There are three qualities, material nature. They are working. And we are under the influence of either of them. Either in the influence of goodness, or in the influence of passion, or in the influence of ignorance. So when we are under the influence of ignorance, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti, then our behavior and activities becomes very abominable, very, very much abominable. Especially in this Kali-yuga, it is stated that people will have no fixed time for eating or sleeping or taking bath. In this way their bodily features will be like ghost. That we are seeing actually. The hippies, they are becoming. Practically in this age there will be no place even for taking daily bath. That we see especially in this country. The apartment, there is no bathing place. They have to go outside. So things are deteriorating very, very much. Adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. Therefore the human civilization means to make progress towards the quality of goodness. That will help him for making farther progress. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Ūrdhvam means higher planetary system. Here it is said that api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ. Trailokya. Oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ. This is bhūr-loka. Above this, bhuvar-loka, and above that, svar-loka, heavenly planets. Oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyam. This is Gāyatrī-mantra.
Urdhvam means
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So the karmīs, karma-kāṇḍīya, they are trying to be elevated to the heavenly planet, higher planetary system. That is not very good idea. You can go to the higher planetary system by your pious activities. First of all the modern age, the people are so much impious, sinful, that is not also possible. They may go down. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. They are covered with ignorance. The ignorance is wine, women, and meat-eating. So they are going down. There is no possibility of going higher planetary system, not possible. Who will go to the higher planetary system? Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Ūrdhvam means higher. Only those who are pious, they can be elevated. So even if you are pious, still you have to come back again. This is the process. So sarva-gataḥ. Sarva-gataḥ means a soul is free to go anywhere, anywhere. Full freedom, as he wants.
There are six kinds of opulences: wealth, I mean to say, reputation, strength, knowledge, renunciation, beauty. These are called opulences. If one person is very rich, he is opulent, he attracts attention of many persons. Similarly, if one person is very influential, strong, he also attracts. Similarly, if one man is very famous for his activities, he also attracts attention. Similarly, if one man is very beautiful or a woman is very beautiful, he or she attracts attention. If one is very wise, learned, he also attracts attention. These are called six opulences, and these opulences are possessed by us in small quantity. Every one of us may possess some riches, maybe little wise or very... Not very strong, little strong. Little, little quantity of these opulences are there in every person. But when you find a person that nobody possesses more than him all these opulences... The Sanskrit word is asama ūrdhva. Asama means "equally," and asama means "without being equal." And ūrdhva means "above." When you find somebody, above him or equal to him, anyone else is as rich, as famous, as opulent, as wise, as beautiful, that person is called God. This is the definition of God. God is great means nobody is equal to Him, nobody is above Him in any kinds of opulences. That is called bhagavān.
So far Kṛṣṇa is concerned, He proved that He is God. How? In this Bhagavad-gītā. Now we are reading Ninth Chapter. In the Eleventh Chapter Arjuna requested, "O Kṛṣṇa, that will You kindly show me Your universal form?" So Kṛṣṇa showed him, "Yes." So that... This was Arjuna's teaching to world that in future so many fools will represent himself as God. So don't be befooled by them. Just ask him, "Show me your universal form." Then accept him as God. Don't very cheaply accept any fool as God. So this is the highest imperfection, that he is in the stringent laws of the material nature. If there is simply a toothache, he becomes overwhelmed, and he himself preaches as God. So this sort of thing can be accepted by similar foolish-natured people. God is supreme. Nobody can God. Nobody can be equal with God. God is called in the Vedic literature, asamaurdhva. Asama means nobody's equal to Him. And nobody is higher than Him. Ūrdhva means higher. Nobody can be higher than God, and nobody can be equal to God. Everyone is lower than God, however great he may be. And there is a nice verse, śiva-viriñci-nutam (SB 11.5.33). Śiva-viriñci. Śiva means the Lord Śiva, and viriñci means Lord Brahmā. They are considered to be the topmost demigods in this material world. So they also offer their respectful obeisances to Viṣṇu, or God.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So the difference between God and ordinary living entity must be there. Anyone who is claiming as the Supreme Lord or God, he is a blasphemer. He is a rascal. He's a cheater. So you should not be influenced by such rascals. God is always great, always great. There is no equal, no greater. That is called great. Nobody can be equal with God and nobody can be greater than God. Everyone under God. Asamordhva. Therefore God's another name is Asamordhva. "A" means none. Sama means equal. Ūrdhva means greater. Asamordhva So everyone is emanation from God, but nobody is equal with God. But the viṣṇu-tattva, They are the same. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and Rāmacandra, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, because They are viṣṇu-tattva. Baladeva. They are equally powerful. But jīva-tattva, we living entities, although we are part and parcel of God, we are not equally powerful. That is called the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, simultaneously one and different. Simultaneously one and different.
So the standard of living, intelligence, increases, as you go higher, higher, higher, higher. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Ūrdhvam. Ūrdhvam means higher. And adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. There are three qualities. The whole material world is being operated under the influence of three qualities. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. So according to the quality, there are different grades of people, and that is called cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. (BG 4.13) So everyone is not on the same platform. Everyone is under the influence of some quality of nature—goodness, passion, ignorance. So there is division. So the kṣatriyas, they are supposed to be in the mode of passion, a desire for controlling, ruling. That is kṣatriya's spirit, ruling. Therefore one kṣatriya king used to attack another kṣatriya king. The idea is not to take possession of other's property. The idea was that "This king is not ruling nicely." Just like in your country, you want to change the president, but forcibly he is sitting in his position, so as you want good government or good man as president, similarly, formerly, although there was fight between the two kings, the objective was different, not to occupy one's property, not to become a big thief.
So this is called śāstra. Śāstra means you can consult. Just like you consult dictionary, you consult encyclopedia, you consult so many authoritative books for understanding knowledge, similarly, if you consult, you get all information. So in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is all stated: "If you do like this, you get birth like this. If you do like this, you get birth like this." And in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā it is generally spoken, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are in the modes of goodness... There are three qualities in this material world: the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, and the quality of ignorance. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. Those who are cultivating the quality of goodness, they can be promoted to the higher status of life in higher planetary system. Ūrdhvam. Ūrdhvam means higher. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. And madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ. Rājasāḥ means those who are in the modes of passion. They remain either in this planet or some of them may be elevated to the heavenly planet. Heavenly planet is also in the middle of the universe. And adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthāḥ. Jaghanya—very abominable characters. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthāḥ. Those who are situated not only ignorance... Out of ignorance, one remains in abominable condition. So jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ (BG 14.18). They go downwards, even to the animal life. So we have to consult and we have to mold our life in that way.
So Śrī, Lakṣmī, she is always in company with Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān. Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Wherever Nārāyaṇa there is, there is Lakṣmī. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya vīryasya yaśsasaḥ śriyaḥ. Śriyaḥ. So Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always full in six opulence: aiśvarya, riches, samāgrasya, all riches... Nobody can compete with Him. Here in the material world there is competition. You have got one thousand; I have got two thousand; another man has three thousand or three millions. Nobody can say, "Here is the end. I have got money." No. That is not possible. There must be competition. Sama urdhva. Sama means "equal," and urdhva means "greater." So nobody can become equal with Nārāyaṇa, and nobody can be greater than Nārāyaṇa. This has become a fashion nowadays, that daridra-nārāyaṇa. No. Daridra cannot be Nārāyaṇa, neither Nārāyaṇa can be daridra, because Nārāyaṇa is always accompanied by Śrī, Lakṣmījī. How He can be daridra? These are manufactured foolish imagination. Aparādha.
Initiation Lectures
God is one. There cannot be many Gods. If God is not one, there is no meaning of God. God means, according to Vedic definition, asamordhva. Asama means one who has no equal. Nobody is equal to God. And urdhva means nobody is greater than God. God is great. Nobody can be greater than God. Therefore God is one. Nobody is greater, nobody is equal. That means everyone is lower.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Devotee (1): So just by becoming first-class men you can go to the heavenly planets?
Prabhupāda: Yes. But that is meant for a first-class man. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti. Ūrdhvam means higher planetary system.
Devotee (1): Are we not training all classes of men? In Kṛṣṇa consciousness...
Prabhupāda: We can train any class to become first class. It is simply by education. Just like anyone can become engineer by training. Where is the difficulty? Nobody is born first class, but we can make first class if he agrees to become first class. Two things required: he must agree, and the teachings are there. Then he becomes first class. Where is the difficulty?
| Page Title: | Urdhvam means |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Serene |
| Created: | 06 of Mar, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=9, Con=1, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 10 |