CC Madhya 20.273 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Below is the 1996 edition text, ready to be substituted with the 1975 one using the compile form.
TEXT 273
- svāṅga-viśeṣābhāsa-rūpe prakṛti-sparśana
- jīva-rūpa ‘bīja’ tāte kailā samarpaṇa
SYNONYMS
sva-aṅga-viśeṣa-ābhāsa-rūpe—in the form of a specific shadow from His personal body; prakṛti-sparśana—the Lord glances over the material nature; jīva-rūpa—having the form of the sparklike living entities, who are parts and parcels; bīja—semen; tāte—in that material nature; kailā samarpaṇa—impregnated.
TRANSLATION
“To impregnate with the seeds of the living entities, the Lord Himself does not directly touch the material energy, but by His specific functional expansion He touches the material energy, and thus the living entities, who are His parts and parcels, are impregnated into material nature.
PURPORT
According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 15.7):
- mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
- manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāni prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” The word prakṛti-sparśana is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in reference to the way the living entities come in contact with dull matter. The glancing is performed by Mahā-Viṣṇu: sa aikṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti. (Aitareya Upaniṣad 1.1.1) In the conditioned stage we impregnate according to the bodily conception—that is, by sexual intercourse—but the Supreme Lord does not need sexual intercourse to impregnate. The impregnation is performed simply by His glance. This is also explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā (BS 5.38):
- aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti
- paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
- ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Govinda can impregnate simply by glancing. In other words, His eyes can work as His genitals. He does not need genitals to beget a child. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa can beget any one of the living entities with any part of His body.
The word svāṅga-viśeṣābhāsa-rūpe, indicating the form by which the Lord begets living entities in the material world, is explained herein. He is Lord Śiva. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that Lord Śiva, who is another form of Mahā-Viṣṇu, is like yogurt. Yogurt is nothing but milk, yet it is not milk. Similarly, Lord Śiva is considered the father of this universe, and material nature is considered the mother. The father and mother are known as Lord Śiva and goddess Durgā. Together, Lord Śiva’s genitals and the vagina of goddess Durgā are worshiped as the śiva-liṅga. This is the origin of the material creation. Thus Lord Śiva’s position is between that of the living entity and that of the Supreme Lord. In other words, Lord Śiva is neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor a living entity. He is the form through which the Supreme Lord works to beget living entities within this material world. As yogurt is prepared when milk is mixed with a culture, the form of Lord Śiva expands when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in touch with material nature. The impregnation of material nature by the father, Lord Śiva, is wonderful because at one time innumerable living entities are conceived. Bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 5.9). These living entities are very, very small:
- keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatāṁśa-sadṛśātmakaḥ
- jīvaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo ’yaṁ saṅkhyātīto hi cit-kaṇaḥ
“If we divide the tip of a hair into a hundred parts and then take one of these parts and divide it again into a hundred parts, that very fine division is the size of but one of the numberless living entities. They are all cit-kaṇa, particles of spirit, not matter.” The innumerable brahmāṇḍas, or universes, come from the pores of the Lord’s body, and innumerable living entities also come from the pores of the transcendental body of the Lord. This is the process of material creation. Without the living entities, this material nature has no value. Both emanate from the pores of the transcendental body of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu. They are different energies. The material nature is explained as follows by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 7.4):
- bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
- ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.” Thus the material elements also come from the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they are a different type of energy from the living entities. Although the living entities also come from the Lord’s body, they are categorized as a superior energy:
- apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
- jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
“Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” (BG 7.5) The inferior energy, matter, cannot act without the superior energy. All these things are very clearly explained in the Vedas. The materialistic theory that life develops from matter is incorrect. Life and matter come from the supreme living entity; therefore, being the source of both, that supreme living entity, Kṛṣṇa, is described in the Vedānta-sūtra as janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1) (1.1), or the original source of everything, sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (BS 5.1). This is further explained in the following verse.