741221 - Lecture SB 03.26.09 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

741221SB-BOMBAY - December 21, 1974 - 28:15 Minutes

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (devotees repeat) (leads chanting of verse, etc.)

devahutir uvāca

prakṛteḥ puruṣasyāpi

lakṣaṇaṁ puruṣottama

brūhi kāraṇayor asya

sad-asac ca yad-ātmakam

(SB 3.26.9)

(break)

"Devahūti said: O Supreme Personality of Godhead, kindly explain the characteristics of the Supreme Person and His energies, because both of these are the causes of this manifest and unmanifest creation."

Prabhupāda:

prakṛteḥ puruṣasyāpi

lakṣaṇaṁ puruṣottama

brūhi kāraṇayor asya

sad-asac ca yad-ātmakam

(SB 3.26.9)

So Kapiladeva is addressed here as Puruṣottama. Puruṣottama. The living entities, the Supersoul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Living entities are sometimes called puruṣa because puruṣa means enjoyer. So the living entities wants to enjoy this material world although he is not enjoyer. We have explained many times. The living entities, that is also prakṛti, but he also wants to enjoy. That is called illusion. So in his enjoying temperament he may be called puruṣa, illusory puruṣa. Real puruṣa is Bhagavān. Puruṣa means bhoktā. The bhoktā, real bhoktā, enjoyer, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29).

So Devahūti wants elucidation of the characteristics of puruṣa and prakṛti. So puruṣa is one, but prakṛti, there are many energies. Prakṛti, energy. Just like we have got practical experience that husband and wife, the wife is supposed to be the energy. The husband works day and night very hard, but when he comes home, the wife gives him comfort—eating, sleeping, mating—in so many ways. He gets fresh energy. Especially the karmīs, they get energy by the behavior and service of the wife. Otherwise, the karmīs cannot work. Anyway, the energy principle is there. Similarly, the Supreme Lord, He has got also energy. In the Vedānta-sūtra we understand that Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original source of everything, Brahman . . . athāto brahma jijñāsā. That Brahman . . . in one code Vyāsadeva describes that janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1): "The Brahman, Supreme Absolute Truth, is that from whom everything comes." So unless this principle is there, that Brahman, the Absolute Truth, is also energized or worked with His energies, otherwise why this conception comes within this material world? The material world is shadow reflection of the spiritual world. Unless the original thing is there in the spiritual world, it cannot be reflected in the material world. So puruṣa is accompanied by varieties of energies. In the Upaniṣad it is stated:

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate . . .

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8, CC Madhya 13.65 purport)

Para, the Supreme Lord, Absolute Truth, has multi-energy. So the multi-energy is divided into three division. That is called antaraṅga-śakti, internal energy, external energy and the marginal energy. All of them are energies, or prakṛti. So in the Sāṅkhya philosophical discussion, Devahūti—she is also the mother of Kapiladeva—she asked this intelligent question: "What are the characteristic of the prakṛti, and what are the characteristic of the puruṣa?" Prakṛteḥ puruṣasyāpi lakṣaṇaṁ puruṣottama. He (she) is addressing his (her) son, Kapiladeva, God, as Puruṣottama. Uttama puruṣa. Uttama, madhyama and adhama. There is a comparative. So uttama puruṣa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or His incarnation like Kapiladeva, Ṛṣabhadeva. There are many incarnations. So they are all Puruṣottama.

So, so far in this material conception of life there are two puruṣas: one, the living entity, and the other is the Supersoul. So above this . . . living entity is the adhama-puruṣa, and the Supersoul is the madhyama-puruṣa, and Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is uttama-puruṣa, the Supreme. And in this material world the adhama-puruṣa is called also nitya-baddha. Similarly, there are other living entities in the spiritual world, they are called nitya-mukta, or nitya-siddha. They never come in this material world. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, he describes some comparison, that the sea fishes, they never come to the river. The river fishes sometimes go to the sea, but the sea fishes, they never come to the river. Similarly, there are living entities in the spiritual world, they never come in this material world. Their number is greater, at least three times greater than all the living entities within this material world. And the Supersoul, He is also living entity, but superior, Supersoul. Soul and Supersoul.

So the Supersoul is also living with the . . . along with these ordinary living entities as friends. That is described in the Upaniṣad, that two birds are sitting on one tree. One bird is eating the fruit, and the other bird is simply witnessing. Paramātmā, upadraṣṭā anumantā. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paramātmā is existing within our heart: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He is simply upadraṣṭā. He is not enjoying. He has no interest to enjoy this material world. But the other bird, the living entity, he is trying to enjoy this material world. And according to his karma, upadraṣṭā . . . I wanted to do something or I have done something; the resultant action, I will have to enjoy or suffer in the next life. The witness is the Paramātmā, sākṣī, upadraṣṭā anumantā, antaryāmī, sākṣī.

We cannot do anything without the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature. He is fulfilling our desires and waiting for the opportunity when the living entity will give up this business of eating the fruit of this body . . . of the tree, and simply become engaged, again come back to the Supersoul. That opportunity He is looking after. So the Christian philosophers, they do not believe in the Paramātmā feature, and they say that, "If I am punished for my past deeds, then who is the witness?" Because in the court, if somebody is charged with criminality, there must be some witnesses. So we heard a Christian professor in our college; they did not believe in this witness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is witness within the heart. Witness must be. This is very intelligent, that without witness, how my charges, charges upon me, can be substantiated? The witness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Upadraṣṭā anumantā. He is seeing everything. So that is puruṣa also, and we are also puruṣa. And above these two puruṣas, the Supreme Puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Eighth Chapter, puruṣottama-yogam.

So brūhi kāraṇayor asya sad-asac ca yad-ātmakam. So the uttama-puruṣa, Puruṣottama, just like Kṛṣṇa or Kapiladeva, They come within this material world, but They are not affected. But we are affected. We are, according to our desire, conditioned. We are affected by the different modes of material nature. It is described in the Vedic literature just like the fire and the spark. The fire is always blazing, but the sparks coming out of the fire, they sometime fall down. And this falling down is described that if the spark falls on some dry grass, then immediately the grass is also ignited into fire. That is sattva-guṇa. And rajo-guṇa means on the ground. It gradually, the ignition, the fire of the spark, becomes finished. And if the spark falls down on some water, then immediately it is extinguished. Similarly, when we come down from the spiritual world on account of desire, icchā-dveṣa samutthena sarge yānti parantapa (BG 7.27), by our icchā, Kṛṣṇa gives us to fulfill our desires. So as we contact with the different modes of material nature, we are situated either in sattva-guṇa or rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa, and our different characteristics are visible.

But the Puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is never become affected by the material nature. This is the general description of the puruṣa and puruṣottama. And further description will be given from the verse number ten.

(aside) If you like, you can read that. Or you can read this purport of the ninth verse.

Nitāi: (reading purport) "Prakṛti, or material nature, is connected with both the Supreme Lord and the living entities, just as a woman is connected with her husband as a wife and with her children as a mother."

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is very nice example. This prakṛti, the mother . . . just like mother is woman, prakṛti, but her relationship with the husband is different from the relationship with her children. So both of them are puruṣa—living entities and the Supersoul, or the Supreme Lord. They come to this material world. But the relationship is that the Supreme Lord is the controller, controller of the material world, and the living entities, they are controlled. This is the difference. One is controller, and the other is controlled. The same woman, mother, she is working under the direction of the husband. That is one relationship. And she is taking care of the children and controlling the children. The . . . although the medium is the same, but the relationship is different. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, it is said, mama māyā: "Under My control."

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

(BG 9.10)

We should understand this relationship. The material nature has got relationship with both—God and the living entities—but the activities of the two living entities, namely the aṇu and vibhu . . . God is Vibhu, or Prabhu, and living entity is aṇu, or servant, and the via media is the material nature. So we cannot control material nature. That is not possible. We are controlled. We are being controlled. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair mohitam nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (BG 7.13). We are always being controlled. And . . . but the prakṛti, material nature, is being controlled by the Supreme Lord. This is the difference. Unfortunately, sometimes we claim that we can control over. Just like the scientists, they are trying to control over the material nature. That is not possible. You cannot control. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). You cannot control. You shall be controlled, but you cannot control. The controller is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa (BG 9.10).

This is the relationship. This is the characteristic, two puruṣas: one living entity and the Supreme Soul, parama-puruṣa or puruṣottama. The puruṣottama is the controller, and we ordinary living entities, we are controlled. Then how the living entity can be on the equal level with the Supreme Lord? That is not possible. Anyone who thinks like that, they are imperfect knowledge. That is not perfect knowledge. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. They have been described as aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, imperfect knowledge. Buddhi means intelligence. They have no intelligence. We cannot say no intelligence, but aviśuddha. Aviśuddha means it is not purified. Anyone who is claiming to be on the equal level with the Supreme, their intelligence is not yet purified. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because these Māyāvādī philosophers, they have no knowledge of the Supreme Personality of . . . they cannot believe that the Absolute Truth can be a person. They cannot believe it. Their knowledge is so poor, they cannot accommodate. Because as soon as they think of one person, they think that "That person is equal with me." Otherwise, they cannot think of person.

So this is poor fund of knowledge. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). He does not become manifest, or visible, to everyone. Then who . . . unto whom He is visible? And that is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). So unless you take to this process of bhakti-yoga, you cannot understand what is God. Then you will be misguided. So if you take . . . sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). You cannot understand God. But if you take to the devotional service submissively, if you become submissive, surrendered, and you render service to the Lord, then, by His causeless mercy, He becomes revealed, "Here I am. See Me." He talks.

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ

bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam

dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam . . .

(BG 10.10)

Then He gives intelligence. What kind of intelligence? Yena mām upayānti te: "By which one can approach Me." This intelligence is given to him. To whom? Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām: twenty-four hours engaged in the service of the Lord. How? Prīti-pūrvakam: "With love and faith," not that officially. Just like if I want a glass of water, one can give me, "Here is. Take it." And one brings the same glass of water with love and devotion.

So there is two different. Kṛṣṇa is not in want of anything from us. He is pūrṇa. But if we offer Him something with love and faith and devotion, then He accepts. That is the difference. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). That is the real thing, bhakti. Otherwise Kṛṣṇa is not hankering after your patraṁ puṣpam. He has created patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam, He can enjoy. Why He should ask from you? But the real thing is bhaktyā. It is insignificant thing, but if you offer Him bhaktyā, with bhakti, devotion, faith and love, that He accepts. And if He continues to accept, then you can realize Him. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Otherwise you cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa.

So we have come to this material world. Kṛṣṇa is always anxious to get us back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore He comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). What is that dharma? That dharma is not this dharma, Hindu dharma, Mussulman dharma. No. That dharma is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That's . . . so in this way, our position, although we are both in this material world, one is the controller; one is the controlled. And the one who is controlled by the prakṛti, by the material nature, if he accepts to be controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then his controlling by the material nature upon him, that is finished, no more control. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). This is perfection of life.

At the present moment we are being controlled every second, every step. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām (SB 10.14.58). Every step there is danger. This control means punishment. You cannot expect very good treatment in the prison life. So this is prison life, conditioned life. So you cannot expect any good treatment by the material nature because her business is to punish us. That is the business, so that we can enquire that, "Why I am being punished?" That is required. That "why" philosophy is very important. That is the beginning of human life. But we are so dull, in spite of being kicked every moment by material nature that, "why" question is not coming. So dull-headed. And we are advanced in education.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)