Second
edition, loaded March 1, 2009
Source
Texts:
Liberation
from the Illusory Energy
Text
1
The
honorable king [Nimi] said: 'My lords, please tell us
about the Supreme Lord Vishnu His illusory potency [or
mâyâ, see also 11.2:
48], we
wish to understand that what bewilders even the great
mystics.
King
Nimi said: Now we wish to learn about the illusory potency
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, S'rî Vishnu,
which bewilders even great mystics. My lords, please speak
to us about this subject. (Vedabase)
Text
2
Cherishing
the nectar of your words about the topics of Hari, am I not yet
satiated by that antidote for the pain that torments a mortal
experiencing the misery of samsâra.'
Although
I am drinking the nectar of your statements about the
glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, my thirst is
not yet satiated. Such nectarean descriptions of the Lord
and His devotees are the actual medicine for conditioned
souls like me, who are tormented by the threefold miseries
of material existence. (Vedabase)
Text
3
S'rî
Antarîksha said: 'By the elements of the greater creation
evolved [conditioned]
the Soul of All Creation the creatures high and low [see
B.G. 13:
22 &
14:
18], o
mighty armed one, so that for the Original One His own
[parts and parcels] there was the [choice of]
accomplishing by sense-gratification and by self-realization
[see also 10.87:
2].
S'rî
Antarîksha said: O mighty-armed King, by activating
the material elements, the primeval Soul of all creation has
sent forth all living beings in higher and lower species so
that these conditioned souls can cultivate either sense
gratification or ultimate liberation, according to their
desire. (Vedabase)
Text
4
Having
entered the living beings that were thus created with the help
of the five gross elements and with having divided Himself as
the one [witness, the spirit, the mind] to the ten
[senses of perception and action], gives He them a life
with the modes.
The
Supersoul enters the material bodies of the created beings,
activates the mind and senses, and thus causes the
conditioned souls to approach the three modes of material
nature for sense gratification. (Vedabase)
Text
5
The living
being, that enlivened by the Suprme Soul with the modes enjoys
those modes, thinks that this created body is the true self and
that it is the master and thus becomes entangled [see also
B.G. 15:
8, compare
11.2:
37].
The
individual living being, the master of the material body,
uses his material senses, which have been activated by the
Supersoul, to try to enjoy sense objects composed of the
three modes of nature. Thus he misidentifies the created
material body with the unborn eternal self and becomes
entangled in the illusory energy of the Lord.
(Vedabase)
Text
6
Because
of the sense-motivated actions is the proprietor of the body
because of his desires engaged in different karmic - fruitive -
actions and reaps he the different types of fruit therefrom.
And thus moves he through this world in as well a state of
happiness as the contrary of it [see B.G.
2:
62].
Impelled
by deep-rooted material desires, the embodied living entity
engages his active sense organs in fruitive activities. He
then experiences the results of his material actions by
wandering throughout this world in so-called happiness and
distress. (Vedabase)
Text
7
This way by his
karma reaching destinations that bring him a lot of things that
are not so good, experiences the living being till the end of
time birth and death helplessly.
Thus
the conditioned living entity is forced to experience
repeated birth and death. Impelled by the reactions of his
own activities, he helplessly wanders from one inauspicious
situation to another, suffering from the moment of creation
until the time of cosmic annihilation. (Vedabase)
Text
8
When the
dissolution of the material elements is at hand withdraws the
[Lord in the form of] Time that is Without a Beginning
or an End, the manifest universe consisting of the gross
objects and subtle modes [back] into the unmanifest
[see also 3.29:
40-45,
3.26:
51].
When
the annihilation of the material elements is imminent, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of eternal time
withdraws the manifest cosmos, consisting of gross and
subtle features, and the entire universe vanishes into
nonmanifestation. (Vedabase)
Text
9
Most
assuredly will there be a terrible drought on the earth lasting
for a hundred years during which the accumulated heat of the
sun will seriously scorch the three worlds.
As
cosmic annihilation approaches, a terrible drought takes
place on earth for one hundred years. For one hundred years
the heat of the sun gradually increases, and its blazing
heat begins to torment the three worlds. (Vedabase)
Text
10
Beginning
from the lower regions [Pâtâla], will the
fire from the mouth of Sankarshana with its flames driven by
the winds shooting upwards, burn all directions.
Beginning
from Pâtâlaloka, a fire grows, emanating from
the mouth of Lord Sankarshana. Its flames shooting upward,
driven by great winds, it scorches everything in all
directions. (Vedabase)
Text
11
Great masses of
clouds will rain for a hundred years with torrents massive as
elephant trunks and because of that will everything be
inundated.
Hoards
of clouds called Samvartaka pour torrents of rain for one
hundred years. Flooding down in raindrops as long as the
trunk of an elephant, the deadly rainfall submerges the
entire universe in water. (Vedabase)
Text
12
O King, like a
fire running out of fuel, will thereafter the universe, the
Original Form of the Supreme Lord, be given up by Him [in
the form of Brahmâ] as He enters the subtle reality
of the unseen [see also B.G. 8:
19,
3.32:
12-15].
Then
Vairâja Brahmâ, the soul of the universal form,
gives up his universal body, O King, and enters into the
subtle unmanifest nature, like a fire that has run out of
fuel. (Vedabase)
Text
13
The
earth by the wind deprived of its aroma changes back into water
and the water by the same process deprived of its taste becomes
fire [again, see *].
Deprived
of its quality of aroma by the wind, the element earth is
transformed into water; and water, deprived of its taste by
that same wind, is merged into fire. (Vedabase)
Text
14
Fire,
by darkness deprived of its form, inevitably turns into air and
the air, losing its touch, dissolves into the ether. The ether
by the Supreme Soul of Time no longer being tangible then
merges into the ego [of not-knowing].
Fire,
deprived of its form by darkness, dissolves into the element
air. When the air loses its quality of touch by the
influence of space, the air merges into that space. When
space is deprived of its tangible quality by the Supreme
Soul in the form of time, space merges into false ego in the
mode of ignorance. (Vedabase)
Text
15
The senses, the
mind and the intelligence along with the gods [representing
the emotions], o King, enter into the ego-element and the
I-awareness along with all its guna-qualities merges
into the Supreme Self [see also 3.6
and
3.26:
21-48].
My
dear King, the material senses and intelligence merge into
false ego in the mode of passion, from which they arose; and
the mind, along with the demigods, merges into false ego in
the mode of goodness. Then the total false ego, along with
all of its qualities, merges into the mahat-tattva.
(Vedabase)
Text
16
With
us thus having described this illusory energy consisting of
three qualities, this agent of creation, maintenance and
dissolution of the Supreme Lord, what more would you like to
hear?'
I
have now described mâyâ, the illusory
energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This illusory
potency, consisting of the three modes of material nature,
is empowered by the Lord for the creation, maintenance and
annihilation of the material universe. Now, what more do you
wish to hear? (Vedabase)
Text
17
The
honorable king said: 'O great sage, please tell how persons who
are dull of intelligence with ease may overcome this material
energy of the Lord that is so unsurpassable to those who are
not self-controlled.'
King Nimi said:
O great sage, please explain how even a foolish materialist
can easily cross over the illusory energy of the Supreme
Lord, which is always insurmountable for those who are not
self-controlled. (Vedabase)
Text
18
S'rî
Prabuddha said: 'Looking at people who live as husband and wife
should one understand that their endeavoring to accomplish
results in order to lessen the distress and to gain in
happiness, leads to opposite results.
S'rî
Prabuddha said: Accepting the roles of male and female in
human society, the conditioned souls unite in sexual
relationships. Thus they constantly make material endeavors
to eliminate their unhappiness and unlimitedly increase
their pleasure. But one should see that they inevitably
achieve exactly the opposite result. In other words, their
happiness inevitably vanishes, and as they grow older their
material discomfort increases. (Vedabase)
Text
19
What happiness
would be gained by the unsteadiness of having a home, children,
relatives and domestic animals and with the hard to acquire
wealth that one is in pain for but leads to the death of the
soul?
Wealth
is a perpetual source of distress, it is most difficult to
acquire, and it is virtual death for the soul. What
satisfaction does one actually gain from his wealth?
Similarly, how can one gain ultimate or permanent happiness
from one's so-called home, children, relatives and domestic
animals, which are all maintained by one's hard-earned
money? (Vedabase)
Text
20
One should
understand that the next world [heaven or 'a higher
planet'] for which one this way settles with one's fruitive
action, cannot be sustained and is characterized by the
resultant [competitive] mutual destruction of equals,
superiors and those who rank lower [B.G.
8:
16].
One
cannot find permanent happiness even on the heavenly
planets, which one can attain in the next life by
ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices. Even in material
heaven the living entity is disturbed by rivalry with his
equals and envy of those superior to him. And since one's
residence in heaven is finished with the exhaustion of pious
fruitive activities, the denizens of heaven are afflicted by
fear, anticipating the destruction of their heavenly life.
Thus they resemble kings who, though enviously admired by
ordinary citizens, are constantly harassed by enemy kings
and who therefore never attain actual happiness.
(Vedabase)
Text
21
Therefore
should someone eager to know about the highest good, take
shelter of a spiritual master who resides in the supreme
tranquility of the Absolute Truth and is well versed in the
brahminical word [see e.g. 5.5:
10-13,
7.11:
13,
7.12:
1-16,
7.15:
25-26,
10.86:
57 & B.G.
4:
34].
Therefore
any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a
bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by
initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that
he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by
deliberation and is able to convince others of these
conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken
shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material
considerations, should be understood to be bona fide
spiritual masters. (Vedabase)
Text
22
At his feet
should one, with the guru as one's soul and deity, learn to be
of respect for the bhâgavata dharma [or
emancipation process, see 11.2:
34] by
which without deceit being faithfully of service the Supreme
Soul, the Lord bestowing His own Self, can be satisfied
[**].
Accepting
the bona fide spiritual master as one's life and soul and
worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the
process of pure devotional service. The Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Hari, the soul of all souls, is inclined to give
Himself to His pure devotees. Therefore, the disciple should
learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without
duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the
Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the
faithful disciple. (Vedabase)
Text
23
On the basis of
a mind that in every way is of detachment should one properly,
with mercy, friendship and reverence for all living beings,
cultivate association with the saintly and the saints
[compare 11.2:
46].
A
sincere disciple should learn to dissociate the mind from
everything material and positively cultivate association
with his spiritual master and other saintly devotees. He
should be merciful to those in an inferior position to him,
cultivate friendship with those on an equal level and meekly
serve those in a higher spiritual position. Thus he should
learn to deal properly with all living beings.
(Vedabase)
Text
24
One should be
of [inner and outer] cleanliness, penance, tolerance
and silence; scriptural study, simplicity, celibacy,
nonviolence and of equanimity when confronted with the duality
[see also yama
& niyama
and B.G. 12:
13-20].
To
serve the spiritual master the disciple should learn
cleanliness, austerity, tolerance, silence, study of Vedic
knowledge, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence, and equanimity
in the face of material dualities such as heat and cold,
happiness and distress. (Vedabase)
Text
25
In solitude
without a fixed residence, wearing old rags and satisfied with
anything, should one with the Controller constantly kept in
mind, meditate upon the True Self that is Omnipresent [see
also 2.2:
5,
7.13:
1-10]
One
should practice meditation by constantly seeing oneself to
be an eternal cognizant spirit soul and seeing the Lord to
be the absolute controller of everything. To increase one's
meditation, one should live in a secluded place and give up
false attachment to one's home and household paraphernalia.
Giving up the decorations of the temporary material body,
one should dress himself with scraps of cloth found in
rejected places, or with the bark of trees. In this way one
should learn to be satisfied in any material situation.
(Vedabase)
Text
26
With
faith in the scriptures that relate to the Supreme Lord and not
blaspheming other scriptures, should one with respect for the
truth, being of
strict control with the mind, one's speech and one's
activities, be of inner peace and sense control as well
[see also B.G. 15:
15].
One
should have firm faith that he will achieve all success in
life by following those scriptures that describe the glories
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavân. At
the same time, one should avoid blaspheming other
scriptures. One should rigidly control his mind, speech and
bodily activities, always speak the truth, and bring the
mind and senses under full control. (Vedabase)
Text
27-28
Hearing,
chanting and meditating the pastimes and transcendental
qualities of the Lord, of whose incarnations the activities are
all wonderful, must one
do everything for His sake. Whatever worship one performs, of
whatever charity, penance, japa,
piety, one is, including whatever one holds dear, one's wife,
one's sons, home and very life air, should one all dedicate to
the Supreme [see also B.G. 9:
27].
One
should hear, glorify and meditate upon the wonderful
transcendental activities of the Lord. One should
specifically become absorbed in the appearance, activities,
qualities and holy names of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Thus inspired, one should perform all of one's
daily activities as an offering to the Lord. One should
perform sacrifice, charity and penance exclusively for the
Lord's satisfaction. Similarly, one should chant only those
mantras which glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
And all one's religious activities should be performed as an
offering to the Lord. Whatever one finds pleasing or
enjoyable he should immediately offer to the Supreme Lord,
and even his wife, children, home and very life air he
should offer at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. (Vedabase)
Text
29
With
rendering service to both [the moving and nonmoving]
must one be of friendship for as well the [normal]
human beings as for the ones who are of a saintly respect, for
the purest souls, such as those who accept Krishna as the Lord
of their heart.
One
who desires his ultimate self-interest should cultivate
friendship with those persons who have accepted Krishna as
the Lord of their life. One should further develop an
attitude of service toward all living beings. One should
especially try to help those in the human form of life and,
among them, especially those who accept the principles of
religious behavior. Among religious persons, one should
especially render service to the pure devotees of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
Text
30
In
mutual discussions, in being mutually attracted and pleasing
one another, is there thanks to the glories of the Lord, in the
joint cessation of material activities, the purification of
[one's relation to] the soul
[see also
B.G. 3:
38].
One
should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord
by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord.
This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop
their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and
satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are
able to give up material sense gratification, which is the
cause of all suffering. (Vedabase)
Text
31
Remembering
and reminding one another is one by the
bhakti unto the
Lord who puts an end to the chain of sins, awakened and has one
of the devotion a body that is moved by ecstasy [see also
11.2:
40].
The
devotees of the Lord constantly discuss the glories of the
Personality of Godhead among themselves. Thus they
constantly remember the Lord and remind one another of His
qualities and pastimes. In this way, by their devotion to
the principles of bhakti-yoga, the devotees please the
Personality of Godhead, who takes away from them everything
inauspicious. Being purified of all impediments, the
devotees awaken to pure love of Godhead, and thus, even
within this world, their spiritualized bodies exhibit
symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, such as standing of the
bodily hairs on end. (Vedabase)
Text
32
Sometimes
one cries by the thought of Acyuta, sometimes one laughs, takes
one great pleasure and speaks one, acts one wondrously, dances
and sings one and sometimes is one, after the example of the
Unborn One getting silent, freed from distress and attains one
the Supreme [see also 10.35].
Having
achieved love of Godhead, the devotees sometimes cry out
loud, absorbed in thought of the infallible Lord. Sometimes
they laugh, feel great pleasure, speak out loud to the Lord,
dance or sing. Such devotees, having transcended material,
conditioned life, sometimes imitate the unborn Supreme by
acting out His pastimes. And sometimes, achieving His
personal audience, they remain peaceful and silent.
(Vedabase)
Text
33
Thus
learning about the bhâgavata dharma and by the
resulting bhakti
completely being devoted to Nârâyana, crosses one
easily over the mâyâ that is so difficult to
overcome [see also 1.1:
2].'
Thus
learning the science of devotional service and practically
engaging in the devotional service of the Lord, the devotee
comes to the stage of love of Godhead. And by complete
devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Nârâyana, the devotee easily crosses over the
illusory energy, mâyâ, which is extremely
difficult to cross. (Vedabase)
Text
34
The
honorable king [Nimi] said: 'Please, all of you expert
knowers of the spiritual, be so kind as to describe
to us the
transcendental situation of the Supersoul of the Absolute Truth
that is associated with the name of Nârâyana
[see also 1.2:
11].'
King
Nimi inquired: Please explain to me the transcendental
situation of the Supreme Lord, Nârâyana, who is
Himself the Absolute Truth and the Supersoul of everyone.
You can explain this to me, because you are all most expert
in transcendental knowledge. (Vedabase)
Text
35
S'rî
Pippalâyana said: 'Please o King, know the Supreme
[Personality of Godhead] to encompass the following:
the Causeless Cause of the creation, maintenance and
destruction of this universe, which in wakefulness, in the
dream state and in deep sleep, as well as external to these
states exists and by which the bodies, the senses, the life
airs and the minds of each being separately are enlivened and
acting.
S'rî
Pippalâyana said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead
is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of
this universe, yet He has no prior cause. He pervades the
various states of wakefulness, dreaming and unconscious deep
sleep and also exists beyond them. By entering the body of
every living being as the Supersoul, He enlivens the body,
senses, life airs and mental activities, and thus all the
subtle and gross organs of the body begin their functions.
My dear King, know that Personality of Godhead to be the
Supreme. (Vedabase)
Text
36
This
can nor by the mind, by the faculties of speech, sight,
intelligence, the life air or the senses be covered, just as a
fire cannot be covered by its own sparks. Not even the vedic
word may express it. For the Vedas deny that the Supreme Self
can be expressed in words - that can only be achieved by
indirect expressions,
words that refer to that without which the scriptural
restrictions would have no ultimate purpose [compare
10.87].
Neither
the mind nor the faculties of speech, sight, intelligence,
the life air or any of the senses are capable of penetrating
that Supreme Truth, any more than small sparks can affect
the original fire from which they are generated. Not even
the authoritative language of the Vedas can perfectly
describe the Supreme Truth, since the Vedas themselves
disclaim the possibility that the Truth can be expressed by
words. But through indirect reference the Vedic sound does
serve as evidence of the Supreme Truth, since without the
existence of that Supreme Truth the various restrictions
found in the Vedas would have no ultimate purpose.
(Vedabase)
Text
37
In
the beginning being One became the goodness, passion and
ignorance thereafter known as the threefold that associated
with the power to act, the power of consciousness and the
I-awareness is called the individual living being [the
jîva]. That individuality assumed the forms of
spiritual knowledge [the gods], the actions [the
senses] and the
fruits [of good and bad results]. Thus possessing great
varieties of energy is it the Supreme alone beyond both the
gross and the subtle that is manifest [as the Absolute
Truth or Brahman, see also mahat-tattva,
pradhâna,
4.29:
79, B.G.
10:
42,
13:
13 &
7:
14].
Originally
one, the Absolute, Brahman, comes to be known as threefold,
manifesting itself as the three modes of material nature -
goodness, passion and ignorance. Brahman further expands its
potency, and thus the power to act and the power of
consciousness become manifest, along with the false ego,
which covers the identity of the conditioned living being.
Thus, by the expansion of the multipotencies of the
Absolute, the demigods, as the embodiment of knowledge,
become manifest, along with the material senses, their
objects, and the results of material activity, namely
happiness and distress. In this way the manifestation of the
material world takes place as the subtle cause and as the
material effect visible in the appearance of gross material
objects. Brahman, which is the source of all subtle and
gross manifestations, is simultaneously transcendental to
them, being absolute. (Vedabase)
Text
38
This
Soul, never born and never dying, grows nor decays; it is the
knower of the times of living of the living beings subjected to
change, and that
Soul, omnipresent and everlasting, is pure consciousness the
same way as the [one] life air
[prâna]
within that by the power of the senses manifested itself as
being divided [see also B.G. 2:
23-30 and
***].
Brahman,
the eternal soul, was never born and will never die, nor
does it grow or decay. That spiritual soul is actually the
knower of the youth, middle age and death of the material
body. Thus the soul can be understood to be pure
consciousness, existing everywhere at all times and never
being destroyed. Just as the life air within the body,
although one, becomes manifest as many in contact with the
various material senses, the one soul appears to assume
various material designations in contact with the material
body. (Vedabase)
Text
39
[With
beings] from eggs, from embryos, from plants and from the
indistinct of moisture [micro-organisms] accompanies
the vital air the individual soul
[see also
linga]
from one [life form] to the other. The same way as the
soul, apart from the thought process invariably stays the same
when remembrance restores from a deep sleep in which the ego
and the senses together had merged [see B.G.
2:
22].
The
spirit soul is born in many different species of life within
the material world. Some species are born from eggs, others
from embryos, others from the seeds of plants and trees, and
others from perspiration. But in all species of life the
prâna, or vital air, remains unchanging and
follows the spirit soul from one body to another. Similarly,
the spirit soul is eternally the same despite its material
condition of life. We have practical experience of this.
When we are absorbed in deep sleep without dreaming, the
material senses become inactive, and even the mind and false
ego are merged into a dormant condition. But although the
senses, mind and false ego are inactive, one remembers upon
waking that he, the soul, was peacefully sleeping.
(Vedabase)
Text
40
When
one desires the feet of the One With the Lotus-navel is the
dirt of the heart, which sprouted from the fruitive action
according the modes of nature, cleansed away by the power of
bhakti and is, when one is fully purified, directly the
truth of the soul
realized, about the same way as one with the naked eye can see
the sunshine [B.G. 2:
55 &
6:
20-23 and
nyâyika].'
When
one seriously engages in the devotional service of the
Personality of Godhead, fixing the Lord's lotus feet within
one's heart as the only goal of life, one can destroy the
innumerable impure desires lodged within the heart as a
result of one's previous fruitive work within the three
modes of material nature. When the heart is thus purified
one can directly perceive both the Supreme Lord and one's
self as transcendental entities. Thus one becomes perfect in
spiritual understanding through direct experience, just as
one can directly experience the sunshine through normal,
healthy vision. (Vedabase)
Text
41
The
honorable king said: 'Please explain to us the karma yoga by
which being refined
a person in this life quickly gets rid of his fruitive actions
and, freed from karmic reactions, enjoys the transcendental
[see also B.G. 1-6
or 3.5].
King
Nimi said: O great sages, please speak to us about the
process of karma-yoga. Purified by this process of
dedicating one's practical work to the Supreme, a person can
very quickly free himself from all material activities, even
in this life, and thus enjoy pure life on the transcendental
platform. (Vedabase)
Text
42
In
front of my father [Ikshvâku see
also
9.6:
4] I asked
the sages [the Kumâras]
a similar
question in the past, but the sons of Brahmâ didn't
answer, please, for that reason, speak about
it.'
Once
in the past, in the presence of my father,
Mahârâja Ikshvâku, I placed a similar
question before four great sages who were sons of Lord
Brahmâ. But they did not answer my question. Please
explain the reason for this. (Vedabase)
Text
43
S'rî
Âvirhotra replied: 'Karma,
akarma
and vikarma are, because they originating from the
Controller not being worldly, are subject matter understood
through the Vedas, something about which even the great
scholars are confused [see also B.G. 4:
16-17 and
4.29:
26-27].
S'rî
Âvirhotra replied: Prescribed duties, nonperformance
of such duties, and forbidden activities are topics one can
properly understand through authorized study of the Vedic
literature. This difficult subject matter can never be
understood by mundane speculation. The authorized Vedic
literature is the sound incarnation of the Personality of
Godhead Himself, and thus Vedic knowledge is perfect. Even
the greatest learned scholars are bewildered in their
attempts to understand the science of action if they neglect
the authority of Vedic knowledge. (Vedabase)
Text
44
In
covert terms do the Vedas, offering guidance for the childlike
human beings to be freed from their
karma, indeed
prescribe material activities just as one prescribes a medicine
[see also B.G. 3:
26, see
5.5:
17 10.24:
17-18].
Childish
and foolish people are attached to materialistic, fruitive
activities, although the actual goal of life is to become
free from such activities. Therefore, the Vedic injunctions
indirectly lead one to the path of ultimate liberation by
first prescribing fruitive religious activities, just as a
father promises his child candy so that the child will take
his medicine. (Vedabase)
Text
45
The
one who, not having subdued his senses, ignorantly not performs
what the Vedas prescribe, will, by his irreligion defying the
duty, achieve death time and again [see also B.G.
3:
8,
16:
23-24,
17:
5-6,
18:
7].
If
an ignorant person who has not conquered the material senses
does not adhere to the Vedic injunctions, certainly he will
engage in sinful and irreligious activities. Thus his reward
will be repeated birth and death. (Vedabase)
Text
46
Certainly
will one, when one according to what the Vedas prescribe
without attachment performs and sacrifices for the sake of the
Supreme
Controller, achieve the perfection that, to raise the interest,
is put in terms of fruitive results [karma-kânda
& B.G. 4:
17-23].
By
executing without attachment the regulated activities
prescribed in the Vedas, offering the results of such work
to the Supreme Lord, one attains the perfection of freedom
from the bondage of material work. The material fruitive
results offered in the revealed scriptures are not the
actual goal of Vedic knowledge, but are meant for
stimulating the interest of the performer. (Vedabase)
Text
47
One
who swiftly wants to cut through the knot [of
attachment] in the heart should worship Lord Kes'ava and as
well study the divinity as described in the supplementary vedic
literatures [the
tantras,
see also B.G. 12:
6-7].
One
who desires to quickly cut the knot of false ego, which
binds the spirit soul, should worship the Supreme Lord,
Kes'ava, by the regulations found in Vedic literatures such
as the tantras. (Vedabase)
Text
48
Having
obtained the mercy [the initiation] of the teacher of
example who shows him what
is handed down by tradition, should the devotee be of worship
for the Supreme Personality in the particular form he prefers
[see also B.G. 3:
35,
7:
20].
Having
obtained the mercy of his spiritual master, who reveals to
the disciple the injunctions of Vedic scriptures, the
devotee should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in
the particular personal form of the Lord the devotee finds
most attractive. (Vedabase)
Text
49
Clean
in front of it seated controlling the breath and so on
[see
ashthânga-yoga]
should he, purifying the body with the in renunciation invoked
protection, worship the Lord [assigning the different parts
of his body to Him by marking them with mantras, see also B.G.
5:
27-28 and
6.8:
4-6].
After
cleansing oneself, purifying the body by
prânâyâma, bhûta-s'uddhi and other
processes, and marking the body with sacred tilaka for
protection, one should sit in front of the Deity and worship
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
Text
50-51
With
preparing oneself in one's mind and heart with all available
ingredients, with the deity and everything belonging to it, the
items to be offered, and with sprinkling the floor and the
place to sit, should one, preparing the water for the
sacrifice, with a concentrated mind put the deity in its
proper place
having drawn sacred marks on its heart and other parts and next
be of worship with the appropriate mantra
[4*].
The
devotee should gather whatever ingredients for worshiping
the Deity are available, make ready the offerings, the
ground, his mind and the Deity, sprinkle his sitting place
with water for purification and prepare the bathing water
and other paraphernalia. The devotee should then place the
Deity in His proper place, both physically and within his
own mind, concentrate his attention, and mark the Deity's
heart and other parts of the body with tilaka. Then he
should offer worship with the appropriate mantra.
(Vedabase)
Text
52-53
With the
mantras belonging to Him should one be of worship for each
particular deity and its limbs, His special features [like
His cakra] and His associates [like the
pañca-tattva,
see the S'is'umâra-mantra or the Ambaris'a prayers for
the cakra mentioned in 5.23:
8 and
9.5].
With all respect complementing the worship as enjoined with
water for its feet, scented water to welcome, fine clothing,
ornaments, fragrances, necklaces, unbroken barleycorns
[meant for applying tilaka] and with garlands,
incense, lamps and such offerings, should one with reverence
and prayer bow down to the Lord.
One
should worship the Deity along with each of the limbs of His
transcendental body, His weapons such as the Sudars'ana
cakra, His other bodily features and His personal
associates. One should worship each of these transcendental
aspects of the Lord by its own mantra and with offerings of
water to wash the feet, scented water, water to wash the
mouth, water for bathing, fine clothing and ornaments,
fragrant oils, valuable necklaces, unbroken barleycorns,
flower garlands, incense and lamps. Having thus completed
the worship in all its aspects in accordance with the
prescribed regulations, one should then honor the Deity of
Lord Hari with prayers and offer obeisances to Him by bowing
down. (Vedabase)
Text
54
Absorbing
oneself in that [as a servant and not falsely identifying
oneself] should one thus meditating fully be of worship for
the mûrti of the Lord and, taking the remnants on
one's head, put Him respectfully back where He
belongs.
The
worshiper should become fully absorbed in meditating upon
himself as an eternal servant of the Lord and should thus
perfectly worship the Deity, remembering that the Deity is
also situated within his heart. Then he should take the
remnants of the Deity's paraphernalia, such as flower
garlands, upon his head and respectfully put the Deity back
in His own place, thus concluding the worship.
(Vedabase)
Text
55
He
who thus worships the Controller, the Supreme Soul, present in
the fire, the sun, the water and so on, as also in the guest
and in one's own heart [see also 2.2:
8],
becomes without delay liberated indeed.'
Thus
the worshiper of the Supreme Lord should recognize that the
Personality of Godhead is all-pervading and should worship
Him through His presence in fire, the sun, water and other
elements, in the heart of the guest one receives in one's
home, and also in one's own heart. In this way the worshiper
will very soon achieve liberation. (Vedabase)
*:
When a quality is removed, becomes an element nondifferent from
the element that evolved earlier in the evolution of the
universe, it then merges, changes, or dissolves into it. That
is how the annihilation of the universe takes place.
**
S'rîla Rûpa Gosvâmî formulated four
preliminary requisites for advancement in
this: '[1]
Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide
spiritual master, [2] becoming initiated by the
spiritual master and learning from him how to discharge the
duties of devotional service, [3] obeying the orders of
the spiritual master with faith and devotion, and [4]
following in the footsteps of the great
âcâryas [teachers] under the
direction of the spiritual master.'
(Bhakti-rasâmrita-sindhu 1.2.74)
*** S'rîla Madhvâcârya here quotes, from the
Moksha-dharma section of Vyâsadeva's
Mahâbhârata, the Lord saying:
aham
hi jîva-samjño vai
mayi jîvah sanâtanah
maivam tvayânumantavyam
dristho jîvo mayeti ha
aham s'reyo vidhâsyâmi
yathâdhikâram îs'varah
'The
living entity, known as jîva, is not different
from Me, for he is My expansion. Thus the living entity is
eternal, as I am, and always exists within Me. But you should
not artificially think, 'Now I have seen the soul.' Rather, I,
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will bestow this
benediction upon you when you are actually
qualified.'
*4
Just as each prâkrita, impersonalist,
materialistic devotee is worshiping the Lord in His form of
Time with pragmatically perverted or unleaped clocks and
weekdivisions [see the
Order of Time
and kâla
for correcting on this] as the deity of preference with
mantras like 'be on time' and 'time is money', so does
classical bhakti with the kanishthha or beginning
personalist devotee more truthfully to the vedic authority
arrange for also the personal form of the Lord in the form of a
deity worshiping with 'om namo bhagavate
vâsudevâya' [4.8:
54],
the Gâyatrî,
the Mahâmantra
and other mantras. In all these cases should be remembered what
Vyâsa in 11.2:
47
says on mûrti-worship in
general.
