Super Nectar from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

[krsna]

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has said the following:

 

Attraction and motion are present in their pure form within sentient objects as love. The soul is a sentient object. Here, “soul” refers to both the supreme sentient being, the Supersoul, and the minute sentient being, the soul. Their nature is to love. Pure love is found only within the soul. Only a perversion of that pure nature, note the pure nature itself, is to be found within the soul’s reflection – that is, within insentient objects. Hence, pure love is not to be found in any material object of this world. Rather, its perversion, which is mere attraction and motion, is to be found in them.

 

By the forces of attraction and motion, atoms assemble to form objects. Through attraction, objects are drawn towards each other. Also, on account of their independent motion, the planets revolve around the sun. Anything that is present in a perverted object or perverted nature is also present in the original object in its untainted form.

 

Independence and attraction to other objects are also always found within the soul. The soul exists in a state of bondage in this world. There are unlimited minute souls, each possessing the nature to love. This can be seen in the attraction all souls exert upon each other. Furthermore, because of their independence, each soul wants to remain separate from the others.

 

In this material world, every object draws other objects towards it; and these other objects in turn, by virtue of their independent motion, try to remain separate from the object. Big objects draw small objects towards them. The sun is big, attracting the planets and their satellites towards it. But owing to their own independent motion, those planets and satellites remain at a distance from the sun and, attracted by its gravitational force, orbit it. Moreover, the planets’ attraction and motion also assist them in their orbit. What we see in this world is also found in the spiritual world in its unadulterated form.

 

In the reflected creation, there are five elements, as well as the moon, the sun, lightning and the stars. All of these are present in their original form in Brahmapura, the spiritual world. The difference between the two worlds is that in the spiritual world all the variegated affairs are pure, blissful and perfect, whereas in the material world everything is flawed, incomplete and the cause of happiness and distress.

 

To love is the fundamental nature of all beings in the spiritual world. Therefore, the poet Candi dasa says:

 

No one has seen the person who pervades the universe. Only one who knows what love is can attain Him. Priti (love) has three letters and is of three kinds, but when it becomes condensed as a result of continuous bhajana, it will be of only one kind.

The transcendental sun, Sri Krsna, attracts the jivas to orbit Him, and this is eternal rasa.

[krsna]

Jaiva Dharma Prameya Sakti Tattva Ch 14

 

 

“ Oh! How extraordinary and unparalleled

are Sri GaurANga’s teachings; just hearing them, I feel as if

thrust within the waves of an ocean of nectar, and the more I

hear, the more thirsty and eager I become to hear. It appears that

the condensed nectar of all tattvas streams from BAbaji MahAraja’s

lotus mouth, and my heart never becomes satiated by hearing.

All his teachings on siddhAnta are perfectly balanced, without a

trace of inconsistency. It is as if the SAstras are all running after

those conclusions to verify every letter of them. I can’t understand

why the brähmaNa society criticizes these teachings. I think

that their bias towards MAyAvAda has made them adopt a false

philosophy.”

 

VrajanAtha was thinking in this way as he reached RaghunAtha

dAsa BAbAji’s kuTira. First he offered obeisances to the kuTira, and

then seeing BAbAji MahASaya, he offered obeisances to him. BAbAji

MahASaya lovingly embraced him and made him sit beside him.

Sitting down with great enthusiasm, VrajanAtha asked, “Prabhu!

You told me yesterday that you would explain the third Soka of

DaS-mUa. I earnestly desire to hear it. Kindly be merciful and

explain it to me.”

 

BAbAji became very happy to hear this, and with his hairs standing

on end in rapture, began to speak:

 

parAhyAyAH Sakter apRthag api sa sve mahimani

sthito jivAkhyAM svAm acid-abhihitAM tAM tri-padikAm

sva-tantrecchaH SaktiM sakala-vizaye preraNa-paro

vikArAdyaiH SUnyaH parama-puruzo ‘yaM vijayate

 

DaSa-mUla (3)

 

Athough Sri BhagavAn is non-different from His inconceivable

transcendental potency (parA-Sakti), He has His own

independent nature and desires . His parA-Sakti consists of

three aspects – cit-Sakti (spiritual potency), jiva-Sakti

(marginal potency) , and mAyA-Sakti (external potency) –

and He always inspires them to engage in their respective

functions. That para-tattva (Supreme Absolute Truth), even

while performing all these activities, still remains immutable

and is eternally situated in the fully transcendental

svarUpa of His own glory.

 

VrajanAtha said, “Prabhu, when I remember your sweet instructions,

my heart becomes restless and the entire world seems to be

devoid of all substance. My heart is becoming eager to take shelter

at Sri GaurANgadeva’s lotus feet. Please be merciful to me and tell

me who I really am according to tattva, and why I have come to this

world.”

BAbAji: My dear son, you have blessed me by asking such a question.

The day that the jiva first asks this question is the auspicious

day on which his good fortune arises. If you will kindly hear the

fifth Sloka of DaSa-müla, all your doubts will be dispelled.

 

sphuliNgAH RddhAgner iva cid-aNavo jivA-nicayAH

hareH sUryasyaivApRthag api tu tad-bheda-viSayAH

vaSe mAyA yasya prakRti-patir eveSvara iha

sa jivo mukto ‘pi prakRti-vaSA-yogyaH sva-guNataH

 

Just as many tiny sparks burst out from a blazing fire, so the

innumerable jivas are like atomic, spiritual particles in the

rays of the spiritual sun, Sri Hari. Though these jivas are

non-different from Sri Hari, they are also eternally different

from Him. The eternal difference between the jiva and

ISvara is that ISvara is the Lord and master of mAyA-Sakti,

whereas the jiva can fall under the control of mAyA, even in

his liberated stage - sa jivo mukto, due to his constitutional nature -sva-guNataH.

 

 

Mukti is not enough to really get out of the control of mAyA. As long as one does not recognize the existence of the Lord and develop some loving devotion towards Him, one can fall any time back under the spell of mAyA. A jivan mukta who does not engage himself in the service of the Lord is an aparadhi against the Lord, negating His transcendental form, qualities pastimes and names, and by that he can not get access to that transcendental abode where these are plenary manifested but by dint of his desire of being engaged he get to the only place of activity he knows, jada jagat, the material worlds.

 

This tattva is described in many places in the Vedas. I will cite a few of them:

 

yathagneH kSudrA visphuliNgA vyuccaranti

evam evAsmad AtmanaH sarvANi bhUtAni vyuccaranti

 

BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad 2.1.20)

 

Innumerable jivas emanate from para-brahma, just like tiny sparks from a fire.

 

tasya vA etasya puruNasya dve eva sthAne

bhavata idaN ca paraloka-sthAnaN ca

sandhyaM tRtiyaM svapna-sthAnaM

tasmin sandhye sthAne tiSThann ete ubhe

sthAne paAyatAdaM ca paraloka-sthAnaM ca

 

There are two positions about which the jIva-puruSa should

inquire – the inanimate material world, and the spiritual

world.

The jiva is situated in a third position, which is a

dreamlike condition (svapna-sthAna), and is the juncture

(taTa-stha) between the other two.

Being situated at the place where the two worlds meet ,

he sees both the jaDa-jagat (inert

world) and the cid-jagat (spiritual world).

 

This Sloka describes the marginal nature of jiva-Sakti. Again, it

is said in BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (4.3.18):

 

tad yathA mahA-matsya ubhe kule ‘nusaNcarati

pUrvaN cAparaN caivam evAyaM puruSa etAv ubhAv antAv

anu saNcarati svapnAntaN ca buddhANtaN ca

 

Just as a large fish in a river sometimes goes to the eastern

bank and sometimes to the western bank, so the jiva, being

situated in kAraNa-jala ( the water of cause that lies between

the inert and conscious worlds ), also gradually wanders to

both banks, the place of dreaming and the place of wakefulness.

 

VrajanAtha:

What is the Vedantic meaning of the word taTastha ?

 

BAbAji:

The space between the ocean and the land is called the

taTa (shore), but the place that touches the ocean is actually nothing

but land, so where is the shore? The taTa is the line of distinction

separating the ocean and the land, and it is so fine that it

cannot be seen with the gross eyes. If we compare the transcendental

realm to the ocean, and the material world to the land, then

taTa is the subtle line that divides the two, and the jiva-Sakti is situated

at the place where the two meet . The jivas are like the countless

atomic particles of light within the sunrays. Being situated in

the middle place, the jivas see the spiritual world on one side and

the material universe created by mAyA on the other. Just as

BhagavAn’s spiritual Sakti on one side is unlimited, mAyA-Sakti on

the other side is also very powerful. The innumerable subtle

(sUkSma) jivas are situated between these two. The jivas are marginal

by nature because they have manifested from KRSNa’s taTasthaSakti

(marginal potency).

 

VrajanAtha:

What is the taTastha-svabhAva (marginal nature)?

 

BAbAji:

It is the nature that enables one to be situated between

both worlds, and to see both sides. TaTastha-svabhAva is the eligibility

to come under the control of either of the Saktis. Sometimes

the shore is submerged in the river because of erosion, and then

again it becomes one with the land because the river changes its

course. If the jiva looks in the direction of KRSNa – that is, towards

the spiritual world – he is influenced by KRSNa Sakti. He then enters

the spiritual world, and serves Bhagavän in his pure, conscious,

spiritual form. However, if jiva looks towards mAyA , he becomes

opposed to KRSNa and is incarcerated by mAyA. This dual-faceted nature is called the taTastha-svabhAva (marginal nature).

 

 

VrajanAtha: What is the taTastha-svabhAva (marginal nature)?

 

BAbAji:

It is the nature that enables one to be situated between

both worlds, and to see both sides. Tastha-svabhAva is the eligibility

to come under the control of either of the Saktis. Sometimes

the shore is submerged in the river because of erosion, and then

again it becomes one with the land because the river changes its

course. If the jiva looks in the direction of KRSNa – that is, towards

the spiritual world – he is influenced by KRSNa Sakti. He then enters

the spiritual world, and serves Bhagavän in his pure, conscious,

spiritual form. However, if he looks towards mAyA, he becomes

opposed to KRSNa and is incarcerated by mAyA. This dual-faceted

nature is called the Tastha-svabhAva (marginal nature).

 

VrajanAtha: Is there any material component in the jiva’s original

constitution?

 

BAbAji: No, the jiva is created solely from the cit-Sakti. He can be

defeated – that is, covered by mAyA – because he is minute by nature

and lacks spiritual power, but there is not even a scent of mAyA

in the jiva’s existence.

 

Jaiva Dharma Chapter 1

The Eternal & Temprary dharmas of the jiva

 

“KRSNa is endowed with unlimited potencies. His complete potency

(purNA-Sakti) is perceived in the manifestation of the spiritual

world, cit-jagat.

 

Similarly, His tatastha-Sakti, or marginal potency,

is observed in the manifestation of the jivas. A special potency

acts in assembling the finite world (apUrNa-jagat), and this potency is known as taTasthA-Sakti.

 

The action of the marginal potency is to create an entity (vastu) which exists between the

animate objects (cid-vastu) and inanimate objects (acid-vastu) and

which can maintain a relationship with both the spiritual and material

worlds. Purely transcendental entities are by nature quite

the opposite of inanimate objects, and therefore have no connection

whatsoever with them.

 

Although the jiva is an animate spiritual particle, he is capable of a relationship with inanimate matter due to the influence of aiSi-Sakti, a divine potency, which is

known as the taTasthA-Sakti.

 

“The boundary region between land and the water of a river is

known as a taTa or shore. This taTa may be considered to be both

land and water; in other words, it is situated in both. The divine

aiSi-Sakti, which is situated in the border region, upholds the properties

of both land and water, as it were, in one existential entity.

The jiva’s nature is spiritual, but still, his composition is such that

he can become controlled by jaDa-dharma, the inert nature.

 

Therefore the baddha-jiva (conditioned soul) is not beyond all connection

with matter, unlike the jivas in the spiritual domain.

 

Nonetheless, he is distinct from dull matter because of his animate,

spiritual nature. Since the jiva is by nature different from both the

purely spiritual (nitya siddha) entities and dull matter, he is classified as a separate

principle. Therefore, the eternal distinction between

BhagavAn and the jiva must be accepted.

 

Jaiva Dharma Chapter 1

 

The Eternal & Temprary dharmas of the jiva

 

Where ETERNAL distinction and non-distinction are found at

one and the same time, eternal distinction takes prominence. The nitya-dharma of the jiva is loving servitorship to KriSna.

When he forgets this, he is subjected to the tyranny of mAyA, and from that

very moment he becomes diverted from KriSna.

 

The fall of the jiva from the marginal realm

does not take place within the context of material time.

(because the marginal zone between the material and the spiritual worlds

is not under the influence of mAyA, so this is also known as Viraja river

the river without passion)

 

Accordingly,the words anadi-bahirmukha

 

kRSNa bhUli sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha

ataeva mAyA tAre deya saMsAra-duhkha

 

Caitanya-caritAmRta, (Madhya 20.117)

 

are used, meaning that

the jIva has been diverted since time without beginning.

From the moment

of this diversion and the jIva’s entry into mAyA, his nitya-dharma becomes perverted.

 

Therefore, by the association of mAyA, the jiva

develops nisarga, an acquired nature, which thus facilitates the

display of his temporary function and disposition known as naimittika-dharma .

 

VrajanAtha:

Is there any material component in the jiva’s original

constitution?

 

BAbAji:

No, the jiva is created solely from the cit-Sakti. He can be

defeated – that is, covered by mayA – because he is minute by nature

and lacks spiritual power, but there is not even a scent of mAyA

in the jiva’s existence.

 

VrajanAtha:

I have heard from my teacher that when a fraction of

the conscious brahma is covered by mAyA, it becomes the jiva. He

explained the sky to be always the indivisible mahA-AkASa, but when a part of it is enclosed in a pot, it becomes ghaTa-AkASa. Similarly,

the jiva is originally brahma, but when that brahma is covered by

mAyA, the false ego of being a jiva develops . Is this conception correct?

 

BAbAji:

This doctrine is only MAyAvAda . How can mAyA touch

brahma? The MAyAvAdis propose that brahma has no Sakti (luptaSakti) ,

so how can mAyA – which is a Sakti – possibly approach

brahma, (if Sakti is supposed to be non-existent)?

( Everyting is brahma, brahma has no Sakti, where comes mAyA from ?)

The conclusion is that (the inexistent) mAyA cannot possibly cover

brahma and cause such a miserable condition.

 

Conversely, if we accept the transcendental Sakti (parASakti) of brahma, how can mAyA, which is an insignificant Sakti,

defeat the cit-Sakti and create the jiva from brahma ( which IS by definition immutable )?

Brahma is by definition indivisible, so how can such a brahma be divided ?

 

The idea that mAyA can act upon brahma is not acceptable.

MAyA plays no role in the creation of the jivas. Admittedly, the jiva is only atomic,

But even so, it is still superior as a tattva to mAyA.

 

VrajanAtha: Once another teacher said that the jiva is nothing but

a reflection of brahma. The sun is reflected in water, and similarly,

brahma becomes jiva when it is reflected in mAyA. Is this conception

correct?

BAbAji: Again this is simply another example of MAyAvAda philosophy.

Brahma has no limits, and a limitless entity can never be reflected.

The idea of limiting brahma is opposed to the conclusions

of the Vedas, so this theory of reflection is to be rejected.

 

 

VrajanAtha: A dig-vijaya sannyAsi once told me that in reality there

is no substance known as jiva. One only thinks of himself as a jéva

because of illusion, and when the illusion is removed, there is only

one indivisible brahma. Is this correct or not?

BAbAji: This is also MAyAvAda doctrine which has no foundation

at all. According to SAstra,

ekam evAdvitiyam:

“There is nothing apart from brahma.”

If there is nothing except brahma,

where has the illusion come from,

and who is supposed to be in illusion ?

If you say that brahma is in illusion,

you are saying that brahma is not actually brahma;

rather, it is insignificant.

 

And if you propose that illusion is a separate and independent element,

you negate the undivided oneness (advaya-jnana) of brahma.

 

 

VrajanAtha: So mAyA has nothing whatever to do with creating

the svarUpa of the jivas – this has to be accepted. At the same time,

I have also clearly understood that the jiva is by nature subject to the influence of mAyA. Now I want to know, did the cit-Sakti create

the jivas and give them their taTastha-svabhAva (marginal nature)?

 

BAbAji : No, the cit-Sakti is paripUrNa-Sakti, the complete potency

of KRSNa, and its manifestations are all eternally perfect substances.

The jiva is not nitya-siddha , although when he performs sAdhana,

he can become sAdhana-siddha and enjoy transcendental happiness

like the nitya-siddhas, eternally perfect beings. All the four

types of Srimati Radhika’s sakhis are nitya-siddha, and they are direct expansions (kaya-vyUha) of the cit-Sakti, Srimati RadhikA Herself.

 

All the jivas, on the other hand, have manifested from Sri KRSNa’s jIva-Sakti .

 

The cit-Sakti is Sri KRSNa’s complete Sakti, whereas

the jIva-Sakti is His incomplete sakti.

 

Just as the complete tattvas

are all transformations of the complete potency, similarly innumerable

atomic, conscious jivas are transformations of the incomplete Sakti.

 

VrajanAtha:

Sri KRSNa, being established in each of His Saktis, manifests His

svarUpa according to the nature of that Sakti.

 

When He is situated in the cit-svarUpa , He manifests His svarUpa as Sri KRSNa and also

as NArAyaNa, the Lord of Paravyoma;

when He is situated in the jIva-Sakti , He manifests His svarUpa as His vilAsa-mUrti of Vraja,

Baladeva; and being established in the mAyA Sakti , He manifests

the three ViSNu forms: KAraNodakaSAyi, KSirodakasayi and GarbhodakaSAyi.

 

In His KRSNa form in Vraja , He manifests all the

spiritual affairs to the superlative degree. In His Baladeva svarUpa.

as Seza-tattva, He manifests nitya-mukta-pArSada-jivas , eternally liberated

associates, who render eight types of service to KRSNa Sezitattva-

svarUpa, the origin of Seza-tattva.

 

Again, as Seza-rUpa SaNkarSaNa in Paravyoma ,

He manifests eight types of servants to

render eight kinds of services as eternally liberated associates of Sezi-rUpa NArAyaNa .

 

MahA-ViSNu, who is an avatara of SankarSaNa,

situates Himself in the jIva-Sakti, and in His ParamAtmA svarUpa,

He manifests the jIvas who have the potential to be involved in

the material world. These jivas are susceptible to the influence of

mAyA, and unless they attain the shelter of the hlAdini-Sakti of the

cit-Sakti by BhagavAn’s mercy, the possibility of their being defeated

by mAyA remains.

 

The countless conditioned jivas who have been

conquered by mAyA are subordinate to the three modes of material

nature. Bearing all this in mind, the siddhAnta is that it is only the

jiva-Sakti, and not the cit-Sakti, that manifests the jivas.

 

VrajanAtha: You said earlier that the cit world is eternal, and so

are the jivas. If this is true, how can an eternal entity possibly be

created, manifested or produced? If it is created at some point of

time, it must have been non-existent before that, so how can we

accept that it is eternal?

 

BAbAji: The time and space that you experience in this material

world are completely different from time and space in the spiritual

world. Material time is divided into three aspects: past, present

and future. However, in the spiritual world there is only one undivided ,

eternally present time. Every event of the spiritual world is

eternally present.

Whatever we say or describe in the material world is under the

jurisdiction of material time and space, so when we say – “The jivas

were created,” “The spiritual world was manifested,” or “There is

no influence of mAyA in creating the form of the jivas,” – material

time is bound to influence our language and our statements. This

is inevitable in our conditioned state, so we cannot remove the influence of material time from our descriptions of the atomic jiva

and spiritual objects. The conception of past, present and future

always enters them in some way or another. Still, those who can

discriminate properly can understand the application of the eternal

present when they comprehend the purport of the descriptions

of the spiritual world. BAbA, be very careful in this matter.

Give up the inevitable baseness, or the aspect of the description

that is fit to be rejected, and have spiritual realization.

All VaiSNavas say that the jiva is an eternal servant of KRSNa,

that his eternal nature is to serve KRSNa, and that he is now bound

by mAyA, because he has forgotten that eternal nature. However,

everyone knows that the jIva is an eternal entity, of which there

are two types: nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha . The subject has been

explained in this way only because the conditioned human intellect

being controlled by pramAda (inattentiveness), is unable to

comprehend a subject matter.

 

 

Realized sadhakas, though, experience

transcendental truth through their cit-samAdhi. Our words

always have some material limitation, so whatever we say will have

some mAyika defects. My dear son, you should always endeavor to

realize the pure truth. Logic and argument cannot help at all in

this regard, so it is futile to use them to try to understand inconceivable

subject matters.

I know that you will not be able to understand these subjects in

a moment, but as you cultivate these transcendental moods within

your heart, you will realize cinmaya-bhava more and more. In other

words, all the transcendental moods will manifest themselves in

the core of your purified heart. Your body is material, and all the

activities of your body are also material, but the essence of your

being is not material; you are an atomic conscious entity. The more

you know yourself, the more you will be able to realize how your

svarUpa is a tattva superior to the world of mAyA. Even if I tell you,

you will not realize it, or simply be hearing you will not attain it.

Cultivate the practice of chanting hari-nama as much as possible.

As you go on chanting hari-nAma, these transcendental bhAvas will

begin to manifest in your heart automatically, and to the degree

that they do so, you will be able to realize the transcendental world.

 

Mind and speech both have their origin in matter, and they cannot

touch the transcendental truth, even with the greatest endeavor.

The Vedas say in Taittiréya UpaniSad (2.9)

yato vAco nivartante aprApya manasä saha

The speech and the mind return from brahma, being unable

to attain Him.

I advise you not to inquire about this matter from anyone , but to realize it yourself. I have just given you an indication (AbhAsa).

 

VrajanAtha: You have explained that the jiva is like a spark of a

burning fire, or an atomic particle in the rays of the spiritual sun.

What is the role of jiva-Sakti in this?

 

BAbAji: KRSNa, who in these examples is compared to the blazing

fire or the sun, is a self-manifest tattva. Within the compass of that

blazing fire or sun – in other words, KRSNa – everything is a spiritual

manifestation, and the rays spread far and wide beyond its

sphere. These rays are the fractional function (aNu-kArya) of the

svarUpa-Sakti, and the rays within that fractional function are

paramANu (atomic particles) of the spiritual sun. The jivas are compared

to this very localized, atomic tattva. SvarUpa-Sakti manifests

the world within the sphere of the spiritual sun, and the function

outside the sphere of the sun is carried out by jiva-Sakti, which is

the direct partial representation of cit-Sakti. Therefore, the activities

related to the jiva are those of jiva-Sakti. ParAsya Saktir vividhaiva

zrUyate (SvetAzvatara UpaniSad 6.8), “That acintya-Sakti is called

parA-Sakti. Although it is one, this innate potency (sva-bhAviki-Sakti)

has manifold varieties based on jJAna (spiritual knowledge),

bala (spiritual strength), and kriyA (spiritual activities).” According

to this aphorism of Sruti, the cit-Sakti is a manifestation of the

parA-Sakti. It emanates from its own sphere – the spiritual realm –

as the jiva-Sakti, and in the marginal region between the spiritual

and the material worlds, it manifests innumerable, eternal jivas,

who are like atomic particles in the rays of the spiritual sun.

 

VrajanAtha: The spiritual rays of the transcendental KRSNa-sun and

the spiritual atoms within those rays are non-different from the

sun, yet at the same time they are eternally different from it. How

can both these facts be true simultaneously?

 

BAbAji: In the material world, when one object is produced from

another, either the product is completely different from its source,

or else it remains a part of it. This is the nature of material objects.

...

However, the nature of cid-vastu is somewhat different. Whatever

has manifested from the spiritual sun is simultaneously one with

it, and different from it.

 

 

VrajanAtha: If transcendental entities and material objects belong

to completely different categories, how can material objects be

used as appropriate examples for understanding transcendental

entities?

BAbAji: There are different categories of material objects, and the

paNDitas of the NyAya school consider them eternal. However,

there is no such categorical difference between the cit (transcendental)

and jaDa (material). I have already said that cit is the only

reality, and jDòa is simply its transformation (vikAra). The vikAra is

different from the original source, but it is still similar to the pure,

original object in many respects.

 

For example, ice is a transformation

of water, and it becomes different from water through this

transformation, but the two remain similar in many of their qualities,

such as coldness. Hot and cold water do not both have the

quality of coldness, but their quality of fluidity is the same. Therefore,

the transformed object certainly retains some similarity to

the pure object. According to this principle, the transcendental (cit) world can be understood to some extent with the help of material

examples. Again, by adopting the logic of arundhatI-darSana1,

one can use material examples to understand something about the

spiritual nature.

 

ArundhatI is a very small star, which is situated close to the VaSiztha

star in the SaptaRSi constellation .In order to view

it, its location is first determined by looking at a bigger star beside

it, then if one looks carefully one can see Arundhati close

by.“Similarly, the madhyama-adhikari, although taking help from the

senses and the language of the material world in describing the

spiritual world, realizes and sees the aprakRta-tattva after having applied

the aNjana, ointment, of prema to the eyes of bhakti.”

 

BAbAji: The

madhyama-adhikArIs take shelter of arundhati-darzana-nyAya, and experience

the transcendental pastimes, which are similar to mundane descriptions.

And when the uttama-adhikArI bhaktas hear the

descriptions of those pastimes, they become absorbed in the rasa of

pure transcendental cid-vilAsa, which is above all mundane qualities.

The Absolute Truth is aprAkRta-tattva, so how can we educate

the jIvas about it without taking help of the principles that I have

just described? Can the conditioned jIva understand a subject that

renders the voice dumb and stops the working of the mind? There

doesn’t appear to be any method of explaining these subjects other

than the principle of similarity, and the logic of arundhatI-darzana.

 

JIVA is always under the control of Sakti , although he has most of the qualities of ISvara

 

Jaiva Dharma Prameya Jiva Tattva Ch 15

 

 

Vrajanatha: What is the difference between ISvara and the jIva?

BAbAji: First you should understand the non-difference between ISvara and the jIva, and after that, I will explain their eternal difference.

ISvara is

the embodiment of knowledge (jJAna-svarUpa),

the knower (jJAtA-svarUpa),

one who considers or reflects (mantAsvarUpa)

the enjoyer (bhoktR-svarUpa)

self-effulgent (svaprakASa)

He also illuminates others (para-prakASa)

He has His own desires (icchA-maya), and

He is the knower of all (kzetra-jJA).

The jIva, too, is the form of knowledge, the knower, and the enjoyer; he too, is self-effulgent, and he illuminates others; and he too, has desires, and is the knower of his own field (kzetra-jJA). From this perspective,there is no difference between them.

However, ISvara is omnipotent, and by dint of this omnipotence, He is the basis of all these qualities, which are present in Him in full. These qualities are also present in the atomic jIva, but only to a minute degree. Thus, the nature and form of ISvara and the jiva are eternally different from each other because one is complete and the other is minute; and at the same time, there is a lack of distinction between ISvara and the jIva because of the similarity between their qualities.

 

ISvara is the Lord of svarUpa-Sakti, jIva-Sakti and mAyA-Sakti because of the completeness of the internal potency (Atma-Sakti).

Sakti is His maidservant, and He is the Lord of Sakti, who is activatedby His desire; this is the svarUpa of ISvara. Though the qualities of ISvara are present in the jIva to a minute degree, the jIva is nonetheless under the control of Sakti.

The word mAyA has been used in DaSa-mUla not only to indicate material mAyA, but also to indicate svarUpa-Sakti . MIyate anayA iti mAyA, “MAyA is that by which things can be measured .” The word mAyA refers to the Sakti that illuminates KRSNa’s identity in all the three worlds, namely, the cit-jagat, acit-jagat, and jIva-jagat . KRSNa is the controller of maya and the jIva is under the control of mAyA.

 

 

What is jiva jagat?

The marginal world!