661218 - Lecture CC Madhya 20.255-281 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1966

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

661218CC.NY - December 17, 1966

Prabhupāda:

kriyā-śakti-pradhāna saṅkarṣaṇa balarāma

prākṛtāprākṛta-sṛṣṭi karena nirmāṇa

(CC Madhya 20.255)

So out of three transcendental propensities of the Supreme Lord, icchā-śakti, jñāna-śakti and kriyā-śakti, the kriyā-śakti, that is represented by . . . or the controller of the kriyā-śakti is Saṅkarṣaṇa, Balarāma. And with that potency, kriyā-śakti potency, the creation, both material creation and spiritual creation, are effected.

ahaṅkārera adhiṣṭhātā kṛṣṇera icchāya

goloka, vaikuṇṭha sṛje cic-chakti-dvārāya

(CC Madhya 20.256)

Cic-chakti-dvārāya. The spiritual potency is manifested in the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana and spiritual planets.

yadyapi asṛjya nitya cic-chakti-vilāsa

tathāpi saṅkarṣaṇa-icchāya tāhāra prakāśa

(CC Madhya 20.257)

Actually, there is no creation in the spiritual world. The creation means it begins at a certain time and ends at a certain time, but in the spiritual world there is no such beginning. But because we find the creation of this material world by the kriyā-śakti potency of Lord, therefore it is understood that the spiritual world is also manifested by the same potency, with the help of His spiritual energy.

sahasra-patraṁ kamalaṁ

gokulākhyaṁ mahat-padam

tat-karṇikāraṁ tad-dhāma

tad anantāṁśa-sambhavam

(CC Madhya 20.258)

That original planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana, is described here in the Brahma-saṁhitā "just like a lotus flower."

māyā-dvāre sṛje teṅho brahmāṇḍera gaṇa

jaḍa-rūpā prakṛti nahe brahmāṇḍa-kāraṇa

(CC Madhya 20.259)

Now, so far this material creation is concerned, it is said here that, "By His material potency, He manifests this material world and unlimited universes within the material world." Ah, nobody should think that the material world has come out of nothing, out of void. No. This is confirmed in all Vedic literature and especially in the Brahma-saṁhitā, and in the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10).

So material nature is not independent. It is a misunderstanding, a wrong conception, that matter is working out of its own accord. Matter has no power to work. It is a jaḍa-rūpā. Jaḍa-rūpā means it has no moving capacity or, what is called, initiative. Matter has no initiative. Therefore matter cannot manifest in such a way without the direction of the Supreme Lord. Māyā-dvāre sṛje teṅho brahmāṇḍera gaṇa. Actually, it is His direction, but material potency is help only. That's all.

jaḍa haite sṛṣṭi nahe īśvara-śakti vine

tāhātei saṅkarṣaṇa kare śaktira ādhāne

(CC Madhya 20.260)

Jaḍa haite, from matter, there is no possibility of any creation. The Saṅkarṣaṇa, He is manifestation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Balarāma. He is the director of this material creation.

īśvarera śaktye sṛṣṭi karaye prakṛti

lauha yena agni-śaktye pāya dāha-śakti

(CC Madhya 20.261)

"Just like it is, in contact with the fire, the iron becomes red hot and it become fire, similarly, in contact with Saṅkarṣaṇa, this material energy gets potency, and thereby the material manifestation is there."

etau hi viśvasya ca bīja-yonī

rāmo mukundaḥ puruṣaḥ pradhānam

anvīya bhūteṣu vilakṣaṇasya

jñānasya ceśāta imau purāṇau

(CC Madhya 20.262)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the Tenth Canto, it is stated that, "This Rāma and Kṛṣṇa"—Rāma means Balarāma, and Kṛṣṇa—"They are the root of this material creation. And both of Them enters into each and every universe and maintains that."

Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham

(Bs 5.35).

This is mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

sṛṣṭi-hetu yei mūrti prapañce avatāre

sei īśvara-mūrti 'avatāra' nāma dhare

(CC Madhya 20.263)

"For material creation, the expansion of the Supreme Lord for the purpose of material creation is called incarnation. That is called avatāra."

māyātīta paravyome sabāra avasthāna

viśve avatari' dhare 'avatāra' nāma

(CC Madhya 20.264)

"So all Viṣṇu expansion, they are in the spiritual world, and they all of them reside there. But when they come into this material world, it is called incarnation." Actually, avatāra . . . this Sanskrit name is avatāra. Avatāra means who comes down from the spiritual world. Avatāratī. Avatāratī means descends. Descends. They are not born of this material energy. They descend from the spiritual world.

sei māyā avalokite śrī-saṅkarṣaṇa

puruṣa-rūpe avatīrṇa ha-ilā prathama

(CC Madhya 20.265)

Now, puruṣa-rūpe, the first incarnation for this material creation, the Mahā-Viṣṇu, sa aikṣata. Simply by His glance, this material world begins its activity.

sei māyā avalokite sri-saṅkarṣaṇa

puruṣa-rūpa avatīrṇa ha-ilā prathama

(CC Madhya 20.265)

jagṛhe pauruṣaṁ rūpaṁ

bhagavān mahad-ādibhiḥ

sambhūtaṁ ṣoḍaśa-kalam

ādau loka-sisṛkṣayā

(CC Madhya 20.266)

Ādau loka-sisṛkṣayā: "Just before the creation the Mahā-Viṣṇu, He takes His incarnation, and He puts His glance on the material energy, and the creation begins."

ādyo 'vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasya

kālaḥ svabhāvaḥ sad-asan-manaś ca

dravyaṁ vikāro guṇa indriyāṇi

virāṭ svarāṭ sthāsnu cariṣṇu bhūmnaḥ

(CC Madhya 20.267)

So ādyo avatāra, the first puruṣāvatāra, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is very vast. Just imagine how much great He is, His body is, that from His breathing all these universes are generating.

sei puruṣa virajāte karena śayana

'Kāraṇodakaśāyī' nāma jagat-kāraṇa

(CC Madhya 20.268)

"That puruṣāvatāra, the first incarnation of puruṣa, He lies down in the water of Causal Ocean, and His name is Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu."

kāraṇābdhi-pāre māyāra nitya avasthiti

virajāra pāre paravyome nāhi gati

(CC Madhya 20.269)

Kāraṇābdhi-pāre. Just on the other side of the ocean, kāraṇa, Causal Ocean, this material energy is situated. Virajāra pāre paravyome nāhi gati. And this material energy has no entrance in the spiritual kingdom.

pravartate tatra rajas tamas tayoḥ

sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ

na yatra māyā kim utāpare harer

anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ

(CC Madhya 20.270)

Now, the description of the spiritual world is that there is no rajas-tamaḥ. These modes of passion and modes of ignorance is not there. Śuddha-sattva. Śuddha-sattva means simply goodness, pure goodness, without any tinge of passion and ignorance.

So pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoḥ sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ. There is no mixed goodness; simple goodness. And na ca kāla-vikramaḥ: "And there is no influence of time." This is the description of the spiritual world, "There is no modes of passion, and there is no modes of ignorance, and there is no influence of time." That means there is simply the pure goodness. And in pure goodness we can understand our constitutional position, we can understand what is God, what is creation, everything.

These are . . . goodness means prakāśa. Prakāśa means knowledge comes out. And so long we are in ignorance and passion, there is no knowledge. In ignorance there is no knowledge at all, in passion there is some glimpse of knowledge, and in goodness there is full knowledge.

So the living entities there, they are full of knowledge. Therefore they do not come into this material world. And na yatra kāla-vikramaḥ: and because there is no influence of time, therefore there is no past, present and future. In this material world there is influence of time. Therefore we have got this past, present and future.

So these things, of course theoretically we have to understand. But these are authentic explanation from scriptures, Vedic literatures. At least we have to accept them theoretically. The spiritual world means that there is no ignorance, there is no passion and there is no influence of time. Na yatra māyā kim utāpare: "And this māyā, this illusion, is also absent."

Kim utāpare harer anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ: "And there, in the spiritual planets, all the living entities, they are all surrendered souls, or followers of the Supreme Lord." There is no misconception that, "I am Lord, I am God." There is no such misconception. They are all clear of this nonsense ignorance. Anuvratā: they are always following.

Therefore there is unity, oneness. That is oneness. God is one, and the living entities there, they are all followers, obedient of God. There is no influence of time, no influence of ignorance, no influence of passion. So that is perfect. That is spiritual kingdom, the description of spiritual world. This is from Bhāgavatam.

And there are other verses in this chapter where this verse appears that there, I have read it, that there are aeroplanes also. And the devotees . . . and the woman, they are just like lightning. So it appears there are men, there are women, there are aeroplane, there are . . . everything is there. Simply difference is that there is no influence of time. Influence of time there is no—that means there is no past, future and present, and there is no death. Death is the influence of time. A old man like me is going to die. Death means the influence of time is being acted on this body. So after a few days or few years, this must vanquish. So there is no influence of time.

So there is no death, there is no birth, there is no ignorance, and everyone is obedient, everyone is happy. And their features of body is also exactly like God. In the spiritual planets, all of a sudden if you go, you cannot distinguish who is God and who is not. Yes. So . . . just like here also, when Kṛṣṇa comes, He appears just like one of us. So man is made after God. So, so far features are concerned, there is no difference between God and man. But the difference is only that God has no material body, we have got this material body subjected to the influence of time.

When Kṛṣṇa comes, He does not become old. He remains just like a boy, even when He is great-grandfather, because on His body there is no influence of time. Because His body is spiritual, therefore there is no influence of time.

māyāra ye dui vṛtti-'māyā' āra 'pradhāna

māyā' nimitta-hetu, viśvera upādāna 'pradhāna

(CC Madhya 20.271)

This material energy is divided into two: pradhāna and upādāna. Pradhāna and upādāna. The whole, total material energy is called pradhāna, and the material elements are called ingredients, upādāna.

sei puruṣa māyā-pāne kare avadhāna

prakṛti kṣobhita kari' kare vīryera ādhāna

(CC Madhya 20.272)

Now, in the Bhagavad-gītā you have read that mahad-yonir mahad-brahma tāsām . . . it is stated there that ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4): "I implement the seeds of living entities into the matter." So in the matter the living . . . the seeds of living entities, as we are, they are impregnated.

As the father impregnates the mother, similarly, this material nature is just like mother, and therefore material nature is worshiped as mother, goddess, mother goddess, Durgā, Kālī. Yes. And this worship of the country, nationalism, that is also the same matter-worship. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13).

So, so long we are not enlightened, we are worshiper of this matter, energy. And when we are advanced in knowledge, then we are worshiper of the Supreme. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means advanced stage of knowledge. It is not in the material platform. Therefore anyone who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness appropriately and thoroughly, he is liberated from material consciousness.

svāṅga-viśeṣābhāsa-rūpe prakṛti-sparśana

jīva-rūpa 'bīja' tāte kailā samarpaṇa

(Cc Madhya 20.273)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is this evidence:

daivāt kṣubhita-dharmiṇyāṁ

svasyāṁ yonau paraḥ pumān

ādhatta vīryaṁ sā 'sūta

mahat-tattvaṁ hiraṇmayam

(CC Madhya 20.274)

So from this version of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that the living entities as seeds, they are coming from the spiritual world. They are not product of the matter. Therefore it is not possible to produce living entity with material chemicals and material elements. It is not possible. As some of the modern scientists they claim that "We shall now give life," or they advertise in that way, so from this verse we can understand that it is not possible. Because these living entities, they are just like seeds, and they are coming from the spiritual world, from the body of the Supreme. Those spiritual, I mean to say, living entities are desirous of enjoying sense gratification, they are allowed to this material world—others, they are in the spiritual world.

kāla-vṛttyā tu māyāyāṁ

guṇamayyām adhokṣajaḥ

puruṣenātma-bhūtena

vīryam ādhatta vīryavān

(CC Madhya 20.275)

So there is another verse, that how the seeds are given within this material world.

tabe mahat-tattva haite trividha ahaṅkāra

yāhā haite devatendriya-bhūtera pracāra

(CC Madhya 20.276)

Now, here is a short description of the creation. First, material energy; then the seeds of the living entities are impregnated into that material energy; and then mahat-tattva, from the material energy, this ego, false ego, comes out. First, first manifestation of this material world is this false ego, mahat-tattva. Trividha ahaṅkāra. Yāhā haite devatendriya-bhūtera pracāra: "And from that ego, all these human beings or demigods or other living entities, they are coming out."

sarva tattva mili' sṛjila brahmāṇḍera gaṇa

ananta brahmāṇḍa, tāra nāhika gaṇana

(CC Madhya 20.277)

"In this way, the Lord created unlimited number of universes." This one universe which you have seen—that is one only, but there are innumerable universes that is created.

iṅho mahat-sraṣṭā puruṣa-'mahā-viṣṇu' nāma

ananta brahmāṇḍa tāṅra loma-kūpe dhāma

(CC Madhya 20.278)

"Now, the expansion of Kṛṣṇa who is doing all this material expansion, He is known as Mahā-Viṣṇu. Mahā-Viṣṇu."

gavākṣe uḍiyā yaiche reṇu āse yāya

puruṣa-niśvāsa-saha brahmāṇḍa bāhirāya

(CC Madhya 20.279-80)

Now here is a nice example. You have seen the sunshine entering your room through a hole of your window, and you will find so many atomic demonstration. So these brahmāṇḍas, the so many universes, they are emanating from the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu in that way.

punarapi niśvāsa-saha yāya abhyantara

ananta aiśvarya tāṅra, saba-māyā-pāra

(CC Madhya 20.279-80)

In this way all the universes, they enter into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu after the creation is over, and again comes out. In this way it is coming and going, coming . . . bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that they are coming and going within. This is the way of material nature. And here is another evidence from Brahma-saṁhitā:

yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya

jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ

viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs 5.48)

Now, such a vast, gigantic Mahā-Viṣṇu, of whose breathing producing this universes and whose inhaling, annihilating all the universes—such vast Mahā-Viṣṇu is only part and part of the expansion of Kṛṣṇa, Govinda. So Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. So just we have to imagine how much potential is the Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Thank you very much. (end)