SB 3.6.34
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 34
ete varṇāḥ sva-dharmeṇa
yajanti sva-guruṁ harim
śraddhayātma-viśuddhy-arthaṁ
yaj-jātāḥ saha vṛttibhiḥ
SYNONYMS
ete—all these; varṇāḥ—orders of society; sva-dharmeṇa—by one's own occupational duties; yajanti—worship; sva-gurum—with the spiritual master; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śraddhayā—with faith and devotion; ātma—self; viśuddhi-artham—for purifying; yat—from whom; jātāḥ—born; saha—along with; vṛttibhiḥ—occupational duty.
TRANSLATION
All these different social divisions are born, with their occupational duties and living conditions, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus for unconditional life and self-realization one has to worship the Supreme Lord under the direction of the spiritual master.
PURPORT
Since they are born from different parts of the body of the Supreme Lord in His gigantic form, all living entities in all parts of the entire universe are supposed to be eternal servitors of the supreme body. Every part of our own body, such as the mouth, hands, thighs and legs, is meant to render service to the whole. That is their constitutional position. In subhuman life the living entities are not conscious of this constitutional position, but in the human form of life they are supposed to know this through the system of the varṇas, the social orders. As above mentioned, the brāhmaṇa is the spiritual master of all the orders of society, and thus brahminical culture, culminating in the transcendental service of the Lord, is the basic principle for purifying the soul.
In conditioned life the soul is under the impression that he can become the lord of the universe, and the last point of this misconception is to think oneself the Supreme. The foolish conditioned soul does not take into account that the Supreme cannot be conditioned by māyā, or illusion. If the Supreme were to become conditioned by illusion, where would be His supremacy? In that case, māyā, or illusion, would be the Supreme. Therefore, because the living entities are conditioned, they cannot be supreme. The actual position of the conditioned soul is explained in this verse: all the conditioned souls are impure due to contact with the material energy in three modes of nature. Therefore it is necessary that they purify themselves under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, who not only is a brāhmaṇa by qualification but must also be a Vaiṣṇava. The only self-purifying process mentioned herein is to worship the Lord under the recognized method—under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master. That is the natural way of purification, and no other method is recommended as bona fide. The other methods of purification may be helpful to come to this stage of life, but ultimately one has to come to this last point before he attains actual perfection. Bhagavad-gītā (BG 7.19) confirms this truth as follows:
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
SB 3.6.35
2008-03-16T18:10:01Z
Acyuta
2
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 35
etat kṣattar bhagavato
daiva-karmātma-rūpiṇaḥ
kaḥ śraddadhyād upākartuṁ
yogamāyā-balodayam
SYNONYMS
etat—this; kṣattaḥ—O Vidura; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; daiva-karma-ātma-rūpiṇaḥ—of the gigantic form of transcendental work, time and nature; kaḥ—who else; śraddadhyāt—can aspire; upākartum—measure in totality; yogamāyā—internal potency; bala-udayam—manifested by the strength of.
TRANSLATION
O Vidura, who can estimate or measure the transcendental time, work and potency of the gigantic form manifested by the internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
PURPORT
The froggish philosophers may go on with their mental speculations on the subject matter of the virāṭ, the gigantic form exhibited by the yogamāyā internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but factually no one can measure such a vast exhibition. In Bhagavad-gītā (BG 11.16), Arjuna, the recognized devotee of the Lord, says:
- aneka-bāhūdara-vaktra-netraṁ
- paśyāmi tvāṁ sarvato 'nanta-rūpam
- nāntaṁ na madhyaṁ na punas tavādiṁ
- paśyāmi viśveśvara viśva-rūpa
"O my Lord, O gigantic viśva-rūpa form, O master of the universe, I see innumerable hands, bodies, mouths and eyes in all directions, and they are all unlimited. I cannot find the end of this manifestation, nor do I see the middle, nor the beginning."
Bhagavad-gītā was specifically spoken to Arjuna, and the viśva-rūpa was exhibited before him at his request. He was awarded the specific eyes to see this viśva-rūpa, yet although he was able to see the Lord's innumerable hands and mouths, he was unable to see Him completely. Since Arjuna was unable to estimate the length and breadth of the potency of the Lord, who else would be able to do so? One may only indulge in miscalculation like the frog-philosopher. The frog-philosopher wanted to estimate the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean by his experience of a well three cubic feet large, and thus he began to puff himself up to become as big as the Pacific Ocean, but at last he burst and died by this process. This story is applicable to the mental philosophers who, under the illusion of the Lord's external energy, indulge in estimating the length and breadth of the Supreme Lord. The best path is to become a cool-headed, submissive devotee of the Lord, try to hear about the Lord from the bona fide spiritual master, and thus serve the Lord in transcendental loving service, as suggested in the previous verse.