SB 03.26.46 bhavanam brahmanah sthanam... cited

Expressions researched:
"bhavanam brahmanah sthanam" |"dharanam sad-visesanam" |"prthivi-vrtti-laksanam" |"sarva-sattva-gunodbhedah"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.26.46, Translation and Purport:

The characteristics of the functions of earth can be perceived by modeling forms of the Supreme Brahman, by constructing places of residence, by preparing pots to contain water, etc. In other words, the earth is the place of sustenance for all elements.

Different elements, such as sound, sky, air, fire and water, can be perceived in the earth. Another feature of the earth especially mentioned here is that earth can manifest different forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this statement of Kapila's it is confirmed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Brahman, has innumerable forms, which are described in the scriptures. By manipulation of earth and its products, such as stone, wood and jewels, these forms of the Supreme Lord can be present before our eyes. When a form of Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Viṣṇu is manifested by presentation of a statue made of earth, it is not imaginary. The earth gives shape to the Lord's forms as described in the scriptures.

In the Brahma-saṁhitā there is description of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lands, the variegatedness of the spiritual abode, and the forms of the Lord playing a flute with His spiritual body. All these forms are described in the scriptures, and when they are thus presented they become worshipable. They are not imaginary as the Māyāvāda philosophy says. Sometimes the word bhāvana is misinterpreted as "imagination." But bhāvana does not mean "imagination;" it means giving actual shape to the description of Vedic literature. Earth is the ultimate transformation of all living entities and their respective modes of material nature.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.26.46 -- Bombay, January 21, 1975:

Nitāi: "The characteristics of the functions of earth can be perceived by modeling forms of the Supreme Brahman, by constructing places of residence, by preparing pots to contain water, etc. In other words, the earth is the place of sustenance for all elements."

Prabhupāda:

bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānaṁ

dhāraṇaṁ sad-viśeṣaṇam

sarva-sattva-guṇodbhedaḥ

pṛthivī-vṛtti-lakṣaṇam

(SB 3.26.46)

So brahmaṇaḥ sthānam. This temple is brahmaṇaḥ sthānam, the residential place for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, brahmaṇaḥ. Brahmaṇaḥ means the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is understood in three different features: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). So Supreme Brahman means Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as it was accepted by Arjuna after understanding Bhagavad-gītā. He addressed Him, paraṁ brahma param dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān: (BG 10.12) "You are paraṁ brahma." Brahman and Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate, the Absolute Truth. According to our different realization, the Absolute Truth is realized in three different features: impersonal Brahman; and localized, all-pervading antaryāmī, Viṣṇu or Paramātmā; and the last word of understanding is Bhagavān.

Lecture on SB 3.26.46 -- Bombay, January 21, 1975:

So yogis, the jñānīs, they have got their function, to realize the Absolute Truth. Similarly, bhakta. Bhakta, they want to worship the Personality of Godhead in a temple just like we are trying to do, to have a temple here nice. We have got already. Our function is going on. But we want to make a very gorgeous place for the Lord. That is the utility of this land: to construct temple for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We have got a tendency to construct house. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ. This material world means first of all we have got desire of sex, mixing together, man and woman. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). Mithunī-bhāva. Mithunī-bhāva means sex desires, impelled by sex. That is the central point of this material life. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). The central point of material happiness is maithunādi, sex impulse. Everyone. This morning was... Some devotee was discussing that the daily passengers, sometimes they go from home three to four hours, come to Bombay, and they work their eight hours. Then again three to four hours. So somebody was asking, "Why they should go? They can remain in the city." No. Their central point is there. Central point is sex. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ (SB 2.1.3). The materialistic person's life is being spoiled in this way.

That is described by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Nidrayā hriyate naktam: "At night they spoil the valuable time by sleeping." Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ (SB 2.1.3). Vyavāya. Vyavāya means sex. "Either by sex or by sleeping." Divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā: "And during daytime they are after money, 'Where is money? Where is money?' And if they get money, 'How to spend it for kuṭumba, for family members?' " This is material life. And as soon as we are united, mithunī-bhāva, then gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ (SB 5.5.8). Then we want apartment or house, big, big house, gṛha, and kṣetra. Kṣetra means earning fee. Formerly there were agriculture. Now there are so many industries and other places. So this gṛha is the utilization of the earth. People want some gṛha. So this propensity can be utilized by constructing temple. That propensity, that "I must have a very high skyscraper building," that tendency is there, but if we utilize that tendency for constructing, as it is stated, bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānam... Instead of thinking that "I will have such big building," if we transfer that thinking, that "I will construct such a nice big temple for establishing Deity worship," that is the proper utilization of this tendency. One is for sense gratification; another, the same thing... If you construct a temple, you will have to labor in the same way, how to get municipal sanction, how to get cement, how to get stone, how to get this, that, so many things. But it is nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe: it has got relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Your capacity to construct something material, residential... So if we do it for Kṛṣṇa, then it is Kṛṣṇa consciousness; your life is successful.

Lecture on SB 3.26.46 -- Bombay, January 21, 1975:

So this is kṛṣṇānuśīlanam. Even though I have got one decision in my life, but if I understand that Kṛṣṇa wants me to do something contrary, I shall be ready to perform this. That is kṛṣṇānuśīlanam. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā (CC Madhya 19.167). If you favorably serve Kṛṣṇa, that is bhaktir uttamā, first-class bhakti. Unfavorably, as Kaṁsa was thinking, that how to kill Kṛṣṇa... He got also salvation because always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, but not the salvation of the devotees. The devotee's salvation is different from the salvation of the nondevotees, jñānīs. Jñānīs... We have already explained there are three features of the Absolute Truth. One is impersonal Brahman, the other is localized Paramātmā, or antaryāmī, Supersoul, and the supermost is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa-bhagavān. So impersonal Brahman is the destination of the jñānīs, and Paramātmā, localized antaryāmī, is the destination of the yogis, and the Supreme Person, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the destination of the pure devotees. Pure devotee means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). They have no other desire. Others, the jñānīs, they have desire to merge into the existence of the Lord. They want that. And the yogis, they, by the grace of the Supreme Paramātmā, they want to get some siddhis, aṣṭa-siddhi. But the bhaktas, they do not want mukti or siddhi; they simply want to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is pure devotion.

So in this life also, we can utilize these earthly things, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). We can utilize all these material elements in the service of the Lord. So with the earth, we can prepare the forms of the Lord, we can prepare the temple of the Lord, so many things. That is required. That is sāttvika. It is called here bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānaṁ dhāraṇaṁ sad-viśeṣaṇam. Sad-viśeṣaṇam. Sad-viśeṣa and asad-viśeṣa. This is asad-viśeṣa. This is to be understood. Asato mā sad gama. That is the Vedic injunction. Asad-viśeṣa... Just like we have got this city, the roads, the cars, the buildings, and so many other things, transformation of the same earth, but they are asad-viśeṣa. They will not stay. Here anything—the house, the car, the road, the city, the body, the society, the friendship, the nation—they are all asat. But the same thing can be done, sad-viśeṣa. Sad-viśeṣa. This temple is sad-viśeṣa. The Deity is sad-viśeṣa. Worshiping the Deity is sad-viśeṣa. So we can utilize. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate.

Lecture on SB 3.26.46 -- Bombay, January 21, 1975:

So this is Vaiṣṇava principle. Vaiṣṇava principle means everything accepted as Kṛṣṇa's. The Māyāvādīs, they say—at least they say—that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Mithyā: "This is false." But Vaiṣṇava says, "No, it is not false. It is the by-product of Kṛṣṇa's energy. If Kṛṣṇa is true, how it can be false?" So they do not take this world, material world, as false. It is temporary, but they know how to utilize this material world for devotional service. Bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānam. You can utilize the same energy of constructing something out of bricks and stones and wood into a nice temple. That was the Vedic culture. Still in old cities you will find in lanes and streets, there are so many temples. I have seen, especially in Kanpur. Even within the lane there are so many temples, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple, Viṣṇu temples, Śiva temple. So all over India you will find the temples. People were so spiritually advanced, even Muslim. They are also. They have constructed so many mosques. So that should be utilized. If we have got the tendency for making a house or construction of some building with stones and bricks, let it be utilized for constructing temple of the Supreme Brahman.

Lecture on SB 3.26.46 -- Bombay, January 21, 1975:

So this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is very authentic movement from the śāstra, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu practiced it, Nārada Muni practiced it. All the great sages, they practice it. The śāstra says, kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). In this age, Kali-yuga, we are surrounded by so many faulty things checking our spiritual advancement of life. That is the only necessity of human being, the spiritual advancement of life. So far eating, sleeping, sex life, and defense, everyone is doing in his own capacity. That is not the business. That is there. Even the birds, beasts, they are doing that. The only business of human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about the Supreme, the same Brahman. Brahmaṇaḥ sthānam, bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānam. Always think of brahma. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. These thoughts, these activities, they are required. That is the only business. But we have manufactured so many other business and engagement, leaving aside the real business of life. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching all over the world the real business of life. Those who are fortunate, they will take advantage of this movement and make his life successful.