SB 06.01.55 esa prakrti-sangena... cited

Expressions researched:
"asit sa eva na cirad" |"esa prakrti-sangena" |"isa-sangad viliyate" |"purusasya viparyayah"

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.55, Translation and Purport:

Since the living entity is associated with material nature, he is in an awkward position, but if in the human form of life he is taught how to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee, this position can be overcome.

The word prakṛti means material nature, and puruṣa may also refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one wants to continue his association with prakṛti, the female energy of Kṛṣṇa, and be separated from Kṛṣṇa by the illusion that he is able to enjoy prakṛti, he must continue in his conditional life. If he changes his consciousness, however, and associates with the supreme, original person (puruṣaṁ śāśvatam), or with His associates, he can get out of the entanglement of material nature. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9), janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ: one must simply understand the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, in terms of His form, name, activities and pastimes. This will keep one always in the association of Kṛṣṇa. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so'rjuna: thus after giving up his gross material body, one accepts not another gross body but a spiritual body in which to return home, back to Godhead. Thus one ends the tribulation caused by his association with the material energy. In summary, the living entity is an eternal servant of God, but he comes to the material world and is bound by material conditions because of his desire to lord it over matter. Liberation means giving up this false consciousness and reviving one's original service to the Lord. This return to one's original life is called mukti, as confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6)).

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.55 -- Paris, August 11, 1975:

Prabhupāda: (leads chanting line by line:)

eṣa prakṛti-saṅgena

puruṣasya viparyayaḥ

āsīt sa eva na cirād

īśa-saṅgād vilīyate

(SB 6.1.55)

Hm. In the previous verse it has been discussed, na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt. Nobody can... (child making sounds) Just like this child. He wants to do something. (laughter) He does not know that he is doing something nonsense. (devotee translates throughout) Similarly, the child's father also, he wants to do something although it is nonsense. Therefore, here it is mentioned, na hi kaścit, "Anyone," kṣaṇam api, "even for a moment," na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma, "he must do something." This is the tendency. How? Kāryate hy avaśaḥ. Avaśaḥ means being forced. He has no control. He must do something and he has no control over it. So why no control? No control means he is controlled by somebody else. He is not in his own control. And what is that controller? Guṇaiḥ svābhāvikair balāt. He has infected some type of material modes of nature and he has to act accordingly. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. The similar verse is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27).

So we are under the control of the modes of material nature. Now, the next verse says, eṣa prakṛti-saṅgena. Eṣa means all these living entities. In this way, on account of association with this material nature... Prakṛti-saṅgena puruṣasya viparyayaḥ. Puruṣasya means the living entities; viparyayaḥ, entanglement. Āsīt: "In this way he is involved." Sa eva na cirād īśa-saṅgād vilīyate. So he is involved in this way, but if he associates with Īśa, the Supreme Lord, then na cirād, very soon, all these things, entanglement, can be finished. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). One who is entangled with these modes of material nature, it is very difficult to come out of it. But mām eva ye prapadyante: "Anyone who takes My shelter, he can get out." And practically you have got all experience that our regulative principle is very difficult to give it up, but those who have become devotee, they have easily given up. That is also confirmed in another place, vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga-prayojitaḥ. If we engage ourself in devotional service of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, janaty āśu vairāgyam, then very soon he become detached to these material activities. Vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam (SB 1.2.7). These two things required: knowledge and detachment. Knowledge means that "I am not this body," and detachment means "I am not this body; therefore I have nothing to do with this material world."

Lecture on SB 6.1.55 -- London, August 13, 1975:

Prabhupāda:

eṣa prakṛti-saṅgena

puruṣasya viparyayaḥ

āsīt sa eva na cirād

īśa-saṅgād vilīyate

(SB 6.1.55)

Viparyaya, in the reverse condition, unfavorable condition... So... (aside:) Stop.

Haṁsadūta: The children should go out.

Prabhupāda: Puruṣa. Puruṣa means enjoyer, and prakṛti means enjoyed, or, in simple word, puruṣa means male, and prakṛti means female. So this material world is called prakṛti, and the living entities who are struggling in this material world to enjoy it, they are called puruṣa. Of course, puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa only. Puruṣa means enjoyer. Nobody is enjoyer; therefore nobody is puruṣa. And in the Bhagavad-gītā, the living entities have been described also as prakṛti-apareyam itas tv bhinnāṁ me prakṛti..., apareyam itas tv bhinnāṁ me prakṛtiṁ parā-superior prakṛti, not puruṣa. But because we are conditioned, we are under illusion. Although we are prakṛti, we are thinking that we are puruṣa. But actually we are not puruṣa. We are also prakṛti. So this living entity, on the false understanding of becoming a puruṣa, they have come to this material world to enjoy the material nature.

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pāsate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

Just like a male and female. That movement is very strong now in America. The female wants to become male, or equal rights. This is māyā. How woman can become in equal with man? Of course, we are not going to study the social welfare activities or something like that, but puruṣa and prakṛti, they are different. Purusa means enjoyer, and prakṛti means enjoyed. So here the prakṛti, this material nature—earth, water, air, fire, sky, mind, intelligence, and ego, egotism—these are eight material things. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, bhinnā prakṛtiṁ me aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). These are eight kinds of material energy. Material energy is one, mahat-tattva, but they have been divided. Mahat-tattva, when it is separated... Just like some philosopher says, "There was a chunk, and it became broken, and the creation took place." This can be applicable... The mahat-tattva, the total material energy, by, when the three guṇas break them, they become twenty-four elements, five material, and three material, subtle, and the ten senses, and the ten object of senses. In this way twenty-four elements is become.

Lecture on SB 6.1.55 -- London, August 13, 1975:

Therefore here it is said that eṣa prakṛti-saṅgena puruṣasya viparyayaḥ. His material life begun from this conception, that "I am puruṣa. I am enjoyer." And because he cannot give up this idea that "I am enjoyer," life after life he is viparyayaḥ, reverse condition. Reverse condition means... Because the living entity is part and parcel of God and God is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), so we are also sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, a small sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, but our position is prakṛti, not puruṣa. Both of them... Just like Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, They are of the same quality. Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmāt. They are one, but still, Rādhā is prakṛti, and Kṛṣṇa is puruṣa. Similarly, we are, although part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, but we are prakṛti, and Kṛṣṇa is puruṣa. So by falsely, when we think of becoming puruṣa, this is called māyā or viparyayaḥ. That is stated here. Evaṁ prakṛti-saṅgena puruṣasya viparyayaḥ. Viparyayaḥ means he is meant for actually enjoying with the puruṣa. When the puruṣa and prakṛti, male and female, enjoy, they enjoy, they get the same pleasure, but one is puruṣa; one is prakṛti. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is puruṣa, and we are prakṛti. If we enjoy with Kṛṣṇa, then the ānanda, sac-cid-ānanda, is there. That we have forgotten. We want to be puruṣa. So some way or other, this condition has come into existence, a false conception of becoming puruṣa, enjoyer. Then what is the result? The result is that we are trying to be enjoyer life after life, but we are being enjoyed; we are not enjoyer. We are simply struggling to become enjoyer. This is our position.

So how you can stop this struggling and come to your original position? That is stated here. Sa eva na cirād īśa-saṅgād vilīyate. This false conception of life, that "I am puruṣa," it can be vanquished completely. How? Īśa-saṅga, by association with God, Īśa. Īśa means the supreme controller. Īśa-saṅga. "So where is Īśa? I cannot see Īśa. I cannot see... Even Kṛṣṇa is Īśa, the Supreme, but I cannot see Him." Now, Kṛṣṇa is there. You are blind. Why don't you see Him? Therefore you cannot see. So you have to open your eyes, not close. That is the business of guru. The guru opens the eyes.

Lecture on SB 6.1.55 -- London, August 13, 1975:

So if we associate with all these things, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23), hearing and chanting about Viṣṇu, then this misconception of life, that "I am puruṣa," will vanquish. Then you become liberated. Īśa-saṅgād vilīyate. So take chance of this īśa-saṅga very vigorously. Tivreṇa bhakti-yogena. That is recommended. Anyone who is... There are two classes of men. One class of men, they are trying to enjoy this material world. Another class of men, they are rejecting—brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā—Māyāvādī. They say, "We have no use for this material world." And the karmīs... Those who are rejecting, they are jñānis. And those who are karmīs, they want more material enjoyment, more money, more money, more assets. The two classes of men. But a devotee is neither this class or that class. A devotee is neither karmī nor jñāni. Therefore bhakti means jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). If one is involved in jñāna and karma he cannot become bhakta.