View source for Vedic literature is received from authoritative sources which are in the line of transcendental disciplic succession. This disciplic succession (parampara) is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|". Vedic literature is received from authoritative sources which are in the line of transcendental disciplic succession"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Narottama}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|17Jun12}}
{{last|17Jun12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=1|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Vedic Literature]]
[[Category:Received From]]
[[Category:Authoritative Sources]]
[[Category:Which Are]]
[[Category:Line]]
[[Category:Parampara]]
[[Category:transcendental]]
[[Category:Disciplic Succession]]
</div>
<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
</div>
<div id="Easy_Journey_to_Other_Planets" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Easy Journey to Other Planets"><h3>Easy Journey to Other Planets</h3>
</div>
<div id="EJ1_0" class="quote" parent="Easy_Journey_to_Other_Planets" book="OB" index="2" link="EJ 1" link_text="Easy Journey to Other Planets 1">
<div class="heading">The transcendentalists and the materialists are two distinct classes of men. The transcendentalist gathers knowledge from authoritative scriptures like the Vedas. Vedic literature is received from authoritative sources which are in the line of transcendental disciplic succession. This disciplic succession (paramparā) is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that hundreds of thousands of years ago the Gītā was spoken to the presiding deity of the sun, who delivered the knowledge to his son Manu, from whom the present generation of man has descended. Manu, in his turn, delivered this transcendental knowledge to his son King Ikṣvāku, who is the forefather of the dynasty in which the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāma appeared.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:EJ 1|Easy Journey to Other Planets 1]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">The atomic scientist may consider annihilating the material world by nuclear weapons, but his weapons cannot destroy the anti-material world. The anti-material particle is more clearly explained in the following lines:</p>
<p>It is neither cut into pieces by any material weapon, nor is it burnt by fire. Nor is it moistened by water, nor withered, nor dried up, nor evaporated in the air. It is indivisible, nonflammable and insoluble. Because it is eternal, it can enter into and leave any sort of body. Being steady by constitution, its qualities are always fixed. It is inexplicable, because it is contrary to all material qualities. It is unthinkable by the ordinary brain. It is unchangeable. No one, therefore, should ever lament for what is an eternal, anti-material principle.</p>
<p>Thus, in the Bhagavad-gītā and in all other Vedic literatures the superior energy (anti-material principle) is accepted as the vital force, or the living spirit. This is also called the jīva. This living principle cannot be generated by any combination of material elements. There are eight material principles which are described as inferior energies, and they are: (1) earth, (2) water, (3) fire, (4) air, (5) ether, (6) mind, (7) intelligence and (8) ego. Apart from these is the living force, or the anti-material principle, which is described as the superior energy. These are called "energies" because they are wielded and controlled by the supreme living being, the Personality of Godhead (Kṛṣṇa).</p>
<p>For a long time the materialist was limited within the boundary of the eight material principles mentioned above. Now it is encouraging to see that he has a little preliminary information of the anti-material principle and the anti-material universe. We hope that with the progress of time the materialist will be able to estimate the value of the anti-material world, in which there is no trace of material principles. Of course the very word "anti-material" indicates that the principle is in opposition to all material qualities.</p>
<p>There are, of course, the mental speculators who comment upon the anti-material principle. These fall into two main groups, and they arrive at two different erroneous conclusions. One group (the gross materialists) either denies the anti-material principle or admits only the disintegration of material combination at a certain stage (death). The other group accepts the anti-material principle as being in direct opposition to the material principle with its twenty-four categories. This group is known as the Sāṅkhyaites, and they investigate the material principles and analyze them minutely. At the end of their investigation, the Sāṅkhyaites finally accept only a transcendental (anti-material) nonactive principle. However, difficulties arise for all these mental speculators because they speculate with the help of inferior energy. They do not accept information from the superior. In order to realize the real position of the anti-material principle, one must rise to the transcendental plane of superior energy. Bhakti-yoga is the very activity of superior energy.</p>
<p>From the platform of the material world, one cannot estimate the real position of the anti-material world. But the Supreme Lord, who is the controller of both material and anti-material energies, descends out of His causeless mercy and gives us complete information of the anti-material world. In this way we can know what the anti-material world is. The Supreme Lord and the living entities are both anti-material in quality, we are informed. Thus, we can have an idea of the Supreme Lord by an elaborate study of the living entities. Every living entity is an individual person. Therefore, the supreme living being must also be the supreme person. In the Vedic literatures the supreme person is properly claimed to be Kṛṣṇa. The name "Kṛṣṇa," indicating the Supreme Lord, is the only truly intelligible name of the highest order. He is the controller of both material and anti-material energies, and the very word "Kṛṣṇa" signifies that He is the supreme controller. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord confirms this as follows:</p>
<p>There are two worlds—the material and anti-material. The material world is composed of inferior qualitative energy divided into eight material principles. The anti-material world is made of superior qualitative energy. Because both the material and anti-material energies are emanations of the Supreme Transcendence, the Personality of Godhead, it is proper to conclude that I (Lord Kṛṣṇa) am the ultimate cause of all creations and annihilations.</p>
<p>Because the Lord's two energies (inferior and superior) manifest the material and anti-material worlds, He is called the Supreme Absolute Truth. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains this in the Bhagavad-gītā thus:</p>
<p>I am, Arjuna, the highest principle of transcendence, and there is nothing greater than Me. Everything that be rests on My energies exactly like pearls on a thread.</p>
<p>Long, long before the discovery of the principles of antimatter and the anti-material worlds, the subject was delineated in the pages of Bhagavad-gītā. The Gītā itself indicates that its philosophy had previously been taught to the presiding deity of the sun, which implies that the principles of the Bhagavad-gītā were expounded by the Personality of Godhead long before the Battle of Kurukṣetra—at least some 120,000,000 years before. Now modern science has just discovered a fraction of the truths that are available in the Bhagavad-gītā.</p>
<p>The assumption of an anti-material universe is also found in the Bhagavad-gītā. And from all data available it is to be assumed without the slightest doubt that the anti-material world is situated in the anti-material sky, a sky which is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as sanātana-dhāma, or the eternal nature.</p>
<p>Exactly as material atoms create the material world, the anti-material atoms create the anti-material world with all its paraphernalia. The anti-material world is inhabited by anti-material living beings. In the anti-material world there is no inert matter. Everything there is a living principle, and the Supreme Personality in that region is God Himself. The denizens of the anti-material world possess eternal life, eternal knowledge and eternal bliss. In other words, they have all the qualifications of God.</p>
<p>In the material world the topmost planet is called Satyaloka, or Brahmaloka. Beings of the greatest talents live on this planet. The presiding deity of Brahmaloka is Brahmā, the first created being of this material world. Brahmā is a living being like so many of us, but he is the most talented personality in the material world. He is not so talented that he is in the category of God, but he is in the category of those living entities directly dominated by God. God and the living entities both belong to the anti-material world. The scientist, therefore, would be rendering service to everyone by researching the constitution of the anti-material world—how it is administered, how things are shaped there, who are the presiding personalities, and so on. Of the Vedic literatures, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam deals elaborately with these matters. The Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These two important books of knowledge should be thoroughly studied by all men in the scientific world. These books would give many clues to scientific progress and would indicate many new discoveries.</p>
<p>The transcendentalists and the materialists are two distinct classes of men. The transcendentalist gathers knowledge from authoritative scriptures like the Vedas. Vedic literature is received from authoritative sources which are in the line of transcendental disciplic succession. This disciplic succession (paramparā) is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that hundreds of thousands of years ago the Gītā was spoken to the presiding deity of the sun, who delivered the knowledge to his son Manu, from whom the present generation of man has descended. Manu, in his turn, delivered this transcendental knowledge to his son King Ikṣvāku, who is the forefather of the dynasty in which the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāma appeared. This long chain of disciplic succession was broken during the advent period of Lord Kṛṣṇa (five thousand years ago), and for this reason Kṛṣṇa restated the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, thereby making him the first disciple of this knowledge in this age. The transcendentalist of this age, therefore, is in the disciplic line that starts with Arjuna. Without troubling himself with materialistic research work, the transcendentalist acquires the truths concerning matter and antimatter in the most perfect way (through this disciplic succession) and thereby saves himself much botheration.</p>
<p>The gross materialists, however, do not believe in the anti-material worlds of the Personality of Godhead. They are therefore unfortunate creatures, although sometimes very talented, educated and advanced otherwise. They are bewildered by the influence of the material manifestation and are devoid of knowledge of things anti-material. It is a good sign, therefore, that the materialistic scientists are gradually progressing toward the region of the anti-material world. It may even be possible for them to make sufficient progress to be able to know the details of this anti-material world, where the Personality of Godhead resides as the predominating figure and where the living entities live with Him and serve Him. The living entities who serve the Godhead are equal in quality to Him, but at the same time they are predominated as servitors. In the anti-material world there is no difference between the predominated and the predominator—the relationship is in perfection and without tinge of materialism.</p>
<p>The nature of the material world is destructive. According to the Bhagavad-gītā, there is some partial truth to the assumption of the physical scientist that there is annihilation of the material and anti-material worlds when they chance to clash. The material world is a creation of changing modes of nature. These modes (guṇas) are known as sattva (goodness), rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance). The material world is created by the mode of rajas, maintained by the mode of sattva, and annihilated by the mode of tamas. These modes are omnipresent in the material world, and as such, at every hour, every minute, every second, the process of creation, maintenance and annihilation is taking place all over the material universe. The highest planet of the material universe, Brahmaloka, is also subjected to these modes of nature, although the duration of life on that planet, due to the predominance of the mode of sattva, is said to be 4,300,000 x 1,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years. Despite this long duration, however, Brahmaloka is subject to destruction. Although life on Brahmaloka is fantastically long compared to life on Earth, it is only a flash in comparison to the eternal life of the nonmaterial worlds. Consequently, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, asserts the importance of the anti-material universe, which is His abode.</p>
<p>Lord Kṛṣṇa instructs that all the planets within the material universe are destroyed at the end of 4,300,000 x 1,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years. And all the living beings inhabiting these material planets are destroyed materially along with the destruction of the material worlds. The living entity, however, is constitutionally an anti-material particle. But unless he elevates himself to the region of the anti-material worlds by cultivation of anti-material activities, he is destroyed materially at the annihilation of the material worlds and is subject to take rebirth in a material shape with the rebirth of a new material universe. In other words, he is subject to the pains of repeated birth and death. Only those living entities who take to the loving service of the Personality of Godhead during the manifested stage of material life are undoubtedly transferred to the anti-material worlds after quitting the material body. Immortality is obtained only by those who return to Godhead by practice of anti-material activities.</p>
<p>What are these anti-material activities? They are medicines. For example, when a man falls ill, he goes to a physician who prescribes medicines which eventually cure the suffering patient. Similarly, the materialist is ailing, and he should consult an expert transcendentalist-physician. What is his ailment? He is suffering the tribulations of repeated births, deaths, diseases and old age. Once he agrees to put himself under the "back to Godhead" treatment, he is able to transfer himself to the anti-material world, where there is eternal life instead of birth and death.</p>
<p>Annihilation of the material world takes place in two ways. Partial annihilation occurs at the end of every 4,300,000 x 1,000 solar years, or at the end of each day of Brahmaloka, which is the topmost planet in the material world. During that time of partial annihilation, the topmost planets such as Brahmaloka are not annihilated, but at the end of each duration of 4,300,000 x 1,000 x 2 x 30 x 12 x 100 solar years, the entire cosmic manifestation is merged into the anti-material body from whence the material principles emanate, manifest and merge after annihilation. The anti-material world, which is far removed from the material sky, is never annihilated. It absorbs the material world. It may be that a "clash" occurs between the material and anti-material worlds, as suggested by the scientists, and that the material worlds are destroyed, but there is no annihilation of the anti-material worlds. The eternally existing anti-material world is unmanifested to the material scientist. He can simply have information of it insofar as the principles of its existence are contrary to the modes of the material world. Full details of the anti-material universe can be known only from the infallible source of liberated authorities who have thoroughly realized the constitution of the anti-material principle. This information is received by aural reception by a submissive disciple of the Personality of Godhead.</p>
<p>The Vedic knowledge was thus imparted unto the heart of Brahmā, the first living being in the material creation. It was Brahmā who related this knowledge to the sage Nārada Muni. Similarly, the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to Vivasvān, the presiding deity of the sun, and when the aural chain of disciplic succession was broken, Lord Kṛṣṇa repeated the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. At that time, Arjuna took the role of disciple and student in order to receive transcendental knowledge from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In order to drive out all misgivings which the gross materialists of the world may have, Arjuna asked all relevant questions, and the answers were given by Kṛṣṇa so that any layman can understand them. Only those who are captivated by the glamour of the material world cannot accept the authority of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One has to become thoroughly clean in habit and heart before one can understand the details of the anti-material world. Bhakti-yoga is a detailed scientific transcendental activity that both the neophyte and the perfect yogī can practice.</p>
<p>The material world is only a shadow representation of the anti-material world, and intelligent men who are clean in heart and habit will be able to learn, in a nutshell, all the details of the anti-material world from the text of the Bhagavad-gītā, and these are in actuality more exhaustive than material details. The basic details are as follows:</p>
<p>The presiding Deity of the anti-material world is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who exists in His original personality as well as in His many plenary expansions. This personality and His plenary expansions can be known only by anti-material activities commonly known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. The Personality of Godhead is the supreme truth, and He is the whole anti-material principle. The material principle as well as the anti-material principle is an emanation from His person. He is the root of the complete tree. When water is poured onto the root of a tree, the branches and leaves are nourished automatically. And in the same way, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, all details of the material worlds are enlightened, and the heart of the devotee is nourished without his having to work in a materialistic way. This is the secret of the Bhagavad-gītā.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>