Why the Spirit Soul, Even Though Spiritual, and Has Factually Nothing To Do with Matter, Remains Entangled?
ইহা নাহি জানি — ‘কেমনে হিত হয়’ ॥ ১০২ ॥
ihā nāhi jāni — ‘kemane hita haya’
ke āmi — who am I; kene — why; āmāya — unto me; jāre — give trouble; tāpa-traya — the three kinds of miserable conditions; ihā — this; nāhi jāni — I do not know; kemane — how; hita — my welfare; haya — there is.
“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited?
MGDasa:
This question is answered by Lord Brahma in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 3: The Status Quo, Chapter Nine: Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy, which was narrated by Maitreya Muni to Vidura, and could be seen as the official beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as per: Detailed Study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 3: The Status Quo, Chapter Eight: Manifestation of Brahmā from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu
Brahmā uvaca:
मायाबलं भगवतो जन ईश पश्येत् ।
तावन्न संसृतिरसौ प्रतिसंक्रमेत
व्यर्थापि दु:खनिवहं वहती क्रियार्था ॥ ९ ॥
māyā-balaṁ bhagavato jana īśa paśyet
tāvan na saṁsṛtir asau pratisaṅkrameta
vyarthāpi duḥkha-nivahaṁ vahatī kriyārthā
yāvat — as long as; pṛthaktvam — separatism; idam — this; ātmanaḥ — of the body; indriya-artha — for sense gratification; māyā-balam — influence of external energy; bhagavataḥ — of the Personality of Godhead; janaḥ — a person; īśa — O my Lord; paśyet — sees; tāvat — so long; na — not; saṁsṛtiḥ — the influence of material existence; asau — that man; pratisaṅkrameta — can overcome; vyarthā api — although without meaning; duḥkha-nivaham — multiple miseries; vahatī — bringing; kriyā-arthā — for fruitive activities.
O my Lord, the material miseries are without factual existence for the soul. Yet as long as the conditioned soul sees the body as meant for sense enjoyment, he cannot get out of the entanglement of material miseries, being influenced by Your external energy.
Purport by MGDAS
Here at the beginning of Brahmā's day, Lord Brahmā prays to Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and conclusively explains, that even though: the material miseries are without factual existence for the soul, the problem is that as long as the conditioned soul sees the body as meant for sense enjoyment, he cannot get out of the entanglement of material miseries. This answers the question; why the spirit soul, even though spiritual, and has factually nothing to do with matter, remains entangled? It is due to the conditioning of seeing the body as meant for sense enjoyment.
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ॥ ५५ ॥
prajahāti yadā kāmān
sarvān pārtha mano-gatān
ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ
sthita-prajñas tadocyate
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; prajahāti — gives up; yadā — when; kāmān — desires for sense gratification; sarvān — of all varieties; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; manaḥ-gatān — of mental concoction; ātmani — in the pure state of the soul; eva — certainly; ātmanā — by the purified mind; tuṣṭaḥ — satisfied; sthita-prajñaḥ — transcendentally situated; tadā — at that time; ucyate — is said.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.
कर्मण्ययं त्वदुदिते भवदर्चने स्वे ।
यस्तावदस्य बलवानिह जीविताशां
सद्यश्छिनत्त्यनिमिषाय नमोऽस्तु तस्मै ॥ १७ ॥
karmaṇy ayaṁ tvad-udite bhavad-arcane sve
yas tāvad asya balavān iha jīvitāśāṁ
sadyaś chinatty animiṣāya namo ’stu tasmai
lokaḥ — people in general; vikarma — work without sense; nirataḥ — engaged in; kuśale — in beneficial activity; pramattaḥ — negligent; karmaṇi — in activity; ayam — this; tvat — by You; udite — enunciated; bhavat — of You; arcane — in worship; sve — their own; yaḥ — who; tāvat — as long as; asya — of the people in general; balavān — very strong; iha — this; jīvita-āśām — struggle for existence; sadyaḥ — directly; chinatti — is cut to pieces; animiṣāya — by the eternal time; namaḥ — my obeisances; astu — let there be; tasmai — unto Him.
People in general all engage in foolish acts, not in the really beneficial activities enunciated directly by You for their guidance. As long as their tendency for foolish work remains powerful, all their plans in the struggle for existence will be cut to pieces. I therefore offer my obeisances unto Him who acts as eternal time.
People in general are all engaged in senseless work. They are systematically unmindful of the real beneficial work, which is the devotional service of the Lord, technically called the arcanā regulations. The arcanā regulations are directly instructed by the Lord in the Nārada-pañcarātra and are strictly followed by the intelligent men, who know well that the highest perfectional goal of life is to reach Lord Viṣṇu, who is the root of the tree called the cosmic manifestation. Also, in the Bhāgavatam and in Bhagavad-gītā such regulative activities are clearly mentioned. Foolish people do not know that their self-interest is in realization of Viṣṇu. The Bhāgavatam (7.5.30-32) says:
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat
“Persons who are determined to totally rot in false, material happiness cannot become Kṛṣṇa-minded either by instructions from teachers, by self-realization or by parliamentary discussions. They are dragged by the unbridled senses into the darkest region of ignorance, and thus they madly engage in what is called ‘chewing the chewed.’
“Because of their foolish activities, they are unaware that the ultimate goal of human life is to achieve Viṣṇu, the Lord of the cosmic manifestation, and so their struggle for existence is in the wrong direction of material civilization, which is under the external energy. They are led by similar foolish persons, just as one blind man is led by another blind man and both fall in the ditch.
“Such foolish men cannot be attracted towards the activities of the Supreme Powerful, who is actually the neutralizing measure for their foolish activities, unless and until they have the good sense to be guided by the great souls who are completely freed from material attachment.” [...]
অতএব মায়া তারে দেয় সংসার-দুঃখ ॥ ১১৭ ॥
ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha
kṛṣṇa bhuli’ — forgetting Kṛṣṇa; sei jīva — that living entity; anādi — from time immemorial; bahir-mukha — attracted by the external feature; ataeva — therefore; māyā — illusory energy; tāre — to him; deya — gives; saṁsāra-duḥkha — miseries of material existence.
“Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [māyā] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence.
Purport my MGDAS
There is a similar verse by Śrīla Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, that was quoted many times by Srila Prabhupada:
Śrī Prema-vivarta 6. 2
kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga-vāñchā kare
nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
Synonyms
kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha—averse to Kṛṣṇa; hañā—becoming; bhoga-vāñchā—desire for material enjoyment; kare—does; nikaṭa-stha—standing nearby; māyā—the illusory energy; tāre—him (the living entity); jāpaṭiyā dhare—seizes in her clutches.
Translation
“Becoming averse to Kṛṣṇa and desiring material enjoyment, the living entity is immediately seized by the illusory energy (Māyā) who is standing nearby.”
However Srila Prabhupada would paraphrase:
Śrī Prema-vivarta 6. 2
kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare
pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
Synonyms
kṛṣṇa—Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhuliya—forgetting; jīva—the living entity; bhoga—material enjoyment; vañcha—desire; kare—does; pāśate—by the side; māyā—the illusory energy; tāre—him; jāpaṭiyā—clutching tightly; dhare—seizes.
Translation
When an individual soul forgets his eternal relationship with God and tries to lord it over the material nature or resources, that condition, that forgetful condition, is called māyā, or illusion.
কৃষ্ণের ‘তটস্থা-শক্তি’, ‘ভেদাভেদ-প্রকাশ’ ॥ ১০৮ ॥
স্বাভাবিক কৃষ্ণের তিনপ্ৰকার ‘শক্তি’ হয় ॥ ১০৯ ॥
kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’
svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra ‘śakti’ haya
jīvera — of the living entity; svarūpa — the constitutional position; haya — is; kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; nitya-dāsa — eternal servant; kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; taṭasthā — marginal; śakti — potency; bheda-abheda — one and different; prakāśa — manifestation; sūrya-aṁśa — part and parcel of the sun; kiraṇa — a ray of sunshine; yaiche — as; agni-jvālā-caya — molecular particle of fire; svābhāvika — naturally; kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; tina-prakāra — three varieties; śakti — energies; haya — there are.
“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.
Purport by MGDAS
The three varieties of energy are:
চিচ্ছক্তি, জীবশক্তি, আর মায়াশক্তি ॥ ১১১ ॥
cic-chakti, jīva-śakti, āra māyā-śakti
kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; svābhāvika — natural; tina — three; śakti — of energies; pariṇati — transformations; cit-śakti — spiritual potency; jīva-śakti — spiritual sparks, living entities; āra — and; māyā-śakti — illusory energy.
“Lord Kṛṣṇa naturally has three energetic transformations, and these are known as the spiritual potency, the living entity potency and the illusory potency.
कर्मण्ययं त्वदुदिते भवदर्चने स्वे ।
यस्तावदस्य बलवानिह जीविताशां
सद्यश्छिनत्त्यनिमिषाय नमोऽस्तु तस्मै ॥ २६ ॥
karmaṇy ayaṁ tvad-udite bhavad-arcane sve
yas tāvad asya balavān iha jīvitāśāṁ
sadyaś chinatty animiṣāya namo ’stu tasmai
lokaḥ — the whole world; vikarma — to sinful activities; nirataḥ — always attached; kuśale — which are for their benefit; pramattaḥ — bewildered; karmaṇi — about duties; ayam — this (world); tvat — by You; udite — spoken; bhavat — of You; arcane — the worship; sve — their own (beneficial engagement); yaḥ — who; tāvat — inasmuch; asya — of this (world); bala-vān — powerful; iha — in this life; jīvita — for longevity; āśām — hope; sadyaḥ — suddenly; chinatti — cuts off; animiṣāya — to “unblinking” time; namaḥ — obeisances; astu — may there be; tasmai — to Him.
People in this world are always engaged in sinful activities and are thus bewildered about their real duty, which is to worship You according to Your commandments. This activity would truly bring them good fortune. Let us offer our obeisances unto the all-powerful Lord, who appears as time and suddenly cuts down one’s stubborn hope for a long life in this world.
Purport by MGDAS
This verse was spoken by a messenger to Lord Krsna in Dvaraka, as explained by the following verses:
Text 23: That person bowed down to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with joined palms he described to the Lord how a number of kings were suffering because Jarāsandha had imprisoned them.
Text 24: Twenty thousand kings who had refused to submit absolutely to Jarāsandha during his world conquest had been forcibly imprisoned by him in the fortress named Girivraja.
Stubborn hope for a long life in this world, is one of the root causes for the conditioned soul, to continue her folly. The bad news; no one here gets out alive (although the soul, i.e. the living entity, lives forever), the good news; in any condition of your life simply try to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa:
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
[My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.]
In other words: try to chant and be happy. (Quoted (partially) from a lecture by: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Date: December 1st 1969, London Time-stamps: 01:15 & 10:38)
Srila Prabhupada says it best: "Because I wanted to forget Krsna, therefore Krsna has helped me in forgetting Him by His own illusory energy. Have sankirtana." From a lecture on SB 2.9.1-4 on Tokyo, Japan
The Viṣṇudūtas get the last word:
स्त्रीराजपितृगोहन्ता ये च पातकिनोऽपरे ॥ ९ ॥
सर्वेषामप्यघवतामिदमेव सुनिष्कृतम् ।
नामव्याहरणं विष्णोर्यतस्तद्विषया मति: ॥ १० ॥
brahma-hā guru-talpa-gaḥ
strī-rāja-pitṛ-go-hantā
ye ca pātakino ’pare
idam eva suniṣkṛtam
nāma-vyāharaṇaṁ viṣṇor
yatas tad-viṣayā matiḥ
stenaḥ — one who steals; surā-paḥ — a drunkard; mitra-dhruk — one who turns against a friend or relative; brahma-hā — one who kills a brāhmaṇa; guru-talpa-gaḥ — one who indulges in sex with the wife of his teacher or guru; strī — women; rāja — king; pitṛ — father; go — of cows; hantā — the killer; ye — those who; ca — also; pātakinaḥ — committed sinful activities; apare — many others; sarveṣām — of all of them; api — although; agha-vatām — persons who have committed many sins; idam — this; eva — certainly; su-niṣkṛtam — perfect atonement; nāma-vyāharaṇam — chanting of the holy name; viṣṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu; yataḥ — because of which; tat-viṣayā — on the person who chants the holy name; matiḥ — His attention.
The chanting of the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu is the best process of atonement for a thief of gold or other valuables, for a drunkard, for one who betrays a friend or relative, for one who kills a brāhmaṇa, or for one who indulges in sex with the wife of his guru or another superior. It is also the best method of atonement for one who murders women, the king or his father, for one who slaughters cows, and for all other sinful men. Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu, such sinful persons may attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, “Because this man has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection.”
Addendum
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.3.15)
असङ्गो ह्ययं पुरुषः
asanga ayam purusa
Synonyms
asanga — uncontaminated, unattached, untouched, free from worldly bonds; ayam — this; purusa — the living entity, the true self, pure consciousness, the soul.
Translation
The living entity is uncontaminated
Alternative Translation
The Purusa (the soul) is unattached.
Purport by MGDasa
This verse is quoted by Srila Prabhupada in the following letter:
Dated: June 10th 1969
Location: New Vrindaban
Letter to: Mukunda
69-06-10
London
My Dear Mukunda,
Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of June 3, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. Regarding Mataji Syamadevi's temple in Leicester, your version is all right, and I am not very interested to establish a Hindu temple. Perhaps you know from the very beginning I never described my movement as Hindu religion. Religion means the bona fide process by which we understand God and the first class religion is that which teaches people to develop love for God. To know or accept the authority of God is one thing, but to love God is another. Generally, people are interested in material comforts and they make God as the supplying agent. This kind of devotion is not purified. It is contaminated by material desires, but when one is elevated to the position of giving everything to God out of love and affection, that is the first class position. We are teaching this philosophy in the name of Krishna Consciousness, and it is applicable to all sober persons. The Bhagavat principle is that because we can be happy simply by developing our dormant love of God, this is our first business.
I understand that you have now three houses under consideration: two of them are immediately available, but one requires some money. Why don't you pay the money? What is the amount? If you are short of money and the house is very nice, then we can arrange for the money. You have stated that Mr. George Harrison will be seeing the Archbishop for granting us a church, and that is a very nice idea, but so far I see Mr. Harrison promised so many things which were not fulfilled practically. So instead of waiting for the church, if you can get one of the three houses now under consideration, that will be better. Your Sankirtana Movement is going on even with no house, so there is no cause of lamentation. You must go on with Sankirtana and selling our literature, never mind there is temple or not. I am very pleased that you have already sold 1,000 BTGs, and I assume that it will not be too difficult for you to sell 5,000 magazines. That will solve part of your financial problems.
The answer to your Istagosthi questions are as follows: Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance. And who is a liberated person? One who knows Krishna. It is stated in BG, fourth chapter, anyone who knows Krishna in truth is immediately liberated, and after quitting the present body, he immediately goes to Krishna. That means he becomes a resident of Krishna Loka. As soon as one is liberated he is immediately a resident of Krishna Loka, and anyone who knows the truth of Krishna can become Spiritual Master. That is the version of Lord Caitanya. So to summarize the whole thing, it is to be understood that a bona fide Spiritual Master is a resident of Krishna Loka.
Your next question, whether the Spiritual Master was formerly a conditioned soul, actually a bona fide Spiritual Master is never a conditioned soul. There are three kinds of liberated persons. They are called 1) sadhan siddha, 2) kripa siddha, and 3) nitya siddha. Sadhan siddha means one who has attained perfection by executing the regulative principles of devotional service. Kripa siddha means one who has attained perfection by the special mercy of Krishna and the Spiritual Master, and nitya siddha means one who was never contaminated. The symptoms of nitya siddha is that from the beginning of his life he is attached to Krishna, and he is never tired of rendering service to Krishna. So we have to know what is what by these symptoms. But when one is actually on the siddha platform there is no such distinction as to who is sadhan, kripa, or nitya siddha. When one is siddha, there is no distinction what is what. Just like when the river water glides down to the Atlantic Ocean nobody can distinguish which portion was the Hudson River or some other river. Neither is there any necessity to make any such distinction. Actually, every living entity is eternally uncontaminated, although he may be in the material touch. This is the version of the Vedas. Asanga ayam purusha — the living entity is uncontaminated. Just like when there is a drop of oil in water you can immediately distinguish the oil from the water, and the water never mixes with the oil. Similarly, a living entity, although in material contact, is always distinct from the matter.
You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. A Spiritual Master must be liberated. It does not matter if he has come from Krishna Loka or he is liberated from here. But he must be liberated. The science of how one is liberated is explained above, but when one is liberated, there is no need of distinction whether he has come directly from Krishna Loka or from the material world. But in the broader sense everyone comes from Krishna Loka. When one forgets Krishna he is conditioned, when one remembers Krishna he is liberated. I hope this will clear up these points. I hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
P.S. I am very much anxious to hear from Janaki why she does not write?
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This letter is discussed by Mukunda in the video:
Lessons from Letters with Mukunda Goswami
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