and disease always keep a living being compact in fear. In the mundane world, there is always the influence of time, which changes things from one stage to another, and the living entity, originally being avikara, or unchangeable, suffers a great deal on account of changes due to the influence of time. The changing effects of eternal time are conspicuously absent in the immortal kingdom of God, which should therefore be understood to have no influence of time and therefore no fear whatsoever. In the material world, so-called happiness is the result of one’s own work. One can become a rich man by dint of one’s own hard labor, and there are always fear and doubts as to the duration of such acquired happiness. But in the kingdom of God, no one has to endeavor to attain a standard of happiness. Happiness is the nature of the spirit, as stated in the Vedanta-sutras: anandamayo ’bhyasat—the spirit is by nature full of happiness. Happiness in spiritual nature always increases in volume with a new phase of appreciation; there is no question of decreasing the bliss. Such unalloyed spiritual bliss is nowhere to be found within the orbit of the material universe, including the Janaloka planets, or, for that matter, the Maharloka or Satyaloka planets, because even Lord Brahma is subject to the laws of fruitive actions and the law of birth and death. It is therefore stated here: duratyayah, or, in other words, spiritual happiness in the eternal kingdom of God cannot be imagined even by the great brahmacaris or sannyasis who are eligible to be promoted to the planets beyond the region of heaven. Or, the greatness of the Supreme Lord is so great that it cannot be imagined even by the great brahmacaris or sannyasis, but such happiness is factually attained by the unalloyed devotees of the Lord, by His divine grace.

SB2.6.19

TEXT 19

padesu sarva-bhutani

pumsah sthiti-pado viduh

amrtam ksemam abhayam

tri-murdhno ’dhayi murdhasu

SYNONYMS

padesu—in the one fourth; sarva—all; bhutani—living entities; pumsah—of the Supreme Person; sthiti-padah—the reservoir of all material opulence; viduh—you should know; amrtam—deathlessness; ksemam—all happiness, free from the anxiety of old age, diseases, etc.; abhayam—fearlessness; tri-murdhnah—beyond the three higher planetary systems; adhayi—exist; murdhasu—beyond the material coverings.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known as the supreme reservoir of all material opulences by the one fourth of His energy in which all the living entities exist. Deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from the anxieties of old age and disease exist in the kingdom of God, which is beyond the three higher planetary systems and beyond the material coverings.

PURPORT

Out of the total manifestations of the sandhini energy of the Lord, one fourth is displayed in the material world, and three fourths are displayed in the spiritual world. The Lord’s energy is divided into three component parts, namely sandhini, samvit and hladini; in other words, He is the full manifestation of existence, knowledge and bliss. In the material world such a sense of existence, knowledge and pleasure is meagerly exhibited, and all living entities, who are minute parts and parcels of the Lord, are eligible to relish such consciousness of existence, knowledge and bliss very minutely in the liberated stage, whereas in the conditioned stage of material existence they can hardly appreciate what is the factual, existential, cognizable and pure happiness of life. The liberated souls, who exist in far greater numerical strength than those souls in the material world, can factually experience the potency of the above-mentioned sandhini, samvit and hladini energies of the Lord in the matter of deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from old age and disease.

In the material world, the planetary systems are arranged in three spheres, called triloka, or Svarga, Martya and Patala, and all of them constitute only one fourth of the total sandhini energy. Beyond that is the spiritual sky where the Vaikuntha planets exist beyond the coverings of seven material strata. In none of the triloka planetary systems can one experience the status of immortality, full knowledge and full bliss. The upper three planetary systems are called sattvika planets because they provide facilities for a long duration of life and relative freedom from disease and old age, as well as a sense of fearlessness. The great sages and saints are promoted beyond the heavenly planets to Maharloka, but that also is not the place of complete fearlessness because at the end of one kalpa the Maharloka is annihilated and the inhabitants have to transport themselves to still higher planets. Yet even on these planets no one is immune to death. There may be a comparative extension of life, expansion of knowledge and sense of full bliss, but factual deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from old age, diseases, etc., are possible only beyond the material spheres of the coverings of the material sky. Such things are situated on the head (adhayi murdhasu).

SB2.6.20

TEXT 20

padas trayo bahis casann

aprajanam ya asramah

antas tri-lokyas tv aparo

grha-medho ’brhad-vratah

SYNONYMS

padah trayah—the cosmos of three fourths of the Lord’s energy; bahih—thus situated beyond; ca—and for all; asan—were; aprajanam—of those who are not meant for rebirth; ye—those; asramah—status of life; antah—within; tri-lokyah—of the three worlds; tu—but; aparah—others; grha-medhah—attached to family life; abrhat-vratah—without strictly following a vow of celibacy.

TRANSLATION

The spiritual world, which consists of three fourths of the Lord’s energy, is situated beyond this material world, and it is especially meant for those who will never be reborn. Others, who are attached to family life and who do not strictly follow celibacy vows, must live within the three material worlds.

PURPORT

The climax of the system of varnasrama-dharma, or sanatana-dharma, is clearly expressed here in this particular verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The highest benefit that can be awarded to a human being is to train him to be detached from sex life, particularly because it is only due to sex indulgence that the conditioned life of material existence continues birth after birth. Human civilization in which there is no control of sex life is a fourth-class civilization because in such an atmosphere there is no liberation of the soul encaged in the material body. Birth, death, old age and disease are related to the material body, and they have nothing to do with the spirit soul. But as long as the bodily attachment for sensual enjoyment is encouraged, the individual spirit soul is forced to continue the repetition of birth and death on account of the material body, which is compared to garments subjected to the law of deterioration.

In order to award the highest benefit of human life, the varnasrama system trains the follower to adopt the vow of celibacy beginning from the order of brahmacari. The brahmacari life is for students who are educated to follow strictly the vow of celibacy. Youngsters who have had no taste of sex life can easily follow the vow of celibacy, and once fixed in the principle of such a life, one can very easily continue to the highest perfectional stage, attaining the kingdom of the three-fourths energy of the Lord. It is already explained that in the cosmos of three-fourths energy of the Lord there is neither death nor fear, and one is full of the blissful life of happiness and knowledge. A householder attached to family life can easily give up such a life of sex indulgence if he has been trained in the principles of the life of a brahmacari. A householder is recommended to quit home at the end of fifty years (pancasordhvam vanam vrajet) and live a life in the forest; then, being fully detached from family affection, he may accept the order of renunciation as a sannyasi fully engaged in the service of the Lord. Any form of religious principles in which the followers are trained to pursue the vow of celibacy is good for the human being because only those who are trained in that way can end the miserable life of material existence. The principles of nirvana, as recommended by Lord Buddha, are also meant for ending the miserable life of material existence. And this process, in the highest degree, is recommended here in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, with clear perception of ideal perfection, although basically there is no difference between the process of Buddhists, Sankarites and Vaisnavites. For promotion to the highest status of perfection, namely freedom from birth and death, anxiety and fearfulness, not one of these processes allows the follower to break the vow of celibacy.

The householders and persons who have deliberately broken the vow of celibacy cannot enter into the kingdom of deathlessness. The pious householders or the fallen yogis or the fallen transcendentalists can be promoted to the higher planets within the material world (one fourth of the energy of the Lord), but they will fail to enter into the kingdom of deathlessness. Abrhad-vratas are those who have broken the vow of celibacy. The vanaprasthas, or those retired from family life, and the sannyasis, or the renounced persons, cannot break the vow of celibacy if they want success in the process. The brahmacaris, vanaprasthas and sannyasis do not intend to take rebirth (apraja), nor are they meant for secretly indulging in sex life. Such a falldown by the spiritualist may be compensated by another chance for human life in good families of learned brahmanas or of rich merchants for another term of elevation, but the best thing is to attain the highest perfection of deathlessness as soon as the human form of life is attained; otherwise the whole policy of human life will prove to be a total failure. Lord Caitanya was very strict in advising His followers in this matter of celibacy. One of His personal attendants, Chota Haridasa, was severely punished by Lord Caitanya because of his failure to observe the vow of celibacy. For a transcendentalist, therefore, who at all wants to be promoted to the kingdom beyond material miseries, it is worse than suicide to deliberately indulge in sex life, especially in the renounced order of life. Sex life in the renounced order of life is the most perverted form of religious life, and such a misguided person can only be saved if, by chance, he meets a pure devotee.

SB2.6.21

TEXT 21

srti vicakrame visvam

sasananasane ubhe

yad avidya ca vidya ca

purusas tubhayasrayah

SYNONYMS

srti—the destination of the living entities; vicakrame—exists comprehensively; visvan—the all-pervading Personality of Godhead; sasana—activities of lording it over; anasane—activities in devotional service; ubhe—both; yat—what is; avidya—nescience; ca—as well as; vidya—factual knowledge; ca—and; purusah—the Supreme Person; tu—but; ubhaya—for both of them; asrayah—the master.

TRANSLATION

By His energies, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead is thus comprehensively the master in the activities of controlling and in devotional service. He is the ultimate master of both nescience and factual knowledge of all situations.

PURPORT

The word visvan is significant in this verse. One who travels perfectly in every field of activity is called the purusa or ksetrajna. These two terms, ksetrajna and purusa, are equally applicable to both the individual self and the Supreme Self, the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita (13.3) the matter is explained as follows:

ksetrajnam capi mam viddhi
sarva-ksetresu bharata
ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam
yat taj jnanam matam mama

ksetra means the place, and one who knows the place is called the ksetrajna. The individual self knows about his limited field of activities, but the Supreme Self, the Lord, knows about the unlimited field of activities. The individual soul knows about his own thinking, feeling and willing activities, but the Supersoul, or the Paramatma, the supreme controller, being present everywhere, knows everyone’s thinking, feeling and willing activities, and as such the individual living entity is the minute master of his personal affairs whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master of everyone’s affairs, past, present and future (vedaham samatitani, etc.). Only the ignorant person does not know this difference between the Lord and the living entities. The living entities, as distinguished from incognizant matter, may be qualitatively equal to the Lord in cognizance, but the living entity can never be equal to the Lord in full knowledge of past, present and future.

And because the living entity is partially cognizant, he is therefore sometimes forgetful of his own identity. This forgetfulness is specifically manifested in the field of the ekapad-vibhuti of the Lord, or in the material world, but in the tripad-vibhuti field of actions, or in the spiritual world, there is no forgetfulness by the living entities, who are free from all kinds of contaminations resulting from the forgetful state of existence. The material body is the symbol of the gross and subtle form of forgetfulness; therefore the whole atmosphere of the material world is called avidya, or nescience, whereas the whole atmosphere of the spiritual world is called vidya, or full of knowledge. There are different stages of avidya, and they are called dharma, artha and moksa. The idea of moksa, or liberation, held by the monist in the matter of oneness of the living entity and the Lord by ultimate merging in one, is also the last stage of materialism or forgetfulness. Knowledge of the qualitative oneness of the self and Superself is partial knowledge and ignorance also because there is no knowledge of quantitative difference, as explained above. The individual self can never be equal to the Lord in cognizance; otherwise he could not be placed in the state of forgetfulness. So, because there is a stage of forgetfulness of the individual selves, or the living entities, there is always a gulf of difference between the Lord and the living entity, as between the part and the whole. The part is never equal to the whole. So the conception of one hundred percent equality of the living being with the Lord is also nescience.

In the field of nescience, activities are directed toward lording it over the creation. In the material world, therefore, everyone is engaged in acquiring material opulence to lord it over the material world. Therefore there is always clash and frustration, which are the symptoms of nescience. But in the field of knowledge, there is devotional service to the Lord (bhakti). Therefore there is no chance of being contaminated by the influence of nescience or forgetfulness (avidya) in the liberated stage of devotional activities. The Lord is thus the proprietor of the fields both of nescience and of cognition, and it remains the choice of the living entity to exist in either of the above regions.

SB2.6.22

TEXT 22

yasmad andam virad jajne

bhutendriya-gunatmakah

tad dravyam atyagad visvam

gobhih surya ivatapan

SYNONYMS

yasmat—from whom; andam—the universal globes; virat—and the gigantic universal form; jajne—appeared; bhuta—elements; indriya—senses; guna-atmakah—qualitative; tat dravyam—the universes and the universal form, etc.; atyagat—surpassed; visvam—all the universes; gobhih—by the rays; suryah—the sun; iva—like; atapan—distributed rays and heat.

TRANSLATION

From that Personality of Godhead, all the universal globes and the universal form with all material elements, qualities and senses are generated. Yet He is aloof from such material manifestations, like the sun, which is separate from its rays and heat.

PURPORT

The supreme truth has been ascertained in the previous verse as purusa or the purusottama, the Supreme person. The Absolute person is the isvara, or the supreme controller, by His different energies. The ekapad-vibhuti manifestation of the material energy of the Lord is just like one of the many mistresses of the Lord, by whom the Lord is not so much attracted, as indicated in the language of the Gita (bhinna prakrtih). But the region of the tripad-vibhuti, being a pure spiritual manifestation of the energy of the Lord, is, so to speak, more attractive to Him. The Lord, therefore, generates the material manifestations by impregnating the material energy, and then, within the manifestation, He expands Himself as the gigantic form of the visva-rupa. The visva-rupa, as it was shown to Arjuna, is not the original form of the Lord. The original form of the Lord is the transcendental form of Purusottama, or Krsna Himself. It is very nicely explained herein that He expands Himself just like the sun. The sun expands itself by its terrible heat and rays, yet the sun is always aloof from such rays and heat. The impersonalist takes into consideration the rays of the Lord without any information of the tangible, transcendental, eternal form of the Lord, known as Krsna. Therefore Krsna, in His supreme personal form, with two hands and flute, is bewildering for the impersonalists who can accommodate only the gigantic visva-rupa of the Lord. They should know that the rays of the sun are secondary to the sun, and similarly the impersonal gigantic form of the Lord is also secondary to the personal form as Purusottama. The Brahma-samhita (5.37) confirms this statement as follows:

ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis
tabhir ya eva nija-rupataya kalabhih
goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhuto
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the one who enlivens the senses of everyone by His personal bodily rays, resides in His transcendental abode, called Goloka. Yet He is present in every nook and corner of His creation by expansion of happy spiritual rays, equal in power to His personal potency of bliss.” He is therefore simultaneously personal and impersonal by His inconceivable potency, or He is the one without a second, displaying complete unity in a diversity of material and spiritual manifestations. He is separate from everything, and still nothing is different from Him.

SB2.6.23

TEXT 23

yadasya nabhyan nalinad

aham asam mahatmanah

navidam yajna-sambharan

purusavayavan rte

SYNONYMS

yada—at the time of; asya—His; nabhyat—from the abdomen; nalinat—from the lotus flower; aham—myself; asam—took my birth; maha-atmanah—of the great person; na avidam—did not know; yajna—sacrificial; sambharan—ingredients; purusa—of the Lord; avayavan—personal bodily limbs; rte—except.

TRANSLATION

When I was born from the abdominal lotus flower of the Lord [Maha-Visnu], the great person, I had no ingredients for sacrificial performances except the bodily limbs of the great Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Lord Brahma, the creator of the cosmic manifestation, is known as Svayambhu, or one who is born without father and mother. The general process is that a living creature is born out of the sex combination of the male father and the female mother. But Brahma, the firstborn living being, is born out of the abdominal lotus flower of the Maha-Visnu plenary expansion of Lord Krsna. The abdominal lotus flower is part of the Lord’s bodily limbs, and Brahma is born out of the lotus flower. Therefore Lord Brahma is also a part of the Lord’s body. Brahma, after his appearance in the gigantic hollow of the universe, saw darkness and nothing else. He felt perplexity, and from his heart he was inspired by the Lord to undergo austerity, thereby acquiring the ingredients for sacrificial performances. But there was nothing besides the two of them, namely the Personality of Maha-Visnu and Brahma himself, born of the bodily part of the Lord. For sacrificial performances many ingredients were in need, especially animals. The animal sacrifice is never meant for killing the animal, but for achieving the successful result of the sacrifice. The animal offered in the sacrificial fire is, so to speak, destroyed, but the next moment it is given a new life by dint of the Vedic hymns chanted by the expert priest. When such an expert priest is not available, the animal sacrifice in the fire of the sacrificial altar is forbidden. Thus Brahma created even the sacrificial ingredients out of the bodily limbs of the Garbhodakasayi Visnu, which means that the cosmic order was created by Brahma himself. Also, nothing is created out of nothing, but everything is created from the person of the Lord. The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gita (10.8), aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate. “Everything is made from My bodily limbs, and I am therefore the original source of all creations.”

The impersonalists argue that there is no use in worshiping the Lord when everything is nothing but the Lord Himself. The personalist, however, worships the Lord out of a great sense of gratitude, utilizing the ingredients born out of the bodily limbs of the Lord. The fruits and flowers are available from the body of the earth, and yet mother earth is worshiped by the sensible devotee with ingredients born from the earth. Similarly, mother Ganges is worshiped by the water of the Ganges, and yet the worshiper enjoys the result of such worship. Worship of the Lord is also performed by the ingredients born from the bodily limbs of the Lord, and yet the worshiper, who is himself a part of the Lord, achieves the result of devotional service to the Lord. While the impersonalist wrongly concludes that he is the Lord himself, the personalist, out of a great gratitude, worships the Lord in devotional service, knowing perfectly well that nothing is different from the Lord. The devotee therefore endeavors to apply everything in the service of the Lord because he knows that everything is the property of the Lord and that no one can claim anything as one’s own. This perfect conception of oneness helps the worshiper in being engaged in His loving service, whereas the impersonalist, being falsely puffed up, remains a nondevotee forever, without being recognized by the Lord.

SB2.6.24

TEXT 24

tesu yajnasya pasavah

savanaspatayah kusah

idam ca deva-yajanam

kalas coru-gunanvitah

SYNONYMS

tesu—in such sacrifices; yajnasya—of the sacrificial performance; pasavah—the animals or the sacrificial ingredients; sa-vanaspatayah—along with flowers and leaves; kusah—the straw; idam—all these; ca—as also; deva-yajanam—the sacrificial altar; kalah—a suitable time; ca—as also; uru—great; guna-anvitah—qualified.

TRANSLATION

For performing sacrificial ceremonies, one requires sacrificial ingredients, such as flowers, leaves and straw, along with the sacrificial altar and a suitable time [spring].

SB2.6.25

TEXT 25

vastuny osadhayah sneha

rasa-loha-mrdo jalam

rco yajumsi samani

catur-hotram ca sattama

SYNONYMS

vastuni—utensils; osadhayah—grains; snehah—clarified butter; rasa-loha-mrdah—honey, gold and earth; jalam—water; rcah—the Rg Veda; yajumsi—the Yajur Veda; samani—the Sama Veda; catuh-hotram—four persons conducting the performance; ca—all these; sattama—O most pious one.

TRANSLATION

Other requirements are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Rg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda and four priests to perform the sacrifice.

PURPORT

To perform a sacrifice successfully, at least four expert priests are needed: one who can offer (hota), one who can chant (udgata), one who can kindle the sacrificial fire without the aid of separate fire (adhvaryu), and one who can supervise (brahma). Such sacrifices were conducted from the birth of Brahma, the first living creature, and were carried on till the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira. But such expert brahmana priests are very rare in this age of corruption and quarrel, and therefore in the present age only the yajna of chanting the holy name of the Lord is recommended. The scriptures enjoin:

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

[Adi 17.21]

SB2.6.26

TEXT 26

nama-dheyani mantras ca

daksinas ca vratani ca

devatanukramah kalpah

sankalpas tantram eva ca

SYNONYMS

nama-dheyani—invoking the names of the demigods; mantrah—specific hymns to offer to a particular demigod; ca—also; daksinah—reward; ca—and; vratani—vows; ca—and; devata-anukramah—one demigod after another; kalpah—the specific scripture; sankalpah—the specific purpose; tantram—a particular process; eva—as they are; ca—also.

TRANSLATION

Other necessities include invoking the different names of the demigods by specific hymns and vows of recompense, in accordance with the particular scripture, for specific purposes and by specific processes.

PURPORT

The whole process of offering sacrifice is under the category of fruitive action, and such activities are extremely scientific. They mainly depend on the process of vibrating sounds with a particular accent. It is a great science, and due to being out of proper use for more than four thousand years, for want of qualified brahmanas, such performances of sacrifice are no longer effective. Nor are they recommended in this fallen age. Any such sacrifice undertaken in this age as a matter of show may simply be a cheating process by the clever priestly order. But such a show of sacrifices cannot be effective at any stage. Fruitive action is being carried on by the help of material science and to a little extent by gross material help, but the materialists await a still more subtle advancement in the process of vibrating sounds on which the Vedic hymns are established. Gross material science cannot divert the real purpose of human life. They can only increase the artificial needs of life without any solution to the problems of life; therefore the way of materialistic life leads to the wrong type of human civilization. Since the ultimate aim of life is spiritual realization, the direct way of invoking the holy name of the Lord, as mentioned above, is precisely recommended by Lord Caitanya, and people of the modern age can easily take advantage of this simple process, which is tenable for the condition of the complicated social structure.

Next verse (SB2.6.27)