Srila Bhaktivinoda's Teachings On The Origin Of The Jiva

July 5, 2003

with purport by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur

translated by Sripad Bhakti Ananda Sagar Maharaj

Verse 21

sa nityo nitya-sambandhah prakrtis ca paraiva sa

Translation: The jiva is eternal, and has an eternal relationship with the Lord for beginningless and endless time; he is of the superior or transcendental energy.

Purport: As there is a perpetual relationship between the sun and its rays of effulgence, the Supreme Lord and the jivas similarly have an eternal relationship. The jivas are atomic particles of His rays of His rays of consciousness or Divine Potency, and thus they are not temporary like any mundane substance. Being particles of the rays of His Effulgence, they have inherited a minute proportion of Krishna´s qualities; therefore, the jiva is an embodiment of perception, the perceiver, egoism, the enjoyer, the thinker and the doer.

The mutual distinction between Krishna and the jiva is that Krishna is Almighty while the jiva is atomic. Their eternal relationship is that the jiva is the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord, and the Lord is his Eternal Master. The jiva is also endowed with ample eligibility in respect to Rasa or a Divine Ecstatic Relationship with the Lord.

The statement of Shri Gita, apareyam itas tv anyam prakritim vidhi me param, informs us that the jivas are of Krishna´s superior of transcendental energy; all the qualities of the pure soul are transcendental to the eight material qualities of ego, etc. Therefore, the jiva-potency, despite the minuteness of its magnitude, is constitutionally superior to illusion or maya.

Another name of the jiva-potency is tatastha-shakti, or the 'marginal potency', being that he is located on the line of demarcation between the Plane of Maya and Divinity; due to his minuteness he is prone to be captivated by illusion, but when he remains submissive to Krishna, the Master of Maya, he is no longer susceptible to the thralldom of Maya. The conditioned soul who is captivated by Maya since time immemorial must undergo worldly tribulation and sorrow and be reborn again and again.

submitted by Sundarananda Das

sundarananda@telia.com