BHAGAVAD-GITA 7:5

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 7:5

 

apareyam itas tv anyam

prakrtim viddhi me param

jiva-bhutam maha-baho

yayedam dharyate jagat

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

apara--inferior; iyam--this; itah--besides this; tu--but;

anyam--another; prakrtim--energy; viddhi--just try to understand;

me--My; param--superior; jiva-bhutam--comprising the living entities;

maha-baho--O mighty-armed one; yaya--by whom; idam--this; dharyate--is

utilized or exploited; jagat--the material world.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior

energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting

the resources of this material, inferior nature.

 

PURPORT

 

Here it is clearly mentioned that living entities belong to the

superior nature (or energy) of the Supreme Lord. The inferior energy

is matter manifested in different elements, namely earth, water, fire,

air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. Both forms of material

nature, namely gross (earth, etc.) and subtle (mind, etc.), are

products of the inferior energy. The living entities, who are

exploiting these inferior energies for different purposes, are the

superior energy of the Supreme Lord, and it is due to this energy that

the entire material world functions. The cosmic manifestation has no

power to act unless it is moved by the superior energy, the living

entity. Energies are always controlled by the energetic, and therefore

the living entities are always controlled by the Lord--they have no

independent existence. They are never equally powerful, as

unintelligent men think. The distinction between the living entities

and the Lord is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.30) as follows:

 

aparimita dhruvas tanu-bhrto yadi sarva-gatas

tarhi na sasyateti niyamo dhruva netaratha

ajani ca yan-mayam tad avimucya niyantr bhavet

samam anujanatam yad amatam mata-dustataya

 

"O Supreme Eternal! If the embodied living entities were eternal and

all-pervading like You, then they would not be under Your control. But

if the living entities are accepted as minute energies of Your

Lordship, then they are at once subject to Your supreme control.

Therefore real liberation entails surrender by the living entities to

Your control, and that surrender will make them happy. In that

constitutional position only can they be controllers. Therefore, men

with limited knowledge who advocate the monistic theory that God and

the living entities are equal in all respects are actually guided by a

faulty and polluted opinion."

 

The Supreme Lord, Krsna, is the only controller, and all living

entities are controlled by Him. These living entities are His superior

energy because the quality of their existence is one and the same with

the Supreme, but they are never equal to the Lord in quantity of

power. While exploiting the gross and subtle inferior energy (matter),

the superior energy (the living entity) forgets his real spiritual

mind and intelligence. This forgetfulness is due to the influence of

matter upon the living entity. But when the living entity becomes free

from the influence of the illusory material energy, he attains the

stage called mukti, or liberation. The false ego, under the influence

of material illusion, thinks, "I am matter, and material acquisitions

are mine." His actual position is realized when he is liberated from

all material ideas, including the conception of his becoming one in

all respects with God. Therefore one may conclude that the Gita

confirms the living entity to be only one of the multi-energies of

Krsna; and when this energy is freed from material contamination, it

becomes fully Krsna conscious, or liberated.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.