Srimad Bhagavatam 2.6.22 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 2 October 2026
ŚB 2.6.22
यस्मादण्डं विराड् जज्ञे भूतेन्द्रियगुणात्मक: ।
तद् द्रव्यमत्यगाद् विश्वं गोभि: सूर्य इवातपन् ॥ २२ ॥
yasmād aṇḍaṁ virāḍ jajñe
bhūtendriya-guṇātmakaḥ
tad dravyam atyagād viśvaṁ
gobhiḥ sūrya ivātapan
Synonyms
yasmāt — from whom; aṇḍam — the universal globes; virāṭ — and the gigantic universal form; jajñe — appeared; bhūta — elements; indriya — senses; guṇa–ātmakaḥ — qualitative; tat dravyam — the universes and the universal form, etc.; atyagāt — surpassed; viśvam — all the universes; gobhiḥ — by the rays; sūryaḥ — the sun; iva — like; ātapan — distributed rays and heat.
Translation
From that Personality of Godhead, all the universal globes and the universal form with all material elements, qualities and senses are generated. Yet He is aloof from such material manifestations, like the sun, which is separate from its rays and heat.
Purport
The supreme truth has been ascertained in the previous verse as puruṣa or the puruṣottama, the Supreme Person. The Absolute Person is the īśvara, or the supreme controller, by His different energies. The ekapād-vibhūti manifestation of the material energy of the Lord is just like one of the many mistresses of the Lord, by whom the Lord is not so much attracted, as indicated in the language of the Gītā (bhinnā prakṛtiḥ). But the region of the tripād-vibhūti, being a pure spiritual manifestation of the energy of the Lord, is, so to speak, more attractive to Him. The Lord, therefore, generates the material manifestations by impregnating the material energy, and then, within the manifestation, He expands Himself as the gigantic form of the viśva-rūpa. The viśva-rūpa, as it was shown to Arjuna, is not the original form of the Lord. The original form of the Lord is the transcendental form of Puruṣottama, or Kṛṣṇa Himself. It is very nicely explained herein that He expands Himself just like the sun. The sun expands itself by its terrible heat and rays, yet the sun is always aloof from such rays and heat. The impersonalist takes into consideration the rays of the Lord without any information of the tangible, transcendental, eternal form of the Lord, known as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, in His supreme personal form, with two hands and flute, is bewildering for the impersonalists, who can accommodate only the gigantic viśva-rūpa of the Lord. They should know that the rays of the sun are secondary to the sun, and similarly the impersonal gigantic form of the Lord is also secondary to the personal form as Puruṣottama. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) confirms this statement as follows:
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis
tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, the one who enlivens the senses of everyone by His personal bodily rays, resides in His transcendental abode, called Goloka. Yet He is present in every nook and corner of His creation by expansion of happy spiritual rays, equal in power to His personal potency of bliss.” He is therefore simultaneously personal and impersonal by His inconceivable potency, or He is the one without a second, displaying complete unity in a diversity of material and spiritual manifestations. He is separate from everything, and still nothing is different from Him.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So this verse again is actually referring back to the Purusha Shukta. This verse expresses that the material universe arises from this Purusha, or the Supreme Lord. What is the material universe? So it is composed of material elements, senses, and gunas. All of these things are constituents of the universe, but they have no consciousness. So they cannot create anything with any conscious intent. So whatever manifests due to material nature itself is accidental, we can say. So rocks fall off a mountain and they form a little hill or something, that’s accidental. So rocks of a mountain making a castle or a house, that’s quite different. So then we have to conclude, oh, this house was made by a person, someone who was conscious. So, in this way, there should be some consciousness behind anything intelligent that is produced. So, of course, if it’s very simple things, it may be controversial, maybe it was an accident.
So they have controversies in archaeology. So some archaeologist picks up a stone and looks like just a regular old stone and says, no, this is actually made by a human being because we can see it’s chipped off on that side, chipped off on that side, so it looks like a spearhead. So, as he’s saying, behind this piece of rock was a person with intelligence who formed it into this particular form. But another archaeologist will say, no, that’s not like that. That was an accident of material nature itself. This rock fell off and another rock hit it and it formed into this shape [Laughs]. So, if the shapes are very primitive, then we can have arguments like that.So, if the rocks form a circle and then there’s another little bench inside that and there’s a roof and whatever, then we say, well, how could that be an accident [Laughs]? And therefore, more complex forms, we say, obviously, had to have some conscious intelligence behind it. So, this whole material world with all of its elements and senses and all these constituents forms in a certain way.
So, Scripture concludes, it’s all arranged by intelligence. Therefore, there must be intelligent Purusha behind it [Laughs]. So, Prabhupada gives the example, we have paint and we have canvas. So, if there’s just a few blobs of paint on the canvas, okay, accident, chance. But if the paint forms into recognizable objects like houses and people and rivers and clouds, then we can’t say it’s an accident anymore. Some artist painted it. So, using that as an example, then if we look at the material world, then if we see that there is order and complexity in it, then we have to say there is a person behind it.
Of course, for a long time in modern science, they’ve said, no, it was accidental. And from this, of course, we get the theory of evolution, all accidental. In that theory, there is no room for either the conscious individual or an overall conscious entity. However, in that theory, there is some logical difficulty. And the difficulty is that even the simplest living organisms are very complex, and then the more advanced living organisms are hugely complex that we can’t even understand how they’re operating. So, this, of course, has not been satisfactorily explained by scientists.
So, the scriptures like Bhagavatam or the Purusha Shukta say that ultimately all this complexity arises because there is the Supreme person intelligently making all these things and putting them together [Laughs]. Of course, we also have sub-creators. And thus, in the fourth canto, it’s described that Brahma takes all the elements and the senses and puts them together and makes different types of bodies of birds and four-legged animals and fish and human beings and Gandharvas and whatever. So, in this whole scenario, there is a distinction between matter and conscious being. So, even some scientists now are considering to explain the complexity, yes, there has to be the conscious entity which they say is like the Jiva. However, scripture tells us that’s not quite accurate. There’s actually two conscious entities, the Jiva and the Supreme Lord. And of course, both are involved in making complex bodies for living entities, but ultimately, the Supreme Lord is the genius behind everything.
So, in the previous verse, there was talk about the Kshetra-jna, but then it said there’s two Kshatra-jna’s, knowers of the field. One is the individual living entity who knows his body, the other is the Supreme Lord who knows all the bodies of all living entities in the universe. So, to get that far, to understand that there is consciousness as well as matter is one big step. And science at the moment is struggling with that. Next step is to differentiate individual consciousness of the Jiva, consciousness of the Supreme Lord, two types of consciousness. Then, when we accept the two consciousnesses, then when we come to the Supreme Lord’s consciousness, we say that this entity is completely untouched by anything in the material world. So, whatever limitations and faults we find in the material world cannot be attributed to the Supreme Lord. If there is some, what we call a fault, we can say it belongs to the Jiva, not Supreme Lord [Laughs].
So here, the example is given of the sun. So, the sun lights up the earth, etc. But, it’s not affected by anything that happens on the earth. Due to the rays of the sun, we get clouds, from clouds we may get storms and monsoons and typhoons and whatever, hurricanes and whatever that disturb the earth. But, the sun is completely unaffected by that, completely distant. So, it produces effects, very big effects on the earth, but it’s very far away, so it’s completely detached. So, the Lord, similarly, is completely far away from the material world.
And, without His influence, nothing happens in the material world. Just as, if you don’t have the sun, then there is no light on earth, if there’s no light, then it’s all dark, there’s no plants, there’s no life at all. So, similarly, everything exists because of the Lord, at the same time, He is completely independent of everything. So, of course, because this is a material example, it’s not perfect. Sun is material, so sun will also get destroyed at a certain point in time. But, Supreme Lord is not material, so He’s always there. So, everything is ultimately under the Supreme Lord. And, He is unaffected by anything. So, this means He is perfect eternally. So, perfect in existence, no creation, no destruction, etc. But, also perfect in knowledge. So, this distinguishes it from the other conscious entity, the Jiva, who’s not perfect in His knowledge.
And then, the third perfection is His bliss. And this, again, is different from Jiva. Jiva can experience no bliss. He can be suffering. However, the Jiva also can get bliss and have knowledge. And thus, He is called Tatastha, he can go either way. But, the Lord is not Tatastha, he’s eternally fixed in eternity, knowledge, and bliss. So, how can the Jivas, who are Tatastha, become full of eternity, knowledge, and bliss? As Jivas, they’re already eternal. So, in the material world, they’re also eternal. In the spiritual world, they’re also eternal.
However, the Jiva, who is eternal, can have either bliss and knowledge or no bliss and knowledge. So, those with no bliss and knowledge are in the material world, which is the Ekapada Vibhuti, the one section of creation. And those Jivas with the knowledge and the bliss, they’re in the Tripad Vibhuti, the spiritual world. However, the Jivas in the material world can transform and get the knowledge and bliss. On the other hand, those who are in the spiritual world with knowledge and bliss, never lose that knowledge and bliss.
Of course, by logic, we can say, if the Jiva can get to the spiritual world, he can also fall from the spiritual world, that would be the logical thing, because he is Jiva, he is Tatastha Shakthi [Laughs]. However, we have another definition. Everything there is eternal. So, if the Jiva has bliss and knowledge in the spiritual world, it’s eternal and he doesn’t lose it. Of course, we can also argue for the opposite. The Jivas in the material world with no knowledge and bliss are eternal also, nitya-baddha So, though they are called nitya-baddha, they are the word Nitya, cannot be taken literally.
So, the definition of the Jiva is, he can have ignorance, but, his possibility he can get out of ignorance. And that is the promise given in scripture and promise given by the Supreme Lord. So, though it may be logical that the Jiva is stuck in the material world, no, the Lord doesn’t have that role, he makes a different role [Laughs]. Jiva in the material world can get out, Jiva in the spiritual world doesn’t get out [Laughs]. If the Jiva were permanently stuck in the material world, then scripture would have no use at all. So, if we follow the scripture properly, then we have a method to get out of the material world and get to the spiritual world. If we follow the process of Jnana and Yoga, we can get partially to the spiritual world.
If we follow the process of Bhakti Yoga, then we get into the spiritual world. So, this of course is possible if we believe in scriptures. And thus, faith, or Shraddha, is a qualification for beginning spiritual life. On our own, we have no way of knowing what a method is of getting out of the material world, or even, if there’s anything beyond the material world. So, the scriptures which define, yes, there is matter, but then there’s also Jiva, there’s also supreme Lord. There is a material world with the Jiva in it, there is also a spiritual world with Jiva’s in it. And, if we follow the process of Bhakti Yoga, the Jiva in the material world can get to the spiritual world and get knowledge and bliss. So, to get all this knowledge and begin the practice, we do have to first accept and understand the scripture itself. And that is why Bhagavatam itself, though ultimately its main interest is describing the pastimes of Krishna, also gives us preliminary knowledge like this.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A:
1.) Do material scientists accept any energy?
Well, in the material world we have laws of physics, which deal with energy. So, these are taken as, we can say, qualities inherent within matter.
Devotee : That energy, if we say that these qualities are inherent in the matter, but definitely there is a possessor of the energy supposed to be there.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Well, in the material world we have objects and the objects have qualities and certain Shakti. So, they will say that the Shaktiman, or the possessor of the Shakti is matter itself. So, water has this particular Shakti. You know, relieve your thirst or whatever, light or heat has the possibility of warming you up and all this. So, it’s an inherent in the, itself.
Devotee : You know, these materialists, those are scientists and those are Mayavadis, almost like the same category. The Mayavadis and these scientists are almost like the same category. Only that they accept one, Mayavadi, but where, you know, the scientists they don’t accept anybody. It’s like almost one because Mayavadis also they don’t accept any energy because they don’t accept.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So, some scientists will not accept consciousness at all. So, they are completely materialistic [Laughs]. Those who accept consciousness will end up with the type of Brahman conception of consciousness, impersonal. But, most of them will say, yes, there is this consciousness and there is matter, material world, which is real. So, of course, Mayavad philosophy says, no, material world is not real. It’s illusory. So, of course, then we have some fringe scientists who will also say, everything is some sort of illusion. Whole of material world is a simulated reality [Laughs].
2.) In today’s purport, it is mentioned that Lord is one and is without a second. How to understand and please give some example for me to understand better?
So, of course, this ultimately is a statement of scripture. So, one Supreme Lord and you can take that as nothing else exists, only the Lord. So, advitya means no second. Only the Lord exists. That, of course, is Mayavada philosophy [Laughs]. So, of course, we say, yes, that is a scriptural statement and it’s true. The Lord is everything. But, we also say that material world is real, Jivas are real. So, there is something other than the Supreme Lord. So, we accept oneness and difference. So, then what happens to this statement eka advitya? So, we take another meaning of advitya. Not two or not second we say is nothing is equal to the Lord. In other words, the Lord is supreme and nobody else or anything can be compared to the Lord. That is advitya.
3.) Maharaj, sakshad-dharitvena samasta-shastrair Guru is equal to Hari, but he is not Hari. So, we are seeing spiritual master as representative of Krishna, but everyone having different Guru and how he is acting as Krishna only one, but Krishna is coming in different. How can I understand Maharaj that?
So, your question is how is Guru though he is Jiva one with the Lord? So, obviously, of course, if the Lord himself is the Guru, then he is one [Laughs]. But, in most cases, when they talk about Guru, no, he is a Jiva. And, despite in our philosophy, the Jiva is eternal, he never becomes anything else. But, we find in the scriptures, and particularly the Vaishnava scriptures, identity of Guru with Supreme Lord. So, then, obviously, it is not literal. However, we will say if the Guru is equal to the Supreme or non-different from the Supreme Lord, because he represents the Lord. So, if we accept a representative of the Lord or even a representative of the Prime Minister, we can accept in different ways. So, we can accept that he is genuinely representing the Supreme Lord. And so, that whatever instructions is given is essentially whatever instruction the Lord is giving.
The other way of accepting, okay, he is a representative of Krishna or representative of the Prime Minister, but, you know, he is not really very transparent. He doesn’t really represent. And so, I don’t have to follow his orders [Laughs]. So, just to emphasize that we have to follow his orders nicely, then they said, okay, he is non-different from the Lord. So, what is the Guru representing on behalf of the Lord? Ultimately, it is Bhakti. And, how is he representing Bhakti? Through the teachings. So, when the Guru gives knowledge to a particular person, that’s how he imparts Bhakti and Krishna. So, in that sense, he is non-different from the Supreme Lord because without that transmission, he never realizes the Supreme lord. So, because he is acting as the transmitters of the Lord and his message, then he is non-different from the Lord. But, Bhakti is non-different from the Lord, but different devotees will have different amounts of Bhakti. And though we accept them all as non-different from the Lord, we will also grade our respect for him differently, according to the amount of Bhakti. And thus, we put Acharyas and Prabhupada on one level and then we put other people on lesser level and give less respect to both. In other words, the devotee also has to have a realistic vision of grades of devotees. And then it is also dangerous to project the highest degree upon a lower devotee. So, in other words, we will treat that devotee who may be on this level as if he is on the highest level, that he is non-different from Krishna. So, if we do that, it is also dangerous.
Devotee : We keep Guru as representative of Krishna. So, in that case, our vision, the knowledge we got from Guru, in that case, ignorance will go away. The person, the particular Guru, is not a Jiva. We can understand in that way?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : Oh. Well, he represents Supreme Lord by the mercy of the Lord [Laughs]. The Lord can empower Jivas to do remarkable things. And Bhakti is internal Shakti of the Lord. So, itself is remarkable [Laughs]. And thus we see that the Holy Name, even without a Guru, has such great power, as in the case of Ajamila. How is it possible? Because it is the Lord. So, chanting the name without Guru, you can get liberation [Laughs]. So, if you chant the name of the Lord, and you have a Guru, but he is in the low status, still, it is much better than Ajamila. So, you get more than liberation.
4.) If we follow the Guru with full faith, but if the Guru is good or not, Guru is good or not, good or bad. We don’t know in this case. We don’t know Guru is good or not. We don’t know. Will Krishna protect us?
To the best of our intelligence, following scripture and devotees, we should make choices. And we have scripture to give us the knowledge so that we can make good choices. And if we don’t have the knowledge and we don’t make good choices, then that’s our fault. Now, if we do have the knowledge and we’ve taken precautions and still there’s a problem, then of course we can say it’s not completely our fault. But the solution in scripture is that you can have many Gurus. In fact, none of the Gurus may be perfect, but they may not have great faults also, but still you can have many Gurus. And similarly, you have your Gurus, one Guru or many Gurus. Plus, we also have our founder Acharya as Guru. So there’s some safeguard in all cases.
Devotee : If we say that founder Acharya is the ultimate for us, then it ultimately leads to the rittvikism only.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj : So the rittvik has nothing to do with knowledge. It only has to do with getting the mantra. That’s all. So rittvik’s say Prabhupada gives the diksha mantra. Yeah, but we can say Prabhupada gives the teachings and definitely is there because we all study Prabhupada’s books. So nobody objects to that. And Prabhupada’s books will be 10,000 years. So that’s no problem [Laughs].
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!