Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.4 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 25 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 4.
ŚB 11.11.4
ekasyaiva mamāṁśasya
jīvasyaiva mahā-mate
bandho ’syāvidyayānādir
vidyayā ca tathetaraḥ
Synonyms
ekasya — of the one; eva — certainly; mama — My; aṁśasya — part and parcel; jīvasya — of the living entity; eva — certainly; mahā-mate — O most intelligent one; bandhaḥ — bondage; asya — of him; avidyayā — by ignorance; anādiḥ — beginningless; vidyayā — by knowledge; ca — and; tathā — similarly; itaraḥ — the opposite of bondage, liberation.
Translation
O most intelligent Uddhava, the living entity, called jīva, is part and parcel of Me, but due to ignorance he has been suffering in material bondage since time immemorial. By knowledge, however, he can be liberated.
Purport
Just as the sun reveals itself through its own light or covers itself by creating clouds, the Personality of Godhead reveals and covers Himself by knowledge and ignorance, which are expansions of His potency. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5):
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
“Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, consisting of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Śrīla Prabhupāda states in connection with this verse: “The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only controller, and all living entities are controlled by Him. These living entities are His superior energy because the quality of their existence is one and the same with the Supreme, but they are never equal to the Lord in quantity of power.”
Because of quantitative inferiority of potency, the living entity becomes covered by māyā and is again liberated by surrendering to the Lord. The word aṁśa, or “part and parcel,” is also mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. The living entity is aṁśa, or a minute particle, and therefore subject to liberation and bondage. As stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā
kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā
avidyā-karma-saṁjñānyā
tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, possesses His superior internal potency as well as the potency called kṣetrajñā śakti. This kṣetrajñā śakti is also spiritual potency, but it is sometimes covered by the third, or material, potency called ignorance. Thus because of the various stages of covering, the second, or marginal, potency is manifested in different evolutionary phases.”
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written that the living entity has been executing fruitive activities since time immemorial. Thus his conditioned life may be called beginningless. Such conditioned life, however, is not endless, since the living entity may achieve liberation through the loving devotional service of the Lord. Since the living entity may acquire liberation, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that his liberated life begins at a certain point but is endless, because liberated life is understood to be eternal. In any case, one who has achieved the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, may be understood to be eternally liberated, since such a person has entered into the eternal atmosphere of the spiritual sky. Since there is no material time in the spiritual sky, one who has achieved his eternal spiritual body on Lord Kṛṣṇa’s planet is not subject to the influence of time. His eternal blissful life with Kṛṣṇa is not designated in terms of material past, present and future and is therefore called eternal liberation. Material time is conspicuous by its absence in the spiritual sky, and every living entity there is eternally liberated, having attained the supreme situation. Such liberation can be achieved by vidyā, or perfect knowledge, which is understood in three phases called Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The ultimate phase of vidyā, or knowledge, is to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā such knowledge is called rāja-vidyā, or the king of all knowledge, and it awards the supreme liberation.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
This verse speaks of the jiva, called the amsa of the Lord. So, of course, jiva literally means life. And amsa means a part. So, a part of course, usually means, we have a substance and we cut it into pieces. In this case, there is no cutting because we cannot cut the Lord and the jiva is eternally an amsa, part. However, one meaning of this word amsa or at least implication is that, the amsa is related to some bigger entity. So we know that Supreme Lord is everything. Everything is in the Lord. So therefore, all the jivas are part of the Lord. And as being part of the Lord, therefore they have some relationship or similarity. However, to make things a little clearer, we differentiate the different types of amsa. So that is why, we label the energies of the Lord as cit shakti, tatastha shakti and acit shakti. So shaktis like amsa mean they are intimately related with the Lord but also different. So some parts are very intimately related with the Lord, some parts are very distantly related with the Lord. So the internal energy or the antaranga shakti is very intimately related with the Lord. The external energy or the bahiranga shakti is very distant in its relationship. So therefore, we use these two words internal and external or antaranga and bahiranga.
And then between these two extremes, the internal and external, we have the middle, that is the tatastha shakti. So it is not so intimate as the internal energy and it is not so different like the external. So this is the jiva. So he is kind of, like the Lord because he is conscious. Unlike the Lord, he can fall to ignorance. Covered by material energy. At the same time, that same jiva can be covered by the internal energy. And for that reason, it is called tatastha or borderline. So unlike matter, the jiva has a possibility of intimately relating with the Lord. But as stated in this verse, due to ignorance, he is quite separate from the Lord. However, by knowledge or bhakti, then he can get rid of this material condition and meet the Lord. So the Lord supplies ample means by which the jiva in the material world can attain the Lord. But in all cases, that jiva maintains his nature as a jiva and doesn’t change.
So this tatastha shakti never becomes bahiranga shakti nor does it become antaranga shakti or internal energy. Always remains tatastha. So if the jiva is in the material world, then, that covering of ignorance is called anadi with no beginning. We cannot trace out our first birth in the material world. Previous to this creation was another creation, before that was another creation, before that was another creation, before that was another creation. So the manifestation of material universes continues in the past and into the future with no beginning and the jivas are in that universe with material body. So the ignorance is without beginning and the karma is without beginning.
So some people may argue that because it has no beginning, therefore, it can have no end. However that’s not completely logical. And of course, the Lord can always make exception. So karma and avidya has no beginning but can have an end. And it is up to the jiva, it is the choice of the jiva. So the jiva never loses his nature of a jiva to choose. And if the jiva chooses spiritual world and he goes to the spiritual world, then as explained in the purport, that also is anadi. But this state in the spiritual world is a little different. Once the jiva goes to the spiritual world, he does not come to the material world. If the jiva is in material world, he can go to the spiritual world. But once the jiva goes to the spiritual world, he remains there permanently in the future. So the, let’s say, the endless nature of the jiva’s existence in material world is quite different from the endless nature in spiritual world. Some of the jivas can end the material existence. But if you go to the spiritual world, there is no end to that existence. However, the jiva in the material world has this anadi, no beginning to his material existence. However, the jiva, when he leaves the material world and goes to the spiritual world, then he really has a beginning to his spiritual existence, or adi. It’s not anadi. That is from our perspective in this world. However, from the spiritual perception, in the spiritual world, there is no past. So therefore, once you are in the spiritual world, you are there with no beginning and no end.
So, in any case, here we have a description of the jiva in the material world. And though his position of bondage looks hopeless because of no beginning, still, here the promise is, you can get liberated. The one type of knowledge gives us impersonal liberation. The other type of knowledge will give us prema. So though they are both called knowledge, they are quite different. Knowledge which gives liberation, that emanates from sattva guna. The knowledge in bhakti is part of the spiritual world. So it is quite different from that other knowledge. And because of the difference, the results are also very different.
So, what is the use of learning all of these technical details? So one reason of course, is that, if we don’t have a clear idea of our identity and our goal, it is very difficult to achieve. And, historically speaking, within India, there have been many other proposals about what is a jiva and what is the goal of life. And we may be bewildered by all of these different theories. And consequently, we won’t get to the right goal. So, therefore, we do have to have a clear idea of things according to scripture. And even if we have scripture, then we have to get the right meaning of scripture. So, previously I said, the jiva has no bondage and no liberation. Here it talks about the bondage and the liberation. So, we have to get a clear understanding of even what the Bhagavatam is, what to speak of other scriptures. Otherwise, we cannot determine what the real goal is. So, with that in mind, Krishna Himself here is teaching Uddhava.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj, jiva is eternal, but how to understand that there is a beginning of it in the spiritual world because the jiva is eternal?
For the jiva that gets, does bhakti and gets prema and goes from the material world to the spiritual world, he has a beginning in the spiritual world. So, at a certain point, he leaves material world and goes to the spiritual world. So in that sense, there is a beginning to his spiritual existence. But that, of course, is from our perception in this world.
2.) Maharaj, it’s mentioned in the purport that there is no influence of time in the spiritual sky. We see in Bhagavatam that in Gokul, which is a replica of spiritual Goloka, Krishna goes to pasturing ground in the morning and returns in the evening. Does it mean that such pastimes are not available in Goloka as there is no morning and evening in the absence of time? Kindly explain.
There is no material time. If we look at kala in the material world, it is part of bahiranga shakti. And it’s due to that time that prakriti gets agitated and then the jivas take birth and death in the material world. So that time does not exist in the spiritual world. Yeah, Krishna performs activities and activity means that it takes place over a series of moments. So to perform any pastime in spiritual world, then, there has to be some sort of time. If there are no pastimes, then the Lord can do nothing. He is immobile and everybody else is immobile. So they cannot have rasa. So there is some time in the sense that, there are activities that take place with different moments involved. But there is none of the destructive aspects as we see in the material world.
3.) Is it also proper to understand that the kala is devouring one’s life in the material world where there is no such devourment or such things in the spiritual world?
Well, time in the material world ultimately brings destruction. And it is due to time that we create destruction of material worlds and material bodies. So that aspect of time is absent in the spiritual world.
4.) Do the nitya siddhas belong to the cit shakti or the tatastha shakti?
No, jiva is defined as either nitya siddhas or baddha. So nitya siddhas are also tatastha.
5.) Maharaj, is our contamination also meaningless or were we pure in consciousness at some point of time?
Well, we have the word anadi bahirmukha and here the word anadi avidya is used. So if we interpret it as just a long time had a beginning, then we know that the jiva was in the spiritual world. If he was in the spiritual world then he must have had the cit shakti with him. So how could he fall? The Lord guarantees the devotee doesn’t fall from the spiritual world.
6.) Hare Krishna Maharaj, to get liberated there are other factors like Lord’s mercy, taking shelter of Guru in addition to jiva’s getting the right knowledge. What are the chances of a jiva getting all these things within the short lifetime that the jiva has?
When we speak of knowledge in relation to bhakti, then, that is actually non-different from bhakti itself. So bhakti includes so many items like mercy and association of devotees etc. Knowledge because through that bhakti then we can realize the Lord, that’s the ultimate knowledge. And it may be quick or it may be slow. That depends on our endeavour and also on the mercy of the Lord. It may take one lifetime or it may take many lifetimes. However the devotee is not too concerned about that. The devotee is only trying to sincerely serve the Lord.
7.) There are unlimited conditioned souls in the material world. Do we have any details about how many such conditioned souls return to the spiritual world in one yuga?
I have not seen anything written about that.
8.) The Goswamis mention about many pastimes of the Lord in their literature. How do they get information about them? Is it through revelation or is it through reference to other granthas?
So it is both. One can get through realization and also from previous devotees.
9.) Maharaj, if I remember right, Bhakti Vinoda Thakur mentions in Jaiva Dharma that jivas are in the junction of the material and spiritual world. Then some jivas choose to go to the spiritual world and some to the material world. But since material time is not operating, that moment is called beginningless or anadi. Kindly clarify.
That seems to be we can say, an analogy. A way of using an example which involves place and time to explain the idea of anadi bahirmukha. But we should not necessarily take that as, at one time the jiva was not in the material world or in the spiritual world. It is kind of in between.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura premanande Hari Haribol!!!