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kridayam—in the matter of playing; udyamah—enthusiasm; arbhasya—of the boys; kamah—desire; cikridisa—willingness to play; anyatah—with other boys; svatah-trptasya—for one who is self-satisfied; ca—also; katham—what for; nivrttasya—one who is detached; sada—at all times; anyatah—otherwise.

Boys are enthusiastic to play with other boys or with various diversions because they are encouraged by desire. But there is no possibility of such desire for the Lord because He is self-satisfied and detached from everything at all times.

Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without a second, there is no possibility that anything besides Him can exist. He expands Himself by His energies in multiforms of self-expansions and separated expansions as well, just as fire expands itself by heat and light. Since there is no other existence besides the Lord Himself, the Lord’s association with anything manifests His association with Himself. In Bhagavad-gita (9.4) the Lord says:

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

“The complete manifestation of the cosmic situation is an expansion of the Lord Himself in His impersonal feature. All things are situated in Him only, yet He is not in them.” That is the opulence of the Lord’s attachment and detachment. He is attached to everything, yet He is detached from all.

SB3.7.4

TEXT 4

asraksid bhagavan visvam

guna-mayyatma-mayaya

taya samsthapayaty etad

bhuyah pratyapidhasyati

asraksit—caused to create; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; visvam—the universe; guna-mayya—endowed with three modes of material nature; atma—self; mayaya—by the potency; taya—by her; samsthapayati—maintains; etat—all these; bhuyah—then again; praty-apidhasyati—conversely dissolves also.

By His self-sheltered potency of the three modes of material nature, the Lord has caused the creation of this universe. By her He maintains the creation and conversely dissolves it, again and again.

This cosmic universe is created by the Lord for those living entities who are carried away by the illusory thought of becoming one with Him by imitation. The three modes of material nature are for the further bewilderment of the conditioned souls. The conditioned living entity, bewildered by the illusory energy, considers himself a part of the material creation due to forgetfulness of his spiritual identity, and thus he becomes entangled in material activities life after life. This material world is not for the purpose of the Lord Himself, but is for the conditioned souls who wanted to be controllers due to misuse of their God-gifted minute independence. Thus the conditioned souls are subjected to repeated birth and death.

SB3.7.5

TEXT 5

desatah kalato yo ’sav

avasthatah svato ’nyatah

aviluptavabodhatma

sa yujyetajaya katham

desatah—circumstantial; kalatah—by the influence of time; yah—one who; asau—the living entity; avasthatah—by situation; svatah—by dream; anyatah—by others; avilupta—extinct; avabodha—consciousness; atma—pure self; sah—he; yujyeta—engaged; ajaya—with nescience; katham—how is it so.

The pure soul is pure consciousness and is never out of consciousness, either due to circumstances, time, situations, dreams or other causes. How then does he become engaged in nescience?

sarva-ksetresv avasthitah

The consciousness of the living being is always present and never changes under any circumstances, as above mentioned. When a living man moves from one place to another, he is conscious that he has changed his position. He is always present in the past, present and future, like electricity. One can remember incidents from his past and can conjecture about his future also on the basis of past experience. He never forgets his personal identity, even though he is placed in awkward circumstances. How then can the living entity become forgetful of his real identity as pure spirit soul and identify with matter unless influenced by something beyond himself? The conclusion is that the living entity is influenced by the avidya potency, as confirmed in both the Visnu Purana and the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The living entity is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita (7.5) as para prakrti, and in the Visnu Purana he is mentioned as the para sakti. He is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord as potency and not as the potent. The potent can exhibit many potencies, but the potency cannot equal the potent at any stage. One potency may be overcome by another potency, but to the potent, all potencies are under control. The jiva potency, or the ksetrajna-sakti of the Lord, has the tendency to be overpowered by the external potency, avidya-karma-samjna, and in this way he is placed in the awkward circumstances of material existence. The living entity cannot be forgetful of his real identity unless influenced by the avidya potency. Because the living entity is prone to the influence of the avidya potency, he can never equal the supreme potent.

SB3.7.6

TEXT 6

bhagavan eka evaisa

amusya durbhagatvam va

kleso va karmabhih kutah

bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ekah—alone; eva esah—all these; sarva—all; ksetresu—in the living entities; avasthitah—situated; amusya—of the living entities; durbhagatvam—misfortune; va—either; klesah—miseries; va—or; karmabhih—by activities; kutah—what for.

The Lord, as the Supersoul, is situated in every living being’s heart. Why then do the living entities’ activities result in misfortune and misery?

The next question put forward by Vidura to Maitreya is, “Why are the living entities subjected to so many miseries and misfortunes in spite of the Lord’s presence in their hearts as the Supersoul?” The body is considered a fruitful tree, and the living entity and the Lord as Supersoul are like two birds seated in that tree. The individual soul is eating the fruit of the tree, but the Supersoul, the Lord, is witnessing the activities of the other bird. A citizen of the state may be in miseries for want of sufficient supervision by the state authority, but how can it be possible that a citizen suffers from other citizens while the chief of the state is personally present? From another point of view, it is understood that the jiva living entity is qualitatively one with the Lord, and thus his knowledge in the pure state of life cannot be covered by nescience, especially in the presence of the Supreme Lord. How then does the living entity become subjected to ignorance and covered by the influence of maya? The Lord is the father and protector of every living entity, and He is known as the bhuta-bhrt, or the maintainer of the living entities. Why then should the living entity he subjected to so many sufferings and misfortunes? It should not be so, but actually we see that it happens everywhere. This question is therefore put forward by Vidura for solution.

SB3.7.7

TEXT 7

etasmin me mano vidvan

khidyate ’jnana-sankate

tan nah paranuda vibho

kasmalam manasam mahat

etasmin—in this; me—my; manah—mind; vidvan—O learned one; khidyate—is troubling; ajnana—nescience; sankate—in distress; tat—therefore; nah—my; paranuda—clear up; vibho—O great one; kasmalam—illusion; manasam—relating to the mind; mahat—great.

O great and learned one, my mind is greatly illusioned by the distress of this nescience, and I therefore request you to clear it up.

Such mental bewilderment as represented here by Vidura takes place for some living entities, but not for everyone, for if everyone were bewildered there would be no possibility of a solution by higher personalities.

SB3.7.8

TEXT 8

sri-suka uvaca

sa ittham coditah ksattra

tattva-jijnasuna munih

pratyaha bhagavac-cittah

smayann iva gata-smayah

sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; sah—he (Maitreya Muni); ittham—in this way; coditah—being agitated; ksattra—by Vidura; tattva-jijnasuna—by one who was anxious to inquire to know the truth; munih—the great sage; pratyaha—replied; bhagavat-cittah—God conscious; smayan—wondering; iva—as if; gata-smayah—without hesitation.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, Maitreya, being thus agitated by the inquisitive Vidura, at first seemed astonished, but then he replied to him without hesitation, since he was fully God conscious.

Since the great sage Maitreya was filled with God consciousness, he had no reason to be astonished at such contradictory questions by Vidura. Therefore, although as a devotee he externally expressed surprise, as if he did not know how to reply to those questions, he immediately became perfectly settled and properly replied to Vidura. Yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati. Anyone who is a devotee of the Lord knows about the Lord to some extent, and devotional service to the Lord makes him able to know everything by the grace of the Lord. Although a devotee may apparently express himself to be ignorant, he is full of knowledge in every intricate matter.

yan nayena virudhyate

isvarasya vimuktasya

karpanyam uta bandhanam

maitreyah uvaca—Maitreya said; sa iyam—such a statement; bhagavatah—of the Personality of Godhead; maya—illusion; yat—that which; nayena—by logic; virudhyate—becomes contradictory; isvarasya—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vimuktasya—of the ever liberated; karpanyam—insufficiency; uta—as also, what to speak of; bandhanam—bondage.

Sri Maitreya said: Certain conditioned souls put forward the theory that the Supreme Brahman, or the Personality of Godhead, is overcome by illusion, or maya, and at the same time they maintain that He is unconditioned. This is against all logic.

Sometimes it appears that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one hundred percent spiritual, cannot be the cause of the illusory potency which covers the knowledge of the individual soul. But factually there is no doubt that the illusory, external energy is also part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. When Vyasadeva realized the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he saw the Lord along with His external potency, which covers the pure knowledge of the individual living entities. Why the external energy acts in this way may be considered as follows, as analyzed by great commentators like Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Jiva Gosvami. Although the material, illusory energy is distinct from the spiritual energy, it is one of the many energies of the Lord, and thus the material modes of nature (the mode of goodness, etc.) are surely qualities of the Lord. The energy and the energetic Personality of Godhead are not different, and although such energy is one with the Lord, He is never overpowered by it. Although the living entities are also parts and parcels of the Lord, they are overcome by the material energy. The inconceivable yogam aisvaram of the Lord, as mentioned in Bhagavad-gita (9.5), is misunderstood by the froggish philosophers. In order to support a theory that Narayana (the Lord Himself) becomes a daridra-narayana, a poor man, they propose that the material energy overcomes the Supreme Lord. Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, however, offer a very nice example in explanation. They say that although the sun is all light, the clouds, darkness and snowfall are all part and parcel of the sun. Without the sun there is no possibility of the sky’s being overcast with clouds or darkness, nor can there be snowfall on the earth. Although life is sustained by the sun, life is also disturbed by darkness and snowfall produced by the sun. But it is also a fact that the sun itself is never overcome by darkness, clouds or snowfall; the sun is far, far away from such disturbances. Only those who have a poor fund of knowledge say that the sun is covered by a cloud or by darkness. Similarly, the Supreme Brahman, or the Parabrahman, the Personality of Godhead, is always unaffected by the influence of the material energy, although it is one of His energies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate).

There is no reason to assert that the Supreme Brahman is overpowered by the illusory energy. The clouds, darkness and snowfall can cover only a very insignificant portion of the sun’s rays. Similarly, the modes of material nature may react upon the raylike living entities. It is the misfortune of the living entity, certainly not without reason, that the influence of the material energy acts on his pure consciousness and eternal bliss. This covering up of pure consciousness and eternal bliss is due to avidya-karma-samjna, the energy which acts on the infinitesimal living entities who misuse their minute independence. According to Visnu Purana, Bhagavad-gita and all other Vedic literatures, the living entities are generated from the tatastha energy of the Lord, and thus they are always the energy of the Lord and are not the energetic. The living entities are like the sun’s rays. Although, as explained above, there is no qualitative difference between the sun and its rays, the sun’s rays are sometimes overpowered by another energy of the sun, namely by clouds or by snowfall. Similarly, although the living entities are qualitatively one with the superior energy of the Lord, they have the tendency to be overpowered by the inferior, material energy. In the Vedic hymns it is said that the living entities are like the sparks of a fire. The sparks of fire also are fire, but the burning potency of the sparks is different from that of the original fire. When the sparks fly out of touch with the original fire, they come under the influence of a nonfiery atmosphere; thus they maintain the potency to be again one with the fire as sparks, but not as the original fire. The sparks can everlastingly remain within the original fire as its parts and parcels, but the moment the sparks become separated from the original fire, their misfortunes and miseries begin. The clear conclusion is that the Supreme Lord, who is the original fire, is never overpowered, but the infinitesimal sparks of the fire can become overpowered by the illusory effect of maya. It is a most ludicrous argument to say that the Supreme Lord is overpowered by His own material energy. The Lord is the master of the material energy, but the living entities are in the conditioned state, controlled by the material energy. That is the version of Bhagavad-gita. The froggish philosophers who put forward the argument that the Supreme Lord is overpowered by the material mode of goodness are themselves illusioned by the same material energy, although they think of themselves as liberated souls. They support their arguments by a false and laborious jugglery of words, which is a gift of the same illusory energy of the Lord. But the poor froggish philosophers, due to a false sense of knowledge, cannot understand the situation.

In the Sixth Canto, Ninth Chapter, thirty-fourth verse, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated:

duravabodha iva tavayam vihara-yogo yad asarano ’sarira idam anaveksitasmat-samavaya atmanaivavikriyamanena sagunam agunah srjasi pasi harasi.

Thus the demigods prayed to the Supreme Lord that although His activities are very difficult to understand, they can still be understood to some extent by those who sincerely engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The demigods admitted that although the Lord is apart from the material influence or creation, He nevertheless creates, maintains and annihilates the complete cosmic manifestation by the agency of the demigods.

SB3.7.10

TEXT 10

yad arthena vinamusya

pumsa atma-viparyayah

pratiyata upadrastuh

sva-siras chedanadikah

yat—thus; arthena—a purpose or meaning; vina—without; amusya—of such a one; pumsah—of the living entity; atma-viparyayah—upset about self-identification; pratiyate—so appear; upadrastuh—of the superficial onlooker; sva-sirah—own head; chedana-adikah—cutting off.

The living entity is in distress regarding his self-identity. He has no factual background, like a man who dreams that he sees his head cut off.