And therefore sanātana-dharma does not mean any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord. So far sanātana-dharma is concerned, it means the eternal occupation. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya has explained the word sanātana as "the thing which has neither any beginning nor any end." And when we speak of sanātana-dharma we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya that it has no beginning, nor any end. The word religion is a little different from sanātana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith. Faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change the faith afterwards and adopt another faith. But sanātana-dharma means which cannot be changed, which cannot be changed. Just like water and liquidity. Liquidity cannot be changed from water. Heat and fire. Heat cannot be changed from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity, which is known as sanātana-dharma, cannot be changed. It is not possible to change. We have to find out what is that eternal function of the eternal living entity. When we speak of sanātana-dharma therefore, we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya that it has no beginning nor any end. The thing which has no end, no beginning, must not be any sectarian thing or limited by any boundary. When we hold on the conference on the sanātana-dharma, people belonging to some of the noneternal religious faiths may wrongly consider it that we are dealing in some sectarian thing. But if we go deep into the matter and take everything in the light of modern science, it will be possible for us to see sanātana-dharma as the business of all the people of the world, nay, all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanātana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of the human society, but there cannot be any history of the sanātana-dharma because it continues to remain with the history of the living entities.
No beginning (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
We have to find out what is that eternal function of the eternal living entity. When we speak of sanātana-dharma therefore, we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya that it has no beginning nor any end. The thing which has no end, no beginning, must not be any sectarian thing or limited by any boundary. When we hold on the conference on the sanātana-dharma, people belonging to some of the noneternal religious faiths may wrongly consider it that we are dealing in some sectarian thing. But if we go deep into the matter and take everything in the light of modern science, it will be possible for us to see sanātana-dharma as the business of all the people of the world, nay, all the living entities of the universe.
Temporary means it has a beginning, it stays for some time, then it transforms, then it becomes old, and it vanquishes. The spiritual nature, however, is different from this nature. The spiritual nature has no beginning, neither it has end. That is called sanātana, eternal. We living entities, we belong to that spiritual nature. Therefore, about us, it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "The spiritual spirit soul is never born, neither dies at any time." Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It is farther described that "This spiritual spark, which you are, I am, it is..." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: (BG 2.20) "When the body is destroyed, the spiritual spark, that does not destroy. That remains eternal."
He is the God of gods." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). "And His body is eternal, and full of bliss and knowledge." This is the description of the body. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Anādi, "He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everyone." Anādir ādir govindaḥ. "And His name is Govinda." Go means senses, and go means cow, and go means land. So He is the proprietor of all land, He is the proprietor of all cows, and He is the, I mean to say, pleasure for all senses. We are after sense pleasure, but our perfection of sense pleasure can be achieved when we reciprocate our pleasure with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore His name is Govinda. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Govinda is the Supreme original Personality of Godhead.
So, the first thing is ādau śraddhā, faith, that "If I become Kṛṣṇa conscious, I will be happy. That is my goal of life." This is called śraddhā. If you have no śraddhā, that "By loving Kṛṣṇa, by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, my life will be perfect, that is perfection of life," then there is no beginning of bhakti-yoga. So first thing is this. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. So, "You give up all other engagement, just surrender to Me." So if you have got faith actually, then you can devote yourself fully, cent percent in the service of, that is the beginning, ādau śraddhā, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that by surrendering to Him I shall be free from all sinful reaction." If you have got faith, then you surrender, and actually you will be free from all sinful reaction. Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa is not making any bogus propaganda.
That is called Brahman. So if you accept austerity in this life and don't behave like cats and dogs and hogs simply for sex pleasure, then the result will be that your existence will be purified, by which you'll realize eternal happiness, anantam, which has no end, no beginning, no end. Actually it is so.
So this knowledge of brahma-saukhyam is... In so many ways they are instructed in Vedic literature. We have got volumes and volumes of Vedic literature. The first, we have got the four Vedas. Then we have got the Upaniṣads. Then we have got Vedānta-sūtra. Then we have got Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and so many. And one book, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it contains eighteen thousand verses.
So Kṛṣṇa is pointing out that, that nature... Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ. Sanātana means eternal. This nature, this material nature, it has got its beginning and end. But that spiritual nature, that has no beginning and no end. How it is? You can understand by simple example. Just like this sky, and in some insignificant part of the sky there is some cloud, and the cloud covers us. When there is cloud or snowfall we see everything is covered. But that covering is only an insignificant part of the whole sky. That covering is not for the whole sky. Because we are very minute, small, so a few hundred miles, if it is covered, this sky, we see that everything is covered. Similarly, this material sky is within the covering, with the covering of mahat-tattva, matter.
So Kṛṣṇa says, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ: (BG 8.20) "Beyond this vanquishing, cloudlike material nature, there is another superior nature which is sanātana, eternal. It has no beginning, no end." And yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati: "When this material manifestation will be annihilated, that will remain." Just like the cloud, when it is vanquished, when it is annihilated, the sky remains, similarly, spiritual sky will remain; the material covering of the spiritual sky will be vanquished. This is called ghaṭākāśa-poṭākāśa.
Kṛṣṇa says that "I am the origin of all births, everything." So the material world was not existing. This is insufficient. How you can say it is existing? Anything you see, material, it has got a date of birth. Who can deny it? Can you present anything material which was, which has no beginning? Everything has got beginning. So how you can say this material world has no beginning? This is nonsense.
Therefore hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ. Hetu means "with reason," not like dogmatic obstinacy. You must have the beginning. Then, as soon as you, we, accept that this material world has had a beginning... The śāstra says it has beginning. Just like Brahma-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Why it says, janmādy asya (SB 1.1.1)? Everything has beginning.
Anādi. Ādi, again ādi. He is the beginning of everyone. Anādi. He Himself is anādi; nobody can find out what is the date of His appearance. He is beyond history. So but He is the beginning of everyone. Just like my father is the beginning of my body. Father is the cause of the beginning of my body or your body, everyone. So therefore He has no beginning, that He has no father, but He is the supreme father. That is the conception, Christian conception: God is the supreme father. That is fact because He is the beginning of everyone. Janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) "Whatever has come into being, that is from Kṛṣṇa." That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). The devatās... This brahmāṇḍa is the creation of Brahmā. He is called one of the demigods. So Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām, "I am the beginning of the devatās, demigods." So if you study Kṛṣṇa in this way, then you become daiva, divine. Divine.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from there. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). When Sanātana Gosvāmī inquired from him, "What I am?" so He replied that "You are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is the beginning of bhāgavata-dharma. Unless we understand that we are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, there is no beginning of spiritual life. It is still material life. That conviction must be there. Go on.
Kṛṣṇa says that "Forty millions of years ago I spoke this Bhagavad-gītā to sun-god." So where is the history? Where your history stands? Your history cannot give chronological table more than three thousand years.
So Vedic culture is very old. It is not a concocted thing or a new pattern. It is eternal. Therefore it is called sanātana. Sanātana means eternal. It has no beginning, no end. Sanātana. So Vedic culture means sanātana, eternal. Kṛṣṇa is eternal. We living entities, we are eternal. And our relationship and exchange of loving service with Kṛṣṇa is also eternal. Kṛṣṇa is eternal, we are eternal, and our dealings with Kṛṣṇa is also eternal. But sometimes it becomes interrupted by the māyā, which is called svapna. Svapna means dreamlike.
I know this Christian religion, Mohammedan religion, Buddhist religion, Jain religion, this religion, that religion, this ism, that ism, they are all history. History. It is limited, within the limit of time. But this Vedic religion has no beginning or end. Therefore, Sumanda-matayo, they will theorize, "In our religion it is said this." "Oh, whatever your religion may be, but the real purpose of religion is to understand God. How far you have understood God?" That is practically nil. But the formulas and dogmas and this and that they're full of. Sumanda-matayo. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā (SB 1.1.10). And almost everyone is unfortunate. They haven't got even means to accommodate the bare necessities of life—eating, sleeping, mating.
And Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu, He's also expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa. And Saṅkarṣaṇa is expansion of Baladeva; Baladeva is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa becomes the origin. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādiḥ (Bs. 5.1). He has no beginning, but He is beginning. Anādir ādiḥ. He's, He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of creation. Anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).
So mahat-tattva, the total material energy, and six, five elements, sixteen, sixteen, ṣoḍaśa-kalam. What are those? The five elements, namely, earth, water, fire, air, and sense objects and senses and the spirit soul. In this way, sixteen. And from sixteen, it expands to twenty-four. That is the explanation of our Vedic creation. Ṣoḍaśa-kalam. You read the purport.
Puruṣaṁ tvā, "You are the Supreme Person; therefore I must offer my respect unto You." Namasye puruṣaṁ tvā, ādyam. Ādyam means original, original person. That is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādiḥ. Anādiḥ means who has no beginning. But He is the beginning of everything. That is Kṛṣṇa. We have got experience that anything in our experience, it has got a beginning. Beginning. But Kṛṣṇa is without beginning, and all others, they have got beginning. From Kṛṣṇa, within this material world, from Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā. From Brahmā, Nārada or many other demigods. Then from demigods, we human being. In this way we have increased. Brahmā is the first created being within this universe, and h is created by Kṛṣṇa. So they are taking account of this material, this universe, so Brahmā is therefore called grandfather, or a father of the father.
Therefore, Kuntī is addressing Kṛṣṇa as eternal. Manye tvāṁ kālam. And because He is eternal, īśānam, He is full controller. Kuntī says: manye, "I think..." By the behavior of Kṛṣṇa, she could understand that Kṛṣṇa is eternal, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Controller. Anādi-nidhanam. Anādi-nidhana... There is no beginning, there is no end. Therefore vibhum. Vibhu means the Supreme, the greatest. Vibhu. We are aṇu, we are smallest, and Kṛṣṇa is the biggest. Kṛṣṇa is also, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is both the smallest and the biggest. We are simply smallest. But Kṛṣṇa is both. Kṛṣṇa, vibhu, greatest means all-inclusive. In the great, if you have got a big bag, you can hold so many things. In small bag you cannot do that.
Therefore Brahma-saṁhitā says: aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-s... They are studying now atoms. So many things are going on, electrons, protons, Why? Because the Kṛṣṇa is there. This is really science. So Kṛṣṇa has no past, present and future. He is eternal time. He has no beginning. He has no end. And He is equal to everyone. Samaṁ carantam (SB 1.8.28). Simply we have to prepare ourself to see Kṛṣṇa, to understand Kṛṣṇa. That is the business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
He's the ādi-puruṣa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Brahmā says. Brahmā is not ādi-puruṣa. Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. So Kṛṣṇa is the ādi-puruṣam. And He has got many expansions. Advaitam acyutam anādim. Anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That is called anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). And He has expanded Himself in so many forms. We are also Kṛṣṇa's form, but we are vibhinnāṁśa. And svāṁśa and vibhinnāṁśa. The viṣṇu-tattva is bhagavat-tattva, ādi-puruṣam, personal expansion, and we are energy expansion. We are also energy. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). So jīva, prakṛti expansion. Parā-prakṛti expansion.
"Who is the father of Kṛṣṇa? If Kṛṣṇa is the father of everyone, then who is the father of Kṛṣṇa?" That is natural question. Because we are thinking Kṛṣṇa like us. But the śāstra says that He is the father of everyone, but nobody is His father. Anādir ādiḥ, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Anādi. Anādi means He has no beginning. Just like we have beginning from our father. Our life begins from our father. The father begets the child, and the birth is the beginning of our life. Similarly, we think that Kṛṣṇa is also child of Vasudeva and Devakī; therefore He has the beginning.
But Kṛṣṇa is not like that. In the Bhāgavata it is described about the Kṛṣṇa's birth. Kṛṣṇa appeared as Nārāyaṇa, Catur-bhuja, before Vasudeva and Devakī. But Devakī, because previously her seven sons were killed by Kaṁsa, so Devakī immediately prayed to the Lord that "This time You have appeared as the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Now immediately Kaṁsa will kill You.
Nitāi: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Soul, and He has no beginning. He is transcendental to the material modes of nature and beyond the existence of this material world. He is perceivable everywhere because He is self-effulgent, and by His self-effulgent luster the entire creation is maintained."
Prabhupāda:
- anādir ātmā puruṣo
- nirguṇaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ
- pratyag-dhāmā svayaṁ-jyotir
- viśvaṁ yena samanvitam
- (SB 3.26.3)
In the previous verse we had already discussed, jñānaṁ puruṣasya ātma-darśanam. Puruṣasya, the living entity is also called puruṣa, and the Supreme Lord is also called puruṣa. So real puruṣa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We are not puruṣa; we are prakṛti, living entities. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. After explaining this jaḍa-prakṛti, or the dull matter... That is called jaḍa-prakṛti-bhūmi, earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego. These are all jaḍa-prakṛti, material. Sometimes it is misunderstood, "Mind is spiritual." No, mind is material. Intelligence, that is also material.
That is not jñāna. Real jñāna is ātma-darśanam. That is jñāna. So... But we are wasting our time temporary, śilpa-darśanam. But ātma-darśanam we want. That is real jñāna.
So that ātma-darśanam is described here, everywhere, in all the Vedic literatures. The first ātma-darśana is anādi, anādi. There is no beginning. We have got experience, beginning. Every one of us, we have got experience that this body has a beginning. From the father and mother we got this body in a small pealike form. And the first, after the sex, the two secretion emulsified, and it forms into a pealike body. And that pealike body develops. And as first there becomes nine holes, these nine holes... That is not manifested, but first of all there are holes: the nostrils, the ear, the mouth, the rectum, genital. In this way a body is formed. So body is formed upon the spirit soul, not that automatically forms.
He has got senses; I have got senses." Everything just similar, facsimile. In the Bible it is said, "Man is made after God." Is it not said like that? That means God has exactly the same form. And therefore man is made also, the same form. So in this way both God and the living entities, they are anādi. Anādi, there is no beginning.
Then in the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, na jāyate. Na jāyate means anything which is born, it has got beginning. But living entity or Kṛṣṇa, or God, they have no beginning. Kṛṣṇa is also beginningless, and we are also beginningless. Just like the sunshine. Sunshine is combination of small particles or molecules of bright substance. So, so long the sun is there, the sunshine is there. Sunshine means the combination of the bright molecules, molecular part.
We must always know that soul and Supersoul, īśvara and Parameśvara... So ātmā... Ātmā means Bhagavān; ātmā means this individual ātmā. So both of them are anādi. But we have got experience ādi, birth and death. So that is not ātma-darśanam. You have to understand that there is no ādi, there is no beginning. Anādir ātmā puruṣaḥ. Puruṣa, that, either the soul or the Supersoul, both of them are puruṣa. Puruṣa means having form and having the desire to enjoy, enjoy blissful life. That is called puruṣa. Puruṣa is always desiring to enjoy. And prakṛti is enjoyable. That is the distinction between puruṣa and prakṛti. But ātmā-Paramātmā is puruṣa, and the jīvātmā is prakṛti. Then nirguṇaḥ, nirguṇaḥ. Therefore Arjuna was advised by Kṛṣṇa, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: "My dear Arjuna, you try to be nirguṇa." This all Vedic knowledge or any knowledge—Veda means knowledge—that is traiguṇya, of this material world, having...
Everyone is being educated how to live comfortably with reference to the comforts of the body. This is not education. Real education is to understand oneself, self-realization, and with that purpose one should make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that beginning with śravaṇam. As we are hearing, without śravaṇa there is no beginning of spiritual education. Satāṁ prasaṅgād mama vīrya-saṁvidaḥ. That śravaṇa, hearing also, should be accepted from devotee, from real devotee. Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī recommended that a brāhmaṇa... He wrote something about Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and there were so many discrepancies. So Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was not at all satisfied with such writings. He chastised the brāhmaṇa that "You cannot write." So unless one is self-realized, there is practically no use writing about Kṛṣṇa. This transcendental writing does not depend on material education. It depends on the spiritual realization.
This is Kṛṣṇa's creation, how things are going on. But original seed is Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sat-cit-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādiḥ (Bs. 5.1). He has no kāraṇa. He is not coming out of any seed. Anādi. Anādi means there is no beginning. He is eternal. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Sat-cit-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. So there is no creator of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is the creator of everything. That is called īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, the Supreme. Everyone may be īśvara-partially. Īśvara means controller. So every one of us, we are more or less little controller. We sometimes control some little children or some disciples or some kingdom. So everyone may be controller. They are very much fond of becoming God. God means controller. So everyone can become... He is. Kṛṣṇa has given.
That is our position. But again we can be reinstated in our original position by cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the position. Ādy-antavanta urugāya.
So in this material world there is ādi, ādy-anta, beginning and ending. But Kṛṣṇa has no beginning or end. The material... Therefore Kṛṣṇa is not material. Urugāya. Kṛṣṇa is urugāya. Uru means He is exalted with nice, many, many ślokas, gāya. Gāya means songs, poetry. Uru. We cannot imagine. Uru-gāya. Just like in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. So this jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, mean Brahmā... Jagad-aṇḍa. Āṇḍa means egglike, egg-shaped, this Brahmāṇḍa or this universe. And there are jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, plural number. So in each universe there is a chief living entity.
Aham ādir hi bhūtānām. He says, Bhagavad-gītā. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. This is the explanation Kṛṣṇa is giving. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). We should understand this. So beginning is the Kṛṣṇa, ādi. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ, anādir ādiḥ (Bs. 5.1). Anādi: He has no beginning. And everything has got beginning, and anta, but Kṛṣṇa has no beginning and anta. Ādy-anta. So in this way we have to understand Kṛṣṇa. And one who has such perfect understanding of Kṛṣṇa... And Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Devānām means beginning from Brahmā, then Śiva, then so many other demigods, Indra, Candra, Varuṇa. Aham... Even Viṣṇu.
And He chastised him, that "You have no spiritual knowledge, still you are talking just like a great scholar." Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase (BG 2.11). "You are talking just like a very learned man." That means one who... (break)
...that is animal life. There is no beginning of spiritual life. Spiritual life begins when one understands that he is not this body. Brahma-bhūtaḥ, brahma-bhūtḥ. So long one identifies with the body, he is jīva-bhūtaḥ. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5). And when one realizes ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am Brahman..." But unfortunately Māyāvādī philosophers, they take it ahaṁ brahmāsmi means "I am the Supreme Brahman." No.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Then He is also Īśvara. Then He's also expansion of Sankarsana. Then Saṅkarṣaṇa is expansion of Nārāyaṇa. In this way, you go on, go on, go on, searching out. When you come to the point that no more īśvara-īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, anādi... (Bs. 5.1). So He has no ādi. Anādir ādiḥ: "He is the beginning of everything, but He has no beginning." How it is, that? He has no...? So many īśvaras have beginning. And why? Now, svarāṭ. That is the dis... Svarāṭ, completely independent. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). This is the Vedānta-sūtra. And it is explained by the Vedānta-sūtra-bhāṣya, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayāt itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ (SB 1.1.1). Svarāṭ—that is īśvara; that is supreme īśvara. He has no īśvara. Everyone has got īśvara over, but Kṛṣṇa has no over-īśvara.
Actually, there is no creation in the spiritual world. The creation means it begins at a certain time and ends at a certain time, but in the spiritual world there is no such beginning. But because we find the creation of this material world by the kriyā-śakti potency of Lord, therefore it is understood that the spiritual world is also manifested by the same potency with the help of His spiritual energy.
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
I have got one rupee or one dollar, if I take that one dollar, then it becomes zero. But Kṛṣṇa is so complete you go on taking Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, still, Kṛṣṇa is complete. Advaita acyuta. Acyuta means does not diminish or does not fall.
Advaitam acyutam anādi. Anādi means which has no beginning. Because we have got this material body we have got a beginning. You may ask somebody, "What is your birthday?" That means beginning. Anything material, it has got a beginning and end. Anything which has got beginning has got end also, and change also. So Kṛṣṇa has no beginning, there is no end, and there is no change. Try to understand. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33).
Just like our present condition is fallen condition. We are in the matter. But the personal expansions, they never fall in the matter. Therefore another name of God, or Kṛṣṇa, is Acyuta. Acyuta means never falls.
Advaita acyuta anādi. Our beginning is from God, but God has no beginning. Anādi. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam, although the forms are many millions and trillions. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam, ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣam. Ādyam, original. Therefore the oldest person. Kṛṣṇa, God is the original person; therefore the oldest person. Still nava-yauvanaṁ ca. But still He's always youth, youthful. Vedeṣu durlabha. To search out Kṛṣṇa by academic education, by mental speculation, by pursuits of different types of knowledge is not possible. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣam nava-yauvanam, vedeṣu durlabha.
We are also eternal living entities, and the Lord is also eternal. He's also a living entity, a person, just like us, but His name is Acyuta. He never falls from His position. But we living entities, sometimes we fall down. Just our material condition of life. This is our falldown. Therefore He's called advaitam acyutam anādim. And He has no beginning. He is the beginning of everything. The creation is from Him, but He has no creator. So advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). And He has got multi-forms. He can expand Himself. The one expansion is that īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He has expanded Himself to live with you within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām. Not only that; another place it is described, eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. One portion of the Lord... That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). Jagat means this material world.
He is also a living entity, a person, just like us. But His name is Acyuta. He never falls down from His position. But we living entities, sometimes we fall down. That's our material condition of life. This is our falldown. Therefore He is called advaitam acyutam aṇadim. And He has no beginning. He is the beginning of everything. The creation is from Him, but He has no creator. So advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). And He has got multiforms. He can expand Himself. The one expansion is that īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He has expanded Himself to live with you, within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām. Not only that: another place it is described, eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭim (Bs. 5.35). One portion of the Lord... That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). Jagat means this material world.
General Lectures
Just like this is material nature. He says, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ, bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). Anya means another. "There is another nature, which is sanātana." Sanātana means eternal. There is no history of its beginning, or there is no end—that is called sanātana, eternal. Eternal means which has no end, no beginning. Nobody knows where it has begun and where it has ended. Nobody knows. Just like the Vedic religion is called sanātana-dharma because nobody can trace out when this Vedic religion begun. Therefore it is called sanātana-dharma. Every religion in our present experience, it has got a history. Your Christian religion, it has got a history, two thousand years old. Buddhist religion, it has got a history, 2600 years. Muhammadan religion, it has got a history, one thousand years. But if you trace out Vedic religion, you cannot find out the history, date. There is no date. You cannot find out.
Sat means eternity, cit means knowledge, and ānanda means blissfulness. That is His body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. But He has got a body. He has got a form, transcendental form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Anādiḥ, anādiḥ means, because nobody is controller above Him; therefore He is the supreme controller; He has no beginning. Anādi, ādiḥ: and He is the beginning of everything. Anādir ādir govindaḥ—His name is Govinda. Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, there are many names. There are millions of names of God. We are just mentioning one or two. So anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: the cause of all causes. Everything has got cause and effect. So therefore Arjuna has decided to take knowledge from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Being. And He has no material body; therefore His knowledge, whatever knowledge is given by Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: He says logically these are not fallacious; both sides are true. For instance, his first antimony is, "The world has a beginning in time and is enclosed in limits of space." This is the thesis. Then the antithesis is, "The world has no beginning in time and no limits in space, but is infinite with regard to both time and space." So he says reasonably both conclusions are true.
Prabhupāda: So how to adjust? How to adjust is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. It says this material phenomenal world is coming into existence and again annihilated. Again coming. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). So this material nature, coming in manifestation and again vanquished, this process, coming into existence and then vanquished, this is also true. Just like day and night, it is coming and going. This is true. But night is not day; day is not night.
| Page Title: | No beginning (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 18 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=37, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 37 |