Bhagavad-Gita 7.4 Purport - Intelligence and Mahat-Tattva

[Guest guest]

Can someone explain this statement to me?

 

"Intelligence refers to the total material creation, called the mahat-

tattva."

 

It occurs in the Bhaktivedanta Purport to BG verse 7.4.

 

Srila Prabhupada has listed the various elements of the material

creation - the 5 basic elements (earth, air, fire, water, ether), the

5 sense objects (smell, touch, form, taste, sound), the mind,

intelligence, false ego, the 5 knowledge-acquiring senses and the 5

working senses. This is a total of 23 elements of the material

energy, of which the 24th is the Mahat-tattva. But then Srila

Prabhupada writes that "Intelligence refers to the total material

creation, called the mahat-tattva." What exactly does he mean by

that? Since intelligence and mahat-tattva are two different elements

of the material energy, they aren't the same. Or is he saying that by

intelligence one recognizes the mahat-tattva? I would appreciate any

insight on this. The full excerpt follows:

 

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In the material energy, the principal manifestations are eight, as

above mentioned. Out of these, the first five manifestations, namely

earth, water, fire, air and sky, are called the five gigantic

creations or the gross creations, within which the five sense objects

are included. They are the manifestations of physical sound, touch,

form, taste and smell. Material science comprises these ten items and

nothing more. But the other three items, namely mind, intelligence

and false ego, are neglected by the materialists. Philosophers who

deal with mental activities are also not perfect in knowledge because

they do not know the ultimate source, Krsna. The false ego—"I am,"

and "It is mine," which constitute the basic principle of material

existence—includes ten sense organs for material activities.

Intelligence refers to the total material creation, called the mahat-

tattva. Therefore from the eight separated energies of the Lord are

manifest the twenty-four elements of the material world, which are

the subject matter of sankhya atheistic philosophy;

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[Guest guest]

achintya, "krishna_susarla"

<krishna_susarla@h...> wrote:

> Can someone explain this statement to me?

>

> "Intelligence refers to the total material creation, called the

mahat-

> tattva."

>

> It occurs in the Bhaktivedanta Purport to BG verse 7.4.

>

 

There is a similar statement in Srimad Bhagavatam 10.87.2.The

translation is:

 

"Sukadeva Gosvami said: The Supreme Lord manifested the material

intelligence, senses, mind and vital air of the living entities so

that they could indulge their desires for sense gratification, take

repeated births to engage in fruitive activities, become elevated in

future lives and ultimately attain liberation."

 

A portion of the purport is that says buddhi refers to mahat-tattva:

 

"Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti suggests that the word buddhi in this

verse spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami can indicate the mahat-tattva, from

which evolve the various expansions of ether (such as sound), which

are designated here as indriya. Matrartham, then, means "for the sake

of using transcendental sound to describe Brahman," since for that

precise purpose the Supreme Lord inspired prakrti to evolve ether and

sound."

 

The whole purport is:

At the dawn of creation, when the conditioned living entities lay

dormant within the transcendental body of Lord Viñëu, He initiated

the process of creation by sending forth the coverings of

intelligence, mind and so on for the living entities' benefit. As

stated here, Visnu is the independent Lord (prabhu), and the living

entities are His jana, dependents. Thus we should understand that the

Lord creates the cosmos entirely for the living entities' sake;

compassion is His sole motive.

By providing the living entities with gross and subtle bodies, the

Supreme Lord enables them to pursue sense gratification and, in the

human form, religiosity, economic development and liberation. In each

body the conditioned soul utilizes his senses for enjoyment, and when

he comes to the human form he must also discharge various duties

assigned to him at the different stages of his life. If he faithfully

discharges his duties, he earns more refined and extensive enjoyment

in the future; if not, he is degraded. And when the soul eventually

hankers to be freed from material life, the path of liberation is

always available. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti comments that in this

verse the repeated use of the word ca ("and") indicates the

importance of all of what the Lord provides—not only the path of

liberation, but also the paths of gradual elevation through religious

life and appropriate sense enjoyment.

In all their endeavors the living entities depend on the Lord's mercy

for success. Without intelligence, senses, mind and vital air, the

living entities cannot achieve anything—neither elevation to heaven,

purification through knowledge, perfection of the eightfold

meditational yoga, nor pure devotion through following the process of

bhakti-yoga, beginning with hearing and chanting the names of God.

How, then, if the Supreme arranges all these facilities for the

conditioned souls' welfare, can He be impersonal? Far from presenting

the Absolute Truth as ultimately impersonal, the Upanisads speak at

great length about His personal qualities. The Absolute described by

the Upanisads is free from all inferior, material qualities, and yet

He is omniscient, omnipotent, the master and controller of all, the

universally worshipable Lord, He who awards the results of everyone's

work, and the reservoir of all eternity, knowledge and bliss. The

Mundaka Upanisad (1.1.9) states, yah sarva-jïaù sa sarva-vid yasya

jïäna-mayaà tapaù: "He who is all-knowing, from whom the potency of

all knowledge comes—He is the wisest of all." In the words of the

Båhad-äraëyaka Upaniñad (4.4.22, 3.7.3, and 1.2.4), sarvasya väçé

sarvasyeçänaù: "He is the Lord and controller of everyone"; yaù

påthivyäà tiñöhan påthivyä äntaraù: "He who resides within the earth

and pervades it"; and so 'kämayata bahu syäm: "He desired, 'I will

become many. ' " Similarly, the Aitareya Upaniñad (3.11) states, sa

aikñata tat tejo 'såjata: "He glanced at His potency, who then

manifested the creation," while the Taittiréya Upaniñad (2.1.1)

declares, satyaà jïänam anantaà brahma: "The Supreme is unlimited

truth and knowledge."

The phrase tat tvam asi, "You are that" (Chändogya Upaniñad 6.8.7),

is often cited by impersonalists as a confirmation of the absolute

identity of the finite jéva soul with his creator. Çaìkaräcärya and

his followers elevate these words to the status of one of the few

mahä-väkyas, key phrases they say express the essential purport of

Vedänta. The leading thinkers of the standard Vaiñëava schools of

Vedänta, however, vociferously disagree with this interpretation.

Äcäryas Rämänuja, Madhva, Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa and others have

offered numerous alternative explanations according to a systematic

study of the Upaniñads and other çrutis.

The question Mahäräja Parékñit has submitted here—namely, "How can

the Vedas directly refer to the Absolute Truth?"—has been answered as

follows by Çukadeva Gosvämé: "The Lord created intelligence and other

elements for the sake of the conditioned living beings." A skeptic

may object that this answer is irrelevant. But Çukadeva Gosvämé's

answer is not actually irrelevant, as Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté

explains. Answers to subtle questions must often be phrased

indirectly. As Lord Kåñëa Himself states in His instructions to

Uddhava (SB 11.21.35), parokña-vädä åñayaù parokñaà mama ca

priyam: "The Vedic seers and mantras deal in esoteric terms, and I

also am pleased by such confidential descriptions." In the present

context, the impersonalists, on whose behalf Parékñit Mahäräja asked

his question, cannot appreciate the direct answer, so instead Çréla

Çukadeva gives an indirect reply: "You say that Brahman is

indescribable by words. But if the Supreme Lord had not created the

intelligence, mind and senses, then sound and the other objects of

perception would all be just as indescribable as your Brahman. You

would have been blind and deaf since birth, and would know nothing

about physical forms and sounds, what to speak of the Absolute. So,

just as the merciful Lord has given us all faculties of perception

for experiencing and describing to others the sensations of sight,

sound and so forth, in the same way He may give someone the receptive

capacity to realize Brahman. He may, if He chooses, create some

extraordinary way for words to function—apart from their ordinary

references to material substances, qualities, categories and actions—

that will enable them to express the Supreme Truth. He is, after all,

the almighty Lord (prabhu), and He can easily make the indescribable

describable."

Lord Matsya assures King Satyavrata that the Absolute Truth can be

known from the words of the Vedas:

madéyaà mahimänaà ca

paraà brahmeti çabditam

vetsyasy anugrahétaà me

sampraçnair vivåtaà hådi

"You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of

your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as paraà

brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know

everything about Me." (SB 8.24.38)

The fortunate soul who has been graced by the Supreme Lord with

divine inquisitiveness will ask questions about the nature of the

Absolute, and by hearing the answers given by great sages, which are

recorded in the Vedic literatures, he will come to understand the

Lord as He is. Thus only by the special mercy of the Supreme Person

does Brahman become çabditam, "literally denoted by words."

Otherwise, without the Lord's exceptional grace, the words of the

Vedas cannot reveal the Absolute Truth.

Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté suggests that the word buddhi in this

verse spoken by Çukadeva Gosvämé can indicate the mahat-tattva, from

which evolve the various expansions of ether (such as sound), which

are designated here as indriya. Mäträrtham, then, means "for the sake

of using transcendental sound to describe Brahman," since for that

precise purpose the Supreme Lord inspired prakåti to evolve ether and

sound.

A further understanding of the purpose of creation is spoken by the

words bhavärtham and ätmane kalpanäya (if the reading kalpanäya

instead of akalpanäya is taken). Bhavärtham means "for the good of

the living entities." Worship (kalpanam) of the Supreme Self (ätmane)

is the means by which the living entities can fulfill the divine

purpose for which they exist. Intelligence, mind and senses are meant

to be used for worshiping the Supreme Lord, whether or not the living

entity has yet brought them to the stage of transcendental

purification.

How both purified and unpurified devotees use their intelligence,

mind and senses in worshiping the Lord is described in reference to

the following quote from the Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad (Pürva 12):

sat-puëòaréka-nayanaà

meghäbhaà vaidyutämbaram

dvi-bhujaà mauna-mudräòhyaà

vana-mälinam éçvaram

"The Supreme Lord, appearing in His two-armed form, had divine lotus

eyes, a complexion the color of a cloud, and garments that resembled

lightning. He wore a garland of forest flowers, and His beauty was

enhanced by His pose of meditative silence." The transcendental

intelligence and senses of the Lord's perfect devotees correctly

perceive His purely spiritual beauty, and their realizations are

echoed in the Gopäla-täpané-çruti's comparison of Lord Kåñëa's eyes,

body and clothing to a lotus, a cloud and lightning. On the other

hand, devotees on the level of sädhana, who are in the process of

becoming purified, have only barely realized the Supreme Lord's

boundless spiritual beauty. Nonetheless, by hearing scriptural

passages such as this one from the Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad, they

engage in contemplating Him to the best of their fledgling ability.

Although the neophyte devotees have not yet learned how to fully

realize the Lord or meditate steadily on even the effulgence

surrounding His body, still they take pleasure in presuming, "We are

meditating on our Lord." And the Supreme Lord, moved by the waves of

His boundless mercy, Himself thinks, "These devotees are meditating

on Me." When their devotion matures, He draws them to His feet to

engage in His intimate service. Thus it is concluded that the Vedas

have access to the personal identity of the Supreme only by His mercy.