Çré Éçopaniñad

Invocation. The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete,

and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from
Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped
as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete
Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete
Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from
Him, He remains the complete balance.
Mantra 1. Everything animate or inanimate that is within the
universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should
therefore accept only those things necessary for himself,
which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept
other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
Mantra 2. One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he
continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of
work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no
alternative to this way for man.
Mantra 3. The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter
into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of
darkness and ignorance.
Mantra 4. Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of
Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others
running.
Mantra 5. The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far
away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and
yet He is outside of everything.
Mantra 6. He who sees systematically everything in relation to the
Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and
parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything
never hates anything or any being.

1
Mantra 7. One who always sees all living entities as spiritual
sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower
of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
Mantra 8. Such a person must factually know the greatest of all,
the Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient,
beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated,
the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling
everyone's desire since time immemorial.
Mantra 9. Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities
shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still
are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.
Mantra 10. The wise have explained that one result is derived
from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is
obtained from the culture of nescience.
Mantra 11. Only one who can learn the process of nescience and
that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend
the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full
blessings of immortality.
Mantra 12. Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods
enter into the darkest region of ignorance, and still more so
do the worshipers of the impersonal Absolute.
Mantra 13. It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the
supreme cause of all causes and that another result is
obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard
from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.
Mantra 14. One should know perfectly the Personality of
Godhead Çré Kåñëa and His transcendental name, form,
qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary material
creation with its temporary demigods, men and animals.
Mantra 15. O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is
covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that
covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.
Mantra 16. O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the

2
 universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure
devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please
remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I
can see Your form of bliss.
Mantra 17. Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the
air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord,
please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the
ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for
You.
Mantra 18. O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one,
now I offer You all obeisances, falling on the ground at Your
feet. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach
You, and since You know all that I have done in the past,
please free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there
will be no hindrance to my progress.

Introduction

"Teachings of the Vedas"

[Delivered as a lecture by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupäda on October 6, 1969, at Conway Hall, London, England.
Ladies and gentlemen, today's subject matter is the teachings of the
Vedas. What are the Vedas? The Sanskrit verbal root of veda can be
interpreted variously, but the purport is finally one. Veda means knowledge.
Any knowledge you accept is veda, for the teachings of the Vedas are the
original knowledge. In the conditioned state, our knowledge is subjected to
many deficiencies. The difference between a conditioned soul and a
liberated soul is that the conditioned soul has four kinds of defects. The first
defect is that he must commit mistakes. For example, in our country,
Mahatma Gandhi was considered to be a very great personality, but he
committed many mistakes. Even at the last stage of his life, his assistant
warned, "Mahatma Gandhi, don't go to the New Delhi meeting. I have some

3
friends, and I have heard there is danger." But he did not hear. He persisted
in going and was killed. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi,
President Kennedy—there are so many of them—make mistakes. To err is
human. This is one defect of the conditioned soul.
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something
which is not: mäyä. Mäyä means "what is not." Everyone is accepting the
body as the self. If I ask you what you are, you will say, "I am Mr. John; I am
a rich man; I am this; I am that." All these are bodily identifications. But
you are not this body. This is illusion.
The third defect is the cheating propensity.
Everyone has the propensity to cheat others. Although a person is fool
number one, he poses himself as very intelligent. Although it is already
pointed out that he is in illusion and makes mistakes, he will theorize: "I
think this is this, this is this." But he does not even know his own position.
He writes books of philosophy, although he is defective. That is his disease.
That is cheating.
Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our eyes. Often,
someone will challenge, "Can you show me God?" But do you have the eyes
to see God? You will never see if you haven't the eyes. If immediately the
room becomes dark, you cannot even see your hands. So what power do you
have to see? We cannot, therefore, expect knowledge (veda) with these
imperfect senses. With all these deficiencies, in conditioned life we cannot
give perfect knowledge to anyone. Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore
we accept the Vedas as they are.
You may call the Vedas Hindu, but "Hindu" is a foreign name. We are
not Hindus. Our real identification is varëäçrama. Varëäçrama denotes the
followers of the Vedas, those who accept the human society in eight
divisions of varëa and äçrama. There are four divisions of society and four
divisions of spiritual life. This is called varëäçrama. It is stated in the
Bhagavad-gétä (4.13), "These divisions are everywhere because they are
created by God." The divisions of society are brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya,
çüdra. Brähmaëa refers to the very intelligent class of men, those who know
what is Brahman. Similarly, the kñatriyas, the administrator group, are the

4
next intelligent class of men. Then the vaiçyas, the mercantile group. These
natural classifications are found everywhere. This is the Vedic principle,
and we accept it. Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic truth, for there
cannot be any mistake. That is acceptance. For instance, in India cow dung
is accepted as pure, and yet cow dung is the stool of an animal. In one place
you'll find the Vedic injunction that if you touch stool, you have to take a
bath immediately. But in another place it is said that the stool of a cow is
pure. If you smear cow dung in an impure place, that place becomes pure.
With our ordinary sense we can argue, "This is contradictory." Actually, it is
contradictory from the ordinary point of view, but it is not false. It is fact.
In Calcutta, a very prominent scientist and doctor analyzed cow dung and
found that it contains all antiseptic properties.
In India if one person tells another, "You must do this," the other party
may say, "What do you mean? Is this a Vedic injunction, that I have to
follow you without any argument?" Vedic injunctions cannot be
interpreted. But ultimately, if you carefully study why these injunctions are
there, you will find that they are all correct.
The Vedas are not compilations of human knowledge. Vedic knowledge
comes from the spiritual world, from Lord Kåñëa. Another name for the
Vedas is çruti. Çruti refers to that knowledge which is acquired by hearing. It
is not experimental knowledge. Çruti is considered to be like a mother. We
take so much knowledge from our mother. For example, if you want to know
who your father is, who can answer you? Your mother. If the mother says,
"Here is your father," you have to accept it. It is not possible to experiment
to find out whether he is your father. Similarly, if you want to know
something beyond your experience, beyond your experimental knowledge,
beyond the activities of the senses, then you have to accept the Vedas.
There is no question of experimenting. It has already been experimented. It
is already settled. The version of the mother, for instance, has to be
accepted as truth. There is no other way.
The Vedas are considered to be the mother, and Brahmä is called the
grandfather, the forefather, because he was the first to be instructed in the
Vedic knowledge. In the beginning the first living creature was Brahmä. He

5
received this Vedic knowledge and imparted it to Närada and other
disciples and sons, and they also distributed it to their disciples. In this way,
the Vedic knowledge comes down by disciplic succession. It is also
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä that Vedic knowledge is understood in this
way. If you make experimental endeavor, you come to the same conclusion,
but just to save time you should accept. If you want to know who your
father is and if you accept your mother as the authority, then whatever she
says can be accepted without argument. There are three kinds of evidence:
pratyakña, anumäna and çabda. Pratyakña means "direct evidence." Direct
evidence is not very good because our senses are not perfect. We are seeing
the sun daily, and it appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far,
far larger than many planets. Of what value is this seeing? Therefore we
have to read books; then we can understand about the sun. So direct
experience is not perfect. Then there is anumäna, inductive knowledge: "It
may be like this"—hypothesis. For instance, Darwin's theory says it may be
like this, it may be like that. But that is not science. That is a suggestion,
and it is also not perfect. But if you receive the knowledge from the
authoritative sources, that is perfect. If you receive a program guide from
the radio station authorities, you accept it. You don't deny it; you don't have
to make an experiment, because it is received from the authoritative
sources.
Vedic knowledge is called çabda-pramäëa. Another name is çruti. Çruti
means that this knowledge has to be received simply by aural reception. The
Vedas instruct that in order to understand transcendental knowledge, we
have to hear from the authority. Transcendental knowledge is knowledge
from beyond this universe. Within this universe is material knowledge, and
beyond this universe is transcendental knowledge. We cannot even go to
the end of the universe, so how can we go to the spiritual world? Thus to
acquire full knowledge is impossible.
There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is beyond
manifestation and nonmanifestation. But how will you know that there is a
sky where the planets and inhabitants are eternal? All this knowledge is
there, but how will you make experiments? It is not possible. Therefore you
have to take the assistance of the Vedas. This is called Vedic knowledge. In

6
our Kåñëa consciousness movement we are accepting knowledge from the
highest authority, Kåñëa. Kåñëa is accepted as the highest authority by all
classes of men. I am speaking first of the two classes of transcendentalists.
One class of transcendentalists is called impersonalistic, Mäyävädé. They
are generally known as Vedäntists, led by Çaìkaräcärya. And there is
another class of transcendentalists, called Vaiñëavas, like Rämänujäcärya,
Madhväcärya, Viñëu Svämé. Both the Çaìkara-sampradäya and the
Vaiñëava-sampradäya have accepted Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Çaìkaräcärya is supposed to be an impersonalist who preached
impersonalism, impersonal Brahman, but it is a fact that he is a covered
personalist. In his commentary on the Bhagavad-gétä he wrote, "Näräyaëa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond this cosmic manifestation."
And then again he confirmed, "That Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Näräyaëa, is Kåñëa. He has come as the son of Devaké and Vasudeva." He
particularly mentioned the names of His father and mother. So Kåñëa is
accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all transcendentalists.
There is no doubt about it. Our source of knowledge in Kåñëa consciousness
is the Bhagavad-gétä, which comes directly from Kåñëa. We have published
Bhagavad-gétä As It Is because we accept Kåñëa as He is speaking, without
any interpretation. That is Vedic knowledge. Since the Vedic knowledge is
pure, we accept it. Whatever Kåñëa says, we accept. This is Kåñëa
consciousness. That saves much time. If you accept the right authority, or
source of knowledge, then you save much time. For example, there are two
systems of knowledge in the material world: inductive and deductive. From
deductive, you accept that man is mortal. Your father says man is mortal,
your sister says man is mortal, everyone says man is mortal—but you do not
experiment. You accept it as a fact that man is mortal. If you want to
research to find out whether man is mortal, you have to study each and
every man, and you may come to think that there may be some man who is
not dying but you have not seen him yet. So in this way your research will
never be finished. In Sanskrit this process is called äroha, the ascending
process. If you want to attain knowledge by any personal endeavor, by
exercising your imperfect senses, you will never come to the right
conclusions. That is not possible.

7
 There is a statement in the Brahma-saàhitä: Just ride on the airplane
which runs at the speed of mind. Our material airplanes can run two
thousand miles per hour, but what is the speed of mind? You are sitting at
home, you immediately think of India—say, ten thousand miles away—and
at once it is in your home. Your mind has gone there. The mind-speed is so
swift. Therefore it is stated, "If you travel at this speed for millions of years,
you'll find that the spiritual sky is unlimited." It is not possible even to
approach it. Therefore, the Vedic injunction is that one must
approach—the word "compulsory" is used—a bona fide spiritual master, a
guru. And what is the qualification of a spiritual master? He is one who has
rightly heard the Vedic message from the right source. And he must
practically be firmly established in Brahman. These are the two qualities he
must have. Otherwise he is not bona fide.
This Kåñëa consciousness movement is completely authorized from
Vedic principles. In the Bhagavad-gétä Kåñëa says, "The actual aim of Vedic
research is to find out Kåñëa." In the Brahma-saàhitä it is also stated,
"Kåñëa, Govinda, has innumerable forms, but they are all one." They are not
like our forms, which are fallible. His form is infallible. My form has a
beginning, but His form has no beginning. It is ananta. And His form—so
many multiforms—has no end. My form is sitting here and not in my
apartment. You are sitting there and not in your apartment. But Kåñëa can
be everywhere at one time. He can sit down in Goloka Våndävana, and at
the same time He is everywhere, all-pervading. He is original, the oldest, but
whenever you look at a picture of Kåñëa you'll find a young boy fifteen or
twenty years old. You will never find an old man. You have seen pictures of
Kåñëa as a charioteer from the Bhagavad-gétä. At that time He was not less
than one hundred years old. He had great-grandchildren, but He looked just
like a boy. Kåñëa, God, never becomes old. That is His supreme power. And
if you want to search out Kåñëa by studying the Vedic literature, then you
will be baffled. It may be possible, but it is very difficult. But you can very
easily learn about Him from His devotee. His devotee can deliver Him to
you: "Here He is, take Him." That is the potency of Kåñëa's devotees.
Originally there was only one Veda, and there was no necessity of
reading it. People were so intelligent and had such sharp memories that by

8
once hearing from the lips of the spiritual master they would understand.
They would immediately grasp the whole purport. But five thousand years
ago Vyäsadeva put the Vedas in writing for the people in this age, Kali-yuga.
He knew that eventually the people would be short-lived, their memories
would be very poor, and their intelligence would not be very sharp.
"Therefore, let me teach this Vedic knowledge in writing." He divided the
Vedas into four: Åg, Säma, Atharva and Yajur. Then he gave the charge of
these Vedas to his different disciples. He then thought of the less intelligent
class of men—stré, çüdra and dvija-bandhu. He considered the woman class
and çüdra class (worker class) and dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu refers to
those who are born in a high family but who are not properly qualified. A
man who is born in the family of a brähmaëa but is not qualified as a
brähmaëa is called dvija-bandhu. For these persons he compiled the
Mahäbhärata, called the history of India, and the eighteen Puräëas. These
are all part of the Vedic literature: the Puräëas, the Mahäbhärata, the four
Vedas and the Upaniñads. The Upaniñads are part of the Vedas. Then
Vyäsadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge for scholars and philosophers in
what is called the Vedänta-sütra. This is the last word of the Vedas.
Vyäsadeva personally wrote the Vedänta-sütra under the instructions of
Närada, his Guru Mahäräja (spiritual master), but still he was not satisfied.
That is a long story, described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Vedavyäsa was not
very satisfied even after compiling many Puräëas and Upaniñads, and even
after writing the Vedänta-sütra. Then his spiritual master, Närada,
instructed him, "You explain the Vedänta-sütra." Vedänta means "ultimate
knowledge," and the ultimate knowledge is Kåñëa. Kåñëa says that
throughout all the Vedas one has to understand Him: vedaiç ca sarvair aham
eva vedyaù. Kåñëa also says, vedänta-kåd veda-vid eva cäham: "I am the
compiler of the Vedänta-sütra, and I am the knower of the Vedas."
Therefore the ultimate objective is Kåñëa. That is explained in all the
Vaiñëava commentaries on Vedänta philosophy. We Gauòéya Vaiñëavas
have our commentary on Vedänta philosophy, called Govinda-bhäñya, by
Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa. Similarly, Rämänujäcärya has a commentary, and
Madhväcärya has one. The version of Çaìkaräcärya is not the only
commentary. There are many Vedänta commentaries, but because the

9
Vaiñëavas did not present the first Vedänta commentary, people are under
the wrong impression that Çaìkaräcärya's is the only Vedänta commentary.
Besides that, Vyäsadeva himself wrote the perfect Vedänta commentary,
Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Çrémad-Bhägavatam begins with the first words of the
Vedänta-sütra: janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]. And that janmädy asya yataù is
fully explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The Vedänta-sütra simply hints at
what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth: "The Absolute Truth is that from
whom everything emanates." This is a summary, but it is explained in detail
in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. If everything is emanating from the Absolute Truth,
then what is the nature of the Absolute Truth? That is explained in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam. The Absolute Truth must be consciousness. He is
self-effulgent (sva-räö). We develop our consciousness and knowledge by
receiving knowledge from others, but for Him it is said that He is
self-effulgent. The whole summary of Vedic knowledge is the Vedänta-sütra,
and the Vedänta-sütra is explained by the writer himself in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam. We finally request those who are actually after Vedic
knowledge to try to understand the explanation of all Vedic knowledge
from Çrémad-Bhägavatam and the Bhagavad-gétä. [VTE](1)

INVOCATION

V paUNARmad": paUNARimadM"
paUNAARtpaUNARmaud"cyatae
paUNARsya paUNARmaAd"Aya
paUNARmaevaAvaizASyatae

oà pürëam adaù pürëam idaà

pürëät pürëam udacyate
pürëasya pürëam ädäya
pürëam evävaçiñyate

SYNONYMS

10
oà—the Complete Whole; pürëam—perfectly complete; adaù—that;
pürëam—perfectly complete; idam—this phenomenal world; pürëät—from
the all-perfect; pürëam—complete unit; udacyate—is produced;
pürëasya—of the Complete Whole; pürëam—completely, all;
ädäya—having been taken away; pürëam—the complete balance;
eva—even; avaçiñyate—is remaining.

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is

completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world,
are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the
Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete
Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains
the complete balance.

PURPORT
The Complete Whole, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is the complete
Personality of Godhead. Realization of impersonal Brahman or of
Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is incomplete realization of the Absolute
Complete. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha
[Bs. 5.1]. Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat feature,
or His aspect of eternity, and Paramätmä realization is realization of His sat
and cit features, His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But realization of
the Personality of Godhead is realization of all the transcendental
features—sat, cit and änanda, bliss. When one realizes the Supreme Person,
he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their completeness.
Vigraha means "form." Thus the Complete Whole is not formless. If He were
formless, or if He were less than His creation in any other way, He could
not be complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both
within and beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be complete.
The Complete Whole, the Personality of Godhead, has immense
potencies, all of which are as complete as He is. Thus this phenomenal

11
world is also complete in itself. The twenty-four elements of which this
material universe is a temporary manifestation are arranged to produce
everything necessary for the maintenance and subsistence of this universe.
No other unit in the universe need make an extraneous effort to try to
maintain the universe. The universe functions on its own time scale, which
is fixed by the energy of the Complete Whole, and when that schedule is
completed, this temporary manifestation will be annihilated by the
complete arrangement of the Complete Whole.
All facilities are given to the small complete units (namely the living
beings) to enable them to realize the Complete Whole. All forms of
incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the
Complete Whole. The human form of life is a complete manifestation of
the consciousness of the living being, and it is obtained after evolving
through 8,400,000 species of life in the cycle of birth and death. If in this
human life of full consciousness the living entity does not realize his
completeness in relation to the Complete Whole, he loses the chance to
realize his completeness and is again put into the evolutionary cycle by the
law of material nature.
Because we do not know that there is a complete arrangement in nature
for our maintenance, we make efforts to utilize the resources of nature to
create a so-called complete life of sense enjoyment. Because the living
entity cannot enjoy the life of the senses without being dovetailed with the
Complete Whole, the misleading life of sense enjoyment is illusion. The
hand of a body is a complete unit only as long as it is attached to the
complete body. When the hand is severed from the body, it may appear like
a hand, but it actually has none of the potencies of a hand. Similarly, living
beings are part and parcel of the Complete Whole, and if they are severed
from the Complete Whole, the illusory representation of completeness
cannot fully satisfy them.
The completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages
in the service of the Complete Whole. All services in this world—whether
social, political, communal, international or even interplanetary—will
remain incomplete until they are dovetailed with the Complete Whole.

12
When everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the attached
parts and parcels also become complete in themselves. [VTE](2)

Mantra One

wRzAAvaAsyaimad"ms$ava<
yaitk(Âa jagAtyaAM jagAta,
taena tya·e(na BauÃaITaA
maA gA{Da: k(sya isvaÜ"nama,

éçäväsyam idam sarvaà

yat kiïca jagatyäà jagat
tena tyaktena bhuïjéthä
mä gådhaù kasya svid dhanam

SYNONYMS
éça—by the Lord; äväsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat
kiïca—whatever; jagatyäm—within the universe; jagat—all that is animate
or inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuïjéthäù—you
should accept; mä—do not; gådhaù—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of
anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.

TRANSLATION

Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled

and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things
necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not
accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.

PURPORT
Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect

13
disciplic succession of spiritual masters, beginning with the Lord Himself.
Since He spoke the first word of Vedic knowledge, the source of this
knowledge is transcendental. The words spoken by the Lord are called
apauruñeya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any mundane
person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1)
he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a
propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with
these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas are not
produced by such an imperfect creature. Vedic knowledge was originally
imparted by the Lord into the heart of Brahmä, the first created living
being, and Brahmä in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and
disciples, who have handed it down through history.
Since the Lord is pürëam, all-perfect, there is no possibility of His being
subjected to the laws of material nature, which He controls. However, both
the living entities and inanimate objects are controlled by the laws of
nature and ultimately by the Lord's potency. This Éçopaniñad is part of the
Yajur Veda, and consequently it contains information concerning the
proprietorship of all things existing within the universe.
The Lord's proprietorship over everything within the universe is
confirmed in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä (7.4-5), where parä
and aparä prakåti are discussed. The elements of nature—earth, water, fire,
air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego—all belong to the Lord's inferior,
material energy (aparä prakåti),whereas the living being, the organic energy,
is His superior energy (parä prakåti). Both of these prakåtis, or energies, are
emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything
that exists. There is nothing in the universe that does not belong to either
the parä or the aparä prakåti; therefore everything is the property of the
Supreme Being.
Because the Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is the
complete person, He has complete and perfect intelligence to adjust
everything by means of His different potencies. The Supreme Being is often
compared to a fire, and everything organic and inorganic is compared to the
heat and light of that fire. Just as fire distributes energy in the form of heat

14
and light, the Lord displays His energy in different ways. He thus remains
the ultimate controller, sustainer and dictator of everything. He is the
possessor of all potencies, the knower of everything and the benefactor of
everyone. He is full of inconceivable opulence, power, fame, beauty,
knowledge and renunciation.
One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that except for the
Lord no one is a proprietor of anything. One should accept only those
things that are set aside by the Lord as his quota. The cow, for instance,
gives milk, but she does not drink that milk: she eats grass and straw, and
her milk is designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement of
the Lord. Thus we should be satisfied with those things He has kindly set
aside for us, and we should always consider to whom those things we possess
actually belong.
Take, for example, our dwelling, which is made of earth, wood, stone,
iron, cement and so many other material things. If we think in terms of Çré
Éçopaniñad, we must know that we cannot produce any of these building
materials ourselves. We can simply bring them together and transform them
into different shapes by our labor. A laborer cannot claim to be a proprietor
of a thing just because he has worked hard to manufacture it.
In modern society there is always a great quarrel between the laborers
and the capitalists. This quarrel has taken an international shape, and the
world is in danger. Men face one another in enmity and snarl just like cats
and dogs. Çré Éçopaniñad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but it can
deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide äcäryas (holy
teachers). The human race should take the Vedic wisdom of Çré Éçopaniñad
and not quarrel over material possessions. One must be satisfied with
whatever privileges are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be
no peace if the communists or capitalists or any other party claims
proprietorship over the resources of nature, which are entirely the property
of the Lord. The capitalists cannot curb the communists simply by political
maneuvering, nor can the communists defeat the capitalists simply by
fighting for stolen bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim to be their

15
own is stolen. Consequently they will be liable to punishment by the laws of
nature. Nuclear bombs are in the hands of both communists and capitalists,
and if both do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, it is
certain that these bombs will ultimately ruin both parties. Thus in order to
save themselves and bring peace to the world, both parties must follow the
instructions of Çré Éçopaniñad.
Human beings are not meant to quarrel like cats and dogs. They must be
intelligent enough to realize the importance and aim of human life. The
Vedic literature is meant for humanity and not for cats and dogs. Cats and
dogs can kill other animals for food without incurring sin, but if a man kills
an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds, he is
responsible for breaking the laws of nature. Consequently he must be
punished.
The standard of life for human beings cannot be applied to animals. The
tiger does not eat rice and wheat or drink cow's milk, because he has been
given food in the shape of animal flesh. Among the many animals and birds,
some are vegetarian and others are carnivorous, but none of them transgress
the laws of nature, which have been ordained by the will of the Lord.
Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower life forms strictly adhere to the laws
of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic
instructions meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.
It is wrong, however, to think that simply by becoming a vegetarian one
can avoid transgressing the laws of nature. Vegetables also have life, and
while it is nature's law that one living being is meant to feed on another, for
human beings the point is to recognize the Supreme Lord. Thus one should
not be proud of being a strict vegetarian. Animals do not have developed
consciousness by which to recognize the Lord, but a human being is
sufficiently intelligent to take lessons from the Vedic literature and thereby
know how the laws of nature are working and derive profit out of such
knowledge. If a man neglects the instructions of the Vedic literature, his life
becomes very risky. A human being is therefore required to recognize the
authority of the Supreme Lord and become His devotee. He must offer
everything for the Lord's service and partake only of the remnants of food

16
offered to the Lord. This will enable him to discharge his duty properly. In
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.26) the Lord directly states that He accepts vegetarian
food from the hands of a pure devotee. Therefore a human being should not
only become a strict vegetarian but should also become a devotee of the
Lord, offer the Lord all his food and then partake of such prasädam, or the
mercy of God. Only those who act in this way can properly discharge the
duties of human life. Those who do not offer their food to the Lord eat
nothing but sin and subject themselves to various types of distress, which
are the results of sin (Bg. 3.13).
The root of sin is deliberate disobedience of the laws of nature through
disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord. Disobeying the laws of nature
or the order of the Lord brings ruin to a human being. Conversely, one who
is sober, who knows the laws of nature, and who is not influenced by
unnecessary attachment or aversion is sure to be recognized by the Lord and
thus become eligible to go back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.
[VTE](3)

Mantra Two

ku(vaRªaevaeh" k(maARiNA
ijajaIivaSaecC$taM s$amaA:
WvaM tvaiya naAnyaTaetaAe'ista
na k(maR ilapyatae nare"

kurvann eveha karmäëi

jijéviñec chataà samäù
evaà tvayi nänyatheto 'sti
na karma lipyate nare

SYNONYMS
kurvan—doing continuously; eva—thus; iha—during this span of life;
karmäëi—work; jijéviñet—one should desire to live; çatam—one hundred;

17
samäù—years; evam—so living; tvayi—unto you; na—no;
anyathä—alternative; itaù—from this path; asti—there is; na—not;
karma—work; lipyate—can be bound; nare—unto a man.

TRANSLATION

One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on

working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of
karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.

PURPORT
No one wants to die: everyone wants to live as long as he can drag on.
This tendency is visible not only individually but also collectively in the
community, society and nation. There is a hard struggle for life by all kinds
of living entities, and the Vedas say that this is quite natural. The living
being is eternal by nature, but due to his bondage in material existence he
has to change his body over and over. This process is called transmigration
of the soul or karma-bandhana, bondage by one's work. The living entity has
to work for his livelihood because that is the law of material nature, and if
he does not act according to his prescribed duties, he transgresses the law of
nature and binds himself more and more to the cycle of birth and death in
the many species of life.
Other life forms are also subject to the cycle of birth and death, but
when the living entity attains a human life, he gets a chance to get free
from the chains of karma. Karma, akarma and vikarma are very clearly
described in the Bhagavad-gétä. Actions that are performed in terms of one's
prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures, are called karma.
Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called akarma.
And actions that are performed through the misuse of one's freedom and
that direct one to the lower life forms are called vikarma. Of these three
types of action, that which frees one from the bondage to karma is preferred
by intelligent men. Ordinary men wish to perform good work in order to be
recognized and achieve some higher status of life in this world or in heaven,

18
but more advanced men want to be free altogether from the actions and
reactions of work. Intelligent men well know that both good and bad work
equally bind one to the material miseries. Consequently they seek that work
which will free them from the reactions of both good and bad work. Such
liberating work is described here in the pages of Çré Éçopaniñad.
The instructions of Çré Éçopaniñad are more elaborately explained in the
Bhagavad-gétä, sometimes called the Gétopaniñad, the cream of all the
Upaniñads. In the Bhagavad-gétä (3.9-16) the Personality of Godhead says
that one cannot attain the state of naiñkarmya, or akarma, without
executing the prescribed duties mentioned in the Vedic literature. This
literature can regulate the working energy of a human being in such a way
that he can gradually realize the authority of the Supreme Being. When he
realizes the authority of the Personality of Godhead—Väsudeva, or
Kåñëa—it is to be understood that he has attained the stage of positive
knowledge. In this purified stage the modes of nature—namely goodness,
passion and ignorance—cannot act, and he is able to work on the basis of
naiñkarmya. Such work does not bind one to the cycle of birth and death.
Factually, no one has to do anything more than render devotional
service to the Lord. However, in the lower stages of life one cannot
immediately adopt the activities of devotional service, nor can one
completely stop fruitive work. A conditioned soul is accustomed to working
for sense gratification—for his own selfish interest, immediate or extended.
An ordinary man works for his own sense enjoyment, and when this
principle of sense enjoyment is extended to include his society, nation or
humanity in general, it assumes various attractive names such as altruism,
socialism, communism, nationalism and humanitarianism. These "isms" are
certainly very attractive forms of karma-bandhana (karmic bondage), but
the Vedic instruction of Çré Éçopaniñad is that if one actually wants to live
for any of the above "isms," he should make them God-centered. There is no
harm in becoming a family man, or an altruist, a socialist, a communist, a
nationalist or a humanitarian, provided that one executes his activities in
relation with éçäväsya, the God-centered conception.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (2.40) Lord Kåñëa states that God-centered

19
activities are so valuable that just a few of them can save a person from the
greatest danger. The greatest danger of life is the danger of gliding down
again into the evolutionary cycle of birth and death among the 8,400,000
species. If somehow or other a man misses the spiritual opportunity afforded
by his human form of life and falls down again into the evolutionary cycle,
he must be considered most unfortunate. Due to his defective senses, a
foolish man cannot see that this is happening. Consequently Çré Éçopaniñad
advises us to exert our energy in the spirit of éçäväsya. Being so engaged, we
may wish to live for many, many years; otherwise a long life in itself has no
value. A tree lives for hundreds and hundreds of years, but there is no point
in living a long time like trees, or breathing like bellows, or begetting
children like hogs and dogs, or eating like camels. A humble God-centered
life is more valuable than a colossal hoax of a life dedicated to godless
altruism or socialism.
When altruistic activities are executed in the spirit of Çré Éçopaniñad,
they become a form of karma-yoga. Such activities are recommended in the
Bhagavad-gétä (18.5-9), for they guarantee their executor protection from
the danger of sliding down into the evolutionary process of birth and death.
Even though such God-centered activities may be half-finished, they are
still good for the executor because they will guarantee him a human form in
his next birth. In this way one can have another chance to improve his
position on the path of liberation.
How one can execute God-centered activities is elaborately explained in
the Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé. We have rendered this
book into English as The Nectar of Devotion. We recommend this valuable
book to all who are interested in performing their activities in the spirit of
Çré Éçopaniñad.

Mantra Three

@s$auyaAR naAma tae laAek(A

@nDaena tamas$aAva{taA:
taAMstae ‘aetyaAiBagAcC$inta

20
 yae ke( caAtmah"naAe janaA:

asuryä näma te lokä

andhena tamasävåtäù
täàs te pretyäbhigacchanti
ye ke cätma-hano janäù

SYNONYMS
asuryäù—meant for the asuras; näma—famous by the name; te—those;
lokäù—planets; andhena—by ignorance; tamasä—by darkness;
ävåtäù—covered; tän—those planets; te—they; pretya—after death;
abhigacchanti—enter into; ye—anyone; ke—everyone; ca—and;
ätma—hanaù—the killers of the soul; janäù—persons.

TRANSLATION

The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets
known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.

PURPORT
Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy
responsibilities. Those who are cognizant of these responsibilities and who
work in that spirit are called suras (godly persons), and those who are
neglectful of these responsibilities or who have no information of them are
called asuras (demons). Throughout the universe there are only these two
types of human being. In the Åg Veda it is stated that the suras always aim
at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Viñëu and act accordingly. Their ways
are as illuminated as the path of the sun.
Intelligent human beings must always remember that the soul obtains a
human form after an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of
transmigration. The material world is sometimes compared to an ocean, and
the human body is compared to a solid boat designed especially to cross this

21
ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the äcäryas, or saintly teachers, are
compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are
compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired
destination. If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize
his life for self-realization, he must be considered ätma-hä, a killer of the
soul. Çré Éçopaniñad warns in clear terms that the killer of the soul is
destined to enter into the darkest region of ignorance to suffer perpetually.
There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc., whose economic necessities are
just as important to them as ours are to us, but the economic problems of
these animals are solved only under nasty and unpleasant conditions. The
human being is given all facilities for a comfortable life by the laws of
nature because the human form of life is more important and valuable than
animal life. Why is man given a better life than that of the swine and other
animals? Why is a highly placed government servant given better facilities
than those of an ordinary clerk? The answer is that a highly placed officer
has to discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly, the duties human
beings have to perform are higher than those of animals, who are always
engaged in simply feeding their hungry stomachs. Yet the modern
soul-killing civilization has only increased the problems of the hungry
stomach. When we approach a polished animal in the form of a modern
civilized man and ask him to take interest in self-realization, he will say that
he simply wants to work to satisfy his stomach and that there is no need of
self-realization for a hungry man. The laws of nature are so cruel, however,
that despite his denunciation of the need for self-realization and his
eagerness to work hard to fill his stomach, he is always threatened by
unemployment.
We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine
and dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for
self-realization, the laws of nature force us to work very hard, even though
we may not want to do so. Human beings in this age have been forced to
work hard like the asses and bullocks that pull carts. Some of the regions
where the asuras are sent to work are revealed in this verse of Çré
Éçopaniñad. If a man fails to discharge his duties as a human being, he is
forced to transmigrate to the asurya planets and take birth in degraded

22
species of life to work hard in ignorance and darkness.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41-43) it is stated that a man who enters upon
the path of self-realization but does not complete the process, despite
having sincerely tried to realize his relationship with God, is given a chance
to appear in a family of çuci or çrémat. The word çuci indicates a spiritually
advanced brähmaëa, and çrémat indicates a vaiçya, a member of the
mercantile community. So the person who fails to achieve self-realization is
given a better chance in his next life due to his sincere efforts in this life. If
even a fallen candidate is given a chance to take birth in a respectable and
noble family, one can hardly imagine the status of one who has achieved
success. By simply attempting to realize God, one is guaranteed birth in a
wealthy or aristocratic family. But those who do not even make an attempt,
who want to be covered by illusion, who are too materialistic and too
attached to material enjoyment, must enter into the darkest regions of hell,
as confirmed throughout the Vedic literature. Such materialistic asuras
sometimes make a show of religion, but their ultimate aim is material
prosperity. The Bhagavad-gétä (16.17-18) rebukes such men by calling them
ätma-sambhävita, meaning that they are considered great only on the
strength of deception and are empowered by the votes of the ignorant and
by their own material wealth. Such asuras, devoid of self-realization and
knowledge of éçäväsya, the Lord's universal proprietorship, are certain to
enter into the darkest regions.
The conclusion is that as human beings we are meant not simply for
solving economic problems on a tottering platform but for solving all the
problems of the material life into which we have been placed by the laws of
nature. [VTE](4)

Mantra Four

@naejade"kM( manas$aAe javaIyaAe

naEnaÚe"vaA @A«auvana, paUvaRmaSaRta,
taÜ"AvataAe'nyaAnatyaeita itaï"ta,

23
 taismaªapaAe maAtair"ìA d"DaAita

anejad ekaà manaso javéyo

nainad devä äpnuvan pürvam arñat
tad dhävato 'nyän atyeti tiñöhat
tasminn apo mätariçvä dadhäti

SYNONYMS
anejat—fixed; ekam—one; manasaù—than the mind; javéyaù—more swift;
na—not; enat—this Supreme Lord; deväù—the demigods like Indra, etc.;
äpnuvan—can approach; pürvam—in front; arñat—moving quickly;
tat—He; dhävataù—those who are running; anyän—others;
atyeti—surpasses; tiñöhat—remaining in one place; tasmin—in Him;
apaù—rain; mätariçvä—the gods who control the wind and rain;
dadhäti—supply.

TRANSLATION

Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than

the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods
cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply
the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.

PURPORT
Through mental speculation, even the greatest philosopher cannot know
the Supreme Lord, who is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He can be
known only by His devotees through His mercy. In the Brahma-saàhitä
(5.34) it is stated that even if a nondevotee philosopher travels through
space at the speed of the wind or the mind for hundreds of millions of years,
he will still find that the Absolute Truth is far, far away from him. The
Brahma-saàhitä (5.37) further describes that the Absolute Personality of
Godhead has His transcendental abode, known as Goloka, where He

24
remains and engages
in His pastimes, yet by His inconceivable potencies He can
simultaneously reach every part of His creative energy. In the Viñëu Puräëa
His potencies are compared to the heat and light that emanate from a fire.
Although situated in one place, a fire can distribute its light and heat for
some distance; similarly, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, although
fixed in His transcendental abode, can diffuse His different energies
everywhere.
Although His energies are innumerable, they can be divided into three
principal categories: the internal potency, the marginal potency and the
external potency. There are hundreds and millions of subheadings to each
of these categories. The dominating demigods who are empowered to
control and administer such natural phenomena as air, light and rain are all
classified within the marginal potency of the Absolute Person. Lesser living
beings, including humans, also belong to the Lord's marginal potency. The
material world is the creation of the Lord's external potency. And the
spiritual sky, where the kingdom of God is situated, is the manifestation of
His internal potency.
Thus the different energies of the Lord are present everywhere.
Although the Lord and His energies are nondifferent, one should not
mistake these energies for the Supreme Truth. Nor should one wrongly
consider that the Supreme Lord is distributed everywhere impersonally or
that He loses His personal existence. Men are accustomed to reaching
conclusions according to their capacity for understanding, but the Supreme
Lord is not subject to our limited capacity for understanding. It is for this
reason that the Upaniñads warn us that no one can approach the Lord by
his own limited potency.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.2) the Lord says that not even the great åñis and
suras can know Him. And what to speak of the asuras, for whom there is no
question of understanding the ways of the Lord? This fourth mantra of Çré
Éçopaniñad very clearly suggests that the Absolute Truth is ultimately the
Absolute Person; otherwise there would have been no need to mention so
many details in support of His personal features.

25
 Although the individual parts and parcels of the Lord's potencies have
all the symptoms of the Lord Himself, they have limited spheres of activity
and are therefore all limited. The parts and parcels are never equal to the
whole; therefore they cannot appreciate the Lord's full potency. Under the
influence of material nature, foolish and ignorant living beings who are but
parts and parcels of the Lord try to conjecture about the Lord's
transcendental position. Çré Éçopaniñad warns of the futility of trying to
establish the identity of the Lord through mental speculation. One should
try to learn of the Transcendence from the Lord Himself, the supreme
source of the Vedas, for the Lord alone has full knowledge of the
Transcendence.
Every part and parcel of the Complete Whole is endowed with some
particular energy to act according to the Lord's will. When the
part-and-parcel living entity forgets his particular activities under the
Lord's will, he is considered to be in mäyä, illusion. Thus from the very
beginning Çré Éçopaniñad warns us to be very careful to play the part
designated for us by the Lord. This does not mean that the individual soul
has no initiative of his own. Because he is part and parcel of the Lord, he
must partake of the initiative of the Lord as well. When a person properly
utilizes his initiative, or active nature, with intelligence, understanding that
everything is the Lord's potency, he can revive his original consciousness,
which was lost due to association with mäyä, the external energy.
All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each particular power
must be utilized to execute the will of the Lord and not otherwise. The Lord
can be known by one who has adopted such a submissive service attitude.
Perfect knowledge means knowing the Lord in all His features, knowing His
potencies and knowing how these potencies work by His will. These matters
are described by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gétä, the essence of all the
Upaniñads. [VTE](5)

Mantra Five

tade"jaita taªaEjaita

26
 taä," äU"re" taã"intake(
tad"ntar"sya s$avaRsya
taäu" s$avaRsyaAsya baA÷ta:

tad ejati tan naijati

tad düre tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya
tad u sarvasyäsya bähyataù

SYNONYMS
tat—this Supreme Lord; ejati—walks; tat—He; na—not; ejati—walks;
tat—He; düre—far away; tat—He; u—also; antike—very near; tat—He;
antaù—within; asya—of this; sarvasya—of all; tat—He; u—also;
sarvasya—of all; asya—of this; bähyataù—external to.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is
very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of
everything.

PURPORT
Here is a description of some of the Supreme Lord's transcendental
activities, executed by His inconceivable potencies. The contradictions
given here prove the inconceivable potencies of the Lord. "He walks, and
He does not walk." Ordinarily, if someone can walk, it is illogical to say he
cannot walk. But in reference to God, such a contradiction simply serves to
indicate His inconceivable power. With our limited fund of knowledge we
cannot accommodate such contradictions, and therefore we conceive of the
Lord in terms of our limited powers of understanding. For example, the
impersonalist philosophers of the Mäyäväda school accept only the Lord's
impersonal activities and reject His personal feature. But the members of

27
the Bhägavata school, adopting the perfect conception of the Lord, accept
His inconceivable potencies and thus understand that He is both personal
and impersonal. The bhägavatas know that without inconceivable potencies
there can be no meaning to the words "Supreme Lord."
We should not take it for granted that because we cannot see God with
our eyes the Lord has no personal existence. Çré Éçopaniñad refutes this
argument by declaring that the Lord is far away but very near also. The
abode of the Lord is beyond the material sky, and we have no means to
measure even this material sky. If the material sky extends so far, then what
to speak of the spiritual sky, which is altogether beyond it? That the
spiritual sky is situated far, far away from the material universe is confirmed
in the Bhagavad-gétä (15.6). But despite the Lord's being so far away, He can
at once, within less than a second, descend before us with a speed swifter
than that of the mind or wind. He can also run so swiftly that no one can
surpass Him. This has already been described in the previous verse.
Yet when the Personality of Godhead comes before us, we neglect Him.
Such foolish negligence is condemned by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gétä
(9.11), where He says that the foolish deride Him, considering Him a mortal
being. He is not a mortal being, nor does He come before us with a body
produced of material nature. There are many so-called scholars who
contend that the Lord descends in a body made of matter, just like an
ordinary living being. Not knowing His inconceivable power, such foolish
men place the Lord on an equal level with ordinary men.
Because He is full of inconceivable potencies, God can accept our service
through any sort of medium, and He can convert His different potencies
according to His own will. Nonbelievers argue either that the Lord cannot
incarnate Himself at all, or that if He does He descends in a form of
material energy. These arguments are nullified if we accept the existence of
the Lord's inconceivable potencies. Then we will understand that even if
the Lord appears before us in the form of material energy, it is quite possible
for Him to convert this energy into spiritual energy. Since the source of the
energies is one and the same, the energies can be utilized according to the
will of their source. For example, the Lord can appear in the form of the

28
arcä-vigraha, a Deity supposedly made of earth, stone or wood. Deity forms,
although engraved from wood, stone or other matter, are not idols, as the
iconoclasts contend.
In our present state of imperfect material existence, we cannot see the
Supreme Lord due to imperfect vision. Yet those devotees who want to see
Him by means of material vision are favored by the Lord, who appears in a
so-called material form to accept His devotees' service. One should not
think that such devotees, who are in the lowest stage of devotional service,
are worshiping an idol. They are factually worshiping the Lord, who has
agreed to appear before them in an approachable way. Nor is the arcä form
fashioned according to the whims of the worshiper. This form is eternally
existent with all paraphernalia. This can be actually felt by a sincere
devotee, but not by an atheist.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (4.11) the Lord says that how He treats His devotee
depends on the devotee's degree of surrender. The Lord reserves the right
not to reveal Himself to anyone and everyone but to show Himself only to
those souls who surrender unto Him. Thus for the surrendered soul He is
always within reach, whereas for the unsurrendered soul He is far, far away
and cannot be approached.
In this connection, two words the revealed scriptures often apply to the
Lord—saguëa ("with qualities") and nirguëa ("without qualities")—are very
important. The word saguëa does not imply that when the Lord appears
with perceivable qualities He must take on a material form and be subject to
the laws of material nature. For Him there is no difference between the
material and spiritual energies, because He is the source of all energies. As
the controller of all energies, He cannot at any time be under their
influence, as we are. The material energy works according to His direction;
therefore He can use that energy for His purposes without ever being
influenced by any of the qualities of that energy. (In this sense He is
nirguëa, "without qualities.") Nor does the Lord become a formless entity at
any time, for ultimately He is the eternal form, the primeval Lord. His
impersonal aspect, or Brahman effulgence, is but the glow of His personal
rays, just as the sun's rays are the glow of the sun-god.

29
 When the child saint Prahläda Mahäräja was in the presence of his
atheist father, his father asked him, "Where is your God?" When Prahläda
replied that God resides everywhere, the father angrily asked whether his
God was within one of the pillars of the palace, and the child said yes. At
once the atheist king shattered the pillar in front of him to pieces, and the
Lord instantly appeared as Nåsiàha, the half-man, half-lion incarnation,
and killed the atheist king. Thus the Lord is within everything, and He
creates everything by His different energies. Through His inconceivable
powers He can appear at any place in order to favor His sincere devotee.
Lord Nåsiàha appeared from within the pillar not by the order of the
atheist king but by the wish of His devotee Prahläda. An atheist cannot
order the Lord to appear, but the Lord will appear anywhere and
everywhere to show mercy to His devotee. The Bhagavad-gétä (4.8) similarly
states that the Lord appears in order to vanquish nonbelievers and protect
believers. Of course, the Lord has sufficient energies and agents who can
vanquish atheists, but it pleases Him to personally favor a devotee.
Therefore He descends as an incarnation. Actually, He descends only to
favor His devotees and not for any other purpose.
In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.35) it is said that Govinda, the primeval Lord,
enters everything by His plenary portion. He enters the universe as well as
all the atoms of the universe. He is outside in His viräö form, and He is
within everything as antaryämé. As antaryämé He witnesses everything that
is going on, and He awards us the results of our actions as karma-phala. We
ourselves may forget what we have done in previous lives, but because the
Lord witnesses our actions, the results of our actions are always there, and
we have to undergo the reactions nonetheless.
The fact is that there is nothing but God within and without. Everything
is a manifestation of His different energies, like the heat and light
emanating from a fire, and in this way there is a oneness among His diverse
energies. Although there is oneness, however, the Lord in His personal form
still enjoys unlimitedly all the pleasures enjoyed minutely by the tiny
part-and-parcel living entities. [VTE](6)

30
 Mantra Six

yastau s$avaARiNA BaUtaA-

nyaAtmanyaevaAnaupazyaita
s$avaRBaUtaeSau caAtmaAnaM
tataAe na ivajaugAups$atae

yas tu sarväëi bhütäny

ätmany evänupaçyati
sarva-bhüteñu cätmänaà
tato na vijugupsate

SYNONYMS
yaù—he who; tu—but; sarväëi—all; bhütäni—living entities; ätmani—in
relation to the Supreme Lord; eva—only; anupaçyati—observes in a
systematic way; sarva-bhüteñu—in every living being; ca—and;
ätmänam—the Supersoul; tataù—thereafter; na—not; vijugupsate—hates
anyone.

TRANSLATION

He who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord,

who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the
Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.

PURPORT
This is a description of the mahä-bhägavata, the great personality who
sees everything in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Supreme Lord's presence is realized in three stages. The kaniñöha-adhikäré is
in the lowest stage of realization. He goes to a place of worship, such as a
temple, church or mosque, according to his religious faith, and worships
there according to scriptural injunctions. Devotees in this stage consider

31
the Lord to be present at the place of worship and nowhere else. They
cannot ascertain who is in what position in devotional service, nor can they
tell who has realized the Supreme Lord. Such devotees follow the routine
formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves, considering one type of
devotion better than another. These kaniñöha-adhikärés are actually
materialistic devotees who are simply trying to transcend the material
boundary to reach the spiritual plane.
Those who have attained the second stage of realization are called
madhyama-adhikärés. These devotees observe the distinctions between four
categories of being: (1) the Supreme Lord; (2) the devotees of the Lord; (3)
the innocent, who have no knowledge of the Lord; and (4) the atheists, who
have no faith in the Lord and hate those in devotional service. The
madhyama-adhikäré behaves differently toward these four classes of person.
He adores the Lord, considering Him the object of love; he makes friends
with those who are in devotional service; he tries to awaken the dormant
love of God in the hearts of the innocent; and he avoids the atheists, who
deride the very name of the Lord.
Above the madhyama-adhikäré is the uttama-adhikäré, who sees
everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee does not
discriminate between an atheist and a theist but sees everyone as part and
parcel of God. He knows that there is no essential difference between a
vastly learned brähmaëa and a dog in the street, because both of them are
part and parcel of the Lord, although they are encaged in different bodies
on account of the different qualities of their activities in their previous
lives. He sees that the brähmaëa particle of the Supreme Lord has not
misused his little independence given him by the Lord and that the dog
particle has misused his independence and is therefore being punished by
the laws of nature by being encaged in the form of a dog. Not considering
the respective actions of the brähmaëa and the dog, the uttama-adhikäré
tries to do good to both. Such a learned devotee is not misled by material
bodies but is attracted by the spiritual spark within them.
Those who imitate an uttama-adhikäré by flaunting a sense of oneness or
fellowship but who behave on the bodily platform are actually false

32
philanthropists. The conception of universal brotherhood must be learned
from an uttama-adhikäré and not from a foolish person who does not
properly understand the individual soul or the Supreme Lord's Supersoul
expansion, who dwells everywhere.
It is clearly mentioned in this sixth mantra that one should "observe," or
systematically see. This means that one must follow the previous äcäryas,
the perfected teachers. Anupaçyati is the exact Sanskrit word used in this
connection. Anu means "to follow," and paçyati means "to observe." Thus
the word anupaçyati means that one should not see things as he does with
the naked eye but should follow the previous äcäryas. Due to material
defects, the naked eye cannot see anything properly. One cannot see
properly unless one has heard from a superior source, and the highest source
is the Vedic wisdom, which is spoken by the Lord Himself. Vedic truths are
coming in disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahmä, from Brahmä to
Närada, from Närada to Vyäsa, and from Vyäsa to many of his disciples.
Formerly there was no need to record the messages of the Vedas, because
people in earlier ages were more intelligent and had sharper memories.
They could follow the instructions simply by hearing once from the mouth
of a bona fide spiritual master.
At present there are many commentaries on the revealed scriptures, but
most of them are not in the line of disciplic succession coming from Çréla
Vyäsadeva, who originally compiled the Vedic wisdom. The final, most
perfect and sublime work by Çréla Vyäsadeva is Çrémad-Bhägavatam, which
is the natural commentary on the Vedänta-sütra. There is also the
Bhagavad-gétä, which was spoken by the Lord Himself and recorded by
Vyäsadeva. These are the most important revealed scriptures, and any
commentary that contradicts the principles of the Bhagavad-gétä or
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is unauthorized. There is complete agreement among
the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra, Vedas, Bhagavad-gétä and
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and no one should try to reach any conclusion about
the Vedas without receiving instructions from members of Vyäsadeva's
disciplic succession, who believe in the Personality of Godhead and His
diverse energies as they are explained in Çré Éçopaniñad.

33
 According to the Bhagavad-gétä (18.54), only one who is already on the
liberated platform (brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20]) can become an
uttama-adhikäré devotee and see every living being as his own brother. This
vision cannot be had by politicians, who are always after some material
gain. One who imitates the symptoms of an uttama-adhikäré may serve
another's outward body for the purpose of fame or material reward, but he
does not serve the spirit soul. Such an imitator can have no information of
the spiritual world. The uttama-adhikäré sees the spirit soul within the
material body and serves him as spirit. Thus the material aspect is
automatically served. [VTE](7)

Mantra Seven

yaismana, s$avaARiNA BaUtaA-

nyaAtmaEvaABaUiã"jaAnata:
ta‡a k(Ae maAeh": k(: zAAek(
Wk(tvamanaupazyata:

yasmin sarväëi bhütäny

ätmaiväbhüd vijänataù
tatra ko mohaù kaù çoka
ekatvam anupaçyataù

SYNONYMS
yasmin—in the situation; sarväëi—all; bhütäni—living entities; ätmä—the;
cit—kaëa, or spiritual spark; eva—only; abhüt—exist as; vijänataù—of one
who knows; tatra—therein; kaù—what; mohaù—illusion; kaù—what;
çokaù—anxiety; ekatvam—oneness in quality; anupaçyataù—of one who
sees through authority, or one who sees constantly like that.

TRANSLATION

34
 One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one
with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion
or anxiety for him?

PURPORT
Except for the madhyama-adhikäré and uttama-adhikäré discussed above,
no one can correctly see the spiritual position of a living being. The living
entities are qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a
fire are qualitatively one with the fire. Yet sparks are not fire as far as
quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and light present in the
sparks is not equal to that in fire. The mahä-bhägavata, the great devotee,
sees oneness in the sense that he sees everything as the energy of the
Supreme Lord. Since there is no difference between the energy and the
energetic, there is the sense of oneness. Although from the analytical point
of view heat and light are different from fire, there is no meaning to the
word "fire" without heat and light. In synthesis, therefore, heat, light and
fire are the same.
In this mantra the words ekatvam anupaçyataù indicate that one should
see the unity of all living entities from the viewpoint of the revealed
scriptures. The individual sparks of the supreme whole (the Lord) possess
almost eighty percent of the known qualities of the whole, but they are not
quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are present in
minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of the
Supreme Whole. To use another example, the quantity of salt present in a
drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete
ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical
composition to all the salt present in the ocean. If the individual living
being were equal to the Supreme Lord both qualitatively and quantitatively,
there would be no question of his being under the influence of the material
energy. In the previous mantras it has already been discussed that no living
being—not even the powerful demigods—can surpass the Supreme Being
in any respect. Therefore ekatvam does not mean that a living being is equal
in all respects to the Supreme Lord. It does, however, indicate that in a

35
broader sense there is one interest, just as in a family the interest of all
members is one, or in a nation the national interest is one, although there
are many different individual citizens. Since the living entities are all
members of the same supreme family, their interest and that of the Supreme
Being are not different. Every living being is the son of the Supreme Being.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.5), all living creatures throughout the
universe—including birds, reptiles, ants, aquatics, trees and so on—are
emanations of the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all of
them belong to the family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of
interest.
The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment, as stated in the
Vedänta-sütra (1.1.12): änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät. By nature and constitution,
every living being—including the Supreme Lord and each of His parts and
parcels—is meant for eternal enjoyment. The living beings who are
encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly seeking enjoyment, but
they are seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from the material platform
is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being enjoys Himself with His
innumerable associates. On that platform there is no trace of material
qualities, and therefore that platform is called nirguëa. On the nirguëa
platform there is never a clash over the object of enjoyment. Here in the
material world there is always a clash between different individual beings
because here the proper center of enjoyment is missed. The real center of
enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and
spiritual räsa dance. We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with one
transcendental interest and without any clash. That is the highest platform
of spiritual interest, and as soon as one realizes this perfect form of oneness,
there can be no question of illusion (moha) or lamentation (çoka).
A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a
civilization is lamentation. A godless civilization, such as that sponsored by
the modern politicians, is always full of anxieties because it may be crushed
at any moment. That is the law of nature. As stated in the Bhagavad-gétä
(7.14), no one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord
can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish to get rid of all
sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we

36
must bring God into all our activities.
The results of our activities must be used to serve the interest of the
Lord, and not for any other purpose. Only by serving the Lord's interest can
we perceive the ätma-bhüta interest mentioned herein. The ätma-bhüta
interest mentioned in this mantra and the brahma-bhüta [SB 4.30.20]
interest mentioned in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.54) are one and the same. The
supreme ätmä, or soul, is the Lord Himself, and the minute ätmä is the
living entity. The supreme ätmä, or Paramätmä, alone maintains all the
individual minute beings, for the Supreme Lord wants to derive pleasure out
of their affection. The father extends himself through his children and
maintains them in order to derive pleasure. If the children obey the father's
will, family affairs will run smoothly, with one interest and a pleasing
atmosphere. The same situation is transcendentally arranged in the absolute
family of the Parabrahman, the Supreme Spirit.
The Parabrahman is as much a person as the individual entities. Neither
the Lord nor the living entities are impersonal. Such transcendental
personalities are full of transcendental bliss, knowledge and life eternal.
That is the real position of spiritual existence, and as soon as one is fully
cognizant of this transcendental position, he at once surrenders unto the
lotus feet of the Supreme Being, Çré Kåñëa. But such a mahätmä, or great
soul, is very rarely seen because such transcendental realization is achieved
only after many, many births. Once it is attained, however, there is no
longer any illusion or lamentation or the miseries of material existence or
birth and death, which are all experienced in our present life. That is the
information we get from this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad. [VTE](8)

Mantra Eight

s$a payaRgAAcC]$‚(mak(Ayama˜aNA-
maµaAivar"mzAuÜ"mapaApaivaÜ"-
mk(ivamaRnaISaI pair"BaU: svayamBaU-
yaARTaAtaTyataAe'TaARna, vyad"DaAcC$AìtaIBya: s$amaABya:

37
 sa paryagäc chukram akäyam avraëam
asnäviram çuddham apäpa-viddham
kavir manéñé paribhüù svayambhür
yäthätathyato 'rthän vyadadhäc chäçvatébhyaù samäbhyaù

SYNONYMS
saù—that person; paryagät—must know in fact; çukram—the omnipotent;
akäyam—unembodied; avraëam—without reproach; asnäviram—without
veins; çuddham—antiseptic; apäpa-viddham—prophylactic;
kaviù—omniscient; manéñé—philosopher; paribhüù—the greatest of all;
svayambhüù—self-sufficient; yäthätathyataù—just in pursuance of;
arthän—desirables; vyadadhät—awards; çäçvatébhyaù—immemorial;
samäbhyaù—time.

TRANSLATION

Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of
Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins,
pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been
fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.

PURPORT
Here is a description of the transcendental and eternal form of the
Absolute Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is not formless. He
has His own transcendental form, which is not at all similar to the forms of
the mundane world. The forms of the living entities in this world are
embodied in material nature, and they work like any material machine. The
anatomy of a material body must have a mechanical construction with veins
and so forth, but the transcendental body of the Supreme Lord has nothing
like veins. It is clearly stated here that He is unembodied, which means that
there is no difference between His body and His soul. Nor is He forced to
accept a body according to the laws of nature, as we are. In materially

38
conditioned life, the soul is different from the gross embodiment and subtle
mind. For the Supreme Lord, however, there is never any such difference
between Him and His body and mind. He is the Complete Whole, and His
mind, body and He Himself are all one and the same.
In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.1) there is a similar description of the Supreme
Lord. He is described there as sac-cid-änanda-vigraha, which means that He
is the eternal form fully representing transcendental existence, knowledge
and bliss. As such, He does not require a separate body or mind, as we do in
material existence. The Vedic literature clearly states that the Lord's
transcendental body is completely different from ours; thus He is sometimes
described as formless. This means that He has no form like ours and that He
is devoid of a form we can conceive of. In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.32) it is
further stated that with each and every part of His body He can do the work
of the other senses. This means that the Lord can walk with His hands,
accept things with His legs, see with His hands and feet, eat with His eyes,
etc. In the çruti-mantras it is also said that although the Lord has no hands
and legs like ours, He has a different type of hands and legs, by which He
can accept all that we offer Him and run faster than anyone. These points
are confirmed in this eighth mantra through the use of words like çukram
("omnipotent").
The Lord's worshipable form (arcä-vigraha), which is installed in temples
by authorized äcäryas who have realized the Lord in terms of Mantra Seven,
is nondifferent from the original form of the Lord. The Lord's original form
is that of Çré Kåñëa, and Çré Kåñëa expands Himself into an unlimited
number of forms, such as Baladeva, Räma, Nåsiàha and Varäha. All of
these forms are one and the same Personality of Godhead. Similarly, the
arcä-vigraha worshiped in temples is also an expanded form of the Lord. By
worshiping the arcä-vigraha, one can at once approach the Lord, who
accepts the service of a devotee by His omnipotent energy. The arcä-vigraha
of the Lord descends at the request of the äcäryas, the holy teachers, and
works exactly in the original way of the Lord by virtue of the Lord's
omnipotence. Foolish people who have no knowledge of Çré Éçopaniñad or
any of the other çruti-mantras consider the arcä-vigraha, which is worshiped
by pure devotees, to be made of material elements. This form may be seen as

39
material by the imperfect eyes of foolish people or kaniñöha-adhikärés, but
such people do not know that the Lord, being omnipotent and omniscient,
can transform matter into spirit and spirit into matter, as He desires.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.11-12) the Lord regrets the fallen condition of
men with little knowledge who deride Him because He descends like a man
into this world. Such poorly informed persons do not know the
omnipotence of the Lord. Thus the Lord does not manifest Himself in full
to the mental speculators. He can be appreciated only in proportion to one's
surrender to Him. The fallen condition of the living entities is due entirely
to forgetfulness of their relationship with God.
In this mantra, as well as in many other Vedic mantras, it is clearly stated
that the Lord has been supplying goods to the living entities from time
immemorial. A living being desires something, and the Lord supplies the
object of that desire in proportion to one's qualification. If a man wants to
be a high-court judge, he must acquire not only the necessary qualifications
but also the consent of the authority who can award the title of high-court
judge. The qualifications in themselves are insufficient for one to occupy
the post: it must be awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord
awards enjoyment to living entities in proportion to their qualifications, but
good qualifications in themselves are not sufficient to enable one to receive
awards. The mercy of the Lord is also required.
Ordinarily the living being does not know what to ask from the Lord,
nor which post to seek. When the living being comes to know his
constitutional position, however, he asks to be accepted into the
transcendental association of the Lord in order to render transcendental
loving service unto Him. Unfortunately, living beings under the influence
of material nature ask for many other things, and they are described in the
Bhagavad-gétä (2.41) as having divided, or splayed, intelligence. Spiritual
intelligence is one, but mundane intelligence is diverse. In
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (7.5.30-31) it is stated that those who are captivated by
the temporary beauties of the external energy forget the real aim of life,
which is to go back to Godhead. Forgetting this, one tries to adjust things by
various plans and programs, but this is like chewing what has already been

40
chewed. Nonetheless, the Lord is so kind that He allows the forgetful living
entity to continue in this way without interference. Thus this mantra of Çré
Éçopaniñad uses the very appropriate word yäthätathyataù, indicating that
the Lord rewards the living entities just in pursuance of their desires. If a
living being wants to go to hell, the Lord allows him to do so without
interference, and if he wants to go back home, back to Godhead, the Lord
helps him.
God is described here as paribhüù, the greatest of all. No one is greater
than or equal to Him. Other living beings are described here as beggars who
ask goods from the Lord. The Lord supplies the things the living entities
desire. If the entities were equal to the Lord in potency—if they were
omnipotent and omniscient—there would be no question of their begging
from the Lord, even for so-called liberation. Real liberation means going
back to Godhead. Liberation as conceived of by an impersonalist is a myth,
and begging for sense gratification has to continue eternally unless the
beggar comes to his spiritual senses and realizes his constitutional position.
Only the Supreme Lord is self-sufficient. When Lord Kåñëa appeared on
earth five thousand years ago, He displayed His full manifestation as the
Personality of Godhead through His various activities. In His childhood He
killed many powerful demons, such as Aghäsura, Bakäsura and Çakaöäsura,
and there was no question of His having acquired such power through any
extraneous endeavor. He lifted Govardhana Hill without ever practicing
weight-lifting. He danced with the gopés without social restriction and
without reproach. Although the gopés approached Him with a paramour's
feelings of love, the relationship between the gopés and Lord Kåñëa was
worshiped even by Lord Caitanya, who was a strict sannyäsé and rigid
follower of disciplinary regulations. To confirm that the Lord is always pure
and uncontaminated, Çré Éçopaniñad describes Him as çuddham (antiseptic)
and apäpa-viddham (prophylactic). He is antiseptic in the sense that even
an impure thing can become purified just by touching Him. The word
"prophylactic" refers to the power of His association. As mentioned in the
Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-31), a devotee may appear to be su-duräcära, not well
behaved, in the beginning, but he should be accepted as pure because he is
on the right path. This is due to the prophylactic nature of the Lord's

41
association. The Lord is also apäpa-viddham because sin cannot touch Him.
Even if He acts in a way that appears to be sinful, such actions are all-good,
for there is no question of His being affected by sin. Because in all
circumstances He is çuddham, most purified, He is often compared to the
sun. The sun extracts moisture from many untouchable places on the earth,
yet it remains pure. In fact, it purifies obnoxious things by virtue of its
sterilizing powers. If the sun, which is a material object, is so powerful, then
we can hardly begin to imagine the purifying strength of the all-powerful
Lord. [VTE](9)

Mantra Nine

@nDaM tama: ‘aivazAinta yae'ivaâAmaupaAs$atae

tataAe BaUya wva tae tamaAe ya o ivaâAyaA•ataA:

andhaà tamaù praviçanti

ye 'vidyäm upäsate
tato bhüya iva te tamo
ya u vidyäyäm ratäù

SYNONYMS
andham—gross ignorance; tamaù—darkness; praviçanti—enter into;
ye—those who; avidyäm—nescience; upäsate—worship; tataù—than that;
bhüyaù—still more; iva—like; te—they; tamaù—darkness; ye—those who;
u—also; vidyäyäm—in the culture of knowledge; ratäù—engaged.

TRANSLATION

Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the
darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of
so-called knowledge.

42
 PURPORT
This mantra offers a comparative study of vidyä and avidyä. Avidyä, or
ignorance, is undoubtedly dangerous, but vidyä, or knowledge, is even more
dangerous when mistaken or misguided. This mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad is
more applicable today than at any time in the past. Modern civilization has
advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but the result is that
people are more unhappy than ever before because of the stress placed on
material advancement to the exclusion of the most important part of life,
the spiritual aspect.
As far as vidyä is concerned, the first mantra has explained very clearly
that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything and that forgetfulness
of this fact is ignorance. The more a man forgets this fact of life, the more
he is in darkness. In view of this, a godless civilization directed toward the
so-called advancement of education is more dangerous than a civilization in
which the masses of people are less "educated."
Of the different classes of men—karmés, jïänés and yogés—the karmés
are those who are engaged in the activities of sense gratification. In the
modern civilization, 99.9 percent of the people are engaged in the activities
of sense gratification under the flags of industrialism, economic
development, altruism, political activism, and so on. All these activities are
more or less based on satisfaction of the senses, to the exclusion of the kind
of God consciousness described in the first mantra.
In the language of the Bhagavad-gétä (7.15), people who are engaged in
gross sense gratification are müòhas—asses. The ass is a symbol of stupidity.
Those who simply engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are
worshiping avidyä, according to Çré Éçopaniñad. And those who play the role
of helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational advancement
are actually doing more harm than those who are on the platform of gross
sense gratification. The advancement of learning by a godless people is as
dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated
with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated. In the
Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12), the advancement of education by a godless

43
people is compared to decorations on a dead body. In India, as in many
other countries, some people follow the custom of leading a procession with
a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the lamenting relatives. In the
same way, modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover
the perpetual miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed
toward sense gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the
mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul. Thus the
aim of real education should be self-realization, realization of the spiritual
values of the soul. Any education which does not lead to such realization
must be considered avidyä, or nescience. And to culture such nescience
means to go down to the darkest region of ignorance.
According to the Bhagavad-gétä (2.42, 7.15), mistaken mundane
educators are known as veda-väda-rata and mäyayäpahåta-jïäna. They may
also be atheistic demons, the lowest of men. Those who are veda-väda-rata
pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but unfortunately
they are completely diverted from the purpose of the Vedas. In the
Bhagavad-gétä (15.15) it is said that the purpose of the Vedas is to know the
Personality of Godhead, but these veda-väda-rata men are not at all
interested in the Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are
fascinated by such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.
As stated in Mantra One, we should know that the Personality of
Godhead is the proprietor of everything and that we must be satisfied with
our allotted portions of the necessities of life. The purpose of all Vedic
literature is to awaken this God consciousness in the forgetful living being,
and this same purpose is presented in various ways in the different
scriptures of the world for the understanding of a foolish mankind. Thus
the ultimate purpose of all religions is to bring one back to Godhead.
But the veda-väda-rata people, instead of realizing that the purpose of
the Vedas is to revive the forgetful soul's lost relationship with the
Personality of Godhead, take it for granted that such side issues as the
attainment of heavenly pleasure for sense gratification—the lust for which
causes their material bondage in the first place—are the ultimate end of the
Vedas. Such people misguide others by misinterpreting the Vedic literature.

44
Sometimes they even condemn the Puräëas, which are authentic Vedic
explanations for laymen. The veda-väda-ratas give their own explanations
of the Vedas, neglecting the authority of great teachers (äcäryas). They also
tend to raise some unscrupulous person from among themselves and present
him as the leading exponent of Vedic knowledge. Such veda-väda-ratas are
especially condemned in this mantra by the very appropriate Sanskrit words
vidyäyäà ratäù. Vidyäyäm refers to the study of the Vedas because the Vedas
are the origin of all knowledge (vidyä), and ratäù means "those engaged."
Vidyäyäà ratäù thus means "those engaged in the study of the Vedas." The
so-called students of the Vedas are condemned herein because they are
ignorant of the actual purpose of the Vedas on account of their disobeying
the äcäryas. Such veda-väda-ratas search out meanings in every word of the
Vedas to suit their own purposes. They do not know that the Vedic
literature is a collection of extraordinary books that can be understood only
through the chain of disciplic succession.
One must approach a bona fide spiritual master in order to understand
the transcendental message of the Vedas. That is the direction of the
Muëòaka Upaniñad (1.2.12). These veda-väda-rata people, however, have
their own äcäryas, who are not in the chain of transcendental succession.
Thus they progress into the darkest region of ignorance by misinterpreting
the Vedic literature. They fall even further into ignorance than those who
have no knowledge of the Vedas at all.
The mäyayäpahåta-jïäna class of men are self-made "Gods." Such men
think that they themselves are God and that there is no need of worshiping
any other God. They will agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to
be rich, but they will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men,
unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it is that God
can be entrapped by mäyä, His own illusory energy. If God were ever
entrapped by mäyä, mäyä would be more powerful than God. Such men say
that God is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful
there is no possibility of His being overpowered by mäyä. These self-made
"Gods" cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply
satisfied to have become "God" themselves. [VTE](10)

45
 Mantra Ten

@nyade"vaAò"ivaRâyaA-
nyad"Aò"r"ivaâyaA
wita zAu™auma DaIr"ANAAM
yae nastaiã"cacaiºare"

anyad evähur vidyayä-

nyad ähur avidyayä
iti çuçruma dhéräëäà
ye nas tad vicacakñire

SYNONYMS
anyat—different; eva—certainly; ähuù—said; vid—yayä—by culture of
knowledge; anyat—different; ähuù—said; avidyayä—by culture of
nescience; iti—thus; çuçruma—I heard; dhéräëäm—from the sober;
ye—who; naù—to us; tat—that; vicacakñire—explained.

TRANSLATION

The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of
knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of
nescience.

PURPORT
As advised in Chapter Thirteen of the Bhagavad-gétä (13.8-12), one
should culture knowledge in the following way:
(1) One should become a perfect gentleman and learn to give proper
respect to others.
(2) One should not pose himself as a religionist simply for name and fame.

46
(3) One should not become a source of anxiety to others by the actions of
his body, by the thoughts of his mind, or by his words.
(4) One should learn forbearance even in the face of provocation from
others.
(5) One should learn to avoid duplicity in his dealings with others.
(6) One should search out a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him
gradually to the stage of spiritual realization, and one must submit
himself to such a spiritual master, render him service and ask relevant
questions.
(7) In order to approach the platform of self-realization, one must follow
the regulative principles enjoined in the revealed scriptures.
(8) One must be fixed in the tenets of the revealed scriptures.
(9) One should completely refrain from practices which are detrimental to
the interest of self-realization.
(10) One should not accept more than he requires for the maintenance of
the body.
(11) One should not falsely identify himself with the gross material body,
nor should one consider those who are related to his body to be his own.
(12) One should always remember that as long as he has a material body he
must face the miseries of repeated birth, old age, disease and death.
There is no use in making plans to get rid of these miseries of the
material body. The best course is to find out the means by which one
may regain his spiritual identity.
(13) One should not be attached to more than the necessities of life
required for spiritual advancement.
(14) One should not be more attached to wife, children and home than the
revealed scriptures ordain.
(15) One should not be happy or distressed over desirables and
undesirables, knowing that such feelings are just created by the mind.
(16) One should become an unalloyed devotee of the Personality of
Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, and serve Him with rapt attention.

47
 (17) One should develop a liking for residence in a secluded place with a
calm and quiet atmosphere favorable for spiritual culture, and one
should avoid congested places where nondevotees congregate.
(18) One should become a scientist or philosopher and conduct research
into spiritual knowledge, recognizing that spiritual knowledge is
permanent whereas material knowledge ends with the death of the
body.
These eighteen items combine to form a gradual process by which real
knowledge can be developed. Except for these, all other methods are
considered to be in the category of nescience. Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura,
a great äcärya, maintained that all forms of material knowledge are merely
external features of the illusory energy and that by culturing them one
becomes no better than an ass. This same principle is found here in Çré
Éçopaniñad. By advancement of material knowledge, modern man is simply
being converted into an ass. Some materialistic politicians in spiritual guise
decry the present system of civilization as satanic, but unfortunately they do
not care about the culture of real knowledge as it is described in the
Bhagavad-gétä. Thus they cannot change the satanic situation.
In the modern society, even a boy thinks himself self-sufficient and pays
no respect to elderly men. Due to the wrong type of education being
imparted in our universities, boys all over the world are giving their elders
headaches. Thus Çré Éçopaniñad very strongly warns that the culture of
nescience is different from that of knowledge. The universities are, so to
speak, centers of nescience only; consequently scientists are busy
discovering lethal weapons to wipe out the existence of other countries.
University students today are not given instructions in the regulative
principles of brahmacarya (celibate student life), nor do they have any faith
in any scriptural injunctions. Religious principles are taught for the sake of
name and fame only and not for the sake of practical action. Thus there is
animosity not only in social and political fields but in the field of religion as
well.
Nationalism has developed in different parts of the world due to the
cultivation of nescience by the general people. No one considers that this

48
tiny earth is just a lump of matter floating in immeasurable space along with
many other lumps. In comparison to the vastness of space, these material
lumps are like dust particles in the air. Because God has kindly made these
lumps of matter complete in themselves, they are perfectly equipped with all
necessities for floating in space. The drivers of our spaceships may be very
proud of their achievements, but they do not consider the supreme driver of
these greater, more gigantic spaceships called planets.
There are innumerable suns and innumerable planetary systems also. As
infinitesimal parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, we small creatures are
trying to dominate these unlimited planets. Thus we take repeated birth
and death and are generally frustrated by old age and disease. The span of
human life is scheduled for about a hundred years, although it is gradually
decreasing to twenty or thirty years. Thanks to the culture of nescience,
befooled men have created their own nations within these planets in order
to grasp sense enjoyment more effectively for these few years. Such foolish
people draw up various plans to render national demarcations perfectly, a
task that is totally impossible. Yet for this purpose each and every nation
has become a source of anxiety for others. More than fifty percent of a
nation's energy is devoted to defense measures and thus spoiled. No one
cares for the cultivation of real knowledge, yet people are falsely proud of
being advanced in both material and spiritual knowledge.
Çré Éçopaniñad warns us of this faulty type of education, and the
Bhagavad-gétä gives instructions as to the development of real knowledge.
This mantra states that the instructions of vidyä (knowledge) must be
acquired from a dhéra. A dhéra is one who is not disturbed by material
illusion. No one can be undisturbed unless he is perfectly spiritually
realized, at which time one neither hankers nor laments for anything. A
dhéra realizes that the material body and mind he has acquired by chance
through material association are but foreign elements; therefore he simply
makes the best use of a bad bargain.
The material body and mind are bad bargains for the spiritual living
entity. The living entity has actual functions in the living, spiritual world,
but this material world is dead. As long as the living spiritual sparks

49
manipulate the dead lumps of matter, the dead world appears to be a living
world. Actually it is the living souls, the parts and parcels of the supreme
living being, who move the world. The dhéras have come to know all these
facts by hearing them from superior authorities and have realized this
knowledge by following the regulative principles.
To follow the regulative principles, one must take shelter of a bona fide
spiritual master. The transcendental message and regulative principles come
down from the spiritual master to the disciple. Such knowledge does not
come in the hazardous way of nescient education. One can become a dhéra
only by submissively hearing from a bona fide spiritual master. Arjuna, for
example, became a dhéra by submissively hearing from Lord Kåñëa, the
Personality of Godhead Himself. Thus the perfect disciple must be like
Arjuna, and the spiritual master must be as good as the Lord Himself. This
is the process of learning vidyä (knowledge) from the dhéra (the
undisturbed).
An adhéra (one who has not undergone the training of a dhéra) cannot
be an instructive leader. Modern politicians who pose themselves as dhéras
are actually adhéras, and one cannot expect perfect knowledge from them.
They are simply busy seeing to their own remuneration in dollars and cents.
How, then, can they lead the mass of people to the right path of
self-realization? Thus one must hear submissively from a dhéra in order to
attain actual education. [VTE](11)

Mantra Eleven

ivaâAM caAivaâAM ca ya-

staãe"d"AeBayaM s$ah"
@ivaâyaA ma{tyauM taItvaAR
ivaâyaAma{tama´autae

vidyäà cävidyäà ca yas

tad vedobhayaà saha

50
 avidyayä måtyuà tértvä
vidyayämåtam açnute

SYNONYMS
vidyäm—knowledge in fact; ca—and; avidyäm—nescience; ca—and;
yaù—a person who; tat—that; veda—knows; ubhayam—both;
saha—simultaneously; avidyayä—by culture of nescience;
måtyum—repeated death; tértvä—transcending; vidyayä—by culture of
knowledge; amåtam—deathlessness; açnute—enjoys.

TRANSLATION

Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of
transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of
repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.

PURPORT
Since the creation of the material world, everyone has been trying to
attain a permanent life, but the laws of nature are so cruel that no one has
been able to avoid the hand of death. No one wants to die, nor does anyone
want to become old or diseased. The law of nature, however, does not allow
anyone immunity from old age, disease or death. Nor has the advancement
of material knowledge solved these problems. Material science can discover
the nuclear bomb to accelerate the process of death, but it cannot discover
anything that can protect man from the cruel hands of old age, disease and
death.
From the Puräëas we learn of the activities of Hiraëyakaçipu, a king who
was very much advanced materially. Wanting to conquer cruel death by his
material acquisitions and the strength of his nescience, he underwent a type
of meditation so severe that the inhabitants of all the planetary systems
became disturbed by his mystic powers. He forced the creator of the
universe, the demigod Brahmä, to come down to him. He then asked
Brahmä for the benediction of becoming amara, by which one does not die.

51
Brahmä said that he could not award the benediction because even he, the
material creator who rules all planets, is not amara. As confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä (8.17), Brahmä lives a long time, but that does not mean he is
immortal.
Hiraëya means "gold," and kaçipu means "soft bed." This cunning
gentleman Hiraëyakaçipu was interested in these two things—money and
women—and he wanted to enjoy them by becoming immortal. He asked
from Brahmä many benedictions in hopes of indirectly fulfilling his desire
to become immortal. Since Brahmä told him that he could not grant the gift
of immortality, Hiraëyakaçipu requested that he not be killed by any man,
animal, god or any other living being within the 8,400,000 species. He also
asked that he not die on land, in the air or water, or by any weapon. In this
way Hiraëyakaçipu foolishly thought these guarantees would save him from
death. Ultimately, however, although Brahmä granted him all these
benedictions, he was killed by the Personality of Godhead in the form of
Nåsiàha, the Lord's half-lion, half-man incarnation, and no weapon was
used to kill him, for he was killed by the Lord's nails. Nor was he killed on
the land, in the air or in the water, for he was killed on the lap of that
wonderful living being, Nåsiàha, who was beyond his conception.
The whole point here is that even Hiraëyakaçipu, the most powerful of
materialists, could not become deathless by his various plans. What, then,
can be accomplished by the tiny Hiraëyakaçipus of today, whose plans are
thwarted from moment to moment?
Çré Éçopaniñad instructs us not to make one-sided attempts to win the
struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling hard for existence, but the
laws of material nature are so hard and fast that they do not allow anyone
to surpass them. In order to attain a permanent life, one must be prepared
to go back to Godhead.
The process by which one goes back to Godhead is a different branch of
knowledge, and it has to be learned from revealed Vedic scriptures such as
the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra, Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. To
become happy in this life and attain a permanent blissful life after leaving
this material body, one must study this sacred literature and obtain

52
transcendental knowledge. The conditioned living being has forgotten his
eternal relationship with God and has mistakenly accepted the temporary
place of his birth as all in all. The Lord has kindly delivered the
above-mentioned scriptures in India and other scriptures in other countries
to remind the forgetful human being that his home is not here in this
material world. The living being is a spiritual entity, and he can be happy
only by returning to his spiritual home.
From His kingdom the Personality of Godhead sends His bona fide
servants to propagate this message by which one can return to Godhead,
and sometimes the Lord comes Himself to do this work. Since all living
beings are His beloved sons, His parts and parcels, God is more sorry than
we ourselves to see the sufferings we are constantly undergoing in this
material condition. The miseries of this material world serve to indirectly
remind us of our incompatibility with dead matter. Intelligent living
entities generally take note of these reminders and engage themselves in
the culture of vidyä, or transcendental knowledge. Human life is the best
opportunity for the culture of spiritual knowledge, and a human being who
does not take advantage of this opportunity is called a narädhama, the
lowest of human beings.
The path of avidyä, or advancement of material knowledge for sense
gratification, is the path of repeated birth and death. As he exists
spiritually, the living entity has no birth or death. Birth and death apply to
the outward covering of the spirit soul, the body. Death is compared to the
taking off and birth to the putting on of outward garments. Foolish human
beings who are grossly absorbed in the culture of avidyä, nescience, do not
mind this cruel process. Enamored with the beauty of the illusory energy,
they undergo the same miseries repeatedly and do not learn any lessons
from the laws of nature.
Therefore the culture of vidyä, or transcendental knowledge, is essential
for the human being. Sense enjoyment in the diseased material condition
must be restricted as far as possible. Unrestricted sense enjoyment in this
bodily condition is the path of ignorance and death. The living entities are
not without spiritual senses; every living being in his original, spiritual form

53
has all the senses, which are now materially manifested, being covered by
the material body and mind. The activities of the material senses are
perverted reflections of the activities of the original, spiritual senses. In his
diseased condition, the spirit soul engages in material activities under the
material covering. Real sense enjoyment is possible only when the disease of
materialism is removed. In our pure spiritual form, free from all material
contamination, real enjoyment of the senses is possible. A patient must
regain his health before he can truly enjoy sense pleasure again. Thus the
aim of human life should not be to enjoy perverted sense enjoyment but to
cure the material disease. Aggravation of the material disease is no sign of
knowledge, but a sign of avidyä, ignorance. For good health, a person should
not increase his fever from 105 degrees to 107 degrees but should reduce his
temperature to the normal 98.6. That should be the aim of human life. The
modern trend of material civilization is to increase the temperature of the
feverish material condition, which has reached the point of 107 degrees in
the form of atomic energy. Meanwhile, the foolish politicians are crying
that at any moment the world may go to hell. That is the result of the
advancement of material knowledge and the neglect of the most important
part of life, the culture of spiritual knowledge. Çré Éçopaniñad herein warns
that we must not follow this dangerous path leading to death. On the
contrary, we must develop the culture of spiritual knowledge so that we may
become completely free from the cruel hands of death.
This does not mean that all activities for the maintenance of the body
should be stopped. There is no question of stopping activities, just as there is
no question of wiping out one's temperature altogether when trying to
recover from a disease. "To make the best use of a bad bargain" is the
appropriate expression. The culture of spiritual knowledge necessitates the
help of the body and mind; therefore maintenance of the body and mind is
required if we are to reach our goal. The normal temperature should be
maintained at 98.6 degrees, and the great sages and saints of India have
attempted to do this by a balanced program of spiritual and material
knowledge. They never allow the misuse of human intelligence for diseased
sense gratification.
Human activities diseased by a tendency toward sense gratification have

54
been regulated in the Vedas under the principles of salvation. This system
employs religion, economic development, sense gratification and salvation,
but at the present moment people have no interest in religion or salvation.
They have only one aim in life—sense gratification—and in order to
achieve this end they make plans for economic development. Misguided
men think that religion should be maintained because it contributes to
economic development, which is required for sense gratification. Thus in
order to guarantee further sense gratification after death, in heaven, there
is some system of religious observance. But this is not the purpose of
religion. The path of religion is actually meant for self-realization, and
economic development is required just to maintain the body in a sound,
healthy condition. A man should lead a healthy life with a sound mind just
to realize vidyä, true knowledge, which is the aim of human life. This life is
not meant for working like an ass or for culturing avidyä for sense
gratification.
The path of vidyä is most perfectly presented in Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
which directs a human being to utilize his life to inquire into the Absolute
Truth. The Absolute Truth is realized step by step as Brahman, Paramätmä
and finally Bhagavän, the Personality of Godhead. The Absolute Truth is
realized by the broadminded man who has attained knowledge and
detachment by following the eighteen principles of the Bhagavad-gétä
described in the purport to Mantra Ten. The central purpose of these
eighteen principles is the attainment of transcendental devotional service
to the Personality of Godhead. Therefore all classes of men are encouraged
to learn the art of devotional service to the Lord.
The guaranteed path to the aim of vidyä is described by Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé in his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, which we have presented in English
as The Nectar of Devotion. The culture of vidyä is summarized in
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.14) in the following words:

tasmäd ekena manasä

bhagavän sätvatäà patiù
çrotavyaù kértitavyaç ca

55
 dhyeyaù püjyaç ca nityadä

"Therefore, with one-pointed attention one should constantly hear about,

glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the
protector of the devotees."
Unless religion, economic development and sense gratification aim
toward the attainment of devotional service to the Lord, they are all simply
different forms of nescience, as Çré Éçopaniñad indicates in the following
mantras. [VTE](12)

Mantra Twelve

@nDaM tama: ‘aivazAinta

yae's$amBaUitamaupaAs$atae
tataAe BaUya wva tae tamaAe
ya o s$amBaUtyaA•ataA:

andhaà tamaù praviçanti

ye 'sambhütim upäsate
tato bhüya iva te tamo
ya u sambhütyäm ratäù

SYNONYMS
andham—ignorance; tamaù—darkness; praviçanti—enter into; ye—those
who; asambhütim—demigods; upäsate—worship; tataù—than that;
bhüyaù—still more; iva—like that; te—those; tamaù—darkness; ye—who;
u—also; sambhütyäm—in the Absolute; ratäù—engaged.

TRANSLATION

Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest
region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the impersonal

56
Absolute.

PURPORT
The Sanskrit word asambhüti refers to those who have no independent
existence. Sambhüti is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, who is
absolutely independent of everything. In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.2), the
Absolute Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, states:

na me viduù sura-gaëä
prabhavaà na maharñayaù
aham ädir hi devänäà
maharñéëäà ca sarvaçaù

"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or
opulences, for in every respect I am the source of the demigods and sages."
Thus Kåñëa is the origin of the powers delegated to demigods, great sages
and mystics. Although they are endowed with great powers, these powers
are limited, and thus it is very difficult for them to know how Kåñëa
Himself appears by His own internal potency in the form of a man.
Many philosophers and great åñis, or mystics, try to distinguish the
Absolute from the relative by their tiny brain power. This can only help
them reach the negative conception of the Absolute without realizing any
positive trace of the Absolute. Definition of the Absolute by negation is not
complete. Such negative definitions lead one to create a concept of one's
own; thus one imagines that the Absolute must be formless and without
qualities. Such negative qualities are simply the reversals of relative,
material qualities and are therefore also relative. By conceiving of the
Absolute in this way, one can at the utmost reach the impersonal effulgence
of God, known as Brahman, but one cannot make further progress to
Bhagavän, the Personality of Godhead.
Such mental speculators do not know that the Absolute Personality of
Godhead is Kåñëa, that the impersonal Brahman is the glaring effulgence of
His transcendental body, or that the Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is His
all-pervading plenary representation. Nor do they know that Kåñëa has His

57
eternal form with its transcendental qualities of eternal bliss and
knowledge. The dependent demigods and great sages imperfectly consider
Him to be a powerful demigod, and they consider the Brahman effulgence
to be the Absolute Truth. But the devotees of Kåñëa, by dint of their
surrendering unto Him and their unalloyed devotion, can know that He is
the Absolute Person and that everything emanates from Him. Such
devotees continuously render loving service unto Kåñëa, the fountainhead
of everything.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.20, 23) it is said that only unintelligent,
bewildered persons driven by a strong desire for sense gratification worship
the demigods for the temporary relief of temporary problems. Since the
living being is materially entangled, he has to be relieved from material
bondage entirely to attain permanent relief on the spiritual plane, where
eternal bliss, life and knowledge exist. Çré Éçopaniñad therefore instructs that
we should not seek temporary relief of our difficulties by worshiping the
dependent demigods, who can bestow only temporary benefit. Rather, we
must worship the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, who is
all-attractive and who can bestow upon us complete freedom from material
bondage by taking us back home, back to Godhead.
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.23) that the worshipers of the
demigods can go to the planets of the demigods. The moon worshipers can
go to the moon, the sun worshipers to the sun, etc. Modern scientists are
now venturing to the moon with the help of rockets, but this is not really a
new attempt. With their advanced consciousness, human beings are
naturally inclined to travel in outer space and to reach other planets, either
by spaceships, mystic powers or demigod worship. In the Vedic scriptures it
is said that one can reach other planets by any one of these three ways, but
the most common way is by worshiping the demigod presiding over a
particular planet. In this way one can reach the moon planet, the sun planet
and even Brahmaloka, the topmost planet in this universe. However, all
planets in the material universe are temporary residences; the only
permanent planets are the Vaikuëöhalokas. These are found in the spiritual
sky, where the Personality of Godhead Himself predominates. As Lord

58
Kåñëa states in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.16):

äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù
punar ävartino 'rjuna
mäm upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are
places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who
attains My abode, O son of Kunté, never takes birth again."
Çré Éçopaniñad points out that one who worships the demigods and attains
to their material planets still remains in the darkest region of the universe.
The whole universe is covered by the gigantic material elements; it is just
like a coconut covered by a shell and half-filled with water. Since its
covering is airtight, the darkness within is dense, and therefore the sun and
the moon are required for illumination. Outside the universe is the vast and
unlimited brahmajyoti expansion, which is filled with Vaikuëöhalokas. The
biggest and highest planet in the brahmajyoti is Kåñëaloka, or Goloka
Våndävana, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa Himself,
resides. Lord Çré Kåñëa never leaves Kåñëaloka. Although He dwells there
with His eternal associates, He is omnipresent throughout the complete
material and spiritual cosmic manifestations. This fact has already been
explained in Mantra Four. The Lord is present everywhere, just like the
sun, yet He is situated in one place, just as the sun is situated in its own
undeviating orbit.
The problems of life cannot be solved simply by going to the moon
planet or to some other planet above or below it. Therefore Çré Éçopaniñad
advises us not to bother with any destination within this dark material
universe, but to try to get out of it and reach the effulgent kingdom of God.
There are many pseudo worshipers who become religionists only for the
sake of name and fame. Such pseudo religionists do not wish to get out of
this universe and reach the spiritual sky. They only want to maintain the
status quo in the material world under the garb of worshiping the Lord. The
atheists and impersonalists lead such foolish pseudo religionists into the

59
darkest regions by preaching the cult of atheism. The atheist directly denies
the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the
impersonalists support the atheists by stressing the impersonal aspect of the
Supreme Lord. Thus far we have not come across any mantra in Çré
Éçopaniñad in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is denied. It is said
that He can run faster than anyone. Those who are running after other
planets are certainly persons, and if the Lord can run faster than all of
them, how can He be impersonal? The impersonal conception of the
Supreme Lord is another form of ignorance, arising from an imperfect
conception of the Absolute Truth.
The ignorant pseudo religionists and the manufacturers of so-called
incarnations who directly violate the Vedic injunctions are liable to enter
into the darkest region of the universe because they mislead those who
follow them. These impersonalists generally pose themselves as incarnations
of God to foolish persons who have no knowledge of Vedic wisdom. If such
foolish men have any knowledge at all, it is more dangerous in their hands
than ignorance itself. Such impersonalists do not even worship the
demigods according to the scriptural recommendations. In the scriptures
there are recommendations for worshiping demigods under certain
circumstances, but at the same time these scriptures state that there is
normally no need for this. In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.23) it is clearly stated
that the results derived from worshiping the demigods are not permanent.
Since the entire material universe is impermanent, whatever is achieved
within the darkness of material existence is also impermanent. The
question is how to obtain real and permanent life.
The Lord states that as soon as one reaches Him by devotional
service—which is the one and only way to approach the Personality of
Godhead—one attains complete freedom from the bondage of birth and
death. In other words, the path of salvation from the material clutches fully
depends on the principles of knowledge and detachment gained from
serving the Lord. The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor
detachment from material affairs, for most of them want to live in the
golden shackles of material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic
activities disguised as religious principles. By a false display of religious

60
sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all
sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and
devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for
the authoritative äcäryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession.
They ignore the Vedic injunction äcäryopäsana—"One must worship the
äcärya"—and Kåñëa's statement in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.2) evaà
paramparä-präptam, "This supreme science of God is received through the
disciplic succession." Instead, to mislead the people in general they
themselves become so-called äcäryas, but they do not even follow the
principles of the äcäryas.
These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society. Because
there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the
state. They cannot, however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has
clearly declared in the Bhagavad-gétä that envious demons in the garb of
religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of hell (Bg.
16.19-20). Çré Éçopaniñad confirms that these pseudo religionists are heading
toward the most obnoxious place in the universe after the completion of
their spiritual master business, which they conduct simply for sense
gratification. [VTE](13)

Mantra Thirteen

@nyade"vaAò": s$amBavaA-
d"nyad"Aò"r"s$amBavaA-
itaita zAu™auma DaIr"ANAAM
yae nastaiã"cacaiºare"

anyad evähuù sambhaväd

anyad ähur asambhavät
iti çuçruma dhéräëäà
ye nas tad vicacakñire

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 SYNONYMS
anyat—different; eva—certainly; ähuù—it is said; sambhavät—by
worshiping the Supreme Lord, the cause of all causes; anyat—different;
ähuù—it is said; asambhavät—by worshiping what is not the Supreme;
iti—thus; çuçruma—I heard it; dhéräëäm—from the undisturbed
authorities; ye—who; naù—unto us; tat—about that subject matter;
vicacakñire—perfectly explained.

TRANSLATION

It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of

all causes and that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not
supreme. All this is heard from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly
explained it.

PURPORT
The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities is approved in this
mantra. Unless one hears from a bona fide äcärya, who is never disturbed by
the changes of the material world, one cannot have the real key to
transcendental knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has also
heard the çruti-mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his undisturbed äcärya,
never presents anything that is not mentioned in the Vedic literature. In
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.25) it is clearly said that those who worship the pitås, or
forefathers, attain the planets of the forefathers, that the gross materialists
who make plans to remain here stay in this world, and that the devotees of
the Lord who worship none but Lord Kåñëa, the supreme cause of all causes,
reach Him in His spiritual sky. Here also in Çré Éçopaniñad it is verified that
one achieves different results by different modes of worship. If we worship
the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him in His eternal abode, and if
we worship demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their
respective planets without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this
wretched planet with our planning commissions and our stopgap political

62
adjustments, we can certainly do that also.
Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach
the same goal by doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish
theories are offered by self-made "spiritual masters" who have no
connection with the paramparä, the bona fide system of disciplic succession.
The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the same
goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the
demigods or of the Supreme or whatever. Any common man can very easily
understand that a person can reach his destination only when he has
purchased a ticket for that destination. A person who has purchased a
ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not Bombay. But the so-called
spiritual masters say that any and all paths will take one to the supreme
goal. Such mundane and compromising offers attract many foolish
creatures, who become puffed up with their manufactured methods of
spiritual realization. The Vedic instructions, however, do not uphold them.
Unless one has received knowledge from the bona fide spiritual master who
is in the recognized line of disciplic succession, one cannot have the real
thing as it is. Kåñëa tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gétä (4.2):

evaà paramparä-präptam
imaà räjarñayo viduù
sa käleneha mahatä
yogo nañöaù parantapa

"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic
succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of
time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to
be lost."
When Lord Çré Kåñëa was present on this earth, the bhakti-yoga
principles defined in the Bhagavad-gétä had become distorted; therefore the
Lord had to reestablish the disciplic system beginning with Arjuna, who was
the most confidential friend and devotee of the Lord. The Lord clearly told
Arjuna (Bg. 4.3) that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and friend that
he could understand the principles of the Bhagavad-gétä. In other words,

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only the Lord's devotee and friend can understand the Gétä. This also
means that only one who follows the path of Arjuna can understand the
Bhagavad-gétä.
At the present moment there are many interpreters and translators of
this sublime dialogue who care nothing for Lord Kåñëa or Arjuna. Such
interpreters explain the verses of the Bhagavad-gétä in their own way and
postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the Gétä. Such interpreters
believe neither in Çré Kåñëa nor in His eternal abode. How, then, can they
explain the Bhagavad-gétä?
Kåñëa clearly says that only those who have lost their sense worship the
demigods for paltry rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23). Ultimately He advises that one
give up all other ways and modes of worship and fully surrender unto Him
alone (Bg. 18.66). Only those who are cleansed of all sinful reactions can
have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord. Others will continue
hovering on the material platform with their paltry ways of worship and
thus will be misled from the real path under the false impression that all
paths lead to the same goal.
In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad the word sam-bhavät, "by worship of the
supreme cause," is very significant. Lord Kåñëa is the original Personality of
Godhead, and everything that exists has emanated from Him. In the
Bhagavad-gétä (10.8) the Lord says,

ahaà sarvasya prabhavo

mattaù sarvaà pravartate
iti matvä bhajante mäà
budhä bhäva-samanvitäù

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates
from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service
and worship Me with all their hearts."
Here is a correct description of the Supreme Lord, given by the Lord
Himself. The words sarvasya pra-bhavaù indicate that Kåñëa is the creator
of everyone, including Brahmä, Viñëu and Çiva. And because these three
principal deities of the material world are created by the Lord, the Lord is

64
the creator of all that exists in the material and spiritual worlds. In the
Atharva Veda (Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad 1.24) it is similarly said, "He who
existed before the creation of Brahmä and who enlightened Brahmä with
Vedic knowledge is Lord Çré Kåñëa." Similarly, the Näräyaëa Upaniñad (1)
states, "Then the Supreme Person, Näräyaëa, desired to create all living
beings. Thus from Näräyaëa, Brahmä was born. Näräyaëa created all the
Prajäpatis. Näräyaëa created Indra. Näräyaëa created the eight Vasus.
Näräyaëa created the eleven Rudras. Näräyaëa created the twelve Ädityas."
Since Näräyaëa is a plenary manifestation of Lord Kåñëa, Näräyaëa and
Kåñëa are one and the same. The Näräyaëa Upaniñad (4) also states,
"Devaké's son [Kåñëa] is the Supreme Lord." The identity of Näräyaëa with
the supreme cause has also been accepted and confirmed by Çrépäda
Çaìkaräcärya, even though Çaìkara does not belong to the Vaiñëava, or
personalist, cult. The Atharva Veda (Mahä Upaniñad 1) also states, "Only
Näräyaëa existed in the beginning, when neither Brahmä, nor Çiva, nor
fire, nor water, nor stars, nor sun, nor moon existed. The Lord does not
remain alone but creates as He desires." Kåñëa Himself states in the
Mokña-dharma, "I created the Prajäpatis and the Rudras. They do not have
complete knowledge of Me because they are covered by My illusory energy."
It is also stated in the Varäha Puräëa: "Näräyaëa is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and from Him the four-headed Brahmä was manifested, as well
as Rudra, who later became omniscient."
Thus all Vedic literature confirms that Näräyaëa, or Kåñëa, is the cause
of all causes. In the Brahma-saàhitä (5.1) also it is said that the Supreme
Lord is Çré Kåñëa, Govinda, the delighter of every living being and the
primeval cause of all causes. The really learned persons know this from
evidence given by the great sages and the Vedas, and thus they decide to
worship Lord Kåñëa as all in all. Such persons are called budha, or really
learned, because they worship only Kåñëa.
The conviction that Kåñëa is all in all is established when one hears the
transcendental message from the undisturbed äcärya with faith and love.
One who has no faith in or love for Lord Kåñëa cannot be convinced of this
simple truth. Those who are faithless are described in the Bhagavad-gétä
(9.11) as müòhas—fools or asses. It is said that the müòhas deride the

65
Personality of Godhead because they do not have complete knowledge from
the undisturbed äcärya. One who is disturbed by the whirlpool of material
energy is not qualified to become an äcärya.
Before hearing the Bhagavad-gétä, Arjuna was disturbed by the material
whirlpool, by his affection for his family, society and community. Thus
Arjuna wanted to become a philanthropic, nonviolent man of the world.
But when he became budha by hearing the Vedic knowledge of the
Bhagavad-gétä from the Supreme Person, he changed his decision and
became a worshiper of Lord Çré Kåñëa, who had Himself arranged the Battle
of Kurukñetra. Arjuna worshiped the Lord by fighting with his so-called
relatives, and in this way he became a pure devotee of the Lord. Such
accomplishments are possible only when one worships the real Kåñëa and
not some fabricated "Kåñëa" invented by foolish men who are without
knowledge of the intricacies of the science of Kåñëa described in the
Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
According to the Vedänta-sütra, sambhüta is the source of birth and
sustenance, as well as the reservoir that remains after annihilation
(janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]). The Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the natural
commentary on the Vedänta-sütra by the same author, maintains that the
source of all emanations is not like a dead stone but is abhijïa, or fully
conscious. The primeval Lord, Çré Kåñëa, also says in the Bhagavad-gétä
(7.26) that He is fully conscious of past, present and future and that no one,
including demigods such as Çiva and Brahmä, knows Him fully. Certainly
half-educated "spiritual leaders" who are disturbed by the tides of material
existence cannot know Him fully. They try to make some compromise by
making the mass of humanity the object of worship, but they do not know
that such worship is only a myth because the masses are imperfect. The
attempt by these so-called spiritual leaders is something like pouring water
on the leaves of a tree instead of the root. The natural process is to pour
water on the root, but such disturbed leaders are more attracted to the
leaves than the root. Despite their perpetually watering the leaves, however,
everything dries up for want of nourishment.
Çré Éçopaniñad advises us to pour water on the root, the source of all

66
germination. Worship of the mass of humanity by rendering bodily service,
which can never be perfect, is less important than service to the soul. The
soul is the root that generates different types of bodies according to the law
of karma. To serve human beings by medical aid, social help and
educational facilities while at the same time cutting the throats of poor
animals in slaughterhouses is no service at all to the soul, the living being.
The living being is perpetually suffering in different types of bodies from
the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. The human form
of life offers one a chance to get out of this entanglement simply by
reestablishing the lost relationship between the living entity and the
Supreme Lord. The Lord comes personally to teach this philosophy of
surrender unto the Supreme, the sambhüta. Real service to humanity is
rendered when one teaches surrender to and worship of the Supreme Lord
with full love and energy. That is the instruction of Çré Éçopaniñad in this
mantra.
The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord in this age of disturbance
is to hear and chant about His great activities. The mental speculators,
however, think that the activities of the Lord are imaginary; therefore they
refrain from hearing of them and invent some word jugglery without any
substance to divert the attention of the innocent masses of people. Instead
of hearing of the activities of Lord Kåñëa, such pseudo spiritual masters
advertise themselves by inducing their followers to sing about them. In
modern times the number of such pretenders has increased considerably,
and it has become a problem for the pure devotees of the Lord to save the
masses of people from the unholy propaganda of these pretenders and
pseudo incarnations.
The Upaniñads indirectly draw our attention to the primeval Lord, Çré
Kåñëa, but the Bhagavad-gétä, which is the summary of all the Upaniñads,
directly points to Çré Kåñëa. Therefore one should hear about Kåñëa as He is
by hearing from the Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and in this way
one's mind will gradually be cleansed of all contaminated things.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.17) says, "By hearing of the activities of the Lord,
the devotee draws the attention of the Lord. Thus the Lord, being situated

67
in the heart of every living being, helps the devotee by giving him proper
directions." The Bhagavad-gétä (10.10) confirms this: dadämi buddhi-yogaà
taà yena mäm upayänti te.
The Lord's inner direction cleanses the devotee's heart of all
contamination produced by the material modes of passion and ignorance.
Nondevotees are under the sway of passion and ignorance. One who is in
passion cannot become detached from material hankering, and one who is
in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is. Thus when one is
in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for self-realization, however
much one may play the part of a religionist. For a devotee, the modes of
passion and ignorance are removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the
devotee becomes situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect
brähmaëa. Anyone can qualify as a brähmaëa if he follows the path of
devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (2.4.18) also says:

kiräta-hüëändhra-pulinda-pulkaçä
äbhéra-çumbhä yavanäù khasädayaù
ye 'nye ca päpä yad-apäçrayäçrayäù
çudhyanti tasmai prabhaviñëave namaù

Any lowborn person can be purified by the guidance of a pure devotee of

the Lord, for the Lord is extraordinarily powerful.
When one attains brahminical qualifications, he becomes happy and
enthusiastic to render devotional service to the Lord. Automatically the
science of God is unveiled before him. By knowing the science of God, one
gradually becomes freed from material attachments, and one's doubtful
mind becomes crystal clear by the grace of the Lord. One who attains this
stage is a liberated soul and can see the Lord in every step of life. This is the
perfection of sambhava, as described in this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad.

Mantra Fourteen

s$amBaUitaM ca ivanaAzAM ca

68
 yastaãe"d"AeBayaM s$ah"
ivanaAzAena ma{tyauM taItvaAR
s$amBaUtyaAma{tama´autae

sambhütià ca vinäçaà ca
yas tad vedobhayaà saha
vinäçena måtyuà tértvä
sambhütyämåtam açnute

SYNONYMS
sambhütim—the eternal Personality of Godhead, His transcendental name,
form, pastimes, qualities and paraphernalia, the variegatedness of His abode,
etc.; ca—and; vinäçam—the temporary material manifestation of demigods,
men, animals, etc., with their false names, fame, etc.; ca—also; yaù—one
who; tat—that; veda—knows; ubhayam—both; saha—along with;
vinäçena—with everything liable to be vanquished; måtyum—death;
tértvä—surpassing; sam—bhütyä—in the eternal kingdom of God;
amåtam—deathlessness; açnute—enjoys.

TRANSLATION

One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa and His
transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary
material creation with its temporary demigods, men and animals. When one
knows these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic manifestation
with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys his eternal life of bliss
and knowledge.

PURPORT
By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has
created many material things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet
it has failed to create a situation in which people need not die, take birth

69
again, become old or suffer from disease. Whenever an intelligent man
raises the question of these miseries before a so-called scientist, the scientist
very cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that ultimately
it will be possible to render man deathless, ageless and diseaseless. Such
answers prove the scientists' gross ignorance of material nature. In material
nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of matter and must pass
through six stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of
by-products, deterioration and finally death. No one in contact with
material nature can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore
no one—whether demigod, man, animal or plant—can survive forever in
the material world.
The duration of life varies according to species. Lord Brahmä, the chief
living being within this material universe, lives for millions and millions of
years, while a minute germ lives for some hours only. But no one in the
material world can survive eternally. Things are born or created under
certain conditions, they stay for some time, and, if they continue to live,
they grow, procreate, gradually dwindle and finally vanish. According to
these laws, even the Brahmäs, of which there are millions in different
universes, are all liable to death either today or tomorrow. Therefore the
entire material universe is called Martyaloka, the place of death.
Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless
because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature. This is
due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature, which contains full
knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental experience. Unfortunately,
modern man is averse to receiving knowledge from the Vedas, Puräëas and
other scriptures.
From the Viñëu Puräëa (6.7.61) we receive the following information:

viñëu-çaktiù parä proktä

kñetra-jïäkhyä tathä parä
avidyä-karma-saàjïänyä
tåtéyä çaktir iñyate
[Cc. Madhya 6.154]

70
Lord Viñëu, the Personality of Godhead, possesses different energies,
known as parä (superior) and aparä (inferior). The living entities belong to
the superior energy. The material energy, in which we are presently
entangled, is the inferior energy. The material creation is made possible by
this energy, which covers the living entities with ignorance (avidyä) and
induces them to perform fruitive activities. Yet there is another part of the
Lord's superior energy that is different from both this material, inferior
energy and the living entities. That superior energy constitutes the eternal,
deathless abode of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.20):

paras tasmät tu bhävo 'nyo

'vyakto 'vyaktät sanätanaù
yaù sa sarveñu bhüteñu
naçyatsu na vinaçyati

All the material planets—upper, lower and intermediate, including the sun,
moon and Venus—are scattered throughout the universe. These planets
exist only during the lifetime of Brahmä. Some lower planets, however, are
vanquished after the end of one day of Brahmä and are again created during
the next day of Brahmä. On the upper planets, time is calculated
differently. One of our years is equal to only twenty-four hours, or one day
and night, on many of the upper planets. The four ages of earth (Satya,
Tretä, Dväpara and Kali) last only twelve thousand years according to the
time scale of the upper planets. Such a length of time multiplied by one
thousand constitutes one day of Brahmä, and one night of Brahmä is the
same. Such days and nights accumulate into months and years, and Brahmä
lives for one hundred such years. At the end of Brahmä's life, the complete
universal manifestation is vanquished.
Those living beings who reside on higher planets like the sun and the
moon, as well as those on Martyaloka, this earth planet, and also those who
live on lower planets—all are merged into the waters of devastation during
the night of Brahmä. During this time no living beings or species remain
manifest, although spiritually they continue to exist. This unmanifested
stage is called avyakta. Again, when the entire universe is vanquished at the

71
end of Brahmä's lifetime, there is another avyakta state. But beyond these
two unmanifested states is another unmanifested state, the spiritual
atmosphere, or nature. There are a great number of spiritual planets in this
atmosphere, and these planets exist eternally, even when all the planets
within this material universe are vanquished at the end of Brahmä's life.
There are many material universes, each under the jurisdiction of a
Brahmä, and this cosmic manifestation within the jurisdiction of the
various Brahmäs is but a display of one fourth of the energy of the Lord
(ekapäd-vibhüti). This is the inferior energy. Beyond the jurisdiction of
Brahmä is the spiritual nature, which is called tripäd-vibhüti, three fourths
of the Lord's energy. This is the superior energy, or parä-prakåti.
The predominating Supreme Person residing within the spiritual nature
is Lord Çré Kåñëa. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (8.22), He can be
approached only by unalloyed devotional service and not by the processes of
jïäna (philosophy), yoga (mysticism) or karma (fruitive work). The karmés,
or fruitive workers, can elevate themselves to the Svargaloka planets, which
include the sun and the moon. Jïänés and yogés can attain still higher
planets, such as Maharloka, Tapoloka and Brahmaloka, and when they
become still more qualified through devotional service they can enter into
the spiritual nature, either the illuminating cosmic atmosphere of the
spiritual sky (Brahman) or the Vaikuëöha planets, according to their
qualification. It is certain, however, that no one can enter into the spiritual
Vaikuëöha planets without being trained in devotional service.
On the material planets, everyone from Brahmä down to the ant is
trying to lord it over material nature, and this is the material disease. As
long as this material disease continues, the living entity has to undergo the
process of bodily change. Whether he takes the form of a man, demigod or
animal, he ultimately has to endure an unmanifested condition during the
two devastations—the devastation during the night of Brahmä and the
devastation at the end of Brahmä's life. If we want to put an end to this
process of repeated birth and death, as well as the concomitant factors of
old age and disease, we must try to enter the spiritual planets, where we can
live eternally in the association of Lord Kåñëa or His plenary expansions,
His Näräyaëa forms. Lord Kåñëa or His plenary expansions dominate every

72
one of these innumerable planets, a fact confirmed in the çruti mantras: eko
vaçé sarva-gaù kåñëa éòyaù/ eko 'pi san bahudhä yo 'vabhäti. (Gopäla-täpané
Upaniñad 1.21)
No one can dominate Kåñëa. It is the conditioned soul who tries to
dominate material nature and is instead subjected to the laws of material
nature and the sufferings of repeated birth and death. The Lord comes here
to reestablish the principles of religion, and the basic principle is the
development of an attitude of surrender to Him. This is the Lord's last
instruction in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.66): sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm
ekaà çaraëaà vraja. "Give up all other processes and just surrender unto Me
alone." Unfortunately, foolish men have misinterpreted this prime teaching
and misled the masses of people in diverse ways. People have been urged to
open hospitals but not to educate themselves to enter into the spiritual
kingdom by devotional service. They have been taught to take interest only
in temporary relief work, which can never bring real happiness to the living
entity. They start varieties of public and semi-governmental institutions to
tackle the devastating power of nature, but they don't know how to pacify
insurmountable nature. Many men are advertised as great scholars of the
Bhagavad-gétä, but they overlook the Gétä's message, by which material
nature can be pacified. Powerful nature can be pacified only by the
awakening of God consciousness, as clearly pointed out in the
Bhagavad-gétä (7.14).
In this mantra, Çré Éçopaniñad teaches that one must perfectly know both
sambhüti (the Personality of Godhead) and vinäça (the temporary material
manifestation), side by side. By knowing the material manifestation alone,
one cannot be saved, for in the course of nature there is devastation at
every moment (ahany ahani bhütäni gacchantéha yamä-layam). Nor can one
be saved from these devastations by the opening of hospitals. One can be
saved only by complete knowledge of the eternal life of bliss and awareness.
The whole Vedic scheme is meant to educate men in this art of attaining
eternal life. People are often misguided by temporary attractive things based
on sense gratification, but service rendered to the sense objects is both
misleading and degrading.

73
 We must therefore save ourselves and our fellow man in the right way.
There is no question of liking or disliking the truth. It is there. If we want to
be saved from repeated birth and death, we must take to the devotional
service of the Lord. There can be no compromise, for this is a matter of
necessity.

Mantra Fifteen

ih"r"Nmayaena paA‡aeNA
s$atyasyaAipaih"taM mauKa-
mtaÔvaM paUSaªapaAva{NAu
s$atyaDamaARya ä{"í"yae

hiraëmayena pätreëa
satyasyäpihitaà mukham
tat tvaà püñann apävåëu
satya-dharmäya dåñöaye

SYNONYMS
hiraëmayena—by a golden effulgence; pätreëa—by a dazzling covering;
satyasya—of the Supreme Truth; apihitam—covered; mukham—the face;
tat—that covering; tvam—Yourself; püñan—O sustainer; apävåëu—kindly
remove; satya—pure; dharmäya—unto the devotee; dåñöaye—for exhibiting.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your
dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to
Your pure devotee.

PURPORT

74
 In the Bhagavad-gétä (14.27), the Lord explains His personal rays
(brahmajyoti), the dazzling effulgence of His personal form, in this way:

brahmaëo hi pratiñöhäham
amåtasyävyayasya ca
çäçvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasyaikäntikasya ca

"I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable

and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness."
Brahman, Paramätmä and Bhagavän are three aspects of the same Absolute
Truth. Brahman is the aspect most easily perceived by the beginner;
Paramätmä, the Supersoul, is realized by those who have further progressed;
and Bhagavän realization is the ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth.
This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.7), where Lord Kåñëa says that He
is the ultimate concept of the Absolute Truth: mattaù parataraà nänyat.
Therefore Kåñëa is the source of the brahmajyoti as well as the all-pervading
Paramätmä. Later in the Bhagavad-gétä (10.42) Kåñëa further explains:

atha vä bahunaitena
kià jïätena tavärjuna
viñöabhyäham idaà kåtsnam
ekäàçena sthito jagat

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a
single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." Thus
by His one plenary expansion, the all-pervading Paramätmä, the Lord
maintains the complete material cosmic creation. He also maintains all
manifestations in the spiritual world. Therefore in this çruti-mantra of Çré
Éçopaniñad, the Lord is addressed as püñan, the ultimate maintainer.
The Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, is always filled with
transcendental bliss (änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät). When He was present at
Våndävana in India five thousand years ago, He always remained in
transcendental bliss, even from the beginning of His childhood pastimes.
The killings of various demons—such as Agha, Baka, Pütanä and

75
Pralamba—were but pleasure excursions for Him. In His village of
Våndävana He enjoyed Himself with His mother, brother and friends, and
when He played the role of a naughty butter thief, all His associates enjoyed
celestial bliss by His stealing. The Lord's fame as a butter thief is not
reproachable, for by stealing butter the Lord gave pleasure to His pure
devotees. Everything the Lord did in Våndävana was for the pleasure of His
associates there. The Lord created these pastimes to attract the dry
speculators and the acrobats of the so-called haöha-yoga system who wish to
find the Absolute Truth.
Of the childhood play between the Lord and His playmates, the cowherd
boys, Çukadeva Gosvämé says in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.12.11):

itthaà satäà brahma-sukhänubhütyä

däsyaà gatänäà para-daivatena
mäyäçritänäà nara-därakeëa
säkaà vijahruù kåta-puëya-puïjäù

"The Personality of Godhead, who is perceived as the impersonal, blissful

Brahman by the jïänés, who is worshiped as the Supreme Lord by devotees
in the mood of servitorship, and who is considered an ordinary human
being by mundane people, played with the cowherd boys, who had attained
their position after accumulating many pious activities."
Thus the Lord is always engaged in transcendental loving activities with
His spiritual associates in the various relationships of çänta (neutrality),
däsya (servitorship), sakhya (friendship), vätsalya (parental affection) and
mädhurya (conjugal love).
Since it is said that Lord Kåñëa never leaves Våndävana-dhäma, one may
ask how He manages the affairs of the creation. This is answered in the
Bhagavad-gétä (13.14-18): The Lord pervades the entire material creation by
His plenary part known as the Paramätmä, or Supersoul. Although the Lord
personally has nothing to do with material creation, maintenance and
destruction, He causes all these things to be done by His plenary expansion,
the Paramätmä. Every living entity is known as ätmä, soul, and the
principal ätmä who controls them all is Paramätmä, the Supersoul.

76
 This system of God realization is a great science. The materialistic
säìkhya-yogés can only analyze and meditate on the twenty-four factors of
the material creation, for they have very little information of the puruña,
the Lord. And the impersonal transcendentalists are simply bewildered by
the glaring effulgence of the brahmajyoti. If one wants to see the Absolute
Truth in full, one has to penetrate beyond the twenty-four material
elements and the glaring effulgence as well. Çré Éçopaniñad points toward
this direction, praying for the removal of the hiraëmaya-pätra, the dazzling
covering of the Lord. Unless this covering is removed so one can perceive
the real face of the Personality of Godhead, factual realization of the
Absolute Truth can never be achieved.
The Paramätmä feature of the Personality of Godhead is one of three
plenary expansions, or viñëu-tattvas, collectively known as the
puruña-avatäras. One of these viñëu-tattvas who is within the universe is
known as Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu. He is the Viñëu among the three principal
deities—Brahmä, Viñëu and Çiva—and He is the all-pervading Paramätmä
in each and every individual living entity. The second viñëu-tattva within
the universe is Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu, the collective Supersoul of all living
entities. Beyond these two is Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu, who lies in the Causal
Ocean. He is the creator of all universes. The yoga system teaches the
serious student to meet the viñëu-tattvas after going beyond the twenty-four
material elements of the cosmic creation. The culture of empiric philosophy
helps one realize the impersonal brahmajyoti, which is the glaring effulgence
of the transcendental body of Lord Çré Kåñëa. That the brahmajyoti is
Kåñëa's effulgence is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gétä (14.27) as well as the
Brahma-saàhitä (5.40):

yasya prabhä-prabhavato jagad-aëòa-koöi-

koöiñv açeña-vasudhädi vibhüti-bhinnam
tad brahma niñkalam anantam açeña-bhütaà
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

"In the millions and millions of universes there are innumerable planets,
and each and every one of them is different from the others by its cosmic

77
constitution. All of these planets are situated in a corner of the brahmajyoti.
This brahmajyoti is but the personal rays of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Govinda, whom I worship." This mantra from the
Brahma-saàhitä is spoken from the platform of factual realization of the
Absolute Truth, and the çruti-mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad under discussion
confirms this mantra as a process of realization. The Éçopaniñad mantra is a
simple prayer to the Lord to remove the brahmajyoti so that one can see His
real face. This brahmajyoti effulgence is described in detail in several
mantras of the Muëòaka Upaniñad (2.2.10-12):

hiraëmaye pare koçe

virajaà brahma niñkalam
tac chubhraà jyotiñäà jyotis
tad yad ätma-vido viduù

na tatra süryo bhäti na candra-tärakaà

nemä vidyuto bhänti kuto 'yam agniù
tam eva bhäntam anu bhäti sarvaà
tasya bhäsä sarvam idaà vibhäti

brahmaivedam amåtaà purastäd brahma

paçcäd brahma dakñiëataç cottareëa
adhaç cordhvaà ca prasåtaà brahmai-
vedaà viçvam idaà variñöham

"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited
Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination. That
effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of
all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or
electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the
material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That
Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also
overhead and below. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence
spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies."
Perfect knowledge means knowing Kåñëa as the root of this Brahman
78
effulgence. This knowledge can be gained from such scriptures as
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, which perfectly elaborates the science of Kåñëa. In
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, the author, Çréla Vyäsadeva, has established that one
will describe the Supreme Truth as Brahman, Paramätmä or Bhagavän
according to one's realization of Him. Çréla Vyäsadeva never states that the
Supreme Truth is a jéva, an ordinary living entity. The living entity should
never be considered the all-powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the
Supreme, he would not need to pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling
cover so that the living entity could see His real face.
The conclusion is that one who has no knowledge of the potencies of the
Supreme Truth will realize the impersonal Brahman. Similarly, when one
realizes the material potencies of the Lord but has little or no information
of the spiritual potencies, he attains Paramätmä realization. Thus both
Brahman and Paramätmä realization of the Absolute Truth are partial
realizations. However, when one realizes the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Çré Kåñëa, in full potency after the removal of the
hiraëmaya-pätra, one realizes väsudevaù sarvam iti: [Bg. 7.19] Lord Çré Kåñëa,
who is known as Väsudeva, is everything—Brahman, Paramätmä and
Bhagavän. He is Bhagavän, the root, and Brahman and Paramätmä are His
branches.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.46-47) there is a comparative analysis of the
three types of transcendentalists—the worshipers of the impersonal
Brahman (jïänés), the worshipers of the Paramätmä feature (yogés) and the
devotees of Lord Çré Kåñëa (bhaktas). It is stated there that the jïänés, those
who have cultivated Vedic knowledge, are better than ordinary fruitive
workers, that the yogés are still greater than the jïänés, and that among all
yogés, those who constantly serve the Lord with all their energies are the
topmost. In summary, a philosopher is better than a laboring man, a mystic
is superior to a philosopher, and of all the mystic yogés, he who follows
bhakti-yoga, constantly engaging in the service of the Lord, is the highest.
Çré Éçopaniñad directs us toward this perfection. [VTE](14)

Mantra Sixteen

79
 paUSaªaek(SaeR yama s$aUyaR ‘aAjaApatya
vyaUh" r"zmaIna, s$amaUh"
taejaAe yaÔae è&paM k(lyaANAtamaM
taÔae pazyaAima yaAe's$aAvas$aAE pauç&Sa: s$aAe'h"maisma

püñann ekarñe yama sürya präjäpatya

vyüha raçmén samüha
tejo yat te rüpaà kalyäëa-tamaà
tat te paçyämi yo 'säv asau puruñaù so 'ham asmi

SYNONYMS
püñan—O maintainer; eka-åñe—the primeval philosopher; yama—the
regulating principle; sürya—the destination of the süris (great devotees);
präjäpatya—the well-wisher of the prajäpatis (progenitors of mankind);
vyüha—kindly remove; raçmén—the rays; samüha—kindly withdraw;
tejaù—effulgence; yat—so that; te—Your; rüpam—form;
kalyäëa-tamam—most auspicious; tat—that; te—Your; paçyämi—I may see;
yaù—one who is; asau—like the sun; asau—that; puruñaù—Personality of
Godhead; saù—myself; aham—I; asmi—am.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O

regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the
progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your transcendental
rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the eternal Supreme
Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.

PURPORT
The sun and its rays are one and the same qualitatively. Similarly, the
Lord and the living entities are one and the same in quality. The sun is one,

80
but the molecules of the sun's rays are innumerable. The sun's rays
constitute part of the sun, and the sun and its rays conjointly constitute the
complete sun. Within the sun itself resides the sun-god, and similarly within
the supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Våndävana, from which the
brahmajyoti effulgence is emanating, the Lord enjoys His eternal pastimes,
as verified in the Brahma-saàhitä (5.29):

cintämaëi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-våkña-
lakñävåteñu surabhér abhipälayantam
lakñmé-sahasra-çata-sambhrama-sevyamänaà
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending
the cows fulfilling all desires in abodes filled with spiritual gems and
surrounded by millions of wish-fulfilling trees. He is always served with
great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Lakñmés, or
goddesses of fortune."
The brahmajyoti is described in the Brahma-saàhitä as the rays
emanating from that supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Våndävana, just as
the sun's rays emanate from the sun globe. Until one surpasses the glare of
the brahmajyoti, one cannot receive information of the land of the Lord.
The impersonalist philosophers, blinded as they are by the dazzling
brahmajyoti, can realize neither the factual abode of the Lord nor His
transcendental form. Limited by their poor fund of knowledge, such
impersonalist thinkers cannot understand the all-blissful transcendental
form of Lord Kåñëa. In this prayer, therefore, Çré Éçopaniñad petitions the
Lord to remove the effulgent rays of the brahmajyoti so that the pure
devotee can see His all-blissful transcendental form.
By realizing the impersonal brahmajyoti, one experiences the auspicious
aspect of the Supreme, and by realizing the Paramätmä, or all-pervading
feature of the Supreme, one experiences an even more auspicious
enlightenment. But by meeting the Personality of Godhead Himself face to
face, the devotee experiences the most auspicious feature of the Supreme.
Since He is addressed as the primeval philosopher and maintainer and

81
well-wisher of the universe, the Supreme Truth cannot be impersonal. This
is the verdict of Çré Éçopaniñad. The word püñan ("maintainer") is especially
significant, for although the Lord maintains all beings, He specifically
maintains His devotees. After surpassing the impersonal brahmajyoti and
seeing the personal aspect of the Lord and His most auspicious eternal form,
the devotee realizes the Absolute Truth in full.
In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé states: "The complete
conception of the Absolute Truth is realized in the Personality of Godhead
because He is almighty and possesses full transcendental potencies. The full
potency of the Absolute Truth is not realized in the brahmajyoti; therefore
Brahman realization is only partial realization of the Personality of
Godhead. O learned sages, the first syllable of the word bhagavän (bha) has
two meanings: the first is 'one who fully maintains,' and the second is
'guardian.' The second syllable (ga) means 'guide,' 'leader' or 'creator.' The
syllable vän indicates that every being lives in Him and that He also lives in
every being. In other words, the transcendental sound bhagavän represents
infinite knowledge, potency, energy, opulence, strength and influence—all
without a tinge of material inebriety."
The Lord fully maintains His unalloyed devotees, and He guides them
progressively on the path toward devotional perfection. As the leader of His
devotees, He ultimately awards the desired results of devotional service by
giving Himself to them. The devotees of the Lord see the Lord eye to eye by
His causeless mercy; thus the Lord helps His devotees reach the supermost
spiritual planet, Goloka Våndävana. Being the creator, He can bestow all
necessary qualifications upon His devotees so that they can ultimately reach
Him. The Lord is the cause of all causes. In other words, since there is
nothing that caused Him, He is the original cause. Consequently He enjoys
His own Self by manifesting His own internal potency. The external
potency is not exactly manifested by Him, for He expands Himself as the
puruñas, and it is in these forms that He maintains the features of the
material manifestation. By such expansions, He creates, maintains and
annihilates the cosmic manifestation.
The living entities are also differentiated expansions of the Lord's Self,

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and because some of them desire to be lords and imitate the Supreme Lord,
He allows them to enter into the cosmic creation with the option to fully
utilize their propensity to lord it over nature. Because of the presence of His
parts and parcels, the living entities, the entire phenomenal world is stirred
into action and reaction. Thus the living entities are given full facilities to
lord it over material nature, but the ultimate controller is the Lord Himself
in His plenary feature as Paramätmä, the Supersoul, who is one of the
puruñas.
Thus there is a gulf of difference between the living entity (ätmä) and
the controlling Lord (Paramätmä), the soul and the Supersoul. Paramätmä
is the controller, and the ätmä is the controlled; therefore they are in
different categories. Because the Paramätmä fully cooperates with the ätmä,
He is known as the constant companion of the living being.
The all-pervading feature of the Lord—which exists in all circumstances
of waking and sleeping as well as in potential states and from which the
jéva-çakti (living force) is generated as both conditioned and liberated
souls—is known as Brahman. Since the Lord is the origin of both
Paramätmä and Brahman, He is the origin of all living entities and all else
that exists. One who knows this engages himself at once in the devotional
service of the Lord. Such a pure and fully cognizant devotee of the Lord is
fully attached to Him in heart and soul, and whenever such a devotee
assembles with similar devotees, they have no engagement but the
glorification of the Lord's transcendental activities. Those who are not as
perfect as the pure devotees—namely, those who have realized only the
Brahman or Paramätmä features of the Lord—cannot appreciate the
activities of the perfect devotees. The Lord always helps the pure devotees
by imparting necessary knowledge within their hearts, and thus out of His
special favor He dissipates all the darkness of ignorance. The speculative
philosophers and yogés cannot imagine this, because they more or less
depend on their own strength. As stated in the Kaöha Upaniñad (1.2.23), the
Lord can be known only by those whom He favors, and not by anyone else.
Such special favors are bestowed upon His pure devotees only. Çré
Éçopaniñad thus points to the favor of the Lord, which is beyond the purview

83
of the brahmajyoti.

Mantra Seventeen

vaAyaur"inalamama{ta-
maTaedM" BasmaAntaM zAr"Ir"-
maAe"M ‚(taAe smar" k{(taM smar"
‚(taAe smar" k{(taM smar"

väyur anilam amåtam

athedaà bhasmäntaà çaréram
oà krato smara kåtaà smara
krato smara kåtaà smara

SYNONYMS
väyuù—air of life; anilam—total reservoir of air; amåtam—indestructible;
atha—now; idam—this; bhasmäntam—after being turned to ashes;
çaréram—body; oà—O Lord; krato—O enjoyer of all sacrifices;
smara—please remember; kåtam—all that has been done by me;
smara—please remember; krato—O supreme beneficiary; smara—please
remember; kåtam—all that I have done for You; smara—please remember.

TRANSLATION

Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be
merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my
sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all
that I have done for You.

PURPORT
The temporary material body is certainly a foreign dress. The

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Bhagavad-gétä (2.20) clearly says that after the destruction of the material
body the living entity is not annihilated, nor does he lose his identity. The
identity of the living entity is never impersonal or formless; on the
contrary, it is the material dress that is formless and that takes a shape
according to the form of the indestructible person. No living entity is
originally formless, as is wrongly thought by those with a poor fund of
knowledge. This mantra verifies the fact that the living entity exists after
the annihilation of the material body.
In the material world, material nature displays wonderful workmanship
by creating varieties of bodies for the living beings according to their
propensities for sense gratification. The living entity who wants to taste
stool is given a material body that is quite suitable for eating stool—that of
a hog. Similarly, one who wants to eat the flesh and blood of other animals
may be given a tiger's body equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But the
human being is not meant for eating flesh, nor does he have any desire to
taste stool, even in the most aboriginal state. Human teeth are so made that
they can chew and cut fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine
teeth so that primitive humans can eat flesh if they so desire.
But in any case, the material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to
the living entity. They change according to the living entity's desire for
sense gratification. In the cycle of evolution, the living entity changes
bodies one after another. When the world was full of water, the living
entity took an aquatic form. Then he passed to vegetable life, from
vegetable life to worm life, from worm life to bird life, from bird life to
animal life, and from animal life to the human form. The highest developed
form is this human form when it is possessed of a full sense of spiritual
knowledge. The highest development of one's spiritual sense is described in
this mantra: One should give up the material body, which will be turned to
ashes, and allow the air of life to merge into the eternal reservoir of air. The
living being's activities are performed within the body through the
movements of different kinds of air, known in summary as präëa-väyu. The
yogés generally study how to control the airs of the body. The soul is
supposed to rise from one circle of air to another until it rises to the
brahma-randhra, the highest circle. From that point the perfect yogé can

85
transfer himself to any planet he likes. The process is to give up one
material body and then enter into another. But the highest perfection of
such changes occurs only when the living entity is able to give up the
material body altogether, as suggested in this mantra, and enter into the
spiritual atmosphere, where he can develop a completely different type of
body—a spiritual body, which never has to meet death or change.
Here in the material world, material nature forces the living entity to
change his body due to his different desires for sense gratification. These
desires are represented in the various species of life, from
germs to the most perfected material bodies, those of Brahmä and the
demigods. All of these living entities have bodies composed of matter in
different shapes. The intelligent man sees oneness not in the variety of the
bodies but in the spiritual identity. The spiritual spark, which is part and
parcel of the Supreme Lord, is the same whether he is in a body of a hog or
in the body of a demigod. The living entity takes on different bodies
according to his pious and vicious activities. The human body is highly
developed and has full consciousness. According to the Bhagavad-gétä (7.19),
the most perfect man surrenders unto the Lord after many, many lifetimes
of culturing knowledge. The culture of knowledge reaches perfection only
when the knower comes to the point of surrendering unto the Supreme
Lord, Väsudeva. Otherwise, even after attaining knowledge of one's
spiritual identity, if one does not come to the point of knowing that the
living entities are eternal parts and parcels of the whole and can never
become the whole, one has to fall down again into the material atmosphere.
Indeed, one must fall down even if he has become one with the brahmajyoti.
As we have learned from previous mantras, the brahmajyoti emanating
from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks that are
individual entities with the full sense of existence. Sometimes these living
entities want to enjoy their senses, and therefore they are placed in the
material world to become false lords under the dictation of the senses. The
desire for lordship is the material disease of the living being, for under the
spell of sense enjoyment he transmigrates through the various bodies
manifested in the material world. Becoming one with the brahmajyoti does
not represent mature knowledge. Only by surrendering unto the Lord

86
completely and developing one's sense of spiritual service does one reach
the highest perfectional stage.
In this mantra the living entity prays to enter the spiritual kingdom of
God after relinquishing his material body and material air. The devotee
prays to the Lord to remember his activities and the sacrifices he has
performed before his material body is turned into ashes. He makes this
prayer at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of
the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rule of material nature
remembers the heinous activities he performed during the existence of his
material body, and consequently he gets another material body after death.
The Bhagavad-gétä (8.6) confirms this truth:

yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà

tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya
sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of
Kunté, that state he will attain without fail." Thus the mind carries the
living entity's propensities into the next life.
Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the dying
human being can remember the activities of his life like dreams at night;
therefore his mind remains surcharged with material desires, and
consequently he cannot enter into the spiritual kingdom with a spiritual
body. The devotees, however, develop a sense of love for Godhead by
practicing devotional service to the Lord. Even if at the time of death a
devotee does not remember his service to the Lord, the Lord does not forget
him. This prayer is given to remind the Lord of the devotee's sacrifices, but
even if there is no such reminder, the Lord does not forget the service
rendered by His pure devotee.
The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His devotees in
the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-34): "Even if one commits the most abominable
action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly
because he is properly situated in his determination. He quickly becomes

87
righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunté, declare it boldly that
My devotee never perishes. O son of Påthä, those who take shelter in Me,
though they be of lower birth—women, vaiçyas [merchants] as well as çüdras
[workers]—can attain the supreme destination. How much more this is so of
the righteous brähmaëas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore,
having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service
unto Me. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee,
offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me,
surely you will come to Me."
Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura explains these verses in this way: "One
should regard a devotee of Kåñëa to be on the right path of the saints, even
though such a devotee may seem to be su-duräcära, 'a person of loose
character.' One should try to understand the real purport of the word
su-duräcära. A conditioned soul has to act for double functions—namely
for the maintenance of the body and again for self-realization. Social status,
mental development, cleanliness, austerity, nourishment and the struggle
for existence are all for the maintenance of the body. The self-realization
part of one's activities is executed in one's occupation as a devotee of the
Lord, and one performs actions in that connection also. One must perform
these two different functions along parallel lines, because a conditioned
soul cannot give up the maintenance of his body. The proportion of
activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to
the increase in devotional service. As long as the proportion of devotional
service does not come to the right point, there is a chance for an occasional
exhibition of worldliness. But it should be noted that such worldliness
cannot continue for long because, by the grace of the Lord, such
imperfections will come to an end very shortly. Therefore the path of
devotional service is the only right path. If one is on the right path, even an
occasional occurrence of worldliness does not hamper one in the
advancement of self-realization."
The facilities of devotional service are denied the impersonalists because
they are attached to the brahmajyoti feature of the Lord. As suggested in the
previous mantras, they cannot penetrate the brahma-jyoti because they do
not believe in the Personality of Godhead. Their business is mostly word

88
jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently the impersonalists pursue a
fruitless labor, as confirmed in the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä
(12.5).
All the facilities suggested in this mantra can be easily obtained by
constant contact with the personal feature of the Absolute Truth.
Devotional service to the Lord consists essentially of nine transcendental
activities: (1) hearing about the Lord, (2) glorifying the Lord, (3)
remembering the Lord, (4) serving the lotus feet of the Lord, (5) worshiping
the Lord, (6) offering prayers to the Lord, (7) serving the Lord, (8) enjoying
friendly association with the Lord, and (9) surrendering everything unto
the Lord. These nine principles of devotional service—taken all together or
one by one—help a devotee remain constantly in touch with God. In this
way, at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the Lord. By
adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned
devotees of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: (1) By
hearing of the Lord, Mahäräja Parékñit, the hero of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
attained the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying the Lord, Çukadeva
Gosvämé, the speaker of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, attained his perfection. (3) By
praying to the Lord, Akrüra attained the desired result. (4) By remembering
the Lord, Prahläda Mahäräja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping
the Lord, Påthu Mahäräja attained perfection. (6) By serving the lotus feet
of the Lord, the goddess of fortune, Lakñmé, attained perfection. (7) By
rendering personal service to the Lord, Hanumän attained the desired
result. (8) Through his friendship with the Lord, Arjuna attained the
desired result. (9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahäräja
Bali attained the desired result.
Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all the
mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the Vedänta-sütra and
properly explained in Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the
mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom. In Çrémad-Bhägavatam this
particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers between
Mahäräja Parékñit and Çukadeva Gosvämé at the very beginning of their
meeting. Hearing and chanting of the science of God is the basic principle
of devotional life. The complete Bhägavatam was heard by Mahäräja

89
Parékñit and chanted by Çukadeva Gosvämé. Mahäräja Parékñit inquired
from Çukadeva because Çukadeva was a greater spiritual master than any
great yogé or transcendentalist of his time.
Mahäräja Parékñit's main question was: "What is the duty of every man,
specifically at the time of death?" Çukadeva Gosvämé answered:

tasmäd bhärata sarvätmä

bhagavän éçvaro hariù
çrotavyaù kértitavyaç ca
smartavyaç cecchatäbhayam

"Everyone who desires to be free from all anxieties should always hear
about, glorify and remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the
supreme director of everything, the extinguisher of all difficulties, and the
Supersoul of all living entities." (SB 2.1.5)
So-called human society is generally engaged at night in sleeping and
having sex and during the daytime in earning as much money as possible or
else in shopping for family maintenance. People have very little time to talk
about the Personality of Godhead or to inquire about Him. They have
dismissed God's existence in so many ways, primarily by declaring Him to be
impersonal, that is, without sense perception. But in the Vedic
literature—whether the Upaniñads, Vedänta-sütra, Bhagavad-gétä or
Çrémad-Bhägavatam—it is declared that the Lord is a sentient being and is
supreme over all other living entities. His glorious activities are identical
with Himself. One should therefore not indulge in hearing and speaking of
the rubbish activities of worldly politicians and so-called big men in society
but should mold his life in such a way that he can engage in godly activities
without wasting a second. Çré Éçopaniñad directs us toward such godly
activities.
Unless one is accustomed to devotional practice, what will he remember
at the time of death, when the body is dislocated, and how can he pray to
the almighty Lord to remember his sacrifices? Sacrifice means denying the
interest of the senses. One has to learn this art by employing the senses in
the service of the Lord during one's lifetime. One can utilize the results of

90
such practice at the time of death.

Mantra Eighteen

@¢ae naya s$aupaTaA r"Ayae @smaAna,

ivaìAina de"va vayaunaAina ivaã"Ana,
yauyaAeDyasmaÀauò"r"ANAmaenaAe
BaUiyaï"AM tae namaoi·M( ivaDaema

agne naya supathä räye asmän

viçväni deva vayunäni vidvän
yuyodhy asmaj juhuräëam eno
bhüyiñöhäà te nama-uktià vidhema

SYNONYMS
agne—O my Lord, as powerful as fire; naya—kindly lead; supathä—by the
right path; räye—for reaching You; asmän—us; viçväni—all; deva—O my
Lord; vayunäni—actions; vidvän—the knower; yuyodhi—kindly remove;
asmat—from us; juhuräëam—all hindrances on the path; enaù—all vices;
bhüyiñöhäm—most numerous; te—unto You; namaù uktim—words of
obeisance; vidhema—I do.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all

obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead me on
the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have done in the
past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there will be
no hindrance to my progress.

PURPORT

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 By surrendering to the Lord and praying for His causeless mercy, the
devotee can progress on the path of complete self-realization. The Lord is
addressed as fire because He can burn anything into ashes, including the
sins of the surrendered soul. As described in the previous mantras, the real
or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the Personality of
Godhead, and His impersonal brahmajyoti feature is a dazzling covering over
His face. Fruitive activities, or the karma-käëòa path of self-realization, is
the lowest stage in this endeavor. As soon as such activities even slightly
deviate from the regulative principles of the Vedas, they are transformed
into vikarma, or acts against the interest of the actor. Such vikarma is
enacted by the illusioned living entity simply for sense gratification, and
thus such activities become hindrances on the path of self-realization.
Self-realization is possible in the human form of life, but not in other
forms. There are 8,400,000 species, or forms of life, of which the human
form qualified by brahminical culture presents the only chance to obtain
knowledge of transcendence. Brahminical culture includes truthfulness,
sense control, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full faith in God.
It is not that one simply becomes proud of his high parentage. Just as being
born the son of a big man affords one a chance to become a big man, so
being born the son of a brähmaëa gives one a chance to become a brähmaëa.
But such a birthright is not everything, for one still has to attain the
brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as one becomes proud of his
birth as the son of a brähmaëa and neglects to acquire the qualifications of
a real brähmaëa, he at once becomes degraded and falls from the path of
self-realization. Thus his life's mission as a human being is defeated.
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41-42) we are assured by the Lord that the
yoga-bhrañöas, or souls fallen from the path of self-realization, are given a
chance to rectify themselves by taking birth either in the families of good
brähmaëas or in the families of rich merchants. Such births afford higher
chances for self-realization. If these chances are misused due to illusion, one
loses the good opportunity of human life afforded by the almighty Lord.
The regulative principles are such that one who follows them is
promoted from the platform of fruitive activities to the platform of

92
transcendental knowledge. After many, many lifetimes of cultivating
transcendental knowledge, one becomes perfect when he surrenders unto
the Lord. This is the general procedure. But one who surrenders at the very
beginning, as recommended in this mantra, at once surpasses all preliminary
stages simply by adopting the devotional attitude. As stated in the
Bhagavad-gétä (18.66), the Lord at once takes charge of such a surrendered
soul and frees him from all the reactions to his sinful acts. There are many
sinful reactions involved in karma-käëòa activities, whereas in
jïäna-käëòa, the path of philosophical development, the number of such
sinful activities is smaller. But in devotional service to the Lord, the path of
bhakti, there is practically no chance of incurring sinful reactions. One who
is a devotee of the Lord attains all the good qualifications of the Lord
Himself, what to speak of those of a brähmaëa. A devotee automatically
attains the qualifications of an expert brähmaëa authorized to perform
sacrifices, even though the devotee may not have taken his birth in a
brähmaëa family. Such is the omnipotence of the Lord. He can make a man
born in a brähmaëa family as degraded as a lowborn dog-eater, and He can
also make a lowborn dog-eater superior to a qualified brähmaëa simply on
the strength of devotional service.
Since the omnipotent Lord is situated within the heart of everyone, He
can give directions to His sincere devotees by which they can attain the
right path. Such directions are especially offered to the devotee, even if he
desires something else. As far as others are concerned, God gives sanction
to the doer only at the risk of the doer. But in the case of a devotee, the
Lord directs him in such a way that he never acts wrongly. The
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.5.42) says:

sva-päda-mülaà bhajataù priyasya

tyaktänya-bhävasya hariù pareçaù
vikarma yac cotpatitaà kathaïcid
dhunoti sarvaà hådi sanniviñöaù

"The Lord is so kind to the devotee who is fully surrendered to His lotus feet
that even though the devotee sometimes falls into the entanglement of

93
vikarma-acts against the Vedic directions—the Lord at once rectifies such
mistakes from within his heart. This is because the devotees are very dear to
the Lord."
In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad, the devotee prays to the Lord to rectify
him from within his heart. To err is human. A conditioned soul is very
often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial measure to take against
such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so
that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes charge of fully
surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering
oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions. Such directions
are given to the sincere devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints,
scriptures and spiritual master, and the other is by way of the Lord Himself,
who resides within the heart of everyone. Thus the devotee, fully
enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected in
all respects.
Vedic knowledge is transcendental and cannot be understood by
mundane educational procedures. One can understand the Vedic mantras
only by the grace of the Lord and the spiritual master (yasya deve parä
bhaktir yathä deve tathä gurau [ÇU 6.23(15)]). If one takes shelter of a bona
fide spiritual master, it is to be understood that he has obtained the grace of
the Lord. The Lord appears as the spiritual master for the devotee. Thus the
spiritual master, the Vedic injunctions and the Lord Himself from
within—all guide the devotee in full strength. In this way there is no
chance for a devotee to fall again into the mire of material illusion. The
devotee, thus protected all around, is sure to reach the ultimate destination
of perfection. The entire process is hinted at in this mantra, and
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.17-20) explains it further:
Hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord is itself an act of piety. The
Lord wants everyone to hear and chant His glories because He is the
well-wisher of all living entities. By hearing and chanting the glories of the
Lord, one becomes cleansed of all undesirable things, and then one's
devotion becomes fixed upon the Lord. At this stage the devotee acquires
the brahminical qualifications, and the effects of the lower modes of nature

94
(passion and ignorance) completely vanish. The devotee becomes fully
enlightened by virtue of his devotional service, and thus he comes to know
the path of the Lord and the way to attain Him. As all doubts diminish, he
becomes a pure devotee.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to Çré Éçopaniñad, the knowledge that
brings one nearer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa.

95
 Endnotes
1 (Popup - Popup)
Axiom: 1) A self evident or universally accepted truth; a maxim. 2) An
established rule, principle or law. 3) A statement or proposition requiring no
proof as a self evident, self consistent or accepted principle.
Readers Digest Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Induction: in logic, method of reasoning from a part to a whole, from

particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal. As it applies to
logic in systems of the twentieth century, the term is obsolete. Traditionally,
logicians distinguished between deductive logic (inference in which the
conclusion follows necessarily from the premise, or drawing new propositions
out of premises in which they lie latent) and inductive logic, but the problems
earlier subsumed under induction are considered to be concerns of the
methodology of the natural sciences, and logic is generally taken to mean
deductive logic.
Encyclopedia Britannica 1998 Multimedia Edition

The original source of knowledge is the Vedas. There are no branches of

knowledge, either mundane or transcendental, which do not belong to the
original text of the Vedas. They have simply been developed into different
branches. They were originally rendered by great, respectable and learned
professors. In other words, the Vedic knowledge, broken into different
branches by different disciplic successions, has been distributed all over the
world. No one, therefore, can claim independent knowledge beyond the
Vedas.
SB 1.4.23 purp.

2 (Popup - Popup)
God is complete and has form: God is complete: Just like here, if
something is offered to KŠa, to God, He will eat it, but He will leave
everything for you as prasādam. How? P™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. P™rŠasya
p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam eva vaiyate. This is God's power. He will eat
everything, but He will keep everything for you as prasādam. P™rŠasya p™rŠam
ādāya. Taking everything, but still, it is there.
Lect. New York 66

96
 God is complete: That is the idea. P™rŠam idaˆ. P™rŠaƒ means complete.
And because He is complete, the Creator, He has no defect; therefore He can
create everything complete. P™rŠam idaˆ, p™rŠam adaƒ, p™rŠāt p™rŠam
udacyate. And He is so complete that p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya, if you take the
whole complete from the complete, still He is complete. Here is a glass of
water; I am drinking it bit by bit. When the water is finished, it is no longer
complete. But He is so complete; just like the sun's heat is being distributed for
millions and millions of years, still it is full of heat. Here, unless the electric
power is there, it is not complete. But there is power in the sunshine. It is a
reservoir of so much heat and light, that for millions and millions of years it has
been distributing it. The seasonal changes are going on, the green foliage is
coming again, the snow and rain are coming, so many things are going on
account of heat. Any machine is rolling, just as soon as there is power the
machine is rolling. In all machines, your bodily machine, my bodily machine,
and electric machines and other powered machines - everything is going on.
P™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. And in spite of taking so much energy from the sun, it
is still full of light and energy. This is one of the creations of the Supreme. So
how perfect is the Supreme? Our sun is one of His creations, and it is
maintaining the whole universe. And there are many millions of universes, each
of them having a sun to conduct their business. All these suns are created by
someone. How complete He must be. You can just imagine. That is God. God is
not such a cheap thing. People become God, "I am God." These are rascals.
What can they do? These are bluffers. They do not know what is God. Here is
God - complete. P™rŠam adaƒ, p™rŠam idaˆ. The whole creation is complete,
still He is complete. The energy is coming from here, still He is complete. This
energy also. A glass of water; I throw away the contents of the glass, and water
is again filling it. Again I throw it out, and again it is filling up. Incessantly
coming, all the energies. This is the idea of God. P™rŠam idaˆ, p™rŠam adaƒ,
p™rŠam idaˆ, p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya, p™rŠam
evāvaiyate. One minus one equals one, not zero. One plus one equals one, not
two. This is complete. This is the idea of God. Just like the ocean. You take
many thousands of buckets of water out, still it is complete. And again you put
in many thousands, millions of buckets of water, it is the same depth. This is
another example. Material example. This is complete. You take millions of
buckets of water from the ocean, you'll find not a drop is lost. And you put
millions of buckets of water again, not a drop is increased. P™rŠasya p™rŠam
ādāya p™rŠam evāvaiyate. If you try to take out the whole ocean, still it will
remain the ocean. This is the idea of complete. P™rŠam idam p™rŠam adaƒ.

97
 Conv Perth 75

God has form: KŠa is existing in innumerable universes. KŠa is existing

everywhere; still, He's avyayātmā. From the original KŠa, although He has
expanded into millions and trillions, unlimited, still, He's avyaya, without any
minus. It is not like that we have some bank balance, and if it is taken away
millions of times, then it is finished. No. P™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam
evāvaiyate. This is KŠa. This is the verdict of the Vedānta. P™rŠasya
p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam idam, p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. Everything which is
emanating from KŠa is complete. There is no deficiency. Everything.
Janmādy asya yataƒ. The Absolute Truth ... That is Absolute Truth.
Lect. Bg 4.20-24 New York '66

God has form: But that does not mean KŠa has lost His personality. This
is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy and VaiŠava philosophy.
Māyāvāda philosophy is: "If the whole cosmic creation is God, then where is
God again separately?" That is their poor fund of knowledge. That is God who,
expanding Himself in so many ways, still He remains as He is. That is God.
Otherwise, how is He God? It is a material thing. If by expanding, He loses His
identity, then it is material. We experience that in the material sense. The same
example: you take a big piece of paper, cut it into pieces and throw it away. The
original paper is lost. That is material. But in the Iopaniad we hear that
p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠaˆ p™rŠāt udacyate,
p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam eva avaiyate. Just like when KŠa was
sporting on this earth as a cowherd boy, Brahmā became doubtful, "How is
that? KŠa has become a cowherd boy here?" So he wanted to test whether He's
KŠa. So he lifted all the cows and cowherd boys from the pasturing ground,
and again he saw that millions of the same cows and cowherd boys are present
there. So that is KŠa. He can expand. Bhatvad bhannatvad. Brahman means
He can expand unlimitedly. And He can shrink also to the minute. Just like we
are very minute. We are also part and parcel. And this cosmic manifestation is
also part and parcel of KŠa. Therefore He's called paraˆ brahma paraˆ
dhāma pavitraˆ paramaˆ bhavān.
SB 1.5.18 New Vrindavan 69

The Universe is perfect and complete: Therefore as this universe, material

cosmic manifestation, is working very nicely, you have to accept there is a God.
You cannot deny. So that consciousness, superconsciousness, is different. You
cannot say "I am the same. I have superconsciousness." That is not possible. If

98
you have superconsciousness, why don't you feel my pains and pleasure? The
superconsciousness is ViŠu. That is all-pervading consciousness. That is also
the same. Nature is the same. As I have consciousness all over this body,
similarly, the superconsciousness is there all over the universe. As I feel pains
and pleasure on account of some disturbance in this body, similarly, as soon as
we create some disturbance with this universal atmosphere, the supreme
consciousness is disturbed. That disturbance is going on. Therefore, in spite of
all arrangements ... P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. That,
by God's creation, everything is complete. There is no flaw. But because we are
creating disturbances, the world situation is different.
Lect. Bg 2.17 Hyderabad 72

Universe is complete: In the Iopaniad, it is said, p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠam

idaˆ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. In the creation of KŠa, there cannot be any
scarcity. Everything is sufficiently there. P™rŠam, it is complete, perfectly
made, this planet, that planet. Everywhere, the living entities are there, and
KŠa has made provision for every one of them. There is no question of
scarcity. But people are not obeying the orders of KŠa or the authorities, that
"You produce ... " Annād bhavanti bh™tāni. Even in the Bible, it is said, "Thou
shalt not kill." They are not producing food grains, but they are killing the
animals and eating them.
Lect. Bg 15.1 Bombay 73

The World is Real: This material world is avyaya, eternal energy, but it is
not false, as the Māyāvād… philosophers say, jagan mithyā. No. Jagat is not
mithyā, it is fact, but it is temporary. That is the VaiŠava philosophy. We don't
say that this world is false. Why should it be false? If it has come from the truth,
how can it be false? P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠam idam, p™rŠāt p™rŠam
udacyate. It is perfect. But it is being misused. That is māyā. How is it being
misused? KŠa says that He is the enjoyer. Bhoktāraˆ yajña-tapasāˆ
sarva-loka-mahevaram. He is the proprietor of all the lokas, all the
brahmāŠas, but unfortunately, we are dismissing KŠa. We are trying to be
the enjoyer of this material world. That is māyā. The world is not māyā, but the
intention of the living entities to enjoy this material world, to satisfy their
senses, that is māyā. They are becoming entangled while trying to enjoy this
material world.

Universe is perfect and complete: Just like this world, this earthly planet, is
moving at the rate of one thousand miles per hour. Such a gigantic body, it is

99
also moving. All the planets are moving. Even the sun is moving. But we cannot
perceive it. Even if you ride on the best airplane, there are many disturbances:
sound, motion, sometimes the table is rocking. Although this planet is moving
more speedily than the airplane, you do not perceive it. This is KŠa's perfect
manufacture. P™rŠam idam. This is called p™rŠam idam, everything perfect.
P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya
p™rŠam eva vaiyate. Because He is so perfect, we do not perceive it. But it is
moving.
Lect Bg 16.10 Hawaii 75

Universe is complete: So He has provided everyone's food. There is no

problem. It is a mistake to accept that "Because there is overpopulation in the
world, there is a problem." Just now we were walking in St. James's Park, where
the swans and ducks are producing one dozen children at a time, twice, thrice in
a year. So they have no problem. Where is the problem of overpopulation? They
are not starving. Unless you go and capture them and kill them, they are not
dying. You see from the birds, animals - nobody dies of starvation. Eko
bah™nāˆ vidadhāti kāmān. KŠa is there. He is supplying food for everyone.
There is no question of starvation. Then why is there rivalry? Rivalry means "I
want to enjoy more sense gratification" That is rivalry. Otherwise, there is no
question of rivalry. Everything is there, complete. P™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠam idaˆ
p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. God's creation is perfect. There cannot be any
imperfection. Even where there is overpopulation, God will supply food. Don't
worry. But because we have no faith in God, because we have forgotten God,
we do not know what is God, therefore we have created the economic problem.
Otherwise there is no problem. You can see how are jolly they are; they are
walking. So by nature study we can learn. If we don't go to the Vedic
knowledge, we can see that "Where is the problem for the lower animals?"
There is no problem. They are confident. The problems for the lower animals
are there when they are in the city, but if they live a natural life, there is no
problem.
SB 1.1.2 London 71

Universe is complete: The Bhāgavata says don't waste your time on this
bread problem. Don't waste your time. Tasyaiva hetoƒ prayateta kovido na
labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaƒ. Don't waste your time wondering how to
solve your economic problems. This is nonsense. Of course, it is very
revolutionary. People will hate me. "What is Swamiji talking about?" But
actually this is the fact. This is another madness. Suppose you have a rich

100
father, enough food. Where is your economic problem? This is madness. There
is no economic problem. If you know that "My father is the richest man in the
city," then where is your economic problem? Actually, that is the position. We
have no economic problem. Everything is there, complete. P™rŠam adaƒ
p™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. Everything is complete, there. You want
water. Just see: there are oceans of water. You want purified water. You cannot.
Although there is so much ocean water, when there is scarcity of water, you
have to accept KŠa's help. He'll evaporate the water, He'll make it into clouds.
Then when it falls down, it becomes sweet. Otherwise you cannot touch it.
Everything is under control. Everything is full - water, light, heat. Everything is
complete. P™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam
evāvaiyate. His stock is never finished. Simply you become obedient and the
supply is there. You can understand.
Lect. SB 1.8.21 New York 73

Universe is perfect: So if the king is pious, the earth will produce enough
for your satisfaction. Now I've seen in your country how so much land is lying
vacant. Why is it not being farmed? Because you do not know how to derive all
benefits from the earth. That you do not know. Therefore people are in need.
There is no question of need. KŠa has given everything. P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam
adaƒ p™rŠāt p™rŠam ... There cannot be anything imperfect which is created by
God. Everything is perfect. But if we become godless, the supply will be
crippled. That is the secret we do not know. These things we have to learn from
āstra. As soon as people become demonic, nature will restrict supplies. "Now
you have become demonic. That's all right."
Lect. SB 5.5.2 Hyderabad 75

Social problems: We have mismanaged social problems. KŠa is perfect,

so whatever He has created is perfect. P™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya p™rŠam
evāvaiyate, p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate. So everything is perfect, but because we
want to disturb KŠa by disobeying His orders, things appear to be imperfect.
If we remain faithful to KŠa, there is no problem. Kaunteya pratijān…hi na me
bhaktaƒ praŠayati. We are presenting this KŠa consciousness movement as
the solution to all problems. Let any intelligent man come and discuss with us,
and we think that we shall be able to convince him that this is the only solution.
Conv on topic DEWEY with Srila Prabhupada & Syamasundara

Universe is perfect: Yes. Just like this earth also. According to them it is
going around the sun. But we don't feel anything ... it is running at the rate of

101
twenty-five thousand miles an hour, but if you are going six hundred miles per
hour in an airplane, there are still many jerking movements. That is your
creation, tiny machine. And God's creation, it is moving. It is moving, but you
cannot understand it. That is the perfect creation. P™rŠam. The word is p™rŠam
idam, everything is perfect. P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠāt p™rŠam
udacyate. Because God is all-perfect, whatever He has created, it is also
all-perfect. Just like this earth. It is all-perfect. Whatever you want, you
inhabitants of this earth, it is all there. You want air, water, light? Everything is
there. P™rŠam idam. P™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya. So you
are using so much water, so much light; still, it is perfect. Just like the
cultivation. Every year you are taking so much production. Still, again you can
take. This is p™rŠam idam, perfectly done. That is God's creation. You see this
body. You have to capture something. You require some solid thing in here. It is
there. If it was soft, only skin, then you could not catch it. How perfectly it is
done. It is required here, not the whole finger. This is called perfect creation.
The sensation of sex is in a particular position, not everywhere, because if that
sensation were not there, then nobody would feel the sex urge and there would
be no creation. This is called perfect creation. The same sensation could have
been here, there. No. That particular sensation is there to induce them.
Similarly, everything is going on. How to fix it? Every body is made according
to the work it has to do. You see? The pig has to eat stool. His mouth is made in
a different way. The tiger has to eat meat; his mouth is made differently. This is
called perfect creation.
MW Mayapur 76

Universe is complete: Prabhupāda: There is complete facility because

p™rŠam, whatever is done by KŠa, is complete. You cannot find any flaw in it.
His potencies are so complete that svābhāvik… jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. Just like a
child, if you laugh, immediately crying response. So these things are not to be
learned. Svābhāvik…, automatically. Similarly, because KŠa, or God, is
complete, whatever He does is complete. You cannot find any flaw. You cannot
say, "Oh, why has God done this?" Just like sometimes some foolish persons
say, "Why has God made somebody poor and somebody rich?" This is a most
foolish question. Yes. If God has done it, then it is complete. There is no flaw.
Just like if the state orders somebody to be murdered, to be killed, that is
complete. You cannot find any flaw. That is complete execution of the law. So
if we cannot find any flaws in man-made laws, how can we find fault in
God-made laws? That is not possible.
Lect. ISO Los Angeles, 1970

102
 Why we see incompleteness: Incompleteness means lack of God
consciousness: So by God's arrangement, everything is there. Everything.
P™rŠam idam. P™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠāt p™rŠam
udacyate. Everything is complete in this world. There is no scarcity. We have
simply created scarcity by our mismanagement. But if we take up the laws as
they are prescribed in the scriptures and live peacefully, there is no scarcity. My
Guru Mahārāja used to say that in this world there is no scarcity by the
arrangement of God. But the only scarcity is this KŠa consciousness. People
are not KŠa conscious. They're materially conscious. They're sensually
conscious. That has to be changed.
Lect. SB 5.5.1 Los Angeles 69

Why we see incompleteness: Why "Should have created?" What He has

created is already perfect. Because you are perfect, you have the independence
to misuse. You are not a dead stone. That is perfection. Ye yathā māˆ
prapadyante. You can go anywhere, sarva-ga. You can go to VaikuŠ˜ha. Yānti
deva-vratā devān. You can go to the higher planets. You can go to hell. When
you go to hell, it is your choice. God has given you all perfection. P™rŠam idaˆ
p™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, everything is complete, perfect, and
because you are perfect, you have independence. But by misusing that
independence, you are imperfect. Again, reviving your independence, you can
become perfect, although you are imperfect now. That is the KŠa
consciousness movement. The KŠa consciousness movement means raising
the imperfect to the perfect platform. That is KŠa consciousness. Other fools
say, "We are perfect now." Although they are in a fallen condition, they think
they are perfect. That is māyā. āsur…ˆ rākas…ˆ caiva mohin…ˆ praktiˆ ritāƒ.
KŠa has made you perfect. There is no doubt about it. Just like some of our
students. All of a sudden, they deviate, go away. So what is that? Either our
movement is imperfect, or they're imperfect?
MW Hawaii 74

®rila Prabhupada: That is my mission. People should understand the

science of God. Unless we co-operate with the Supreme Lord, our life is
baffled. I have given the example many times that a screw that has fallen from a
machine has no value. But when the same screw is again attached to the
machine, it has value. Similarly, we are part and parcel of God. So without God,
what is our value? No value! We should again come back to our position of
attachment to God. Then we have value.

103
 Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, 5

Complete arrangement for devotees: Loving KŠa brings completeness:

So this is the technique of KŠa consciousness, that if you learn how to love
KŠa, then you will love everything. Otherwise, your love will be localised and
you will be frustrated. It is most scientific. And our process is very simple:
chant Hare KŠa. That's all. KŠa and KŠa's name - non-different. So
chanting Hare KŠa means you are associating with KŠa. That means you are
directly in touch with the root of everything. So by advancing in love for KŠa,
you can love your society, your country, your community, your family, your
husband, your wife, your children, your friend - everything, complete, p™rŠam.
P™rŠam adaƒ p™rŠam idaˆ p™rŠāt p™rŠam udacyate, p™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya.
And that love will never end. P™rŠa. Love of KŠa is so complete that you go
on distributing this love; it will never be expended. It will remain the same.
Lect. London 71

Complete arrangement for devotees: So if you want to get out of this

entanglement, there is complete arrangement, facility, complete facility. Teāˆ
satata-yuktānāˆ bhajatāˆ pr…ti-p™rvakam. There is another verse, that "Those
who are engaged in devotional service," KŠa says, yoga-kemaˆ vahāmy
aham, "I take personal charge for their maintenance." This is complete
arrangement. Just look at the karm… world. Now, as far as we are concerned, we
have to pay a two thousand dollar instalment for this house, and we have to
spend another two thousand dollars for our maintenance. So we are spending
four or five thousand dollars. Can any karm… depend like that? Take a practical
example. Can they depend on paying bills of five thousand dollars without any
arrangement? They will have no sleep at night. And we are moving freely
because we are sure that KŠa will provide, and He is providing. Go anywhere
in the karm…'s world. Find a nice place like our temple. There is none. In the
whole of Los Angeles city, you cannot find. Such beautiful faces, such bright
faces, you cannot find anywhere. So this is complete facility. If you want to take
advantage of your life, KŠa consciousness, then there is complete facility.
Come to the practical point. There is no theory. It is practical, experimented.
Lect. ISO Invocation Los Angeles 70

3 (Popup - Popup)
God is the proprietor: KŠa is the supreme proprietor: The KŠa
consciousness movement preaches that everything belongs to KŠa and that

104
everything should be utilised for KŠa's benefit. He is the beneficiary of
everything, and it is to our benefit that we come to this knowledge. …āvāsyam
idaˆ sarvam. If one realises that everything belongs to KŠa, one becomes the
greatest mahātmā. Being a mahātmā does not mean that one wears a big beard
and a particular type of dress. No, awareness must be there. Whatever we have
should be offered to KŠa.
TLK 11

Proprietorship of God: ®r…la Prabhupāda: "From nature" means from a

person. They have taken from nature, but they are thieves because everything in
nature belongs to KŠa. …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam: "Everything is God's
creation." (Iopaniad 1) In Bhagavad-g…tā KŠa states that if one does not
perform yajña (sacrifice), he is a thief. Yajña means acknowledging that things
have been taken from KŠa. We should think, "KŠa, You have given us
many, many things for our maintenance." This much acknowledgment KŠa
wants; that's all. Otherwise, what can He expect from you? What are you in His
presence? We should acknowledge KŠa's kindness. Therefore, before we eat
we offer the food to KŠa and say, "KŠa, You have given us this nice food, so
first You taste it." Then we eat it. KŠa is not hungry, yet He can eat the whole
world and then again produce it exactly as it was. P™rŠasya p™rŠam ādāya
p™rŠam evāvaiyate (Iopaniad Invocation). KŠa is so perfect that if you
take from KŠa all of KŠa's energy, all the original energy is still with Him.
That is perfect conservation of energy
LCFL 3

Proprietorship of God: Sarvataƒ pāŠi-pādaˆ tat, "God has His hands and
legs all over the universe." What is that? Our hands, our legs, are God's hands,
God's legs. He is the master. I am claiming, "This is my hand," but as soon as
God withdraws the power of this hand, it is paralysed, you cannot repair it.
Therefore the real proprietor is KŠa. You are not the proprietor. You have
been given the facility to use it ... not for your sense gratification, but for the
satisfaction of the Lord. Then your life is perfect. Because everything belongs to
KŠa. He is H…kea. He is the master. Just like we are sitting in this house.
Somebody has given it to us. Similarly, everything belongs to God. This is
self-realisation. My body belongs to God, my mind belongs to God, my
intelligence belongs to God, I am spirit soul, I am part and parcel of God.
Therefore everything belongs to God ... …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam. Everything
belongs to God. So if you don't use it for God, that is called demonism. And if
you use it for God, that is devotion. That's all.

105
 Lect. BG 1.15 London 73

Proprietorship of God: The Iopaniad teaches us, …āvāsyam idaˆ

sarvam: "Nothing, nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to God.
Everything belongs to God." There is a story that God laughs when two parties
fight for land. Actually we have seen this. In India, when there was partition,
Hindus and Muslims fought; when both of them died and lay on the street, and
it was asked, "Now, whose land is it?" nobody replied. Nobody replied. God's
land will remain here. And we simply fight "This is my land. This is my land."
These are all the paraphernalia of our illusion. Illusion.
Lect. BG 2.55-58 New York 66

Proprietorship of God: This is KŠa consciousness. As long as you think it

is for your satisfaction, that is material. As soon as you understand that
everything belongs to KŠa and everything should be used for the service of
KŠa, that is spiritual. That is the distinction between material and spiritual.
There is nothing like that spiritually something wonderful. But everything ...
…āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam. If everything belongs to KŠa, where is the question
of material? There is nothing material. Everything is spiritual, but we do not
know how to use it. Therefore it is material. When you forget KŠa, when you
forget the proprietorship of KŠa upon everything, that is material.
Hari-sambandhena. KŠa-sambandhe. Nirbandhaƒ KŠa-sambandhe yuktaˆ
vairāgyam ucyate. This is the injunction of the Gosvām…s, that we have to
accept everything as KŠa. That is the fact.
Lect. BG 13.6-7 Bombay 73

Isavasya consciousness: But yoga, real meaning of yoga - to keep in touch

with the Supreme - that is called yoga, to keep in touch. So you have to work
from the platform of spiritual consciousness. At the same time you have to
work. The Lord never says "You stop work," never says. Arjuna's friend was
Lord KŠa, but KŠa never said ... He is God Himself. He is the Supreme
Personality of God Himself. He never told Arjuna "I am your friend. I shall
supply all your necessities. You don't need to work. You stop." No, He never
said that. Rather, Arjuna was declining to fight, but KŠa is inducing him to
fight. So on the spiritual platform there is no question of stopping work, no
question of stopping work. But work for the Supreme. That's all, …āvāsyam
idaˆ sarvam, with God consciousness.
Lect. Bg 2.48-49 New York 66

106
 Isavasya consciousness: The KŠa consciousness movement is so
important. If people simply learn this, that everything belongs to KŠa ...
…āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam. Sarvam means "everything." Not that "This much is
mine, this much is KŠa's." No. Sarvam. …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvaˆ yat kiñca
jagatyāˆ jagat, tena tyaktena bhuñj…thāƒ ... Simply we should use as much as
He has allotted to us. Then there is peace and prosperity, without any difficulty.
Otherwise, you go on adjusting your material possessions and time will take
away everything. When you die ... in due course of time, whatever possessions
you have will be finished. That is stated in the Bhagavad-g…tā, mtyuƒ
sarva-hara ca aham: "I am death." KŠa is everything. So KŠa is also death.
Just like here is a picture of HiraŠyakaipu. Such a great demon, so proud. He
was thinking "I am the proprietor of everything." He was chastising his son,
doing whatever he liked. But when Nsiˆhadeva came, within a second,
everything was finished. Everything was finished. But Prahlāda remained the
same. Prahlāda is not finished. HiraŠyakaipu is finished. So those who are
trying to be very, very big by material possessions, they'll all be finished. But if
you remain in the position of Prahlāda, you'll never be finished.
Lect. SB 1.16.24 Los Angeles 74

Spiritual Communism: This understanding will lead to perfect

communism. Communists think in terms of their own nations, but the spiritual
communism instructed here is not only nationwide but universal. Nothing
belongs to any nation or any individual person; everything belongs to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the meaning of this verse.
ātmāvāsyam idaˆ vivam: whatever exists within this universe is the property
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The modern communistic theory, and
also the idea of the United Nations, can be reformed - indeed, rectified - by the
understanding that everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Lord is not a creation of our intelligence; rather, He has created us.
ātmāvāsyam idaˆ vivam. …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam. This universal communism
can solve all the problems of the world.
SB 8.1.10

Spiritual communism: ®r…la Prabhupāda: The other day I was reading the
paper, Moscow News. There was a Communist congress, and the President
declared, "We are ready to take others' experience to improve." So I think the
Vedic concept of socialism or communism will much improve the idea of
communism. For example, in a socialistic state the idea is that no one should

107
starve; everyone must have his food. Similarly, in the Vedic concept of
ghastha (householder) life it is recommended that a householder see that even
a lizard or a snake living in his house should not starve. Even these lower
creatures should be given food, and certainly all humans should. It is
recommended that the ghastha, before taking his lunch, should stand on the
road and declare, "If anyone is still hungry, please come! Food is ready!" If
there is no response, then the proprietor of the household takes his lunch.
Modern society takes the people as a whole as the proprietor of a certain state,
but the Vedic conception is …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam - everything is owned by
…a, the supreme controller. Tena tyaktena bhuñj…thāƒ - you may enjoy what is
allotted to you by Him. Mā gdhaƒ kasya svid dhanam: but do not encroach
upon others' property. This is the Iopaniad - Veda. The same idea is explained
in the different PurāŠas.
SSR 6

Spiritual communism: Everything belongs to God. So one can utilise God's

property as much as he requires, no more than that. Then he will be thief, he
will be punishable. Just like a father's property. Each and every son has got the
right to live under the father's protection. Mā gdhaƒ kasya svid dhanam. That is
spiritual communism. Whatever wealth there is within this universe, it all
belongs to God and we, as sons of God, have the right to take advantage of this
wealth, but no more than what we require. That's all. This is spiritual
communism. If you take more, then you become punishable. This is the law of
nature.
Lect. Bg 1.15 London 73

King as God's representative: The king's duty is to act as the representative

of KŠa, or God. Otherwise what right does he have to take so much honour
from the citizens? Monarchy was formerly present in every country, but because
the kings rebelled against God and violated His laws, because they tried to
usurp the power of God and did not act as His representatives, the monarchies
of the world have nearly all disappeared. The kings thought that their kingdoms
were their personal property. "I have so much property, such a big kingdom,"
they thought. "I am God. I am the lord of all I survey." But that is not actually
the fact. That fact is that everything belongs to God (…āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam).
Therefore the representative of God must be very obedient to God, and then his
position will be legitimate.
TQK 26

108
 Spiritual communism: So we should not take anything neglectfully.
Neither we should be careless of KŠa's property, KŠa's living being, KŠa's
house, KŠa's temple, KŠa's business... Everything of KŠa's. KŠa.
…āvāsyam idaˆ sarvaˆ yat kiñca jagatyāˆ jagat. If we think like that, then that
is perfect KŠa consciousness. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaƒ. We may think,
see varieties of things. It doesn't matter. But if we know that the original cause
of these things is KŠa, that is perfection. We are seeing this table. It is wood.
But if we know ... It is a fact. You either know or do not know, it doesn't matter.
The original cause is KŠa. This microphone, the original cause is KŠa.
These karatālas, the original cause is KŠa. This pitcher, the original cause is
KŠa. Everything. That is KŠa consciousness. And it is fact. Not that we are
imagining. Take, for example, these material things. How are they caused by
KŠa? KŠa says, bh™mir āpo 'nalo vāyuƒ khaˆ mano buddhir eva ca. Bh™mi,
this earth ... Bhinnā praktir me a˜adhā: "That is My energy." So bh™mi, the
earth, is the cause of the tree wood and the wood is the cause of this table.
Therefore, originally, KŠa is the cause of the table. There is no doubt about it.
Anything you take, whether it is the wood or the water or the ether or the
chemical, the original cause is KŠa.
Lect. SB 1.5.22 New Vndavana 74

God is the supreme controller: Anywhere within this universe, who is not
controlled? Can anyone say that "I am not controlled"? Nobody can say that. So
if you are controlled, then why you are going to declare that "I am uncontrolled.
I am independent. I am God"? Why this nonsense? If you are controlled ... Does
this mean that God is controlled? They are claiming "I am God." Is there any
meaning? If I am controlled, then how can I become God? This is
commonsense. Therefore this Māyāvād… philosophy that "Everyone is God. I am
God; you are God" Meher Baba said, "I am God, you are God." So God is never
controlled. If somebody is controlled, immediately he is not God. This is a
simple definition, that God is not controlled. If somebody claims he is God,
then first of all one should ask "Are you are controlled or not controlled?"
Commonsense. Nobody can say that he's not controlled. I have seen a rascal, he
has a society and he is preaching "I am God." But one day when I saw him he
had a toothache and he was groaning, "ohhh." So I questioned him "You claim
that you are God and now you are simply under the control of this toothache.
What kind of God are you?" You see. Those who are claiming that "I am God.
You are God. Everyone is God" - God has become so cheap that everyone is
God - you should immediately know he's a rascal number one. Immediately. As
soon as he says, "I am God," you must know that "Here is a rascal number one."

109
 God is supreme controller: So nobody is uncontrolled. Now, there are
many big, big planets, huge planets ... This earth planet is only a minute, small
planet, and still, you'll see, on this planet there are many big oceans like the
Atlantic and Pacific, and such big mountains, what to speak of your skyscraper
buildings. With all this load it is floating in the air just like a swab of cotton.
Who is controlling it? Can you float even a small piece of grain in space? You
can say "Law of gravity" and so many other things, but you cannot utilise it.
Your airplane is running but only as long as the machine is working. As soon as
the petrol is finished, immediately it will fall down. Immediately. But these big,
big planets ... The sun planet is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than
this planet.... We can see the sun is floating in one corner of this big space. So
how you can say that it is not controlled, it is floating on its own accord? No.
The answer is there in the Bhagavad-g…tā, that "I enter into these material
planets and then I keep them floating." Gām āviya aham, dhārayāmy aham
ojasā. Dhārayāmy aham ojasā. Just like you float in this airplane; somebody
has entered it, the pilot. So actually, he is keeping this airplane floating, not the
machine. This is the simple truth. So if you take this analogy, then because this
planet is floating, there must be somebody entering here. Somebody must have
entered. KŠa says, "I have entered." So what is the difficulty in understanding
how is it kept floating? The analogy is there. Everyone can understand that this
big airplane is floating in the sky because the pilot has entered it. Similarly, if
this planet is floating, then somebody, God, has entered it. And that answer is
there in the Bhagavad-g…tā: "I enter into these planets and therefore I keep them
floating." That is our answer.
Lect. ISO 1 Los Angeles 70

Illusion of proprietorship: Nationality means expanded selfishness. They

are very much fond of nationality, but that nationality is also selfishness - by
combined effort. In our country, Mahatma Gandhi is supposed to be the father
of nationality. Not only in our country, in many other countries. But what is that
nationality? Mahatma Gandhi said that "The Britishers must go away. My
countrymen shall enjoy." So this is extended selfishness. In the beginning, I
want to enjoy. Then if I extend my enjoyment, family-wise, community-wise or
nation-wise, that does not change the quality of selfishness. People are going on
in the name of nationality, big leaders, but from our point of view, neither as
nation or community or person are you the proprietor of things. KŠa is the
proprietor ... So if you expand your selfishness in the name of nationality - "I
possess this land" - we do not approve. We say, …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam.
Everything belongs to KŠa. Why are you claiming it for yourself, as a nation

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or individual or community? That's not proper. Just like pickpockets, gangsters,
organised rogues, thieves. It does not change the quality. There was some
discussion between Alexander the Great and a robber. Alexander had arrested
the robber and he was going to punish him. So the robber asked "Why are you
punishing me? You are also a robber. You are going under the name of
conqueror, and because I am not as great as you are, you are trying to punish
me." Alexander immediately released him, saying, "Yes. I am also a robber.
Why should I punish you?"
Lect. NOD Calcutta 73

Illusion of proprietorship: Everyone in this material world who has no

KŠa consciousness, is a thief, a rogue, a robber. Everyone. Just like the
Americans. They occupied the land of America by killing the Red Indians, and
now they are claiming proprietorship and there is an immigration department:
"Nobody can come here. It is our land." This is going on. The first thing is
stolen property. There is another story. A group of thieves stole some things and
when they were dividing the booty, one of them said: "Kindly, morally divide.
Morally divide. Honestly divide." The thing is taken dishonestly and they are
dividing honestly. This is going on throughout the whole world. Everything is
taken dishonestly, and when there is a question of division, the United Nations
honestly divides it. The association of the honest men, the United Nations. All
plunderers, rogues, thieves, and they have made an association, United Nations.
You see. Basically they're all rogues and thieves. As soon as there is an
opportunity, they'll commit all criminal activities. And so they're doing. This is
not philosophy. Happiness by material possession is the happiness of the rogues
and the thieves. One who is happy by possessing some material things is no
better than a rogue and a thief. And one who is renouncing, brahma satyaˆ
jagan mithyā, is a fool. Because what are you renouncing? When did you
possess it? If you possess something, then you can say, "I renounce it." But if
you do not possess it, then where is the question of renouncement? So both of
them are wrong.
Lect. NOD Calcutta 73

Morality of thieves: So the karma-vāda, if you follow morality you'll get

good results ... But where is your morality? Because you are disobedient to
God. In the beginning of your life, you are immoral. You are disobeying the
greatest authority. There is another story of a gang of thieves who stole property
from different houses and once they had left the village, started to divide the
booty amongst themselves. One thief said, "Please divide it morally so that

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no-one is cheated." Now just imagine, the property is stolen. Where is the
morality there? But when dividing, they are thinking of morality. The basic
principle is immoral. Where can you find morality? Similarly, according to
Vedic injunction, …āvāsyam idaˆ sarvam. Everything belongs to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. It is His property. So the whole planet is God's
property, the whole universe is God's property. But when we claim that this is
my property, then where is the morality? If you claim another's property as your
own, then where is the morality?
Lect. BG 2.26-7 London 73

4 (Popup - Popup)
Atma-ha: The modern civilisation is like that. It is a killing civilisation,
ātma-hā. ātma-hano janāƒ. All these people are killing themselves because they
do not know what life is; simply living like an animal. An animal does not know
what life is, but is simply under the laws of nature. But when you get this
human form of life, there is responsibility. Here is a chance for you to become
KŠa conscious and solve all the problems of life. If not, you go into the cycle
of birth and death again, through 8,400,000 species. It will take many, many
millions of years again to come back to the human form. Just like will see the
sunshine again in the morning after twelve hours, twenty-four hours. Everything
is a process. Process. So if you lose this opportunity of elevating yourself, then
again you come through the process. Nature's law is very strong. Daiv… hy eā
guŠamay…. The sooner you surrender to KŠa, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām
etāˆ taranti te. Such a person is able to overcome this process of material
nature.
Lect. ISO Invocation Los Angeles 70

Atma-ha: People in general do not know what comes after death. There are
so many things after death, but there is no education. Therefore they are in
darkness. So this human form of life is misused in darkness. If anyone does not
know the value of life, then it is misused. In the āstra it is called ātma-hā,
committing suicide. The same quotation from Narottama dāsa µhākura:
hari hari biphale, janama go‰āinu
manuya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-KŠa nā bhajiyā
jāniyā uniyā via khāinu
Committing suicide: If we do not come to KŠa consciousness by getting
this valuable human form of life, then certainly we are committing suicide. We
are drinking poison knowingly.

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 Lect. NOD New Vndavana 72

5 (Popup - Popup)
KŠa is in Goloka, yet expanded by His energies: This is also confirmed
in Brahma-saˆhitā: goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bh™taƒ. Although KŠa is
always in Goloka Vndāvana, He has nothing to do. He is simply enjoying in
the company of His associates, the gop…s and the cowherd boys and His mother
and father. Free, completely free. And those who are His associates are freer
still because when they are in danger, although KŠa is anxious how to save
them, they have no anxiety. "Oh, there is KŠa." Just see. The associates have
no anxiety. You will read in the KŠa book that there were so many dangers.
The boys, along with KŠa, used to go every day with their calves and cows
and play in the forest on the bank of the Yamunā, and Kaˆsa would send some
demon to destroy them. So you have read and will see also pictures. So they'll
enjoy simply because they are so confident. That is spiritual life. Avaya rakibe
kŠa vivāsa pālana. This strong faith that "Any dangerous condition, KŠa
will save me"; this is surrender.
Lect. ISO 2-4 Los Angeles 70

KŠa is understood by His devotees, not by others: KŠa Himself takes

charge of the devotees, and the ordinary living entities are taken charge of by
māyā. Māyā is also KŠa's agent. Just like good citizens they are taken care of
by the government directly, and the criminals are taken care of by the
government through the prison department. They are also taken care of. In the
prison house the government takes care that the prisoners are comfortable - they
get sufficient food; if they're diseased they receive hospital treatment - every
care is there, but under punishment. Similarly, in this material world, there is
care certainly, but in a punishment way. If you do this, then slap. If you do that,
then kick. If you do this, then ... This is going on. This is called threefold
miseries. But under the spell of māyā we are thinking that this kicking of māyā,
this slapping of māyā, this thrashing of māyā, is very nice. You see? This is
called māyā. And as soon as you become KŠa conscious, then KŠa takes
care of you. Ahaˆ tvāˆ sarva-pāpebhyo mokayiyāmi mā ucaƒ. As soon as
you surrender, KŠa's immediate reaction is, "I'll take care of you. I'll save you
from all sinful reactions." There are heaps of sinful reactions in our life, for so
many lives in this material world. And as soon as you surrender to KŠa,
immediately KŠa takes care of you and He manages to adjust all the sinful
reactions. Ahaˆ tvāˆ sarva-pāpebhyo mā ucaƒ. KŠa says, "Don't hesitate."
Don't think that "Oh, I have committed so many sinful activities. How will

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KŠa save me?" No. KŠa is all-powerful. He can save you. Your business is
to surrender unto Him, and without any reservation dedicate your life for His
service, and thus you'll be saved.
Lect. ISO 2-4 Los Angeles 70

"As for the difference between mental speculation and philosophical

speculation, we take it that everything is known by the psychological action
of the mind, so that philosophical speculation is the same as mental
speculation if it is merely the random or haphazard activity of the brain to
understand everything by making theories, "if's" and "maybe's." But if
philosophical speculation is directed by Sastra and Guru, and if the goal of
such philosophical attempts is to achieve ViŠu, then that philosophical
speculation is not mental speculation. It is just like this: KŠa says in the
Bhagavad-gita that "I am the taste of water." Philosophical speculation in the
accepted sense means to try to understand, under the direction of Sastra and
Guru, just how KŠa is the taste of water. The points of the Bhagavad-gita,
though they are simple and complete, can be understood from unlimited angles
of vision. So our philosophy is not dry, like mental speculation. The proper
function of the brain or psychological activity is to understand everything
through KŠa's perspective or point-of-view, so there is no limit to that
understanding because KŠa is unlimited, and even though it can be said that
the devotee who knows KŠa knows everything (15th Chapter), still, the
philosophical process never stops and the devotee continues to increase his
knowledge even though he knows everything. Try to understand this point, it is
a very good question".
Letter to Chaturbhuj 21/01/72

6 (Popup - Popup)
God's inconceivable potencies: These matters are discussed thoroughly in
the Vedic literatures. For instance, it is said that although God has no hands or
legs, He can accept whatever we offer (apāŠi-pādo javano gh…tā). It is also
stated that although God has neither eyes nor ears, He can see and hear
everything. These are apparent contradictions, but they are meant to teach us an
important lesson. When we speak of seeing, we think of material vision. Due to
our material conception, we think that the eyes of God must be like ours.
Therefore, in order to remove these material conceptions, the Vedic literatures
say that God has no hands, legs, eyes, ears, etc. God has eyes, but His vision is
infinite. He can see in darkness, and He can see everywhere at once; therefore

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He has different eyes. Similarly, God has ears and can hear. He may be in His
kingdom, millions and millions of miles away, but He can hear us whispering,
because He is sitting within. We cannot avoid God's seeing, hearing, or
touching.
POP 3

God is near and far: And at the same time, antike, very near, very near, just
like KŠa is standing here. One has to understand. Very near. He has kindly
come to you, near, so near that you can touch His lotus feet, you can offer Him
some foodstuffs, you can decorate Him. He's agreeing, "Yes, I will accept your
... " Patraˆ pupaˆ phalaˆ toyaˆ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. And before this,
KŠa has said, sarvataƒ pāŠi-pādaˆ tat. He has hands and legs everywhere. In
the Vedas it is also confirmed, apāŠi-pādo javana-gh…taƒ. ApāŠi-pāda, He has
no hands and legs, but whatever you offer in sacrifice, He immediately accepts.
How does He accept? How does He accept? That is called d™rastham. Very,
very far away; at the same time, antike. Immediately ... Provided you know the
means. If you know, then you can see. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaƒ sadaiva hdayeu vilokayanti. That is God's power. He can remain far
far, away, but He can immediately be approachable by the devotees.

7 (Popup - Popup)
Vision of the maha-bhagavata: He has no discrimination who is devotee,
who is non-devotee, who is atheist or theist ... In this way, he sees everyone as
part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. And everyone is engaged ... One who is
suffering, he's also engaged ... Just like the prisoner. The prisoner is also serving
the government by force. Therefore one who is elevated, the mahā-bhāgavata,
sees, "Oh, he's also obeying," even those who are in an abominable stage of life.
Actually, it is obeying. The prisoners are obeying the government, although by
force; but they're obeying. Similarly, those who are materialists are also
obeying. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, that j…vera svar™pa haya nitya
kŠa dāsa. A living entity's eternally servant of KŠa, whether he admits it or
not. That doesn't matter. He's a servant. Just like any citizen is a law abider or
subservient to the state. He may say "I don't care for the state," but by the
police, by the military, he'll be forced to accept. So one is being forced to accept
KŠa as the master, and the other is voluntarily offering service. That is the
difference. But nobody's free from the service of KŠa. That is not possible.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy is that we are eternal servants.
Either you accept or do not accept that you are a servant. You are never equal to

115
nor greater than God.
So this K a consciousness movement is for that purpose, that people
should be taught "You are an eternal servant of God. Don't falsely claim
that you are God. If You don't care for God, you have to care." Just like
Hira yaka ipu. He didn't care for God, but God came at the time of his last
moment. You see? Similarly, God is visible to the atheist as death and to the
theist as lover. That is the difference. Everyone sees God. Nobody can say,
"I do not see God." Everyone sees God. But one sees Him as death, and one
sees Him as lover. That is the difference.
Lect. ISO 6 Los Angeles 70

8 (Popup - Popup)
Sparks and the fire: So real identity. In the Vedic literature we find that just
like the fire, big fire, and the sparks of the fire, they are of the same quality, but
the small spark, when it goes out of the fire and falls elsewhere, then, at that
time, its fiery quality becomes covered. So this covering becomes manifest
according to different qualities. Just like the fire. If a fire spark drops on the
water, then it is completely extinguished. Similarly, the living entity, although
qualitatively fire, when he contacts the mode of ignorance, his spiritual quality
becomes almost extinct. When he is on the land, not on the water, then there is
something, heat. Similarly, when the living entity is in the rajo-guŠa, the
quality of passion, there is some hope. And when the living entity is in
goodness ... Just like the same spark, if it drops on the grass, dry grass, then the
same spark of fire ignites another fire, another blazing fire. Similarly, if one is
in goodness, then he can create spiritual association. Just like the same example,
that the small spark of fire, if it falls in favourable circumstances, or on dry
grass, then it can ignite fire.
So one has to come, therefore, to the platform of goodness in this
material world. If one does not come to the platform of goodness ... the
brahminical qualification. That we are preaching. Our KŠa consciousness
movement is to bring some men to the platform of goodness. The world requires
it now. The world is in need of some brāhmaŠas, qualified brāhmaŠas ... You
are being trained to become qualified brāhmaŠas. So always be careful that you
do not come into contact with the qualities of passion and ignorance. Passion
and ignorance will induce you ... Kāma lobha, lust and greediness. That is the
sign of passion and ignorance. And when you are in goodness, you can see
things as they are. Then you can see yourself, that you are not matter; you are

116
spirit soul. And if you make further advancement, then you understand that "I
am eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the fiery spark." So ekatvam
anupayataƒ, in this verse, ekatvam, qualitatively one, not quantitatively. You
are one with God qualitatively. You cannot be equal with God quantitatively.
Lec ISO 7 Los Angeles 70

Vision of the preacher: Demons think of everyone as either friend or

enemy, but VaiŠavas say that since everyone is a servant of the Lord, everyone
is on the same platform. Therefore a VaiŠava treats other living entities neither
as friends nor as enemies, but instead tries to spread KŠa consciousness,
teaching everyone that we are all one as servants of the Supreme Lord but are
uselessly wasting our valuable lives by creating nations, communities and other
groups of friends and enemies. Everyone should come to the platform of KŠa
consciousness and thus feel oneness as a servant of the Lord. Although there are
8,400,000 species of life, a VaiŠava feels this oneness. The Iopaniad advises,
ekatvam anupayataƒ. A devotee should see the Supreme Personality of
Godhead as situated in everyone's heart and should also see every living entity
as an eternal servant of the Lord. This vision is called ekatvam, oneness.
Although there is a relationship of master and servant, both master and servant
are one because of their spiritual identity. This is also ekatvam. Thus the
conception of ekatvam for the VaiŠava is different from that of the Māyāvād….
SB 7.5.12

Vision of oneness through Supersoul: One of the twelve great personalities

is Bh…madeva (svayambh™r nāradaƒ ambhuƒ kumāraƒ kapilo manuƒ
prahlāda, janako bh…maƒ). In Sr…mad-Bhāgavatam (1.9.42), Bh…ma, a great
authority to be followed by devotees, says that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is situated in the core of everyone's heart, just as the sun may be on
everyone's head. Yet although the sun may be on the heads of millions and
millions of people, this does not mean that the sun is variously situated.
Similarly, because the Supreme Personality of Godhead has inconceivable
potencies, He can be within everyone's heart and yet not be situated variously.
Ekatvam anupayataƒ (Iopaniad 7). The Lord is one, but He can appear in
everyone's heart by His inconceivable potency. Thus although the Lord was
within the heart of Devak…, He appeared as her child. According to the ViŠu
purāŠa, therefore, as quoted in the VaiŠava-toaŠ…, the Lord appeared like the
sun (anugrahāsaya). The Brahma-saˆhitā (5.35) confirms that the Lord is
situated even within the atom (aŠāntara-stha-paramāŠu-cayāntara-stham). He
is situated in Mathurā, in VaikuŠ˜ha and in the core of the heart. Therefore one

117
should clearly understand that He did not live like an ordinary child in the heart
or the womb of Devak…. Nor did He appear like an ordinary human child,
although He seemed to do so in order to bewilder asuras like Kaˆsa.
SB 10.3.7-8

Vision of oneness by devotional service: So this is our proposition.

Svanu˜hitasya dharmasya saˆsiddhir hari-toaŠam. It does not matter,
varŠārama-dharma, eight categories, four social and four spiritual or four
material and four spiritual, but when material activities are enacted for spiritual
advancement, then they cease to be material; they are spiritual. Actually there is
nothing material. Material means forgetfulness of KŠa, that's all. Otherwise
there is nothing material. It is called buddhi-bheda, meaning those who are not
thoroughly KŠa conscious, see a distinction between the spiritual and the
material. But when you are fully KŠa conscious, ekatvam anupayataƒ. That
is stated in the Iopaniad. That means everything is related to KŠa is
ekatvam. KŠa is the Supreme, and everything is an emanation from KŠa.
KŠa's energy is variety. For example, just like the sun. Two energies are
emanating from the sun - heat and light. The whole material creation is based on
heat and light. As soon as there is no light or no heat, immediately the trees
become skeletons.
Lect. SB 1.2.13 Los Angeles 72

Oneness of interest in devotional service: Oneness means when these

individual opinions coincide with KŠa's opinion; that is oneness. Oneness
does not mean that all these individuals become one, homogeneous. No. They
keep their individuality, but they become one in the service of KŠa. That is
oneness. Now everyone is working for his personal sense gratification. When
everyone agrees that "We shall satisfy KŠa," that is oneness. That is oneness.
One nation. We can understand: one family. One family means they're
individual persons, but they're working for the interest of the family - all of
them combinedly, conjointly, working. Similarly, they're working conjointly for
the society, or they're working conjointly for the community, or conjointly
working for the nation. That is oneness. When we speak, "We are Indian nation,
oneness," that oneness does not mean that every individual Indian has become
homogeneous with other Indians. No. Every Indian is an individual person, but
he has sacrificed his individuality and engaged himself in the service of the
country. That is national consciousness. Similarly, KŠa consciousness. As
there is national consciousness, community consciousness, family
consciousness, so many other consciousness, similarly, KŠa consciousness

118
means all persons agree to work for the satisfaction of KŠa. That is KŠa
consciousness. That is oneness. Oneness does not mean we lose our
individuality. Sometimes, individually we fight. Just like in the legislative
assembly, our representative MPs, they go and fight. There is a deliberation. But
that purpose is to serve the country. Therefore, instead of the difference of
opinions, they agree to work in this way. That is legislative assembly. Similarly,
there must always be individuality, but when we find a means to satisfy KŠa,
KŠa consciousness, that is oneness. Ekatvam anupayataƒ. Eka. That is
ekatvam. This is the version of the Iopaniad, ekatvam anupayataƒ. Ekatvam
anupayataƒ. Ekatvam, at the same time, anupayataƒ. That means we are all
spirit soul. We are part and parcel of KŠa. That is anupayataƒ. And on this
basis, when we find ekatvam, oneness, that is the platform of peace, that "We
are all servants of KŠa." Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised this, j…vera svar™pa
haya nitya kŠa dāsa. When we feel that "Eternally I am servant of KŠa, you
are servant of KŠa," that is ekatvam. Not that we become a lump. No.
Personality cannot be changed. J…va-loke. Mamaivāˆo j…va-bh™taƒ j…va-loke
sanātanaƒ. This individuality is sanātana, eternal. But when we disagree to
serve KŠa, that is asanātana, not sanātana. That is artificial.
Lect. NOD New Vndavana 72

9 (Popup - Popup)
KŠa is the supreme pure: By hearing about KŠa we become pure. So
we should be very careful. We should finish our business very quickly. T™rŠaˆ
yateta. Why should we take another risk of becoming a hog and living in
Vndāvana? Don't take that risk. Na˜a-prāyeu abhadreu. Finish all
contamination, dirty things, and become completely pure. Because KŠa is
paraˆ brahma paraˆ dhāma pavitraˆ paramaˆ bhavān. He's complete, pure.
Apāpa-viddham. In the Iopaniad, KŠa is uncontaminated, complete. Any
contaminated thing that goes to KŠa, He purifies. Just like the gop…s. Actually
they approached KŠa in a lusty attitude, but because He was KŠa, they
became purified. So it is not that we shall purposefully remain impure and
approach KŠa, but the process is that if you regularly hear about KŠa and
serve ®r…mad-Bhāgavatam, or a devotee, then gradually your contamination is
washed away, bhagavaty uttama-loke bhaktir bhavati nai˜hik…. The result will
be bhagavati, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is glorified by the
uttama-loka, by transcendental prayers ...
Lect. SB 1.2.18 New Vndavana 72

KŠa's name is pure: So this sa‰k…rtana movement, Hare KŠa

119
movement, is also an incarnation of KŠa. Nāma-r™pe avatāra. KŠa can
become an incarnation in sound form also. Not even a physical form. Physical
form also there; everything is there. But especially for this age, KŠa is
incarnated in His name. The name of KŠa is non-different from KŠa. So
nāma-r™pe kŠa-avatāra. KŠa is already there. The whole world is now
demonic, anti-government, anti-God, anti-matter and anti-God. So the
incarnation has already come. Those who take shelter of this incarnation of
KŠa's name, will be never annihilated. Take it for granted. Yes. So
incarnation. KŠa's name and KŠa, no difference. That is omnipotency.
Omnipotency. Omnipotency means everything is KŠa's energy. So the same
potency is in the energy and the energetic. This is omnipotency. God is
omnipotent; He can give you protection when you take shelter of His name.
Because His name is non-different from Him. Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoƒ.
Nāma-kŠa. Nāma cintāmaŠiƒ kŠaƒ, p™rŠaƒ uddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvān
nām-a-nāminoƒ. Don't think KŠa's name is less efficient than KŠa. No.
P™rŠa. As KŠa is perfect, similarly, His name is also perfect. P™rŠaƒ
uddhaƒ. As KŠa is pure, without any material contamination,
apāpa-viddham, nothing sinful can affect him ... You have read it in the
Iopaniad. Just like sunshine. Infection cannot infect sunshine. Some disease
can infect you, me, because we have less potential. But it cannot infect the sun.
Rather, the sunshine will sterilise the infection. So anything infectious, anything
sinful, cannot infect KŠa. Rather sinful activities in touch with KŠa will
become purified. This is the process.
Lect. SB 1.5.32 New Vndavana 74

KŠa is pure: That is the resultant action. If one is polluted, if he comes in

contact with KŠa, or KŠa's pure devotee, he or she will be purified. KŠa is
never allured, neither can KŠa become a victim of anything material. KŠa's
position is different. That is stated in the Iopaniad. Apāpa-viddham. KŠa is
never afflicted by any kind of contamination. He is p™rŠaƒ uddho
nitya-muktaƒ. Similarly, those who are advanced devotees are not allured. But
the result is that one who comes to allure a devotee or one who comes to allure
KŠa, he or she becomes purified. Kamāt krodhād bhayāt. Some way or other,
if one comes into contact with KŠa, he becomes purified. Tej…yasāˆ na
doāya. Apparently, it appears that KŠa is dancing with the young girls at
dead of night. But it is not that KŠa is contaminated. They become purified.
Actually, they are eternal associates of KŠa, the gop…s. They are not ordinary
women. There are all described in the ®r…mad-Bhāgavatam. They were dancing
in their spiritual bodies, not in their material bodies. They were dancing in their

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spiritual bodies. Their (sic) material body was lying down with their husband.
These descriptions are there in the Bhāgavatam. So gop…s' l…lā is not material.
So there was no question of contamination. But materially this kind of activity,
to dance at dead of night with young girls, is not permitted. With other men's
wives. You can dance with your own wife, but you cannot do that. That is
sinful.
Lect. SB 1.7.49-50 New Vndavana 76

KŠa can go beyond ordinary behaviour because He is pure and

powerful: In the Kali-yuga people are very polluted. They cannot transgress.
This is not transgression, this is powerful. Just like you are prohibited to go to a
filthy place. But the sunshine goes. Sunshine goes. Sunshine is not prohibited,
that "Here is a filthy place, lavatory. Sunshine, do not come here." No, sunshine
doesn't require your permission. It can go anywhere. But it is not polluted.
Tej…yasāˆ na doāya ... Don't try to imitate tej…. You must become tej…. Then ...
just like for Bhagavān everything is perfect. Apāpa-viddham. Bhagavān is never
affected by any so-called sin. For Him there are no sinful activities.
Apāpa-viddham. You'll find that in the Iopaniad. There is a Vedic mantra.
And if you consider that "KŠa is doing so many things, this is sinful," no. God
is always good. God is good. That is a common phrase. Even if you see that He
is doing something wrong, it is not wrong. It is right. Tej…yasāˆ na doāya. He's
so powerful, for Him there is no wrong. He's never a wrongdoer.
Lect. SB 1.8.23 Mayapur 74

Mayavadis misunderstand KŠa's supreme position: The Māyāvād…

philosopher cannot understand this. They think that anyone who comes into this
material world, (sic) is under the influence of māyā. That is correct for the small
living entities such as us. That is not correct for the Supreme. Therefore they
misunderstand KŠa in His activities, especially when He dances with the
gop…s. Therefore a neophyte person should not try to understand KŠa's
dancing with the gop…s immediately, because they do not know KŠa. So here
if we do something against the moral principles, we are liable to be punished.
But KŠa ... about KŠa it is stated in the Iopaniad, apāpa-viddham. You
know this. Apāpa-viddham. He does not become affected by any pāpa,
apāpa-viddham. That is His nature. Etad …anam …asya. Just like if we go into
the fire, we burn into ashes, but if KŠa enters ... Just like everyone in
Vndāvana, the cows, the cowherd boys, all the inhabitants, became very much
afraid of the forest fire. But they had no means to stop it. They began to pray to
KŠa, "KŠa, save us." So KŠa swallowed up the fire. That is KŠa. That is

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the difference between KŠa and ourselves. So we can see this difference
between KŠa and KŠa's greatness when we have purified ourselves,
t…vra-tapasā pariuddha-bhāvaƒ. Then it is possible ... The whole bhakti system
means t…vra-tapasā pariuddha-bhāvaƒ.
Lect. NOD New Vndavana 72

KŠa and the guru can purify others:

Prabhup da: You see, KŠa says that ahaˆ tvāˆ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokayiyāmi. So KŠa's so powerful He can immediately take up all the sins
of others and remove them. But when a living entity plays the part on behalf of
KŠa, he also takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his devotee. So
to become a guru is not an easy task. You see? He has to take all the poisons
and absorb them. So sometimes, because he's not KŠa, there is some trouble.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu warned "Don't make many iyas, many
disciples." But for our preaching work we have to accept many disciples, to
expand our movement. Never mind that we suffer. That's a fact. The spiritual
master has to take the responsibility of all the sinful activities of his disciples.
So to make many disciples is a risky business unless he's able to assimilate all
their sins ... patitānāˆ pāvanebhyo. He takes responsibility for all the fallen
souls ... That idea is in the Bible. Just like Jesus Christ took all the sinful
reactions of all the people and sacrificed his life. That is the responsibility of the
spiritual master. Because he's KŠa's representative. So KŠa takes all
responsibility. KŠa is KŠa, apāpa-viddham. He cannot be attacked by any
sinful reaction. But a living entity may be subjected sometimes, because he's
small. Big fire, small fire. If you put some big things on a small fire, then the
fire itself may be extinguished. Whatever you put on a big fire, that's all right.
The big fire can consume anything.
Conv Bob Cohen Mayapur 72

KŠa is pure, apāpa-viddham: So we must be pure to approach KŠa.

Just like if we want to enter the fire we must be also have a highly temperature,
almost like the fire. Apāpa-viddham. Pavitraˆ paramaˆ bhavān. So we should
give up sinful activities and apply our energy for KŠa's service. Then our life
is perfect.
Conv Arlington, USA 72

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So there are two kinds of education: material education and spiritual

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education, brahma-vidyā and jaa-vidyā. Jaa-vidyā means material education.
Jaa. Jaa means "which cannot move," matter. And spiritual education ...
Spirit can move. Our body is a combination of spirit and matter. As long as the
spirit is there, this body is moving. Just like coat and pants are moving as long
as a man wears them. It appears that the coat is moving, the pants are moving,
but actually the living entity is moving, and the covering, the dress, only
appears to be moving. Similarly, this body is moving because the spirit soul is
moving. Just like a vehicle. A motor car is moving; that means the driver is
moving. So foolish people will think that the motor car is moving by itself. The
motor car does not move alone. In spite of all its mechanics, it cannot move
independently. That is the wrong way of education. People think that this
material nature is working, moving and manifesting so many wonderful things
... Just like at the seaside we see the waves are moving. But the waves are not
moving; the air is moving them. But air is not moving. In this way, you go back,
back, back, in search of the ultimate cause, then you'll find KŠa is the cause of
all causes. That is called philosophy, to search out the ultimate cause.
So here it is said, andhaˆ tamaƒ pravianti ye avidyām upāsate. Avidyā
means those who are captivated by the external movements, are worshipping
avidyā, nescience, which will not help them. Modern civilisation is so engaged
... There are big, big institutions for technology, investigating how a motor car
can move, how an aeroplane can move. They're manufacturing so many
machines. But there is no educational institution for looking at how the mover,
the spirit soul, is moving. That is called avidyā, nescience. The actual mover is
not being studied, but the external movement is being studied. There are big, big
institutions, universities. As I told you the other day, when I Lectured in the
Massachusetts Technological College, I inquired "Where is the technology to
study the mover?" But they have no such arrangement. They could not answer
satisfactorily. So that is avidyā. So here, in the Iopaniad, it is said, andhaˆ
tamaƒ pravianti ye avidyām upāsate. Those who are engaged only in material
advancement of education, the result will be that they will go to the darkest
region of existence, andhaˆ tamaƒ. It is a very dangerous position that at the
present moment there is no institution in any part of the world for spiritual
education. It is pushing the human society to the darkest region of existence.
Actually, it is happening so. In your country, your rich country, you have a nice
educational system, so many universities, but what class of men are you
producing? The students are becoming hippies. Why?
So leaders should think "What are we producing, in spite of so many
educational institutions?" That is hinted here, that because you are

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worshipping avidyā ... That is not knowledge. Bhaktivinoda µhākura has sung
very nicely: jaa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava. Jaa-vidyā. Jaa-vidyā means
this material education. He says they are an expansion of this māyā. Jaa vidyā.
Jaa vidyā sa māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. The more we advance
in this material education, the more we will be hampered in our understanding
of God. And at last we will declare, "God is dead. I am God. You are God," all
this nonsense. That is hinted here: andhaˆ tamaƒ. Andham means darkness.
There are two kinds of darkness. If you remain in ignorance, that is darkness,
and if you remain in darkness, where there is no sunlight or electric light, that is
also darkness. So avidyām upāsate. Another, tato bh™ya iva te tamo ya u
vidyāyāˆ ratāƒ. So these materialists are certainly being pushed into the
darkness, but there is another class, the so-called philosophers, mental
speculators, religionists and yogis. They are going deeper into the darkness
because they are defying KŠa. They are posing as if cultivating spiritual
knowledge, but because they have no information of KŠa, or God, their
advancement of education is even more dangerous. More dangerous. Because
they are misleading people. The so-called yoga system they are preaching, is
misleading people that "You meditate and you'll understand that you are God."
By meditation, one becomes God. You see. So KŠa never meditated.
Lect. ISO 9 Los Angeles 70

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Brahmana and krpana: One who quits this body after knowing what he is,
sa eva brāhmaŠa, he is brāhmaŠa. BrāhmaŠa ... We are offering you the sacred
thread. Why? Just you try to understand what is the mystery of life. That is
brāhmaŠa. Vijānataƒ. We have read in this verse, vijānataƒ. One who leaves
this body after knowing things as they are, is a brāhmaŠa. And etad aviditvā
yaƒ prayāti ... one who leaves this body without knowing the mystery of life is
a kpaŠā. KpaŠā means miser. Just like if you have one million dollars and you
do not utilise it; you say "Oh, I have this bank balance," and are happy simply
by seeing it, then you are kpaŠā. You do not know how to utilise it. And one
who has one million dollars and utilises it to make many more millions of
dollars, is intelligent. Similarly, this body is invaluable. One who is utilising it
for cultivating spiritual knowledge, he is brāhmaŠa. That is the difference
between brāhmaŠa and kpaŠā. One who is utilising this body like cats and
dogs for sense gratification, is a miser. He does not know how to utilise one
million dollars. No-one knows. But it is the duty of the father, duty of the state,
duty of the teachers, to educate from the very beginning. Bhāgavata says that
one should not become a father, one should not become a mother, one should

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not become a teacher, one should not become a king unless they are able to
elevate their dependents to this spiritual knowledge, which can save them from
repeated birth and death.
Lect. ISO 9-10 Los Angeles 70

Hearing from authorities: So here is the word, iti uruma. uruma means
heard. The word meaning is there. "It is heard." In the Vedic disciplic
succession, it is never said, "It is experienced." That is the secret of Vedic
understanding ... Just like people are now engaged in researching what there is
on the moon planet. This is material policy, to try to understand things by
personal experience. Pratyaka, direct, experimental knowledge. The Vedic
understanding is different. It is ruti. ruti means to hear from an authoritative
source. That is real knowledge.
Lect. ISO 10 Los Angeles 70

Hearing from authorities: So people are searching, asking what is God.

Searching, searching, searching, but they fail. They say, "Oh, there is no God. I
am God." Finished. You see? This is not possible. Here it is said, iti uruma.
This is Vedic knowledge. Heard, uruma. From where does uruma come?
From the storekeeper? No. Dh…rāŠāˆ uruma. Iti uruma dh…rāŠām. What is
dh…rāŠām? It comes from the sober sect. Not this fanatic sect, but the sober sect,
dh…ra. Dh…ra means whose senses are not agitated by material influence, or
svām…, or gosvām….
Lect. ISO 10 Los Angeles 70

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Vidya: There are 108 Upaniads, out of which, nine are very important. Out
of that nine, this Iopaniad stands first, then Taittir…ya Upaniad, MāŠ™kya
Upaniad, MuŠaka Upaniad. Upa means hearing. So this knowledge will take
you nearer to KŠa. And amongst the learned society, ācāryas, the
ruti-pramāŠa ... Evidence is ruti. ruti means these Vedas.
Lect. ISO 11 Los Angeles 70

Avidya and vidya: So avidyā mtyum. If you do not go, then you remain in
darkness. Vedic injunction is gacchet. This is a form of verb which says "must."
It is not that "Oh, I may accept a spiritual master; I may not. There are books. I
shall learn it." No. Therefore the injunction is gacchet. Gacchet means "must
go," not that you may go or may not go. No. "Must go." Tad-vijñānārtham, in

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order to understand that knowledge, that science, you must go. Samit-pāŠiƒ
rotriyaˆ brahma-ni˜ham. Otherwise you remain in avidyā. Vidyām avidyām
ca: two sides, darkness and light. So you must know two things: what is māyā
and what is KŠa. Then your knowledge is perfect.
Lect. ISO 11 Los Angeles 70

Avidya: "Advancement of material knowledge means advancement of

māyā's jurisdiction." The more you become implicated in material knowledge,
entangled ... less you can understand KŠa consciousness. People who are
supposed to be very advanced in material knowledge, think, "Eh, what is this
KŠa consciousness movement?" They have no attraction. Just like Indian boys
sometimes come here to learn technology. Sometimes they question ... They
have rejected these things, and have come here to learn technology. So when
they see that Swamij… has introduced the things that they have rejected in India,
they are surprised.

India rejects vidya for avidya: So I also came for that purpose, because
modern India has rejected spiritual knowledge. They think that if they can
imitate Western technology, then they will be happy. This is māyā. They do not
see that those who are advanced three hundred times more than us in
technology, have nothing They do not see that. India cannot advance in
technology like America or Europe, at least for another three hundred years
because in these Western countries they have undertaken this business for a
very long time, but Indian culture, beginning from the creation, is spiritual
culture. Vyāsadeva ... Just see Vyāsadeva. He is the original guru, spiritual
master, of Vedic knowledge. Where was he living? In a cottage in
Badarikārama. But just see his knowledge. He has written so many PurāŠas,
and Bhāgavata-PurāŠa is one of them. The Vedānta philosophy, Mahābhārata,
if you study each and every verse it will take you a whole lifetime. Similarly, in
some book he has written hundreds of thousands of verses, certainly not less
than 20,000/25,000 verses. And each verse is so full of meaning that one could
learn from it throughout his whole life. This is Vedic culture. There is no
comparison in knowledge, not only in spiritual knowledge, in other department
also --astronomy, mathematics. It is not that in the olden days there were no
aeroplanes. We get so much information from the PurāŠas. Their aeroplanes
were so strong and so fast that they could easily reach other planets. Arjuna
went to the heavenly planets. So it is not that there was no advancement of
material knowledge in the Vedic age. It was there, but they did not much care
for it. They were more interested in spiritual knowledge. It is not that material
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knowledge was not there. It was there. The opulence you cannot compare to
nowadays. Every city, every individual person, were fully opulent in gold and
jewels, what to speak of kings and rich men. So avidyā and vidyā. One should
know side by side what is vidyā and what is avidyā.
Lect. ISO 11 Los Angeles 70

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Pseudo gurus: A person in ignorance of the principles of religion who
therefore does nothing in the matter of religion is far better than a person who
misguides others in the name of religion without reference to the factual
religious principles of devotional service. Such so-called leaders of religion are
sure to be condemned by Brahmā and other great authorities.
SB 3.9.11

Impersonalists fall down:

Devotee (2): Then why is it seen that they are making spiritual advancement?
Prabhupāda: No, they don't make any spiritual advancement. They come
down. Don't you see this impersonalist, Vivekananda? He took sannyāsa, but he
back came to hospital-making. They are not advancing. They are coming back,
falling down. While they have no engagement in devotional service, they say,
"Oh, why are you finding God anywhere? Here is God, daridra-nārāyaŠa, these
poor men." That's it. That is not advancement. They are coming down. Now,
they come down and they defame NārāyaŠa, that "NārāyaŠa has become
daridra." They are saying that NārāyaŠa is daridra.
Conv Surat 70

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Jnanis and demons go to Brahman: The idea is that KŠa planet or the
VaikuŠ˜ha planets, are beyond this Brahman effulgence, and those who are
devotees, are permitted to enter into these spiritual planets. Those who are not
devotees, simply jñān…s or demons ... they are offered the same place. The
jñān…s ... āruhya kcchreŠa paraˆ padaˆ tataƒ. They practise severe
austerities, penances, to enter into the Brahman effulgence. But the demons,
simply by becoming an enemy of KŠa immediately get that place. The demons
who are killed by KŠa are immediately transferred to this Brahman
effulgence. So just imagine, is the place that is given to the enemies of KŠa a

127
very covetable thing? Suppose somebody comes who is my enemy, and I give
him some place, and somebody, my intimate friend, I give him the same place.
Similarly, this Brahman effulgence is not at all covetable. Therefore
Prabodhānanda Sarasvat…pāda has composed a verse ... Kaivalyaˆ narakāyate.
Kaivalya means the Brahman effulgence, simply spiritual light. So kaivalyaˆ
narakāyate. He says that this Brahman effulgence is just like hell to a devotee ...
The jñān…s are trying to merge into the Brahman effulgence, but to a devotee it
is seen as hell. Kaivalyaˆ narakāyate. Tri-daa-p™r ākāa-pupāyate. And
tri-daa-p™r means the planets of the demigods within this material world.
People are very anxious to go to the heavenly planets. That is called
tri-daa-p™r or tri-daa-p™r, the residential quarters of the demigods. For a
devotee it is understood as will-o'-the-wisp, ākāa-pupāyate. And
durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-pa˜al… protkhāta-daˆ˜rāyate. The yogis are trying
to control the senses, which are considered venomous serpents. That's a fact. So
the bhakta says that "We are not afraid of the senses." Why?
Protkhāta-daˆ˜rāyate. Because we have extracted the poisonous teeth. The
senses have poisonous teeth. As soon as you indulge in sense gratification,
immediately you become degraded. Immediately. So it is just like a venomous
serpent. As soon as it touches you, a little bite, your life is finished. So it is like
that. Durdānta-kāla-sarpa-pa˜al…, indriya. But if the poisonous teeth of the
venomous serpent are taken away, it may still be fearful to the children but an
elderly person knows that there is no longer any reason to be afraid of it. So this
KŠa consciousness means that we take away the poisonous teeth of the senses.
Even KŠa conscious persons may be exposed to sense gratification, but the
poisonous teeth have been broken so they are not gliding down to the hellish
condition of life. In this way, the karm…s, jñān…s and yogis are always trying to
elevate themselves. And above them are the devotees.
So a devotee's place is the highest because only by devotion can you
understand God.
Lect. ISO 13-15 Los Angeles 70

Only devotees can realise the reality of the Absolute: Perfect vision of the
Absolute Truth is possible only by the linking process of devotional service.
This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-g…tā. One can perfectly realise the
Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by the process of
devotional service, and one can enter into the kingdom of God by such perfect
knowledge. Imperfect realisation of the Absolute by the partial approach of the
impersonal Brahman or localised Paramātmā does not permit anyone to enter

128
into the kingdom of God. ®r… Nārada advised ®r…la Vyāsadeva to become
absorbed in transcendental meditation on the Personality of Godhead and His
activities. ®r…la Vyāsadeva did not take notice of the effulgence of Brahman
because that is not absolute vision. The absolute vision is the Personality of
Godhead, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-g…tā (7.19): vāsudevaƒ sarvam iti. In
the Upaniads also it is confirmed that Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, is
covered by the golden glowing hiraŠmayena pātreŠa veil of impersonal
Brahman, and when that curtain is removed by the mercy of the Lord the real
face of the Absolute is seen.
SB 1.7.4

Brahman effulgence is partial representation of Lord Caitanya: The

impersonalists do not have the power to go beyond the effulgence of God and
arrive at the personality from whom this effulgence is emanating. At the end of
the Iopaniad, however, there is a hymn to the Personality of Godhead. It is not
that the impersonal Brahman is denied; it is also described, but that Brahman is
considered to be the glaring effulgence of the body of Lord Caitanya. In other
words, ®r… KŠa Caitanya is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. It is also
stated by KŠa in the Bhagavad-g…tā (14.27) that the impersonal Brahman rests
on Him: brahmaŠo hi prati˜hāham. The Paramātmā, or Supersoul, who is
present within the heart of every living entity and within every atom of the
universe, is but the partial representation of Lord Caitanya. ®r… KŠa Caitanya
is therefore the basis of Brahman and the Supreme Personality of Godhead as
well. As the Supreme He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty,
knowledge and renunciation. In short, we should know that He is KŠa, God,
and that nothing is equal to or greater than Him. There is nothing superior to be
conceived. He is the Supreme Person.
Cc Introduction

Personal realisation of Absolute is topmost: For instance, in the

Haya…ra-pañcarātra it is explained that although in each and every Upaniad
the Supreme Brahman is first viewed as impersonal, at the end the personal
form of the Supreme Lord is accepted. A similar verse occurs in ®r… Iopaniad:
hiraŠmayena pātreŠa. This verse indicates that everyone should engage in
devotional service to the Supreme Lord, who is the maintainer of this whole
universe. Everyone is sustained by His mercy; therefore devotional service unto
Him constitutes the true religion. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
eternal form of sac-cid-ānanda, and His effulgence is spread throughout the

129
creation, just as sunshine is spread throughout the solar system. And just as the
sun disc is covered by the glaring effulgence of the sunshine, the transcendental
form of the Lord is covered by the glaring effulgence called brahmajyoti.
Indeed, in this verse it is clearly stated that the eternal, blissful, cognisant form
of the Supreme Lord is to be found within the glaring effulgence of the
brahmajyoti, which emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. Thus the
personal body of the Lord is the source of the brahmajyoti, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-g…tā (Bg 14.27). That the impersonal Brahman is dependent on the
Supreme Personality is stated in the Haya…ra-pañcarātra and in every other
Upaniad or Vedic scripture. Indeed, whenever there is talk of the impersonal
Brahman in the beginning, the Supreme Personality is finally established at the
end. Just as Iopaniad indicates, the Supreme Absolute Truth is both
impersonal and personal eternally, but His personal aspect is more important
than the impersonal one.
TLC 24

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yasya deve parä bhaktir

yathä deve tathä gurau
tasyaite kathitä hy arthäù
prakäçante mahätmanaù

"Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the
spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically
revealed." (Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 6.23)

ataù çré-kåñëa-nämädi
na bhaved grähyam indriyaiù
sevonmukhe hi jihvädau
svayam eva sphuraty adaù

"No one can understand Kåñëa as He is by the blunt material senses. But He
reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their
transcendental loving service unto Him." (Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu 1.2.234)

bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti

130
 yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù
tato mäà tattvato jïätvä
viçate tad-anantaram

"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional

service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such
devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God."
These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of
the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Then the real knowledge of ätmä and Paramätmä and the
distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This
ätma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a
devotee's heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a
mahäjana such as Prahläda Mahäräja.

131