20240725 Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta 1.4. Living Entities—Conditioned and Liberated living entities

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Śrī Caitanya-Śikṣāmṛta

The Nectar of the teachings of Śrī Caitanya

Today’s chapter is: First Stream – Fourth Shower

Living Entities—Conditioned and Liberated living entities

Svāṁśa and vibhinnāṁśa - Personal expansions and separate expansions

TEXT: The gist of these mahāvākyas is that Kṛṣṇacandra who possesses inconceivable potency and is free to act according to His desire, enjoys by his spiritual energy in two ways - svāṁśa (personal expansions) and vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions). By svāṁśa, He expands catur-vyūha and innumerable incarnations. He has expanded all the living entities by vibhinnāṁśa. *

Note: Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.45:

kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt
sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ
yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

TEXT: Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Śambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.

TEXT: In the svāṁśa expansion is the full activity of spiritual energy, all of them are viṣṇu-tattva—all powerful. All the plenary portions obtain full potency from the complete. Similar to there being no loss for the big lamp when innumerable lamps are lit from the big lamp.

Note:

dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya
dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā
yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

TEXT: The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various manifestations.

TEXT: Every individual lamp is equal to the big lamp. In the same way svāṁśa expansion is to be understood. All the personalities manifested by the svāṁśa expansion are Supreme Personalities and they do not undergo the fruits of karma. Although, equal to Kṛṣṇa being free to act according to Their desire, They are subservient to Kṛṣṇa’s desire.

Vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions) living entities—

TEXT: The very subtle parts of the spiritual energy become living entities in the form of vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions).

Note:

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ
sa cānantyāya kalpate

When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul.

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9)

sūkṣmāṇām apy ahaṁ jīvo
durjayānām ahaṁ manaḥ

TEXT: Among subtle things I am the spirit soul, and of things that are difficult to conquer I am the mind. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.11.7:

This is called as taṭastha-śakti (marginal energy). The tattva (truth) in between the spiritual energy and māyā-śakti is taṭastha-śakti. Therein (in taṭastha-śakti), none of the power of māyā-śakti (illusory-energy) exists. However, (taṭastha-śakti) is prone to māyā due to being tiny. It is from Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potency, one such an energy has emerged. Kṛṣṇa’s independent desire is its cause.

Vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions) living entities are fit to undergo the reactions of karma.

As long as, by their own free will, the living entities engage their mind in the service of Kṛṣṇa they are not subject to māyā or karma. But when the desire for sense-gratification and forgetfulness of the service nature to Kṛṣṇa occur due to the corruption of free-will, then they become bewildered by māyā and become subjected to karma. As soon as one remembers that service to Kṛṣṇa is their own nature, then liberation comes and rescues them from the bondage of karma and the suffering of māyā.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, who of you would like to enjoy material life? You have the opportunity as explained here, you can stay birth after birth after birth, trying to enjoy the material world. But if one engages in bhakti-yoga, like in this Navadvīpa dhāma, we have the nine processes of bhakti-yoga. So, if you do everything as a devotional service then we don’t get reactions. You don’t get karma. But if you want to enjoy then, māyā gets you entangled up. Someone asked me today if I have any tips for book distribution. Since that is one of the instructions Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me, they wanted to help in that respect. So some people are very easy to cultivate, and you can sell them a book, engage them in some service. But some people are rude and difficult. So, how to get them? So we know that in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, there are ten offences. So no use to preach the glories of the holy name to such people who commit various offences. But chanting the names of Gaura-Nitāi or Nitāi-Gaura, there is no offence. So we would get the people to chant Gaura-Nitāi and in this way they advance very quickly.  And then you can sell them a book.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 8.31: “But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.”

So you chant the Pañca-tattva mantra first and then when you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you get the fruit.

Note: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.37:

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smṛtiḥ
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā

TEXT: Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called māyā. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul.

Their bondage is called anādi (without beginning) since their bondage happened before coming to the material world. They are known as nitya-baddha (eternally bound). Those who are not bound in this way are nitya-mukta (eternally liberated). Those who are bound, they are eternally bound.

Jayapatākā Swami: So it is not that if you stay here long enough you get automatically free. You are eternally bonded. And until you meet a pure devotee or someone who is connected to Lord Caitanya, you keep going on in this material world or stay in this material world. So, that is why it is so important to meet a bona fide spiritual master.

TEXT: Kṛṣṇa and Living Entity —

Due to all these reasons, there is a specific difference between Īśvara’s (Lord) identity and jīva’s (living entity) identity. Īśvara is the Lord of māyā and the jīva (living entity) is prone to māyā and as a result is bound by māyā.

Note:

tvaṁ nitya-mukta-pariśuddha-vibuddha ātmā
kūṭa-stha ādi-puruṣo bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ
yad-buddhy-avasthitim akhaṇḍitayā sva-dṛṣṭyā
draṣṭā sthitāv adhimakho vyatirikta āsse

My Lord, by Your unbroken transcendental glance You are the supreme witness of all stages of intellectual activities. You are eternally liberated, Your existence is situated in pure goodness, and You are existent in the Supersoul without change. You are the original Personality of Godhead, full with six opulences, and You are eternally the master of the three modes of material nature. Thus, You are always different from the ordinary living entities. As Lord Viṣṇu, You maintain all the affairs of the entire universe, and yet You stand aloof and are the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 4.9.15

Judging from the living entity being a part of the form of Kṛṣṇa the supreme spirit, the living entity is called as a particle of spirit and different from Kṛṣṇa. But, because of being the energy of Kṛṣṇa, the non-difference is also considered. Therefore, the Lord (Caitanya) has taught the philosophy of inconceivable difference and non-difference,

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya’s explanation is inconceivable oneness and difference. Every ācārya had a different model. Like viśiṣṭa-advaita, dvaitādvaita. So Lord Caitanya was acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Inconceivable oneness and difference.

TEXT: for the living entity is a different and non-different manifestation of the Lord. By giving the two comparisons of particle of sunshine and spark of fire, He (Lord Caitanya) has established the living entities as eternally different vibhinnāṁśa (separated expansions) parts from Kṛṣṇa. By the subsidiary Vedic vibrations such as “ahaṁ brahmāsmi” etc., the living entity is never concluded as Para-brahman. Kṛṣṇa i.e., viṣṇu-tattva is the only Para-brahman. Because of being the specific spiritual substance, the living entity in fact is called as Brahman.

Kṛṣṇa’s form who is of the nature of Para-brahman, whose spiritual effulgence expands in one part as paramātmā (Super-soul) within the world and outside the world expands the influence in an indirect state as impersonal form appearing as inconceivable, invisible, unapproachable Brahman form. Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable vibhinnāmśa is spread in various forms like demigods, men, yakṣas, demons, animals, birds, insects, moths, ghosts, goblins, etc.

Among all living entities, humans are good, because they are eligible for performing devotional service. Even after becoming humans, the living entities undergo the reactions of hell and heaven due to their faulty actions (karma-doṣa). Subjugated by Māyā, forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity searches after various fruits of desires.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in the material world we think that I am the body, or we try to enjoy the body. And we forget our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And we try to see what happiness or enjoyment we can get in this body. So we think if I had this body, I will be happy. But if I don’t get this body, maybe I will be happy with this body. So like that we take birth after birth in the material world. But if you get the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, you can then try to understand your eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is Para-brahman. So He never receives this karma or reactions to karma. So if the living entity is rightly situated in devotional service, then he becomes nitya-mukta. And that is the real goal of life – to have love of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, They give this out very liberally.

So I gave you a tip for book distribution. His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami can tell you ways you can be involved in book distribution. So, in the end of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a reference on the glories of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

“Last chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 12: Glories of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

In this final chapter Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī describes the length of each of the Purāṇas, along with the subject matter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, its purpose, how to give it as a gift, the glories of such gift-giving and the glories of chanting and hearing it.

The total corpus of the Purāṇas includes four hundred thousand verses, eighteen thousand of which constitute Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, instructed Brahmā in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, whose narrations produce detachment from matter and which contains the essence of all the Vedānta. One who gives the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata Purāṇa as a gift will attain the highest destination. Among all the Purāṇas, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the best, and it is the most dear thing to the Vaiṣṇavas. It reveals that spotless, supreme knowledge accessible to the paramahaṁsas, and it also reveals the process by which one can become free from the reactions of material work — a process enriched with knowledge, renunciation and devotion.”

Jayapatākā Swami: I offer my blessings to all of you: Kṛṣṇe matir astu!

His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Mahārāja can speak on the glories of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhadra-Pūrṇimā.