SB 06.01.41 yena sva-dhamny ami bhava... cited

Expressions researched:
"guna-nama-kriya-rupair" |"rajah-sattva-tamomayah" |"vibhavyante yatha-tatham" |"yena sva-dhamny ami bhava"

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.41, Translation and Purport:

The supreme cause of all causes, Nārāyaṇa, is situated in His own abode in the spiritual world, but nevertheless He controls the entire cosmic manifestation according to the three modes of material nature-sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. In this way all living entities are awarded different qualities, different names (such as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya), different duties according to the varṇāśrama institution, and different forms. Thus Nārāyaṇa is the cause of the entire cosmic manifestation.

The Vedas inform us:

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate

svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)

(Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport)

Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is almighty, omnipotent. He has multifarious energies, and therefore He is able to remain in His own abode and without endeavor supervise and manipulate the entire cosmic manifestation through the interaction of the three modes of material nature—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. These interactions create different forms, bodies, activities and changes, which all occur perfectly. Because the Lord is perfect, everything works as if He were directly supervising and taking part in it. Atheistic men, however, being covered by the three modes of material nature, cannot see Nārāyaṇa to be the supreme cause behind all activities. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.13):

tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair

ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat

mohitaṁ nābhijānāti

mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam

"Deluded by the three modes, the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible." Because unintelligent agnostics are mohita, illusioned by the three modes of material nature, they cannot understand that Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme cause of all activities. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.1):

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

"Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda, is the supreme controller. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, for He is the prime cause of all causes."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.41 -- Los Angeles, June 7, 1976:

Devotee: (leads chanting, etc.) Translation: "The supreme cause of all causes, Nārāyaṇa, is situated in His own abode in the spiritual world, but nevertheless He controls the entire cosmic manifestation according to the three modes of material nature—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. In this way all living entities are awarded different qualities, different names such as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya, different duties according to the varṇāśrama institution, and different forms. Thus Nārāyaṇa is the cause of the entire cosmic manifestation."

Prabhupāda:

yena sva-dhāmny amī bhāvā

rajaḥ-sattva-tamomayāḥ

guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair

vibhāvyante yathā-tatham

(SB 6.1.41)

So supreme controller is Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa also explains... Here in the śāstra, we understand that Nārāyaṇa is the supreme controller. In many other places the same thing is explained.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

(Bs. 5.1)

So Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā: ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). So Nārāyaṇa... In the Vedic mantra also, the same thing: eko nārāyaṇa āsīt. In the beginning, Nārāyaṇa was there. So Nārāyaṇa is not alone. When you say the king is coming, it does not mean that king is coming alone. King is coming with his ministers, with his secretaries, with his military forces, bodyguards, many thousands. Similarly, when we speak eko nārāyaṇa āsīt, nārāyaṇa paraḥ avyaktāt, it does not mean that Nārāyaṇa is alone. Nārāyaṇa is always... If a king can be surrounded by so many officers and ministers, and Nārāyaṇa is the supreme king, so how He is surrounded by paraphernalia we can just think over.

Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:

Prabhupāda: ...means Vedic injunction, and Vedic injunction means directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the sum and substance. Dharma means approved by the Vedas. You cannot manufacture dharma, "This dharma, that dharma." No. It must be approved by the Vedic injunction. And next? How this material world is created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every religion accepts this: God created this material world.

yena svadhāmny amī bhāvā

rajaḥ-sattva-tamomayāḥ

guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair

vibhāvyante yathā-tatham

(SB 6.1.41)

The difference between material world and spiritual world is that here in this material world these three qualities are acting. Therefore we find so many different varieties of men. There are three qualities: the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, and the quality of ignorance—sattva, rajas, tamas. Now, these qualities, again mixed up, they create several varieties of... Just like three multiplied by three becomes nine. Nine multiplied by nine becomes eighty-one. Eighty-one multiplied by eighty-one, it becomes so many varieties. Expert color men, they take three colors—that blue, red, and yellow—and mixes the color, and varieties of color is manufactured. Similarly, these three guṇas, originally they are coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:

So here it is also said that yena svadhāmni bhāvāḥ. The svadhāmni bhāvāḥ. This goodness, this passion, this mode, they are also represented in the spiritual world. They are also represented in the spiritual world, svadhāmni bhāvāḥ, but a perverted reflection is represented here only. Everything is there. Otherwise, there cannot be any creation. The Vedānta says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Everything, whatever we see, it has got a source of generation, and that is Brahman, Absolute Truth. So these guṇas, these material guṇas, they are also generated from the Absolute Truth. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā also. But here everything is perverted reflection. Therefore we see in a different way it is represented. Guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair vibhāvyante yathā-tatham. And those qualities, guṇa-nāma, guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpaiḥ, when the qualities begin to act, they are represented in different varieties, these qualities. These qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance, when they are interacted, they represent in different varieties of representation. Just like when there is quality of goodness, then it is brahmanism. That is the representation of the quality of goodness. And when the quality of passion is represented, that is the quality of kṣatriya. And when the quality of ignorance is represented, that is the presentation of the śūdras. And mixed-up quality of ignorance and passion, that is vaiśya. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "These four qualitative representation, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriya..."

Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:

"Their conception of God or devotional service to God without reference to the Vedas, śruti and smṛti, and the purāṇas," śruti-smṛti-purāṇa, pañcarātra-vidhi, "the Nārada Pañcarātra, these regulative principles, without reference to these regulative principles, if one, anyone, claims that he has become a devotee of the Lord, it is simply disturbance." It is simply disturbance. One cannot become a bona fide devotee without being trained up under the regulative principles of śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-pañcarātra-vidhi. Rūpa Gosvāmī directly says in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that "Without reference"—that means without being trained up by a bona fide spiritual master—"if one poses that he has become a devotee, he simply creates disturbance. That's all." That is being done. That is being done. We have got so many so-called devotees, but without any reference to the authoritative scripture; therefore we are creating disturbance. Here it is said that guṇa-nāma, guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpaiḥ. Guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair vibhāvyante yathā-tatham.

Then again says,

sūryo 'gniḥ khaṁ marud devaḥ

somaḥ sandhyāhanī diśaḥ

kaṁ kuḥ svayaṁ dharma iti

hy ete daihyasya sākṣiṇaḥ

(SB 6.1.42)

Now we are acting under the influence of different guṇas. Therefore we find the brahminical class of men, the kṣatriya class of men, the vaiśya class of men, the śūdra class of men. That is natural. Natural. A śūdra class of man, his behavior, and a brāhmaṇa class of man, his behavior, is different. And Nārada Muni says, and Bhāgavata also says, that we have to see the symptoms, how one is acting. Yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ puṁso varṇābhivyañjakam. Varṇa, this catur-varṇa-brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—there are symptoms. By symptoms... Just like a physician diagnoses the disease by the symptoms of the disease, similarly, we have to accept one as brāhmaṇa by the symptoms of his behavior, not by birth. It is not said in the Bhagavad-gītā or any śāstra. That is going on in India at the present moment. By birthright one is claiming "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya." That is the cause of falldown of India's civilization. Without any qualities they are claiming, and it is passing on. Here, in every śāstra, the Nārada Pañcarātra, Bhāgavata, Bhagavad-gītā, everywhere... It is said, yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktam. Yasya: the varṇasya, of the varṇa, of the class, there are symptoms.

Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:

So guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair vibhāvyante yathā-tatham. Sūryaḥ agniḥ. Now, the creation, the God's creation, is going on, and we are acting under the influence of the material qualities. As such, when we act in tamo-guṇa, we become entangled with so many sinful activities. Tamo-guṇa. Tamo-guṇa means ignorance. We have to act because in the material world sometimes we are under the influence of goodness, sometimes we are under the influence of passion, sometimes we are under the influence of ignorance. So when we are in ignorance... Everyone commits sin or criminal activities simply by ignorance. Ignorance. Just like by ignorance a child touches a fire. The fire will not excuse. Because it is a child, he does not know, therefore the fire excuses? It does not burn his hand? No. Even it is child, the fire must act. It burns. Similarly, ignorance is no excuse of law. If you commit some sin and go to the law court and if you plead, "Sir, I did not know this law," that is no excuse. You have committed this criminal activity; even though you did not know the law, that does not mean you will be excused.

Lecture on SB 6.1.42 -- Los Angeles, July 23, 1975:

So we have to give up this nonsense idea as knowledge. We have to understand God as it is said in the śāstras. Practically, you have to judge. Then we shall understand God, His intelligence, how He is working. Because in the previous verse it is said,

yena sva-dhāmny amī bhāvā

rajaḥ-sattva-tamomayāḥ

guṇa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair

vibhāvyante yathā-tatham

Everything is being supplied by the nature. By the order of Kṛṣṇa, according to the modes of nature, we are contaminating guṇa-nāma. As we are infected with a certain type of guṇa, immediately our body, activities, name... We have contacted, contaminated, with tamo-guṇa... There are so many animals in the tamo-guṇa—trees, plants. Tamo-guṇa: darkness, no knowledge. So similarly sattva-guṇa. If you associate with sattva-guṇa, then you get the body of a brāhmaṇa, intelligent man, saintly man. Everything is ready. It requires only our association. That's all. Therefore the advice is that "You all become the topmost qualified man." That is the propaganda of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Become first-class topmost men. Don't remain..." Tamasi mā: "Don't remain in darkness." This is our only request. Otherwise... But why we are making this propaganda? Because Kṛṣṇa wants. We are all servant of Kṛṣṇa; therefore our only aim is to serve Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa wants that "Save these rascals from rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Bring them transcendent to sattva-guṇa, and they will be happy." This is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: "Arjuna, you become above the three guṇas." That is the Kṛṣṇa's desire. "Why you are bothering with these guṇas? 'This is my body. This is my family. This is this. This is this. This is this.' You are arguing so much." So therefore Kṛṣṇa said, nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: "These are on the material platform. Come to the spiritual platform." Ultimately he said that "You are My very dear friend. Therefore I am disclosing to you the most confidential knowledge." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). This is the whole instruction.