KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.2.35 – Part 3
- There are many manifestations like trees, mountains, and hills which are not moving, and there are many existences that are moving, and all of them are but combinations of material nature and the superior nature, the living entity. Without a touch of the superior nature, the living entity, nothing can grow.
- The relationship between material nature and spiritual nature is eternally going on, and this combination is affected by the Supreme Lord; therefore He is the controller of both the superior and inferior natures.
- The material nature is created by Him, and the superior nature is placed in this material nature, and thus all these activities and manifestations take place.
- Anyone who by good association can see three things combined together – the body, the proprietor of the body, or individual soul, and the friend of the individual soul – is actually in knowledge. Unless one has the association of a real knower of spiritual subjects, one cannot see these three things.
- Those who do not have such association are ignorant; they simply see the body, and they think that when the body is destroyed everything is finished. But actually it is not so. After the destruction of the body, both the soul and the Supersoul exist, and they go on eternally in many various moving and nonmoving forms
- If one understands that the Supreme is situated in His Paramātmā manifestation everywhere, that is, if one can see the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living thing, he does not degrade himself by a destructive mentality, and he therefore gradually advances to the spiritual world.
- The mind is generally addicted to sense gratifying processes; but when the mind turns to the Supersoul, one becomes advanced in spiritual understanding.
- Every living being has his intelligence, and this intelligence, being the direction of some higher authority, is just like a father giving direction to his son. The higher authority, who is present and residing within every individual living being, is the Superself.
CLASS NOTES:
SB 2.2.35 TRANSLATION:
The Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelligence.
No western philosopher can write a purport like this. Because they are speculating.
Srila Prabhupada is a maha bhagavat.
Practical service attitude – Eliminates 99.9 percent of the people
Revelation – they do not believe in the revelation
Sincerely surrendering to the lord – Accepting bonafide spiritual master, rendering service,
(BG 13.27) SEER AND THE SEEN
O chief of the Bhāratas, know that whatever you see in existence, both the moving and the nonmoving is only a combination of the field of activities and the knower of the field.
There are many manifestations like trees, mountains, and hills which are not moving, and there are many existences that are moving, and all of them are but combinations of material nature and the superior nature, the living entity. Without a touch of the superior nature, the living entity, nothing can grow. The relationship between material nature and spiritual nature is eternally going on, and this combination is affected by the Supreme Lord; therefore He is the controller of both the superior and inferior natures. The material nature is created by Him, and the superior nature is placed in this material nature, and thus all these activities and manifestations take place.
There are things that are alive that don’t move around, trees and plants.. Mountains. Mountains are also living entities, they are increasing and decreasing. Superior nature – soul.. There are tables, chairs, walls, buildings, they dont grow… they deteriorate over time.
Prabhupada mentions that the combination is not a chemical combination, soul is simply covered by the material nature.
- Therefore just by using intelligence he can distinguish and separate his self from other things that he sees. So the natural conclusion is that the living being, either man or beast, is the seer, and he sees besides himself all other things. So there is a difference between the seer and the seen. (they are not combined) Now, by a little use of intelligence we can also readily agree that the living being who sees the things beyond himself by ordinary vision has no power to see or to move independently. (The instruments of seeing, objects of seeing, everything is provided by the nature)
(BG 13.21) NATURE IS SAID TO BE THE CAUSE OF ALL MATERIAL CAUSES AND EFFECTS
Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.
The different manifestations of body and senses among the living entities are due to material nature. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, and these varieties are creations of the material nature. They arise from the different sensual pleasures of the living entity, who thus desires to live in this body or that. When he is put into different bodies, he enjoys different kinds of happiness and distress. (When we board the airplane to go to India, whatever happens to the plane happens to us. Just like that when we take the body whatever happens to the body it happens to us. We should learn to be aloof of the things happening to the body by tapasya.. )
His material happiness and distress are due to his body, and not to himself as he is. In his original state there is no doubt of enjoyment; therefore that is his real state. Because of the desire to lord it over material nature, he is in the material world. (Everything depends on the our desire. Based on our desires we get a body, based on the body we have to suffer and we commit sinful activities) In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The spiritual world is pure, but in the material world everyone is struggling hard to acquire different kinds of pleasures for the body. It might be more clear to state that this body is the effect of the senses. The senses are instruments for gratifying desire. Now, the sum total – body and instrument senses – is offered by material nature, (That is what is said in SB 2.2.35) and as will be clear in the next verse, the living entity is blessed or damned with circumstances according to his past desire and activity.
- All our ordinary actions and perceptions depend on various forms of energy supplied to us by nature in various combinations. Our senses of perception and of action, that is to say, our five perceptive senses of (1) hearing, (2) touch, (3) sight, (4) taste and (5) smell, as well as our five senses of action, namely (1) hands, (2) legs, (3) speech, (4) evacuation organs and (5) reproductive organs, and also our three subtle senses, namely (1) mind, (2) intelligence and (3) ego (thirteen senses in all), are supplied to us by various arrangements of gross or subtle forms of natural energy. And it is equally evident that our objects of perception (buildings, roads, houses…) are nothing but the products of the inexhaustible permutations and combinations of the forms taken by natural energy.
(BG 13.28) WHO ACTUALLY SEES
One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul within the destructible body is ever destroyed, actually sees.
Anyone who by good association can see three things combined together – the body, the proprietor of the body, or individual soul, and the friend of the individual soul – is actually in knowledge. Unless one has the association of a real knower of spiritual subjects, one cannot see these three things. Those who do not have such association are ignorant; they simply see the body, and they think that when the body is destroyed everything is finished. But actually it is not so. After the destruction of the body, both the soul and the Supersoul exist, and they go on eternally in many various moving and nonmoving forms. The Sanskrit word parameśvara is sometimes translated as “the individual soul” because the soul is the master of the body and after the destruction of the body he transfers to another form. In that way he is master. But there are others who interpret this parameśvara to be the Supersoul. In either case, both the Supersoul and the individual soul continue. They are not destroyed. One who can see in this way can actually see what is happening.
(BG 13.29) ONE WHO SEES PARAMATMA IN EVERY LIVING BEING DOES NOT DEGRADE
One who sees the Supersoul equally present everywhere, in every living being, does not degrade himself by his mind. Thus he approaches the transcendental destination.
The living entity, by accepting his material existence, has become situated differently than in his spiritual existence. But if one understands that the Supreme is situated in His Paramātmā manifestation everywhere, that is, if one can see the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living thing, he does not degrade himself by a destructive mentality, and he therefore gradually advances to the spiritual world. The mind is generally addicted to sense gratifying processes; but when the mind turns to the Supersoul, one becomes advanced in spiritual understanding.
As this conclusively proves that the ordinary living being has no independent power of perception or of motion, and as we undoubtedly feel our existence being conditioned by nature’s energy, we conclude that he who sees is spirit, and that the senses as well as the objects of perception are material.
- The spiritual quality of the seer is manifest in our dissatisfaction with the limited state of materially conditioned existence. ( Ex: Golf ball and golfer)That is the difference between spirit and matter. There are some less intelligent arguments that matter develops the power of seeing and moving as a certain organic development, but such an argument cannot be accepted because there is no experimental evidence that matter has anywhere produced a living entity. Trust no future, however pleasant. Idle talks regarding future development of matter into spirit are actually foolish because no matter has ever developed the power of seeing or moving in any part of the world. Therefore it is definite that matter and spirit are two different identities, and this conclusion is arrived at by the use of intelligence. (Only when the soul comes in the matter becomes organized. There is a fallacy… fundamental assumptions of science- nature is orderly and functions according to laws. Sastra is explaining to us the things that we see and the things that we do not see. Explained in BG 7.2 – Phenomenal – things you can see, Numinous – things you cannot see. )
- Now we come to the point that the things which are seen by a little use of intelligence cannot be animate unless we accept someone as the user of or director of the intelligence. Intelligence gives one direction like some higher authority, and the living being cannot see or move or eat or do anything without the use of intelligence. When one fails to take advantage of intelligence he becomes a deranged man, and so a living being is dependent on intelligence or the direction of a superior being. Such intelligence is all-pervading. Every living being has his intelligence, and this intelligence, being the direction of some higher authority, is just like a father giving direction to his son. The higher authority, who is present and residing within every individual living being, is the Superself.