SB 01.02.32 yatha hy avahito vahnir... cited

Expressions researched:
"bhutesu ca tatha puman" |"darusv ekah sva-yonisu" |"naneva bhati visvatma" |"yatha hy avahito vahnir"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.32, Translation and Purport:

The Lord, as Supersoul, pervades all things, just as fire permeates wood, and so He appears to be of many varieties, though He is the absolute one without a second.

Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by one of His plenary parts expands Himself all over the material world, and His existence can be perceived even within the atomic energy. Matter, antimatter, proton, neutron—in all these one can perceive the manifestation of the Paramātmā feature of the Lord by proper spiritual culture. As from wood, fire can be manifested, or as butter can be churned out of milk, so also the presence of the Lord as Paramātmā can be felt by the process of legitimate hearing and chanting of the transcendental subjects which are especially treated in the Vedic literatures like the Upaniṣads and Vedānta. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the bona fide explanation of these Vedic literatures. The Lord can be realized through the aural reception of the transcendental message, and that is the only way to experience the transcendental subject. As fire is kindled from wood by another fire, the divine consciousness of man can similarly be kindled by another divine grace. His Divine Grace the spiritual master can kindle the spiritual fire from the woodlike living entity by imparting proper spiritual messages injected through the receptive ear. Therefore one is required to approach the proper spiritual master with receptive ears only, and thus divine existence is gradually realized. The difference between animality and humanity lies in this process only. A human being can hear properly, whereas an animal cannot.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.32 -- Vrndavana, November 11, 1972:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

yathā hy avahito vahnir

dāruṣv ekaḥ sva-yoniṣu

nāneva bhāti viśvātmā

bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān

(SB 1.2.32)

Translation: "The Lord, as Supersoul, pervades all things, just as fire permeates wood, and so He appears to be of many varieties, though He is the absolute one without a second."

Prabhupāda:

yathā hy avahito vahnir

dāruṣv ekaḥ sva-yoniṣu

nāneva bhāti viśvātmā

bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa is residing along with the living entity within the heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, that Īśvara, the Supreme Personality, is residing in everyone's heart. In another place it is said, kṣetra-kṣetrajña chapter, kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. Kṣetrajña means the knower of the body. I, you, every one of us, we are individual living entities. We are also kṣetrajña. I know this is my body, this is my finger, this is my hair, this is my leg. Jña. Jña means one who knows. So I know; you know. You know about your body; I know about my body. Therefore we are all kṣetrajñas. Kṣetrajña means one who knows about his field of activities.

Everyone has been given, awarded, a certain type of field of activities for sense enjoyment. We want a certain type of body, certain type of sense enjoyment, and Kṛṣṇa gives us the facility through the agency of material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Actually we are dependent. I want something; Kṛṣṇa gives us through the material agent. At the same time, He also accompanies, as a friend. The footnote is there: dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo 'bhicākaśīti. Śruti-mantra. So both the living entity, and the Supersoul is sitting on the same tree. This body is supposed to be the tree, and the heart is supposed to be the nest. And in the nest, as there are two birds, similarly, there is one bird, the living entity, individual, and the Supersoul, both. One is eating the fruit; the other is simply observing, witnessing. Anumantā upadraṣṭā. Anumantā means "giving order." Just like a child wants to take something, but he also depends on the order of the father. The child is insisting: "Father, I want this." Father says, "No, you don't take it." "I shall touch it. I shall touch the fire." Father says, "No, don't touch it." But he's insisting and crying, so father says, "All right, you touch." Similarly, we create our own fortune and misfortune. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). So the father wants us to do something else, but we want to do something else against the wish of the father. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa wants that everyone of us should surrender unto Him and work according to His direction, but we want to do against His will. Therefore we create our own fortune and misfortune. That is the way.

Lecture on SB 1.2.32 -- Vrndavana, November 11, 1972:

So there are different types of body, and each one is acting in a different way. Different way means the... Why they are working different way? If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā, is the same in the..., in each and every body—īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)—why one is acting different from the other? One is acting different... That is the action of the individual soul. The Supersoul is there, simply sanctioning: "All right, you do like this." Because he's insisting. And He's sanctioning: "All right, you do like this." Therefore nāneva bhāti viśvātmā. Viśvātmā, the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He appears to be acting differently. He's not acting differently. Just like the magistrate. Magistrate is giving different judgment: "This man should be treated like this. This man should be treated..." The man, the magistrate, is the same, but because the culprit is different, therefore he has got to give different judgment. Culprit is different; he's not different. He's one. This is the proof that Paramātmā and jīvātmā are two different personalities. They're not one. This is the proof. Why? Nāneva bhāti viśvātmā. He's Viśvātmā, the Supersoul. Why one is acting as a hog, one is acting as a dog, one is acting as a demigod, Indra, Candra, Varuṇa? Why these differences? We are all living entities, jīva-tattva, and the Viśvātmā, the Supersoul, is the same in everyone's heart. Why they are acting differently? This is the proof that there is individual soul, jīvātmā, and the Paramātmā, Paramātmā is sanctioning. The same example: the magistrate, or judge, is giving different judgment because the criminals, or the complainers, they are different. Nāneva bhāti viśvātmā bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān.

The example is given: yathā hy avahito vahnir dāruṣu. In every wood, there is fire. A small wood, there is small fire; in big wood, there is big fire. The fire is the same, but according to the different size of the wood, fuel, the, the, what is, the flames of the fire appears to be different. The flame of the fire appears to be different because the living entity is different, of different types. They have got different desires, according to the contact of the material quality. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why they are different? Because kāraṇam, the cause, is—kāraṇam means cause—is guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya. Asya, or this living entity, he is associating, contacting different qualities. There are three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa; and again, if you mix these three qualities, then three into three, it becomes nine. Then again mix it: nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. Therefore there are 8,400,000 species of life, different qualities. Nāneva. Nāneva bhāti. And in every living entity, within the heart of every living entity, the Viśvātmā, the Supersoul, is there.

Lecture on SB 1.2.32 -- Vrndavana, November 11, 1972:

Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). Karmāṇi nirdahati... It is said in the śāstra, the karma is reduced for the devotees. That much facility's there. Karma is reduced means in other place, if you commit some sinful activities, then you have to accept a body, and then evolution will take place gradually. Then you again come to human form of body. Then again, if you are intelligent enough, you can utilize. But in Vṛndāvana the karmāṇi nirdahati... Suppose for your sinful, criminal acts you become hogs and dog; next life you are elevated. That is karmāṇi nirdahati. The karma, the cycle of fruitive activities is reduced. But you have to accept. You have to accept. But nirdahati. But why should we waste our time accepting another body of dogs and hog? That we should be very much careful. Although it is nirdahati, it is reduced, why should we accept even that reduced punishment? That should be our principle. But we do not know. We commit ignorance. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī has described: sinful activities are done due to ignorance, ajñāna. Just like a child touches the fire. Everyone knows if you touch fire, it will burn, but the child, out of ignorance, touches. Therefore the child is under the protection of the parents so that the child may not do something wrong and suffer.

So nāneva bhāti viśvātmā bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān. These varieties of living entities, it is due to the variety of desires of the living entity. Otherwise Viśvātmā, He's one. He's one. And the living entity is also one, because he's the manifestation of marginal potency of the Supreme. Therefore, as marginal potency, the living entity is one. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). One who knows that the living entities, they're part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and they belong to the marginal potency... Therefore they do not see any difference out of the varieties of bodies. He sees only the spirit soul. And due to the varieties of body, the activities are different, although the director, the Supreme Soul, Supersoul, is the same, one. This is the conclusion.

yathā hy avahito vahnir

dāruṣv ekaḥ sva-yoniṣu

nāneva bhāti viśvātmā

bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān

So according to our body, we act different. The direction and sanction is there by the Supersoul. This is the purport of this verse.

Lecture on SB 1.2.33 -- Vrndavana, November 12, 1972:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

asau guṇamayair bhāvair

bhūta-sūkṣmendriyātmabhiḥ

sva-nirmiteṣu nirviṣṭo

bhuṅkte bhūteṣu tad-guṇān

(SB 1.2.33)

Translation: "The Supersoul enters into the bodies of the created beings, who are influenced by the modes of material nature, and causes them to enjoy the effects of these by the subtle mind."

Prabhupāda:

asau guṇamayair bhāvair

bhūta-sūkṣmendriyātmabhiḥ

sva-nirmiteṣu nirviṣṭo

bhuṅkte bhūteṣu tad-guṇān

In the previous verse we have discussed that nāneva bhāti viśvātmā bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān, that the, the living entity, individual soul, and the Supersoul... So because the individual soul wanted a certain type of enjoyment, so the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is making such arrangement. Guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ. That arrangement is made by the material nature. Bhāva, bhāva means nature. Guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ. This nature is made of three modes of material nature. And the other nature... In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). This bhāva, this material creation, it is also bhāva. Another bhāva, that is sanātana. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ. Anya means other. Avyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ. Here the mahat-tattva, the total material energy, is called avyakta. Then, when it is agitated by the glance of the Supreme Lord, the three modes of material nature acts. And by interaction of these three modes of material nature, the whole cosmic manifestation comes into being. This is the... Not theory. This is the fact of creation. Creation, there is machine, or there is electronic working and the buttons are pushed by the Supreme Lord. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). His electronic machine is so subtle and powerful that we cannot understand. We say "nature." Because, due to our ignorance, we cannot explain how the nature is working, we give an evasive reply. Just like a flower is coming from the seed. The tree is coming, the flower is coming, the fruit is coming. So we simply give an evasive reply: "By nature, it is coming." But we cannot explain how it is coming.