In2-MeC

Christchurch, New Zealand
21 November 2003

Yesterday in the early afternoon I arrived by air in Christchurch from Wellington. Surprisingly, the weather here is wonderful: blue sky, warm, birds singing sweetly. New Zealanders call Christchurch "the garden city." The streets are lined by trees, many of which are bearing flowers that are white, blue, yellow and purple. Christchurch has many stately churches, buildings and homes made of stone brick, much like old English structures. HH Prahladananda Maharaja is here; he stays til Saturday. I stay til Monday the 24th, when I fly back to Auckland.

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Bhagavad-Gita in Essence
(continued from yesterday)

The First Essence: Tri-sloki Gita
(Bg 15.16-18)
The Essence of Vedanta in Three Verses

Focus on the Purport of Bhagavad-gita 15.16

As already explained, the Lord in His incarnation as Vyasadeva compiled the Vedanta-sutra. Here the Lord is giving, in summary, the contents of the Vedanta-sutra.

Notes:

1. From Teachings of Lord Caitanya Chapter 19: Any book that deals with conclusive Vedic knowledge is called Vedanta.

2. Quotation from Light of the Bhagavata:

The supreme spiritual master, Lord Sri Krsna, teaches us the import of the Vedas in the following verse of Bhagavad-gita (15.16):

dvav imau purusau loke
ksaras caksara eva ca
ksarah sarvani bhutani
kutastho 'ksara ucyate

The Lord says that in the Vedas it is mentioned that there are two kinds of living beings, called the fallible and the infallible. Those living beings who are materially encaged are all fallible, whereas those who are not conditioned and who are eternally situated in the spiritual realm are called aksara, or infallible. The Lord then says,

uttamah purusas tv anyah
pa ramatmety udahrtah
yo loka-trayam avisya
bibharty avyaya isvarah
yasmat ksaram atito 'ham
aksarad api cottamah
ato 'smi loke vede ca
prathitah purusottamah

"Besides these innumerable fallible and infallible living beings there is another, superior personality, known as the Paramatma. He pervades all the three worlds and exists as the supreme controller.

"And because I [Lord Sri Krsna] am transcendental to all of them, even those who are infallible, I am known in all the Vedas and histories [the Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc.] as the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Bg 15.17-18)

3. From Teachings of Lord Caitanya Chapter 19: Vedanta-sutra teaches sambandha (the relationship of the living entities and the Supreme Lord) in the first two chapters, abidheya (service to the Lord) in the third chapter, and prayojana (the relationship that develops out of service) in the fourth chapter.

The living entities are eternally separated parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When they are in contact with the material world they are called jiva-bhuta, and the Sanskrit words given here, ksarah sarvani bhutani, mean that they are fallible.

Notes:

1. Fallible means "subject to failure" or "defective." Vedanta, or Vedic knowledge, is not defective because it does not originate from conditioned souls who are subject to four defects. Its origin is the infallible Lord and His infallible servants in the disciplic succession.

Quotation from Srimad Bhagavatam 4.26.7 Purport:

The Vedic instructions are different because they do not have these four defects. Vedic instructions are not subject to mistakes. The knowledge of the Vedas is knowledge received directly from God, and there is consequently no question of illusion, cheating, mistakes or imperfect senses. All Vedic knowledge is perfect because it is received directly from God by the parampara, disciplic succession.

2. The fallible living entity is ignorant of Krsna due to his bewilderment by the three modes of material nature.

Bg 7.13:

Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.

3. "Fallible soul" means "conditioned soul." The modes of nature condition fallible souls to duality and repeated birth and death.

Bg 7.27:

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.

Bg 13.22:

The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.

4. Fallible forms of karma, jnana and bhakti are generated by the three modes of material nature.

Bg 3.27 (fallible karma):

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

Bg 7.24 (fallible jnana):

Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.

Bg 7.20 (fallible bhakti):

Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender until demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.

5. Varnasrama-dharma is created by Krsna for fallible human beings. But He is ever-infallible.

Bg 4.13:

According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.

6. Within the four divisions of human society are pious and impious souls. Both are fallible. But pious souls may become infallible. Impious souls fall ever lower into illusion.

Bg 7.15-16 (impious and pious fallible beings):

Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me. O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me--the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

Quotation from Srila Prabhupada (the impious never surrender):

I believe on that formula. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. I believe that verse very strongly, that anyone who has not surrendered to Krsna or is not Krsna conscious, he must be within this list: duskrtina, mudha, naradhama, mayayapahrta- jnana, asuram bhavam asritah. That's all.

Bg 7.14 (the pious can become infallible):

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

Bg 7.28:

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

Bg 16.19-20 (the impious fall lower and lower):

Those who are envious and mischievious, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life. Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kunti, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

Oneness does not mean that they have no individuality, but that there is no disunity. They are all agreeable to the purpose of the creation.

Notes:

1. The purpose of creation is yajna.

Bg 3.10:

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Visnu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation."

2. Vedic sacrifice that does not rise above the influence of the three modes is fallible.

Bg 2.45:

The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.

3. Vedic sacrifice aimed at the Supreme, the threefold goal of Vedanta, is infallible.

Quotations from Bg 17.23, 26-27 Purports:

It has been explained that penance, sacrifice, charity and foods are divided into three categories: the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. But whether first class, second class or third class, they are all conditioned, contaminated by the material modes of nature. When they are aimed at the Supreme--om tat sat, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the eternal--they become means for spiritual elevation.

... These three words are taken from Vedic hymns. Om ity etad brahmano nedistham nama (Rg Veda) indicates the first goal. Then tat tvam asi (Chandogya Upanisad 6.8.7) indicates the second goal. And sad eva saumya (Chandogya Upanisad 6.2.1.) indicates the third goal. Combined they become om tat sat. Formerly when Brahma, the first created living entity, performed sacrifices, he indicated by these three words the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In all such activities it is recommended that one vibrate om tat sat. The words sad-bhave and sadhu-bhave indicate the transcendental situation. Acting in Krsna consciousness is called sattva, and one who is fully conscious of the activities of Krsna consciousness is called a sadhu.

Of course, in the spiritual world there is no such thing as creation, but since the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as stated in the Vedanta-sutra, is the source of all emanations, that conception is explained.

Notes: (Quotations from Srila Prabhupada)

1. "So on account of Krsna's bodily rays, the whole creation is coming out. That is Krsna's inconceivable power, brahmajyoti. Janmadyasya yatah. Atatho brahma-jijnasa. In the Vedanta sutra, you have to inquire about that param jyoti, brahmajyoti. And from that param jyoti, everything is coming out."

2. "Every planetary system there are many millions and trillions of living entities. They can see only when there is sunrise. This gayatri mantra is, therefore, offering prayer to the savita. Om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi. Sunshine. So sunshine is.. But there are many suns, not only one sun. As there are many universes, yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti. Koti means innumerable. Numberless universes. And in each and every universe there is sunshine. So this sunshine is reflection of the brahmajyoti. Yasya prabha prabhavato. When the bodily rays, shining rays, of Krsna is there, then all these universes are generated. The universes are also generated."

3. "Vedanta says also, janmadyasya yatah. Brahma, Paramatma, they are expansion of Krsna. Krsna is the original. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya. This is the truth. Therefore Krsna says that either you follow the Brahman path or Paramatma path, either as a jnani or yogi or as a bhakta... Therefore Krsna says, mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha... Anyone actually who is seeking after self-realization, there are three divisions. Either you have to realize as impersonal Brahman or as localized Paramatma or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then automatically you realize impersonal Brahman and Paramatma also."

4. "So Krsna is not nirvisesa; He is savisesa. But this material world is actually nirvisesa, but it appears something like varieties. The same thing, the example, I have already given: a lump of matter--either you take earth or water or gold or silver--and you can make varieties of things, cause and effect. But that is nirvisesa. But the spiritual world, janmadyasya yatah, as it is said in the Vedanta-sutra, the origin of everything, the cause of all causes, that is full of spiritual varieties. That is not nirvisesa."

As long as a living entity is conditioned, his body changes due to contact with matter; matter is changing, so the living entity appears to be changing. But in the spiritual world the body is not made of matter; therefore there is no change. In the material world the living entity undergoes six changes--birth, growth, duration, reproduction, then dwindling and vanishing. These are the changes of the material body. But in the spiritual world the body does not change; there is no old age, there is no birth, there is no death. There all exists in oneness.

Notes:

1. We are all originally part and parcel of Krsna, but the living beings whose senses are uncontrolled cannot realize this.

Bg 15.7:

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.

Bg 2.69:

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

2. Realization of Krsna's transcendental form restores us to our original transcendental nature.

Bg 11.51:

When Arjuna thus saw Krsna in His original form, he said: O Janardana, seeing this humanlike form, so very beautiful, I am now composed in mind, and I am restored to my original nature.

3. The infallible abode is Krsnaloka.

Bg 8.21:

That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns--that is My supreme abode.

(To be continued tomorrow, focusing on the Purport of Bg 15.17)

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