Srimad Bhagavatam – 11.10.31 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | April 13, 2021
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 10 Verse 31.
ŚB 11.10.31
guṇāḥ sṛjanti karmāṇi
guṇo ’nusṛjate guṇān
jīvas tu guṇa-saṁyukto
bhuṅkte karma-phalāny asau
Synonyms
guṇāḥ — the material senses; sṛjanti — create; karmāṇi — pious and impious material activities; guṇaḥ — the three modes of nature; anusṛjate — set into motion; guṇān — the material senses; jīvaḥ — the minute living entity; tu — indeed; guṇa — the material senses or the material modes of nature; saṁyuktaḥ — fully engaged in; bhuṅkte — experiences; karma — of activities; phalāni — the various results; asau — the spirit soul.
Translation
The material senses create material activities, either pious or sinful, and the modes of nature set the material senses into motion. The living entity, being fully engaged by the material senses and modes of nature, experiences the various results of fruitive work.
Purport
It has been explained in the previous verses that the living entity under the control of fruitive activities is pushed down into a hellish condition of life. In this verse the exact nature of the living entity’s dependence on fruitive activities is described. One can observe that one’s activities are performed by the material senses and that the living entity himself is merely conscious of such activities. One may be worshiping the demigods, enjoying sex or performing agricultural or intellectual activities, but in all cases the material senses are performing the work.
One may argue that the spirit soul initiates the activities of the senses and thus is the ultimate doer, but such false egotism is negated in this verse by the statement guṇāḥ sṛjanti karmāṇi guṇo ’nusṛjate guṇān. The three modes of nature — goodness, passion and ignorance — stimulate the functions of the material senses, and the living entity, coming under the control of a particular mode of nature, merely experiences the good and bad results of his work. This does not negate the concept of free will, since the living entity chooses to associate with different modes of nature. By one’s eating, speaking, sexual activities, occupation, etc., one associates with various modes of nature and acquires a particular mentality. But in all cases the modes of nature themselves are acting, not the living entity. The word asau in this verse indicates that the living entity falsely considers himself to be the performer of work carried out by nature. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27):
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” The conditioned soul can be liberated simply by giving up this false egoistic conception of life and taking to the devotional service of the Lord, by which the living entity, or marginal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, escapes the disturbing influence of the external potency called māyā. In the devotional service of the Lord the liberated entity realizes his actual form of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
It is natural to perform activities with a desire to achieve a good result. The best results, however, can be attained by one who engages in the devotional service of the Lord with a desire to be reinstated in his constitutional position as the Lord’s loving servant. In this way the tendency to exploit one’s own activities for a particular result can be purified; then the modes of nature and the material senses will no longer engage the living entity in illusion. The living entity is by nature blissful, and when his illusion ceases, all suffering comes to an end. The liberated soul is then fit to reside in Vaikuṇṭha, the kingdom of God.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, here we have little more detailed explanation of the nature in which the Jiva acts in this world. So, we have different factors here at work. So, of course here what is prominent in this explanation is the gunas. And in the purport, we have this quote from Bhagavad Gītā that everything is done by prakriti or the gunas. So, the gunas are responsible for manifesting the senses and making them act. Senses carry out different activities and then we get an experience of something enjoyable or something which causes suffering. Therefore, we saw previously that happiness and distress of living entity goes back to the gunas.
But if we take this as an absolute statement, then who is responsible for the activity? – the gunas. Then why should the Jiva get the karma of suffering? The gunas should get the suffering, of course gunas can’t suffer, because they are not conscious. But we see that the Jiva gets the suffering. Therefore, the Jiva does have a role to play here. And though the emphasis here is upon the influence of the gunas over the living entities, we do, and therefore, the living entity is not really mentioned at all except experiencing suffering. Still, there is a responsibility of the Jiva.
So, of course, we read later in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says there’s five factors in action. So, these include the body, the senses, and the pranas. But then, the Jiva is also one of the factors. And the Supreme Lord is a factor. Yeah, so we cannot discount the role of the Jiva in all of this. So, of course, definitely the Jiva is influenced by the gunas. What is explained in the purport is, the free will of the Jiva is always there. So, therefore, the Jiva could choose to do a sinful activity or a pious activity.
We can argue, of course, that that choice also is influenced by the gunas. So, if we eat tamasic food, we’re likely to make tamasic choices and then commit sinful activity. If we live in a tamasic environment with tamasic people all around us, we’re likely to commit sinful activities. Oh, definitely the gunas are an influence. However, the Jiva can choose to associate with tamasic people or to associate with sattvic people or to associate with devotees. And then the influence of the gunas will change. So, there is some free will of the Jiva then.
However, we can also argue that if the Jiva is in tamo guna, he’s in ignorance. So, therefore, he will never choose properly. In one sense, that is true. However, when we say a Jiva is in tamo guna, it doesn’t mean 100% tamo guna. Certainly, the animals and plants are in more tamo guna. And there’s never a pure guna. So, the human being in tamo guna also has some sattva and some rajas. And he can also make choices beyond the gunas. That is by the mercy of devotees. So, definitely, if one is in tamo guna, there is less chance of good choices. But nevertheless, because he does have his free will, he still gets karma. But the sudra does not get as much the same karma for the same act as a brahmana. So, allowances are made in terms of karma also for the mode of the particular human being. So, the more we control the senses, then the higher we rise in the guna. Those in tamo guna have less control. And therefore, it is difficult for them to progress.
So, the Varnashram system provides a method by which people are obligated or forced to follow a certain rule. So, the sudra, by following the rules of the sudra, is able to progress. So, though the Varnashram system is defined in terms of the gunas of nature, it actually is a system to purify the Jiva from lower guna to higher guna. So, in other words, it provides an opportunity for the Jiva to take advantage of his free will more and more as he progresses through the gunas. So, the Jiva, therefore, is ultimately responsible for choosing which activities to do. So, these are choices within the gunas.
So, it looks very difficult to make choices beyond the gunas. And that is why bhakti is considered much rarer than other processes. So, nevertheless, the process of bhakti is such that though it is the highest process, it is available for people in all the gunas. So, that is because, bhakti is very, very powerful. So, bhakti emanates from the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the other factor in action of the five factors.
So, the Supreme Lord, through the process of bhakti, is able to inspire the Jiva to do the process of bhakti. The Lord’s role for the Jivas in the material world is neutral. He permits the Jiva to do his activities. And the good or bad results are the responsibility of the Jiva, not the Supreme Lord. However, with the devotee, the Lord acts differently. He is no longer neutral. He promises to save the devotee. So, this shows the greater power of bhakti. And therefore, the process of bhakti looks a little bit surprising and contrary. It looks like it gives results which are impossible. And that is because it is directly related to the Supreme Lord. So, through the process of bhakti, we can say of those five factors, the Lord becomes a prominent factor in the action. So, in the process of bhakti, the Lord acts as the inspiration for the Jiva.
So, when the Jiva with bhakti performs his activities of bhakti, then those activities are quite different. In this verse, we have the progress of gunas, senses, action, karma. In the process of bhakti, we have Supreme Lord, Jiva, bhakti, action, destruction of karma. So, it is quite a different process. So, therefore, the process of bhakti is the most efficient way of destroying karma.
So, when the Jiva is covered by the modes of material nature, he thinks he is doing everything. But actually, they are actions of the body influenced by the gunas. So, all of his activities are heavily influenced by the gunas. But the Jiva doesn’t think like that. He thinks, I am making all the decisions and I am getting the results. So, to defeat that false conception, statements like this verse, are made. The gunas and the senses and the body is doing everything. You are doing nothing.
However, from the devotional point of view, we understand that the atma is very important in action. And when the Jiva decides, he will do bhakti, then he is making the best choice. And this allows him to destroy the gunas. So, the choice to take to bhakti is not under the gunas at all. That is under the Jiva and Supreme Lord. So, the Jiva is stuck in the material world. If he wants to get out of this situation described in this verse, he should take to the process of bhakti.
Hare Krsna !
Q&A
1.) Thank you Maharaj. Maharaj, you said the Supreme Lord is no longer neutral to the devotees. But what is the level of that term ‘devotee’? Which level is he referring to?
He seems to operate at all levels. We see that Gajendra got mercy even though he wasn’t even doing pure bhakti and he was an elephant. And a person like Ajamila had no bhakti but no offense and therefore, he chanted the holy name and he got rescued by the Vishnu-dutas. So, therefore, even for accidental bhakti, the Lord responds.
But the higher one goes, the more response. So, for those practicing pure bhakti, they get a bigger response than those practicing mixed bhakti. And those who have prema get the highest result. So, the Lord comes under the control of the devotee.
2.) Maharaj, you also mentioned there is a choice beyond gunas happens by the mercy of devotees. I repeat, choice beyond gunas happens by the mercy of devotees. Of course, there should be an endeavour on the part of the living entity also to go beyond gunas Maharaj ?
So, we begin bhakti by faith. But how do we get faith? So, the Jiva develops faith because of the mercy of devotees in previous lifetimes. If he has no contact with bhakti in previous lifetimes, then he cannot develop the faith. Without that faith, he cannot even endeavour to do anything for bhakti.
3.) You also mentioned that gunas are not conscious, but it can cause so much suffering to a living entity which is conscious. How to understand that Maharaj, the power of gunas?
It is only because the Jiva associates and thinks he is a material body. The Jiva cannot be cut or burned or dried up or anything.. nothing can happen to the Jiva. But material bodies get the experiences of birth, death, old age, disease, sickness, etc. So, all of this is simply because of the Jiva identifying with his body.
4.) Maharaj, what if the Jivas misuse the free will given to it? If not, Lord is also responsible for the mistakes done by the Jivas in this material world as the Lord has given the minute independence?
Well, if we look at Bhagavad Gita, there the Lord says, I’m not responsible, you’re responsible. Just like in the country, people have free will and if they commit mistakes and they go to jail, you can’t blame the government, you have to blame yourself. Why don’t you give me the free will to do all these activities and let me out and not put me in jail in the first place.
Of course, we can ask the question, why does the Lord give free will at all to the Jiva? If the Jiva didn’t have free will, he wouldn’t be a Jiva. He would just be the expansion of the Supreme Lord [Laughs].
5.) Maharaj, you mentioned the nature of a living entity is Nithya Krishna das, so that’s the nature. But again, it is always acting as a master throughout its existence, Maharaj. Why is this controversy?
Because Jiva is ‘tatasta’, then that means he can be in ignorance. So, ignorance means he doesn’t recognize the Lord.
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, when we are executing some project on behalf of the devotees and if that activity involves a lot of interactions with karmic people. So, being the case in one side, it is an interaction with devotees, in the other side, it’s purely with the karmic world. In those cases, how do we see those initiatives or how do we see those actions from our side?
As devotees, unless one is very renounced, Babaji or something, then they necessarily have to interact.
So, that association should be such that, it does not influence. The influence will take place, if we engage in what is mentioned in the six activities mentioned in the Nectar of Instruction. So, when we interchange, we give and we receive, this will give rise to the influence. We give and receive food. We give and receive gifts. And we give and receive knowledge. So, when we start interchanging with the materialists on these levels, then we start getting influenced.
7.) Maharaj, sense gratification is condemned in bhakti. However in scriptures example King Yayati who gratified senses for a very long time, yet he attained the supreme state is it considered to be the special mercy of the Lord? There are many other similar examples in scriptures like King Pururava, etc.
In the dynasty of kings, we’ll see there are many examples of enjoyment, particularly for the Kshatriyas. And we see in the Manu Samhita and other smritis that the Kshatriyas do have a wider range of enjoyment than we think the devotees should have. Nevertheless, we take the Manu and his descendants as being devotees of sorts. So, some will be at higher levels than others.
We have the example of Ambarish who acted very, very ideally. And he was completely absorbed in all the activities of bhakti. Then we find other examples of kings, who got involved in fruitive sacrifices, the [not clear], etc. So, therefore we can say that these various kings had various levels of advancement.
8.) When you mention about King Ambarish, he did pure unalloyed devotion. But in a responsibility like an emperor, because he was engaged in pure devotion of the Lord, everything else that he was supposed to be accomplishing was automatically done by the Lord. This is the general understanding for any devotee who is aspiring to devotional service.
As a king, he never gave up his responsibility for ruling. But he assigned most of that activity to his ministers. And therefore, he could engage in devotional activities more.
9.) Maharaj, with regard to the free will give by the Lord, the question continues. However, should the Lord not be strict with the Jivas so that they would not commit sinful activities? Like we have the police, law department, etc. to regulate the people.
So, here is karma, Laws of karma ! And of course, we have the Varanasrama system with the king there to punish all the people who were sinful.
Devotee: Thank you Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay, Hare Krishna !
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatham Ki Jai!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki Jai!!! HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupad Ki Jai !!