Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.3 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 24 April 2021
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
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
jaya 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 11 Verse 3.
ŚB 11.11.3
vidyāvidye mama tanū
viddhy uddhava śarīriṇām
mokṣa-bandha-karī ādye
māyayā me vinirmite
Synonyms
vidyā — knowledge; avidye — and ignorance; mama — My; tanū — manifested energies; viddhi — please understand; uddhava — O Uddhava; śarīriṇām — of the embodied living entities; mokṣa — liberation; bandha — bondage; karī — causing; ādye — original, eternal; māyayā — by the potency; me — My; vinirmite — produced.
Translation
O Uddhava, both knowledge and ignorance, being products of māyā, are expansions of My potency. Both knowledge and ignorance are beginningless and perpetually award liberation and bondage to embodied living beings.
Purport
By the expansion of vidyā, or knowledge, a conditioned soul is liberated from the clutches of māyā, and similarly, by the expansion of avidyā, or ignorance, the conditioned soul is driven further into illusion and bondage. Both knowledge and ignorance are products of the mighty potency of the Personality of Godhead. The living being is bound by illusion when he considers himself the proprietor of the subtle and gross material bodies. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī the living entity may be designated as jīva-māyā, whereas matter is called guṇa-māyā. The living entity places his living potency (jīva-māyā) in the grip of the mundane qualitative potency (guṇa-māyā) and falsely dreams that he is part and parcel of the material world. Such an artificial mixture is called illusion or ignorance. When all of the Lord’s potencies are correctly perceived in their proper categories, the living entity is liberated from material bondage and returns to his blissful eternal residence in the spiritual sky.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not different from His potencies, yet He is always above them as the supreme controller. The Supreme Personality of Godhead may be designated as mukta, or liberated, only to indicate that He is eternally free from material contamination and never to indicate that the Lord has been freed from actual entanglement in a material situation. According to Śrīla Madhvācārya, vidyā indicates the goddess of fortune, the internal potency of the Lord, whereas avidyā indicates Durgā, the external potency of the Lord. Ultimately, however, the Personality of Godhead can transform His potencies according to His own desire, as explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.34), “Because the Lord is the absolute Transcendence, all of His forms, names, pastimes, attributes, associates and energies are identical with Him. His transcendental energy acts according to His omnipotency. The same energy acts as His external, internal and marginal energies, and by His omnipotency He can perform anything and everything through the agency of any of the above energies. He can turn the external energy into internal by His will.”
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī notes in this regard that although the Lord has explained in the first verse of this chapter that the living entity is never actually in bondage, and therefore never actually liberated, one may apply the terms bondage and liberation if one remembers that the living entity is eternally a transcendental fragment of the Personality of Godhead. Further, one should not misinterpret the words māyayā me vinirmite to indicate that both material bondage and liberation are temporary states, being creations of the potency of the Lord. Therefore, the term ādye, or “primeval and eternal,” is used in this verse. The vidyā and avidyā potencies of the Lord are stated to be creations of māyā because they carry out the functions of the Lord’s potencies. The vidyā potency engages the living entities in the Lord’s pastimes, whereas the avidyā potency engages the living entities in forgetting the Lord and merging into darkness. Actually, both knowledge and ignorance are eternal alternatives of the marginal potency of the Lord, and in this sense it is not incorrect to state that the living entity is either eternally conditioned or eternally liberated. The term vinirmite, or “produced,” in this case indicates that the Lord expands His own energy as knowledge and ignorance, which display the functions of the Lord’s internal and external potencies. Such potential exhibitions may appear and disappear in different times, places and circumstances, but material bondage and spiritual freedom are eternal options of the marginal potency of the Lord.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So here we have a discussion of the functions of the maya shakti of the Lord. We have this pair of shakti here called vidya and avidya. So these are well known in the scriptures. Here their function is described. Vidya produces liberation, avidya produces bondage. So in one sense, they are eternal because prakriti itself is eternal, and time is eternal and jiva is eternal, Lord is eternal, etc. But yet they are said to be created.
So this maya potency here spoken of is the, what we call the external potency or bahiranga shakti of Lord. We know of course, that maya produces ignorance. But how can the same maya produce knowledge? However, this is what the scripture states that, external energy produces vidya and avidya, knowledge and ignorance. If we see other portions of the Bhagavatam then we’ll understand that though this vidya produces liberation, this vidya does not produce prema. However, it can liberate you from the ignorance of this material world.
So the avidya of course, we are familiar with. Avidya means ignorance. This means the jiva does not understand who he is. He does not understand the Supreme Lord. And he does not understand the nature of the material world. Consequently, he is also in ignorance of his goal. So this creates bondage for the jiva. As we see in this verse, that ignorance is a product of maya. The jiva can be influenced by that avidya part of maya. So the jiva can be influenced by that avidya part of maya. It produces bondage in the material world. The same maya also produces vidya. Opposite. So this may be a little difficult for us to understand.
We know that maya produces ignorance, bondage. But how can it also give vidya and liberation? So we can see that maya is not completely cruel. It does not only produce our bondage, it can also create our liberation. But how is this possible? So it’s explained that this vidya manifests in sattva guna. If we look at the qualities of sattva guna mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, there we will find that one of tyhe qualities is prakasha. Prakasha literally means revelation or light, etc. Tamoguna means darkness. So within maya, we have the ignorance factor and darkness, etc, which is represented by tamo guna. But we also have the knowledge factor, vidya, in sattva guna.
If we look at the creation of the material world of Maha Vishnu, we see that after Maha Vishnu glances, then prakriti begins to transform. The first transformation is mahat-tattva. So when mahat-tattva manifests prakriti, it previously does not manifest any particular guna, it manifests sattva guna. And it’s described that this mahat-tattva is like a big glowing egg. So, it has light, it has knowledge, but it is sattvic knowledge. However, this knowledge can destroy the ignorance.
Vidya and avidya are opposites. So, if we’re under avidya, we’re in ignorance. If we get rid of the ignorance by knowledge, then there’s no more ignorance. If we have no more ignorance and we have knowledge, then there’s no more bondage. So, this vidya can produce liberation. It can remove the ignorance. So, in this way, within the material world, we have a mechanism by which we can get out of the material world.
We describe the material world as a prison house. And it is very difficult to get out of the prison. But, you can get out, there is some method of getting out, sattva guna.
So it’s like the, the prison house we have various levels, tamo guna, then rajo guna and at the top we have sattva guna. If we get to the top floor, there is a door, and you can get out. So, the prison house itself supplies the door by which you can get out. So you can get free of the prison house of maya. However, this does not guarantee that you go to the spiritual world and get a spiritual body. It merely means that you are out of the prison house. Though it is knowledge, it is not complete.
The knowledge in sattva guna can give you knowledge of the jiva and knowledge of matter. But it does not give you knowledge of the Supreme Lord or the process of bhakti. And thus, we can say it’s not complete knowledge. But, it’s enough to get you out of the prison house, to give you liberation. So, we can compare this to getting out of prison. Once you get out of prison, what do you do? So if you have knowledge, then you understand that you can do activities and you can have relationships etc. But if you don’t have that knowledge, then it is very difficult to advance beyond that.
So, vidya is better than avidya, but it’s not the highest state of knowledge. And therefore, bondage and liberation are both not considered very significant for the person who is a devotee. So, the complete knowledge means knowledge of the Supreme Lord. So, though the knowledge is a little restricted, it is not open for everybody because you have to be qualified with bhakti. Nevertheless, the knowledge is there in the scripture.
Lord Caitanya explains that, we have the purusharthas, artha, dharma, kama and moksha. So, artha, dharma and kama do not give you liberation, like there you are still in bondage, it’s part of avidya. But if you have jnana, then you can get liberation. But as He says, besides these four purusharthas or goals, there is a fifth goal, prema. So, we have artha, dharma, kama, moksha and prema. So, this shows that bhakti and prema are very distinct from moksha. Sometime, in the scripture and among the Vaishnavas, we also speak of moksha as including prema. So we say that this particular devotee got moksha and he went to the spiritual world. However, the moksha spoken of here, is, not to that extent, it is only out of the material world, not spiritual world.
So, though this external energy, maya, supplies vidya by which we can get liberation, but this external energy itself is not complete. And the jiva shakti also is not complete. And therefore, the jiva can fall into ignorance. The internal shakti, cit shakti or swarupa shakti of the Lord is intimately related with the Lord. So, this is the perfect. And if a portion of this cit shakti combines with the jiva, then the jiva is qualified for the spiritual world. And how do we get that portion of the chit shakti? We have to perform bhakti. By performing bhakti, then that chit shakti manifests in the jiva.
So, the process of bhakti is quite unlike the method of jnana, which gives liberation. Jnana itself is in sattva guna in the material world. Bhakti is part of the cit shakti of the Lord, completely different from that. So therefore, the results are quite different. So in this way, bhakti is very distinct from other spiritual processes. So it is this bhakti that leads a person to prema. Or we can say that prema means that the jiva has the cit-shakti fully functioning as part of himself. When the jiva has this nature, then he can very easily associate and communicate with the Lord, serve the Lord. Okay.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) So the knowledge of the bhakti is different from the other knowledge Maharaj? The knowledge of bhakti is totally different. It is not part of the sattva guna knowledge?
Yeah. That knowledge in bhakti is part of bhakti itself, it is spiritual, cit shakti.
2.) Maharaj, there is one mystery. Due to ignorance one comes into maya or due to maya one comes into ignorance is a bit difficult to understand.
Well, actually ignorance and maya are the same thing [Laughs] in one sense except that [Laughs] under maya you can also get [Not clear]. So in general maya means ignorance. So it’s not that one causes the other, they are equal, they are the same thing.
3.) Hare Krishna, it is mentioned in the purport of Brahma Samhita that ten tridents are kept in ten directions of Goloka to prevent anybody trying to enter Goloka by meditation or jnana. Does it mean a jiva can attempt to enter the spiritual world without attaining prema?
Generally the jivas outside the spiritual world, of course, we have the ones in the material world, they don’t even understand there is a spiritual world. And those in Brahman don’t distinguish themselves from anything else, so they don’t attempt to do anything or go anywhere. So we can see that itself is protection [Laughs] for the Vaikuntha.
4.) Maharaj, the knowledge that the bhaktas have, is that knowledge called maya?
Well, it’s definitely not the maya of the external energy. Sometimes maya can also refer to yogamaya or internal energy. And it also means mercy. So if the Lord spreads His maya, it means He spreads His mercy. So bhakti is part of that mercy.
5.) Maharaj, do all the shaktis of the Lord such as cit shakti have a personified form?
Well, the Lord can do anything He wants and when He wants as well. So some aspects of that internal energy are personified like hladini shakti and samvit shakti. So in some cases, the shaktis of the Lord, internal shaktis of the Lord are personified and sometimes they act invisibly.
6.) Maharaj, you mentioned that vidya gives impersonal liberation. Is it impersonal liberation? If so can the jiva fall down from that state? Kindly clarify.
In the Upanishads it is stated, if you gain that liberation then you don’t fall. However our Acharyas also quote from different verses and also Bhagavatam that, one who is in a liberated state as a jivan-mukta with a material body, he can fall from that state.
7.) Maharaj, request you to explain what is sanishta, parinishta and nirapeksha devotees.
These are terms used by Baladeva Vidyabhushan. So the sanishta is a devotee but he is very attached to the varnashram system. So his destination is generally upper planetary system. His destination is swarga loka. Which means his devotion is not pure. The parinishta devotee is one who practices pure devotion. He continues to also carry out the actions of varnashram. Nirapeksha is one practicing pure devotion but he does not practice at all.
8.) Maharaj, when does maya show its avidya function on jiva and when does she give vidya?
So as I said, vidya manifests in sattva guna. At that point, one develops faith in scriptures and one consults the jnana kanda scripture. He associates with jnanis and yogis.
9.) Maharaj, material is also Lord’s energy and soul is marginal energy potency. Then why that, we have conditioned aspect and covered in ignorance? Kindly explain and why we are not able to overcome the dualities of material nature?
Well, the nature of tatastha shakti means border. So the jiva can have knowledge or it can have ignorance or it can have prema. That’s just his nature. So of course, we can ask, why does he have that nature? So the only answer to that is, that’s what [Laughs] that’s what the Lord’s shaktis are, Lord’s will.
10.) As you said maya and jiva shaktis are not perfect shaktis of the Lord compared to the cit shakti. How to understand the energies of the Lord or the products of the Lord are imperfect?
From one point of view, everything is perfect. And that is why it was said, in the beginning of this chapter that, bondage and liberation really don’t exist. However, from our relative position in the material world, because we are suffering and identifying with the body, then we prefer one situation over the other and therefore we say nothing is perfect. However, within this maya, which looks imperfect to us because we have tamo guna and ignorance and suffering etc, we have an arrangement by which the jiva can reach the highest bliss. Then the Lord provides a method by which the jiva can achieve the highest perfection. And for those who don’t want to surrender to the Lord, then Lord makes arrangement according to their karma. That is also a perfect arrangement. Everyone gets what they deserve.
11.) Maharaj, do devotees pray to maya shakti for progress in bhakti?
Well, the main object of our prayers or subject of our prayers or whatever is Supreme Lord and the devotees. And Durga Devi is in charge of maya, so you can pray to her. However, the devotees of the Lord, when they pray to the Lord, they are not praying for material happiness or for liberation. The devotees of Krishna don’t even pray for Vaikuntha. So we have Uddhava or Brahma praying to be born in Vrindavan. So that type of blessing cannot be awarded by any devata or whatever is material. So we can only take shelter of Krishna and His devotees.
12.) Maharaj, if we go back to the spiritual world with this jiva shakti, then the danger is we can fall down again.
I have already answered that previously, also in this class. Do you know the answer?
Devotee: Once the jiva goes to the spiritual world, he cannot come back, Krishna gives that promise Guru Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, promise is there but the jiva is endowed with the cit shakti. So he’s special. It’s not like the jiva in the material world.
13.) What is the subtle difference between Bhakta Rupa, Bhakta Swarupa, Bhakta Avatara and Bhakta Shakti?
Well, these refer to Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is the Bhakta Rupa, the Lord as His devotee, and Swarupa means the first expansion that means Balarama or Nityananda. And Bhakta Avatara means the purusha avatara, so that is, appearing as a devotee. So that’s Advaita Acharya. And of course, Srivasa Pandit is the devotee of the Lord, not even Supreme Lord, he is a jiva, shaktyavesa jiva. And Gadadhara is the shakti of the Lord, that is Radha who appears.
14.) Maharaj, if maya is also a devotee, why is she not able to give prema?
Of course, we can say in one sense she could. But she has a particular function to perform. And rather we apply to those devotees in the spiritual world for going there. As I said, the devotees if they want to go to Goloka, they can’t pray to Durga Devi, they have to apply to somebody in Goloka.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!