SB 2.5.2
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 2
- yad rūpaṁ yad adhiṣṭhānaṁ
- yataḥ sṛṣṭam idaṁ prabho
- yat saṁsthaṁ yat paraṁ yac ca
- tat tattvaṁ vada tattvataḥ
SYNONYMS
yat — what; rūpam — the symptoms of manifestation; yat — what; adhiṣṭhānam — background; yataḥ — from where; sṛṣṭam — created; idam — this world; prabho — O my father; yat — in which; saṁstham — conserved; yat — what; param — under control; yat — what are; ca — and; tat — of this; tattvam — the symptoms; vada — please describe; tattvataḥ — factually.
TRANSLATION
My dear father, please describe factually the symptoms of this manifest world. What is its background? How is it created? How is it conserved? And under whose control is all this being done?
PURPORT
The inquiries by Nārada Muni on the basis of factual cause and effect appear very reasonable. The atheists, however, put forward many self-made theories without any touch of cause and effect. The manifested world, as well as the spirit soul, is still unexplained by the godless atheists through the medium of experimental knowledge, although they have put forward many theories manufactured by their fertile brains. Contrary to such mental speculative theories of creation, however, Nārada Muni wanted to know all the facts of creation in truth, and not by theories.
Transcendental knowledge regarding the soul and the Supersoul includes knowledge of the phenomenal world and the basis of its creation. In the phenomenal world three things are factually observed by any intelligent man: the living beings, the manifest world, and the ultimate control over them. The intelligent man can see that neither the living entity nor the phenomenal world are creations of chance. The symmetry of creation and its regulative actions and reactions suggests the plan of an intelligent brain behind them, and by genuine inquiry one may find out the ultimate cause with the help of one who knows them factually.