19890411 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.40

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on April 11th, 1989 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, 4th Canto, chapter 28, verse 40.

Translation: King Malayadhvaja attained perfect knowledge by being able to distinguish the Supersoul from the individual soul. The individual soul is localized, whereas the Supersoul is all-pervasive. He became perfect in knowledge that the material body is not the soul but that the soul is the witness of the material body.

(Aside: We will go with the purport)

Purport: The conditioned soul is often frustrated in trying to understand the distinctions between the material body, the Super soul and the individual soul. There are two types of Māyāvādī philosophers: the followers of the Buddhist philosophy and the followers of the Śaṅkara philosophy. The followers of Buddha do not recognize that there is anything beyond the body. The followers of Śaṅkara conclude that there is no separate existence of the Paramātmā, the Supersoul; they believe that the individual soul is identical with the Paramātmā in the ultimate analysis. But the Vaiṣṇava philosopher, who is perfect in knowledge, knows that the body is made of the external energy and that the Super soul, the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is sitting with the individual soul and is distinct from him. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3):

kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ
yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion.” Bhagavad-gītā (13.3)

The body is taken to be the field, and the individual soul is taken to be the worker in that field. Yet there is another, who is known as the Super soul, who, along with the individual soul, simply witnesses. The individual soul works and enjoys the fruits of the body, whereas the Super soul simply witnesses the activities of the individual soul but does not enjoy the fruits of those activities. The Super soul is present in every field of activity, whereas the individual soul is present in his one localized body. King Malayadhvaja attained this perfection of knowledge and was able to distinguish between the soul and the Super soul and the soul and the material body.

Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport to text 40, chapter 28, canto 4 of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

Jayapatākā Swami: So here king Malayadhvaja has realized Supersoul in the heart and the Super soul in the heart is giving him direct instructions what to do.

Actually this, by being in touch with the Supersoul then the king Malayadhvaja naturally is able to cross over all bewilderment, all confusions. In the material world, everyone is confused due to lack of knowledge.

Therefore, one needs to take guidance from the spiritual master.

The spiritual master as the Super soul is known as ‘Caitya Guru’, the spiritual master in the heart who gives direct guidance. Sometimes it is difficult to understand what the Supersoul wants one to do as the messages from the mind and intelligence are very powerful and the neophyte is not able to distinguish what the Supersoul is desiring and what the mind and intelligence is saying. So, initially one serves the Supersoul through His external manifestation or svarūpa known as the initiating and instructing spiritual master.

The ṣikṣā/dīkṣā-guru, gives instruction from outside and Caitya Guru give instructions from within. This is basically how the Lord helps us to get back home, back to Godhead by instruction from within and without. So, here the realization that the king got was that there is a difference between the material world, the soul and the Supersoul. This is basically the philosophy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu - ‘ acintya-bhedābheda tattva’, that simultaneously one is one and different, the soul is one and different from the Lord and His energies. We are one of the energies of the Lord. We are one with the Lord qualitatively, but quantitatively we are different.

Similarly, the material nature is one of the energies of the Lord. But although it is energy of the Lord, in that sense you can say as its non-different, in the other sense it is different. So, everything can be analyzed by this ‘acintya-bhedābheda tattva’, philosophy. However, the Māyāvādīs, they are two categories - one is ‘Śūnyavādi and one is ‘advaita-vādi’. ‘ Śūnyavādi says that after the body is dismantled, there is nothing; there is no spiritual soul, there is no spiritual reality, everything is zero. It is only this material energy which has got no permanent basis. So therefore, everything is ultimately nothing. This is Śūnyavādi, or the Buddhist philosophy.

Then there is the advaita-vādi, they say everything is one. They say that nondual - we are all God, but we have forgotten we are God. When we remember then we are realized that this is all illusion and we are actually God. So, neither of these philosophies are able to answer the many questions that come up in self-realization. Because if we are all God, then how is it that God could fall into illusion? Then illusion is greater than God. So therefore, they are known as Māyāvādī’s or those who consider illusion to be the greatest. Otherwise how can illusion cover God?

The Śūnyavādi’s, they don’t, they are atheists. Basically they don’t accept any absolute form of God or the soul. So then, this doesn’t answer even how existence is there. If everything is nothing then how is everything come about from nothing? So, this is even less logical or acceptable.

So basically, the only - as Prabhupāda said, here the only complete knowledge is through the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher was perfect in knowledge knows that the body is made of external energy and the Supersoul, the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sitting with the individual soul and is distinct from Him.

It is very simple - there is the body, there’s the knower of the body and there’s the owner of the body - or the Supersoul, the supreme cause of all the bodies, the supreme proprietor of everything. So as an individual soul, we need to know what is the nature of this inferior material energy -the body. What is the superior position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead - that we are part of Him, therefore we need to serve Him.

So, this philosophy is very simple,very sublime. If someone understands it, then all these questions are, automatically answered. However, Lord Caitanya, He actually came to take away these confusions of Śūnyavādi’s and Māyāvādī. One time, actually wherever He goes He defeats these philosophers in a very humble, in a very determined manner. Advaita Goswami- he was also preaching very actively. But because he was older than Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya would always offer him respect. But Advaita Goswami knew that actually Lord Caitanya was Kṛṣṇa Himself. So, he wanted to offer Lord Caitanya respects. But actually, Lord Caitanya would never accept that. He was always offering respect to Advaita.

So, one day Advaita decided that by any means I’m going to have Lord Caitanya assume a superior position to me. So, he went out and he started to preach some of these philosophies - how everything is one and … As soon as Lord Caitanya got the message that he was preaching this type of yoga, Māyāvādī philosophy or something, immediately He took a stick and went out looking for Advaita Goswami. And when He found him giving the class like that, then He started chasing him with a stick. And Advaita was laughing and running and said, “Finally now You are disrespecting me. That means now you are taking a superior position.” And he ran away. Lord Caitanya said, “I don’t care. But you never speak these things again. “ So finally, He chastised Advaita Goswami- ‘Whatever you do, don’t do this. This is causing me lot of anxiety. ‘

So, we need to know the philosophy. It is not very complicated, but the Māyāvādīs make it very complicated by juggling around many of the verses and the ideas. So, the devotees have to be very clear on this so that they can answer these questions. Because unless the person can rise above these types of impersonalists then actually they can never be established in devotional service. Because devotional service is personal and if they are impersonal, that means there is, there can be no question of devotion.

Unless you accept that there is a separate existence of the Supreme Lord and His devotee and that the devotee is a worshipper of the Supreme Lord who is worship able, then you have a question of devotion. If the devotee thinks,’ I am going to become the object of my worship’, then there is no question of worship at all. Oneness is the destroyer of any bhakti. Just like in the government we find all these political parties - they want the loyal followers. But if the follower says “I’m going to become the leader.”, then that means(laughs) they - wait a minute, this can’t be clashes there (laughs) - everybody - How can everyone be the leader?

So, whenever he wants to be the Prime minister then, there should have been some dissension. So, someone has to be leader and others followers like that. It is a very crude example. The Lord is the Supreme, without a second, without any equal. We are His eternal servitors. But if we think that “I’m going to become one with God, I’m going to become totally one with Him, I’ll be the same”, so there is no question of devotion.

So, bhakti-yoga cannot begin until this impersonal calamity is destroyed. And the impersonal calamity has no philosophical basis. In truth its basis is due to misrepresenting the absolute truth and only showing a part of it, not the whole. By showing a part of it and also misunderstanding how that part fits in with the whole. So, because of this partial understanding, misunderstood actually. Therefore, the impersonalists, they fall in to this pit where they become bewildered about their actual position. So here in this verse, it clearly states that to distinguish the Supersoul from the individual soul and the individual soul from the material body. That the material body is not the soul, but the soul is the witness of the material body.

We are simply witnessing what’s going on. Because we identify with the body through ahankar, what happens to the body we consider as happening to us. That’s our illusion. So, we are sandwiched between material body and Supersoul or between we have the choice of identifying with the body or surrendering to the Supersoul and becoming fixed in the transcendental platform. King Malayadhvaja, he has now understood the absolute truth. Therefore, he is surrendering to the Supersoul who is all pervasive and he is becoming detached from his material body. This is the perfection of yoga.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Since we have got many programs this morning, so therefore we are a bit fast, there is time for one question, if Venkateśvara doesn’t have a question.

Devotee: [Not audible 12:50]

Jayapatākā Swami: They say that the soul is the combination of material elements. That the soul is this ahańkāra, this false ego. When you transcend the false ego, you realize that there is nothing.

Actually, what happens is that above the eight elements –

bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ
khaḿ mano buddhir eva ca
ahańkāra itīyaḿ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4)

When you go above those eight, you come to the pradhāna -the unmanifested material energy. Then there is the Virajā river, beyond that there is the impersonal brahma-jyoti. Then the Vaikuṇṭha-lokas. So somehow when they dismantle the ahankaar, they realise the pradhāna - the unmanifested material energy and they think that is the ultimate.

So, they think that actually so everything dismantles and it becomes nothing because the pradhāna is the formless energy of material nature. They don’t, they doesnt gone beyond that to realise the eternal existence of the soul which is in the brahma-jyoti, which is the beginning of ‘sat’ , then ‘cit’ then ‘ānanda’ .

Devotee: This is the case when the person becomes liberated.

Jayapatākā Swami: That’s not liberation. That is called the ‘nirvāṇa’.

Devotee: and the person who is perfect .

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, you can say according to Buddhist idea.

Devotee: But what about those who take birth again and again?

Jayapatākā Swami: Their ahańkāra has not dismantled. Those eight elements are together. So, these have created a type of illusory entity and when they. finally, they reach nirvāṇa, then they cease to exist, then they get peace.

That’s their process - it doesn’t make sense. You try to figure out, then you figure out is that it doesn’t make sense in the ultimate issue. That how these elements have come and then they go, then why they come together at all? It doesn’t make any. It ultimately doesn’t make sense to a Vaiṣṇava and a student.

But that’s their philosophy. You just have to say this is what they believe. How they can believe such a thing, that’s what they believe. They believe that there is the material elements, and when they dismantle and becomes nothing. We know that the soul is always. They haven’t realized the soul. They just realize the covering of the soul. To take away the covering of the soul but they haven’t come to the point of realizing the soul. So how they are even realizing that all these things are happening? That means that they are still observing, the soul is observing, the soul is the witness. They have not realized this stuff. They haven’t achieved self-realization. They just got to a point where they realized that they are not the body. But they think that … they thought they were the body, and when their body is ... they no longer relate with the body, then they think ‘No I don’t exist’. (laughs) How can they...? They are actually still existing. But beyond that point no one has gone. They just see the people disappear; they think ‘well they disappeared.’

Actually, the souls are there and even from there one can either fall back down in the material active well or may be somehow one can also go up to the higher levels. But that Lord Buddha reveals- he said goes up to that level, then if you want to find out, you go to that level and then you find out. But generally, what they understand is, you cease to exist. Some people say, well some Buddhists say, ‘Well, there are different levels of nirvāṇa-nine levels. this that.’

But the general bottom line is nothing is the ultimate. That’s why they were defeated easily by Śankara. How can you just be a bunch of elements that disintegrate and then you are nothing? Then what the…. The soul is the witness, the soul is witnessing all these things. Even after this happens, the soul is witnessing. Then how everything has come from nothing? “janmādy asya yato” Everything has to come from something. So the advaita-vādīs say it’s coming from Brahman - ‘Ahaṁ brahmāsmi’, we are all Brahman. They take it to that point.

The Vaiṣṇava understand is ‘saccidānanda’, the full. If you are coming from total ignorance and then the Buddhist philosophy will give so many - they show the reincarnation. They show karma, they show everything and then they show ultimately the thing is you become higher and higher levels. You become, in a point where you become free of karmas , you become mode of sattvic- full pure goodness and then you just want to help everyone. And then finally you come to the point of Buddha- enlightenment, where you realize that actually you are not this body at all and then you descend, dismantle and achieve nirvāṇa- finished. Or there is some, you know. Then there are subtle variances of that, but ultimately that’s the bottom line.

Buddha didn’t clearly say that there is no soul. He didn’t say that there is no God, he spread it around these points. But subsequently that’s what Buddhism believes. He led them to believe that. The logic he gave, one will only understand that without having been told that there is something higher. There will be then the kind of a natural foolish conclusion you could come to- illogical, but the way he presented it. But actually, if you know the Vaiṣṇava philosophy you can see that, he just took them to that point and didn’t mention anymore. He didn’t deny that there is more, it is sublime.