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Twenty-five elements

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 3

Saguṇa Brahman is described by the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy as consisting of twenty-five elements, including the time factor.
SB 3.26.15, Translation and Purport:

All these are considered the qualified Brahman. The mixing element, which is known as time, is counted as the twenty-fifth element.

According to the Vedic version there is no existence beyond Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1). It is stated also in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that whatever we see is parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktiḥ; everything is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. When Brahman is mixed with the three qualities goodness, passion and ignorance, there results the material expansion, which is sometimes called saguṇa Brahman and which consists of these twenty-five elements. In the nirguṇa Brahman, where there is no material contamination, or in the spiritual world, the three modes—goodness, passion and ignorance—are not present. Where nirguṇa Brahman is found, simple unalloyed goodness prevails. Saguṇa Brahman is described by the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy as consisting of twenty-five elements, including the time factor (past, present and future).

The twenty-four elements already described plus the time factor make twenty-five.
SB 3.26.18, Purport:

Outside the body of the conditioned soul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as the time factor. According to the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy, there are twenty-five elements. The twenty-four elements already described plus the time factor make twenty-five. According to some learned philosophers, the Supersoul is included to make a total of twenty-six elements.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.5.17, Translation:

(Nārada Muni had said that there is a house made of twenty-five elements. The Haryaśvas understood this analogy.) The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of the twenty-five elements, and as the Supreme Being, the conductor of cause and effect, He causes their manifestation. If one engages in temporary fruitive activities, not knowing that Supreme Person, what benefit will he derive?

SB Canto 7

The Supreme Lord is addressed as pañca-viṁśa, the twenty-fifth element.
SB 7.8.52, Purport:

The Supreme Lord is the controller of the ten senses, the five material elements, the five sense objects, the mind, the intelligence, the false ego and the soul. Therefore He is addressed as pañca-viṁśa, the twenty-fifth element. The inhabitants of the Yakṣa planet are supposed to be the best of all servants, but Hiraṇyakaśipu engaged them as palanquin carriers. The entire universe was in trouble because of Hiraṇyakaśipu, but now that Hiraṇyakaśipu's body was mixing with the five material elements—earth, water, fire, air and sky—everyone felt relief. Upon Hiraṇyakaśipu's death, the Yakṣas were reinstated in their original service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus they felt obliged to the Lord and offered their prayers.

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

The Māyāvāda theory, that God, when He incarnates, He becomes saguṇa, that is wrong theory. Here it is said that brahmaṇaḥ saguṇasya ha. Saguṇasya brahmaṇaḥ, these twenty-five elements, they cover him, that means the living entity who has come in this material world.
Lecture on SB 3.26.15 -- Bombay, December 24, 1974:

This is the whole story of spiritual life. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme leader. He is also a living being, He is also person like you and me, but He is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa. Therefore He is called Bhagavān. We cannot be called Bhagavān because our power is very limited, not pūrṇa. Therefore we become saguṇa. Kṛṣṇa does not become saguṇa. The Māyāvāda theory, that God, when He incarnates, He becomes saguṇa, that is wrong theory. Here it is said that brahmaṇaḥ saguṇasya ha. Saguṇasya brahmaṇaḥ, these twenty-five elements, they cover him, that means the living entity who has come in this material world. But Kapiladeva or Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, He is not saguṇa; He is always nirguṇa. Nirguṇa guṇa ca. In... The Bhagavān says in the Bhagavad-gītā, "Although He is nirguṇa, but He is the controller of the guṇas." Kṛṣṇa is not controlled. Mama māyā guṇamayī. Kṛṣṇa says, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). Mama māyā: "This māyā, this energy, is My energy." So energy is controlled by the energetic.

Our business is again to recover ourself from these twenty-five elements, material elements.
Lecture on SB 3.26.15 -- Bombay, December 24, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa is always nirguṇa in any condition, any circumstances. But those who are mūḍhas, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). But because Kṛṣṇa incarnates or comes, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham, He comes, we think, because we are foolish person, mūḍha, we think that "Kṛṣṇa is also one of us." That is not the fact. Saguṇa Brahman, nirguṇa Brahman, we should distinguish, that Kṛṣṇa is always nirguṇa Brahman, but we are saguṇa Brahman. We are Brahman, but because we are not Parabrahman or Supreme Brahman, we are subjected, we are prone to be covered by these material qualities. Therefore our business is again to recover ourself from these twenty-five elements, material elements.

His prime factor of relativity is kāla. That is the twenty-fifth element. And beyond that, there is the soul, there is the Supersoul, and above everything, Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 3.26.15 -- Bombay, December 24, 1974:

So saguṇa, saguṇa Brahman, brahmaṇaḥ saguṇasya, here it is said. Brahmaṇaḥ saguṇasya ha etāvān eva saṅkhyātaḥ. The living entity is entrapped. This body is the combination of these twenty-five elements. So that is for the living entity, saguṇa Brahman. Saguṇa Brahman means living entity. But it is not for Kṛṣṇa. And again, sanniveśo mayā proktaḥ. So mayā proktaḥ means Bhagavān is speaking. Bhagavān is not saguṇa. Here Kapiladeva says, mayā proktaḥ: "I have described it." He knows everything. Mayā proktaḥ. We have to take knowledge from Bhagavān, not from any saguṇa Brahman. We have to take knowledge from nirguṇa Brahman. Nirguṇa Brahman is Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, Kapiladeva. Mayā proktaḥ. Yaḥ kālaḥ pañca-viṁśakaḥ. And now He gives another element, kāla, because everything is going on under the influence of kāla. The past, present, and future, the kāla, is eternal. Time is eternal, but we are creating our past and present and future according to our existence. The past, present, future of an ant is not the past, present of an elephant. The past present of our is not the past present of Brahmā. It is relative. This kāla is working relatively. Therefore this is called relative world. So this prime factor of relativity is kāla. That is the twenty-fifth element. And beyond that, there is the soul, there is the Supersoul, and above everything, Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa.

We have discussed twenty-five elements. The five mahā-bhūta and five sūkṣma-bhūta, ten senses, twenty-four internal senses, these twenty-four elements, and above that, the kāla, time factor.
Lecture on SB 3.26.16 -- Bombay, December 25, 1974:

So the time factor is the representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā, when Kṛṣṇa manifested His viśva-rūpa, Arjuna became very afraid of and inquired, "Who are You?" So at that time Kṛṣṇa said, "I am kāla. I have appeared to destroy." So kāla is representation, time. We have discussed twenty-five elements. The five mahā-bhūta and five sūkṣma-bhūta, ten senses, twenty-four internal senses, these twenty-four elements, and above that, the kāla, time factor. That's all. So kāla is destructive factor.

Page Title:Twenty-five elements
Compiler:Labangalatika
Created:27 of Dec, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=4, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=4, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:8