Krishna Consciousness

There is no limit to the different ways in which one can agitate the mind

SB 3.24.37      The Renunciation of Kardama Muni
                              TEXT 37

                                TEXT

                      esa atma-patho 'vyakto
                      nastah kalena bhuyasa
                     tam pravartayitum deham
                     imam viddhi maya bhrtam

                             SYNONYMS

   esah--this; atma-pathah--path of self-realization; avyaktah--difficult to be known; nastah--lost; kalena bhuyasa--in the course of time; tam--this; pravartayitum--to introduce again; deham--body; imam--this; viddhi--please know; maya--by Me; bhrtam--assumed.

                           TRANSLATION

   This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again.

                             PURPORT

   It is not true that Sankhya philosophy is a new system of philosophy introduced by Kapila as material philosophers introduce new kinds of mental speculative thought to supersede that of another philosopher. On the material platform, everyone, especially the mental speculator, tries to be more prominent than others. The field of activity of the speculators is the mind; there is no limit to the different ways in which one can agitate the mind. The mind can be unlimitedly agitated, and thus one can put forward an unlimited number of theories. Sankhya philosophy is not like that; it is not mental speculation. It is factual, but at the time of Kapila it was lost.
   In due course of time, a particular type of knowledge may be lost or may be covered for the time being; that is the nature of this material world. A similar statement was made by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. Sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah: "In course of time the yoga system as stated in Bhagavad-gita was lost." It was coming in parampara, in disciplic succession, but due to the passage of time it was lost. The time factor is so pressing that in the course of time everything within this material world is spoiled or lost. The yoga system of Bhagavad-gita was lost before the meeting of Krsna and Arjuna. Therefore Krsna again enunciated the same ancient yoga system to Arjuna, who could actually understand Bhagavad-gita. Similarly, Kapila also said that the system of Sankhya philosophy was not exactly being introduced by Him; it was already current, but in course of time it was mysteriously lost, and therefore He appeared to reintroduce it. That is the purpose of the incarnation of Godhead. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata. Dharma means the real occupation of the living entity. When there is a discrepancy in the eternal occupation of the living entity, the Lord comes and introduces the real occupation of life. Any so-called religious system that is not in the line of devotional service is called adharma-samsthapana. When people forget their eternal relationship with God and engage in something other than devotional service, their engagement is called irreligion. How one can get out of the miserable condition of material life is stated in Sankhya philosophy, and the Lord Himself is explaining this sublime system.

The creation and manifestation of the material or spiritual energy does not render the creator impersonal

SB 3.21.19  Conversation Between Manu and Kardama

 

                                TEXT

                ekah svayam san jagatah sisrksaya-
                  dvitiyayatmann adhi-yogamayaya
                srjasy adah pasi punar grasisyase
              yathorna-nabhir bhagavan sva-saktibhih

                             SYNONYMS

   ekah--one; svayam--Yourself; san--being; jagatah--the universes; sisrksaya--with a desire to create; advitiyaya--without a second; atman--in Yourself; adhi--controlling; yoga-mayaya--by yogamaya; srjasi--You create; adah--those universes; pasi--You maintain; punah--again; grasisyase--You will wind up; yatha--like; urna-nabhih--a spider; bhagavan--O Lord; sva-saktibhih--by its own energy.

                           TRANSLATION

   My dear Lord, You alone create the universes. O Personality of Godhead, desiring to create these universes, You create them, maintain them and again wind them up by Your own energies, which are under the control of Your second energy, called yogamaya, just as a spider creates a cobweb by its own energy and again winds it up.

                             PURPORT

   In this verse two important words nullify the impersonalist theory that everything is God. Here Kardama says, "O Personality of Godhead, You are alone, but You have various energies." The example of the spider is very significant also. The spider is an individual living entity, and by its energy it creates a cobweb and plays on it, and whenever it likes it winds up the cobweb, thus ending the play. When the cobweb is manufactured by the saliva of the spider, the spider does not become impersonal. Similarly, the creation and manifestation of the material or spiritual energy does not render the creator impersonal. Here the very prayer suggests that God is sentient and can hear the prayers and fulfill the desires of the devotee. Therefore, He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, the form of bliss, knowledge and eternity.

The time factor cannot affect the span of life of the devotees

SB 3.21.18    Conversation Between Manu and Kardama                     

TEXT

 

                 na te 'jaraksa-bhramir ayur esam
                trayodasaram tri-satam sasti-parva
               san-nemy ananta-cchadi yat tri-nabhi
                karala-sroto jagad acchidya dhavat

                             SYNONYMS

   na--not; te--Your; ajara--of imperishable Brahman; aksa--on the axle; bhramih--rotating; ayuh--span of life; esam--of the devotees; trayodasa--thirteen; aram--spokes; tri-satam--three hundred; sasti--sixty; parva--functions; sat--six; nemi--rims; ananta--innumerable; chadi--leaves; yat--which; tri--three; nabhi--naves; karala-srotah--with tremendous velocity; jagat--the universe; acchidya--cutting short; dhavat--running.

                           TRANSLATION

   Your wheel, which has three naves, rotates around the axis of the imperishable Brahman. It has thirteen spokes, 360 joints, six rims and numberless leaves carved upon it. Though its revolution cuts short the life-span of the entire creation, this wheel of tremendous velocity cannot touch the life-span of the devotees of the Lord.

                             PURPORT

   The time factor cannot affect the span of life of the devotees. In Bhagavad-gita it is stated that a little execution of devotional service saves one from the greatest danger. The greatest danger is transmigration of the soul from one body to another, and only devotional service to the Lord can stop this process. It is stated in the Vedic literatures, harim vina na srtim taranti: without the mercy of the Lord, one cannot stop the cycle of birth and death. In Bhagavad-gita it is stated that only by understanding the transcendental nature of the Lord and His activities, His appearance and disappearance, can one stop the cycle of death and go back to Him. The time factor is divided into many fractions of moments, hours, months, years, periods, seasons, etc. All the divisions in this verse are determined according to the astronomical calculations of Vedic literature. There are six seasons, called rtus, and there is the period of four months called caturmasya. Three periods of four months complete one year. According to Vedic astronomical calculations, there are thirteen months. The thirteenth month is called adhi-masa or mala-masa and is added every third year. The time factor, however, cannot touch the lifespan of the devotees. In another verse it is stated that when the sun rises and sets it takes away the life of all living entities, but it cannot take away the life of those who are engaged in devotional service. Time is compared here to a big wheel which has 360 joints, six rims in the shape of seasons, and numberless leaves in the shape of moments. It rotates on the eternal existence, Brahman.

The scheduled creations and annihilations take place in terms of the supreme will

Srimad Bhagavatam Divisions of the Creation                          

                                 TEXT 14

                     sargo nava-vidhas tasya
                     prakrto vaikrtas tu yah
                     kala-dravya-gunair asya
                    tri-vidhah pratisankramah

                             SYNONYMS

   sargah--creation; nava-vidhah--of nine different kinds; tasya--its; prakrtah--material; vaikrtah--by the modes of material nature; tu--but; yah--that which; kala--eternal time; dravya--matter; gunaih--qualities; asya--its; tri-vidhah--three kinds; pratisankramah--annihilation.

                           TRANSLATION

   There are nine different kinds of creations besides the one which naturally occurs due to the interactions of the modes. There are three kinds of annihilations due to eternal time, the material elements and the quality of one's work.

                             PURPORT

    The scheduled creations and annihilations take place in terms of the supreme will. There are other creations due to interactions of material elements which take place by the intelligence of Brahma. Later these will be more explicitly explained. At present, only preliminary information is given. The three kinds of annihilations are (1) due to the scheduled time of the annihilation of the entire universe, (2) due to a fire which emanates from the mouth of Ananta, and (3) due to one's qualitative actions and reactions.

The systematic activities of the time factor are perpetual and eternal and cannot be stated to be false

 Srimad Bhagavatam    Divisions of the Creation

                                TEXT 13

                      yathedanim tathagre ca
                      pascad apy etad idrsam

                             SYNONYMS

   yatha--as it is; idanim--at present; tatha--so it was; agre--in the beginning; ca--and; pascat--at the end; api--also; etat idrsam--it continues to be the same.

                           TRANSLATION

   This cosmic manifestation is as it is now, it was the same in the past, and it will continue in the same way in the future.

                             PURPORT

   There is a systematic schedule for the perpetual manifestation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (9.8): bhuta-gramam imam krtsnam avasam prakrter vasat. As it is created now and as it will be destroyed later on, so also it existed in the past and again will be created, maintained and destroyed in due course of time. Therefore, the systematic activities of the time factor are perpetual and eternal and cannot be stated to be false. The manifestation is temporary and occasional, but it is not false as claimed by the Mayavadi philosophers.

This unmanifested world is the self-same Personality of Godhead

Srimad Bhagavatam    Divisions of the Creation   TEXT 12

                                   TEXT

                   visvam vai brahma-tan-matram
                     samsthitam visnu-mayaya
                      isvarena paricchinnam
                       kalenavyakta-murtina

                              SYNONYMS

   visvam--the material phenomenon; vai--certainly; brahma--the Supreme; tat-matram--the same as; samsthitam--situated; visnu-mayaya--by the energy of Visnu; isvarena--by the Personality of Godhead; paricchinnam--separated; kalena--by the eternal time; avyakta--unmanifested; murtina--by such a feature.

                           TRANSLATION

   This cosmic manifestation is separated from the Supreme Lord as material energy by means of kala, which is the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord. It is situated as the objective manifestation of the Lord under the influence of the same material energy of Visnu.

                             PURPORT

   As stated previously by Narada before Vyasadeva (Bhag. 1.5.20), idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetarah: this unmanifested world is the self-same Personality of Godhead, but it appears to be something else beyond or besides the Lord. It appears so because of its being separated from the Lord by means of kala(time). It is something like the tape-recorded voice of a person who is now separated from the voice. As the tape recording is situated on the tape, so the whole cosmic manifestation is situated on the material energy and appears separate by means of kala. The material manifestation is therefore the objective manifestation of the Supreme Lord and exhibits His impersonal feature so much adored by impersonalist philosophers.

Time is considered the impersonal feature of the Lord

  Srimad Bhagavatam     Divisions of the Creation      TEXT 11

                                  TEXT

                          maitreya uvaca
                        guna-vyatikarakaro
                     nirviseso 'pratisthitah
                       purusas tad-upadanam
                       atmanam lilayasrjat

                             SYNONYMS

   maitreyah uvaca--Maitreya said; guna-vyatikara--of the interactions of the modes of material nature; akarah--source; nirvisesah--without diversity; apratisthitah--unlimited; purusah--of the Supreme Person; tat--that; upadanam--instrument; atmanam--the material creation; lilaya--by pastimes; asrjat--created.

                           TRANSLATION

   Maitreya said: Eternal time is the primeval source of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. It is unchangeable and limitless, and it works as the instrument of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His pastimes in the material creation.

                             PURPORT

   The impersonal time factor is the background of the material manifestation as the instrument of the Supreme Lord. It is the ingredient of assistance offered to material nature. No one knows where time began and where it ends, and it is time only which can keep a record of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material manifestation. This time factor is the material cause of creation and is therefore a self expansion of the Personality of Godhead. Time is considered the impersonal feature of the Lord.
   The time factor is also explained by modern men in various ways. Some accept it almost as it is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. For example, in Hebrew literature time is accepted, in the same spirit, as a representation of God. It is stated therein: "God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets...." Metaphysically, time is distinguished as absolute and real. Absolute time is continuous and is unaffected by the speed or slowness of material things. Time is astronomically and mathematically calculated in relation to the speed, change and life of a particular object. Factually, however, time has nothing to do with the relativities of things; rather, everything is shaped and calculated in terms of the facility offered by time. Time is the basic measurement of the activity of our senses, by which we calculate past, present and future; but in factual calculation, time has no beginning and no end. Canakya Pandita says that even a slight fraction of time cannot be purchased with millions of dollars, and therefore even a moment of time lost without profit must be calculated as the greatest loss in life. Time is not subject to any form of psychology, nor are the moments objective realities in themselves, but they are dependent on particular experiences.
   Therefore, Srila Jiva Gosvami concludes that the time factor is intermixed with the activities--actions and reactions--of the external energy of the Lord. The external energy, or material nature, works under the superintendence of the time factor as the Lord Himself, and that is why material nature appears to have produced so many wonderful things in the cosmic manifestation. Bhagavad-gita (9.10) confirms this conclusion as follows:

                      mayadhyaksena prakrtih
                       suyate sa-caracaram
                       hetunanena kaunteya
                       jagad viparivartate

The controlling time has different dimensions in relation to particular physical embodiments

SB 3.10.10 P         Divisions of the Creation                             TEXT 10

                               TEXT

                           vidura uvaca
                      yathattha bahu-rupasya
                      harer adbhuta-karmanah
                    kalakhyam laksanam brahman
                     yatha varnaya nah prabho

                             SYNONYMS

   vidurah uvaca--Vidura said; yatha--as; attha--you have said; bahu-rupasya--having varieties of forms; hareh--of the Lord; adbhuta--wonderful; karmanah--of the actor; kala--time; akhyam--of the name; laksanam--symptoms; brahman--O learned brahmana; yatha--as it is; varnaya--please describe; nah--unto us; prabho--O lord.

                           TRANSLATION

   Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O my lord, O greatly learned sage, kindly describe eternal time, which is another form of the Supreme Lord, the wonderful actor. What are the symptoms of that eternal time? Please describe them to us in detail.

                             PURPORT

   The complete universe is a manifestation of varieties of entities, beginning from the atoms up to the gigantic universe itself, and all is under the control of the Supreme Lord in His form of kala, or eternal time. The controlling time has different dimensions in relation to particular physical embodiments. There is a time for atomic dissolution and a time for the universal dissolution. There is a time for the annihilation of the body of the human being, and there is a time for the annihilation of the universal body. Also, growth, development and resultant actions all depend on the time factor. Vidura wanted to know in detail the different physical manifestations and their times of annihilation.

This matter is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Bg 9.8 P          The Most Confidential Knowledge
                              TEXT 8

                               TEXT

                     prakrtim svam avastabhya
                       visrjami punah punah
                    bhuta-gramam imam krtsnam
                      avasam prakrter vasat

                             SYNONYMS

   prakrtim--material nature; svam--of My personal Self; avastabhya--enter in; visrjami--create; punah punah--again, again; bhuta-gramam--all these cosmic manifestations; imam--this; krtsnam--total; avasam--automatically; prakrteh--by the force of nature; vasat--under obligation.

                           TRANSLATION

   The whole cosmic order is under Me. By My will it is manifested again and again, and by My will it is annihilated at the end.

                             PURPORT

   This matter is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This has already been explained several times. At the creation, the material energy is let loose as the mahat-tattva, into which the Lord as His first Purusa incarnation, Maha-Visnu, enters. He lies within the Causal Ocean and breathes out innumerable universes, and into each universe the Lord again enters as Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Each universe is in that way created. He still further manifests Himself as Ksirodakasayi Visnu, and that Visnu enters into everything--even into the minute atom. This fact is explained here. He enters into everything.
   Now, as far as the living entities are concerned, they are impregnated into this material nature, and as a result of their past deeds they take different positions. Thus the activities of this material world begin. The activities of the different species of living beings are begun from the very moment of the creation. It is not that all is evolved. The different species of life are created immediately along with the universe. Men, animals, beasts, birds--everything is simultaneously created, because whatever desires the living entities had at the last annihilation are again manifested. It is clearly stated here that the living entities have nothing to do with this process. The state of being in their past life in the past creation is simply manifested again, and all this is done simply by His will. This is the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of God. And after creating different species of life, He has no connection with them. The creation takes place to accommodate the inclinations of the various living entities, and so the Lord does not become involved with it.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead exerts His different energies in the creation; it is not that He Himself is transformed into material creations

SB 2.5.33 P           The Cause of All Causes
                             TEXT 33

                               TEXT

                     tada samhatya canyonyam
                     bhagavac-chakti-coditah
                       sad-asattvam upadaya
                     cobhayam sasrjur hy adah

                             SYNONYMS

   tada--all those; samhatya--being assembled; ca--also; anyonyam--one another; bhagavat--by the Personality of Godhead; sakti--energy; coditah--being applied; sat-asattvam--primarily and secondarily; upadaya--accepting; ca--also; ubhayam--both; sasrjuh--came into existence; hi--certainly; adah--this universe.

                           TRANSLATION

   Thus when all these became assembled by force of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this universe certainly came into being by accepting both the primary and secondary causes of creation.

                             PURPORT

   In this verse it is clearly mentioned that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exerts His different energies in the creation; it is not that He Himself is transformed into material creations. He expands Himself by His different energies, as well as by His plenary portions. In a corner of the spiritual sky of brahmajyoti a spiritual cloud sometimes appears, and the covered portion is called the mahat-tattva. The Lord then, by His plenary portion as Maha-Visnu, lies down within the water of the mahat-tattva, and the water is called the Causal Ocean (Karana-jala). While Maha-Visnu sleeps within the Causal Ocean, innumerable universes are generated along with His breathing. These universes are floating, and they are scattered all over the Causal Ocean. They stay only during the breathing period of Maha-Visnu. In each and every universal globe, the same Maha-Visnu enters again as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and lies there on the serpentlike Sesa incarnation. From His navel sprouts a lotus stem, and on the lotus, Brahma, the lord of the universe, is born. Brahma creates all forms of living beings of different shapes in terms of different desires within the universe. He also creates the sun, moon and other demigods.
    Therefore the chief engineer of the material creation is the Lord Himself, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (9.10). It is He only who directs the material nature to produce all sorts of moving and nonmoving creations.
   There are two modes of material creation: the creation of the collective universes, as stated above, done by the Maha-Visnu, and the creation of the single universe. Both are done by the Lord, and thus the universal shape, as we can see, takes place.