KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.13 (Part3) TODAY (09/14/21):
- SB 8.12.8 – My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.
- Living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy.
- The body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord.
- Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything.
- Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The Māyāvādīs’ differentiation between Brahman and māyā is only due to ignorance.
- the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is.
- There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is.
- The Vaiśeṣika philosophers, however, because of their Māyāvāda conception, create differences. They say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: The Absolute Truth is real, and the cosmic manifestation is false.” But why should the jagat be considered mithyā? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat is also truth.
- “Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one’s renunciation is called yuktaṁ vairāgyam
- The truth is realized when everything is engaged in the service of the Lord.
- Actually, everything is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature
- Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Without the sanction of the Lord no one could inflict trouble upon them. According to the Padma Purāṇa, our present trouble is due to the fructifying of seedling sins, but even those seedling sins also gradually fade away by execution of pure devotional service. Thus even if the devotees see the mischief-mongers, they do not accuse them for the sufferings inflicted. They take it for granted that the mischief-monger is made to act by some indirect cause, and therefore they tolerate the sufferings, thinking them to be God-given in small doses, for otherwise the sufferings should have been greater.
SB 2.7.13 TRANSLATION
The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.
This is an amazing past time. The tortoise incarnation is 800,000 miles, imagine how big the mountain and milk ocean. There is a statement made in SB 8.12.8
SB 8.12.8 (Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect)
My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.
Vaishnavas say Brahman is real and the lord can be understood in three stages- Brahman, paramatma and Bhagavan. Material world is real as it emanates from the lord. Even though it sometimes manifests and sometimes does not manifest, it is still real. Even the unmanifest stage exists. We cannot accept what mayavadis say – material world is an illusion. What makes us understand that because material energy is also Krsna’s energy, it is expansion of one of His energies. Therefore Krsna is cause and the effect.In the purport to this verse it is explained –
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that the living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy. Thus the body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):
bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
Both material and the living entities come from Krsna. Krishna is both the cause and the effect.
“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Thus both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord. Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything.
Krishna is everything. But everything is not Krsna.
In this regard, the example may be given of gold that has not been molded and gold that has been molded into various ornaments. A gold earring and the gold in a mine are different only as cause and effect; otherwise they are the same. The Vedānta-sūtra describes that Brahman is the cause of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ. Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The Māyāvādīs’ differentiation between Brahman and māyā is only due to ignorance.
Śrīmad Vīrarāghava Ācārya, in his Bhāgavata-candra-candrikā, describes the Vaiṣṇava philosophy as follows. The cosmic manifestation is described as sat and asat, as cit and acit. Matter is acit, and the living force is cit, but their origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in whom there is no difference between matter and spirit. According to this conception, the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: “This cosmic manifestation is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him.” In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says:
mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ
“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” Thus although someone may say that the Supreme Person is different from the cosmic manifestation, actually He is not. The Lord says, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: “In My impersonal feature I am spread throughout the world.” Therefore, this world is not different from Him. The difference is a difference in names. For example, whether we speak of gold earrings, gold bangles or gold necklaces, ultimately they are all gold. In a similar way, all the different manifestations of matter and spirit are ultimately one in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ekam evādvitīyaṁ brahma. This is the Vedic version (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1). There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is. The Vaiśeṣika philosophers, however, because of their Māyāvāda conception, create differences. They say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: “The Absolute Truth is real, and the cosmic manifestation is false.” But why should the jagat be considered mithyā? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat is also truth.
Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, do not consider the jagat to be mithyā; rather, they regard everything as reality in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
anāsaktasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe
yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate
prāpañcikatayā buddhyā
hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ
mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo
vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate
“Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one’s renunciation is called yuktaṁ vairāgyam. Whatever is favorable for the rendering of service to the Lord should be accepted and should not be rejected as a material thing.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255-256) The jagat should not be rejected as mithyā. It is truth, and the truth is realized when everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. A flower accepted for one’s sense gratification is material, but when the same flower is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by a devotee, it is spiritual. Food taken and cooked for oneself is material, but food cooked for the Supreme Lord is spiritual prasāda. This is a question of realization. Actually, everything is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that although the sun is the only light, the sunshine, which is exhibited in seven colors, and darkness, which is the absence of sunshine, are not different from the sun, for without the existence of the sun such differentiations cannot exist. There may be varied nomenclature because of different conditions, but they are all the sun. The Purāṇas therefore say:
eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat
“Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe.” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.22.53) Materially, we can directly perceive the sunshine spreading itself according to different names and activities, but ultimately the sun is one. Similarly, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is an expansion of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, the Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This is a brilliant explanation of acintya abeda beda tattva. If we understand this nothing is foreign to us. If we see everything as the energy of Krsna, we understand that matter is also spiritual except that it manifests and unmanifests. Therefore devotees see everything in relation to the lord and use everything in the service of the lord and they see oneness everywhere.
ISO Mantra 6
He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.
ISO Mantra 7
One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
Oneness reconciles all the differences that we are seeing now. This is also discussed in
SB 1.17.18
O greatest among human beings, it is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers.
There are many theoretical philosophers in the world who put forward their own theories of cause and effect especially about the cause of suffering and its effect on different living beings. Generally there are six great philosophers: Kaṇāda, the author of Vaiśeṣika philosophy; Gautama, the author of logic; Patañjali, the author of mystic yoga; Kapila, the author of Sāṅkhya philosophy; Jaimini, the author of Karma-mīmāṁsā; and Vyāsadeva, the author of Vedānta-darśana.
Although the bull, or the personality of religion, and the cow, the personality of the earth, knew perfectly well that the personality of Kali was the direct cause of their sufferings, still, as devotees of the Lord, they knew well also that without the sanction of the Lord no one could inflict trouble upon them. According to the Padma Purāṇa, our present trouble is due to the fructifying of seedling sins, but even those seedling sins also gradually fade away by execution of pure devotional service. Thus even if the devotees see the mischief-mongers, they do not accuse them for the sufferings inflicted. They take it for granted that the mischief-monger is made to act by some indirect cause, and therefore they tolerate the sufferings, thinking them to be God-given in small doses, for otherwise the sufferings should have been greater.
Shows how people are confused as there are so many speculations, because they do not have absu=olute truth presented by pure devotees, they are taken away from Krsna as opposed to bring them closer to Krsna. Maharaj was confused to read so many books in the Indian library..they are very confusing. When hearing from a devotee about BG it all made sense. Krishna is the cause and affect. There is no conflict then. Everywhere there is controversies.. Even in Iskcon.. This is due to lack of oneness..
Mahārāja Parīkṣit wanted to get a statement of accusation against the direct mischief-monger, but they declined to give it on the above-mentioned grounds. Speculative philosophers, however, do not recognize the sanction of the Lord; they try to find out the cause of sufferings in their own way, as will be described in the following verses. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, such speculators are themselves bewildered, and thus they cannot know that the ultimate cause of all causes is the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead.
SB 8.12.9
Those who are known as the impersonalist Vedāntists regard You as the impersonal Brahman. Others, known as the Mīmāṁsaka philosophers, regard You as religion. The Sāṅkhya philosophers regard You as the transcendental person who is beyond prakṛti and puruṣa and who is the controller of even the demigods. The followers of the codes of devotional service known as the Pañcarātras regard You as being endowed with nine different potencies. And the Patañjala philosophers, the followers of Patañjali Muni, regard You as the supreme independent Personality of Godhead, who has no equal or superior.