In Brahma-saṁhitā the transcendental land of Vṛndāvana is described as being always spiritual. That spiritual land is populated by goddesses of fortune, who are known as gopīs. These are all beloved of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the only lover of all those gopīs. The trees of that land are kalpa-vṛkṣa, wish fulfilling trees, and one can have anything he wants from them. The land is made of touchstone and the water of nectar. In that land all speech is song, and all walking is dancing, and one's constant companion is the flute. Everything is self-luminous, just like the sun in this material world. The human form of life is meant for understanding this transcendental land of Vṛndāvana, and one who is fortunate should cultivate knowledge of Vṛndāvana and its residents. In that supreme abode are surabhi cows that overflood the land with milk. Since not even a moment there is misused, there is no past, present or future. An expansion of this Vṛndāvana, which is the supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa, is also present on this earth, and superior devotees worship it as the supreme abode. However, no one can appreciate Vṛndāvana without being highly elevated in spiritual knowledge, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to ordinary experience, Vṛndāvana appears to be just like an ordinary village, but in the eyes of a highly elevated devotee, it is as good as the original Vṛndāvana. A great saintly ācārya has sung: "When will my mind be cleared of all contamination so I will be able to see Vṛndāvana as it is? And when will I be able to understand the literatures left by the Gosvāmīs so that I will be able to know of the transcendental pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?"
Self luminous
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 13 - 18
That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.
The spiritual world, the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa—which is known as Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana is described here. In the spiritual sky there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity, because all the planets are self-luminous. We have only one planet in this universe, the sun, which is self-luminous, but all the planets in the spiritual sky are self-luminous. The shining effulgence of all those planets (called Vaikuṇṭhas) constitutes the shining sky known as the brahmajyoti. Actually, the effulgence is emanating from the planet of Kṛṣṇa, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Part of that shining effulgence is covered by the mahat-tattva, the material world. Other than this, the major portion of that shining sky is full of spiritual planets, which are called Vaikuṇṭhas, chief of which is Goloka Vṛndāvana.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
O almighty one, just as the sun, though hidden by a cloud, illuminates the cloud and all other visible forms as well, so You, although hidden by the material qualities, remain self-luminous and thus reveal all those qualities, along with the living entities who possess them.
Lord Mādhava would rise during the brāhma-muhūrta period and touch water. With a clear mind He would then meditate upon Himself, the single, self-luminous, unequaled and infallible Supreme Truth, known as Brahman, who by His very nature ever dispels all contamination, and who through His personal energies, which cause the creation and destruction of this universe, manifests His own pure and blissful existence.
The supreme spirit, Paramātmā, is indeed one. He is self-luminous and eternal, transcendental and devoid of material qualities. But through the agency of the very modes He has created, the one Supreme Truth manifests as many among the expansions of those modes.
The spirit soul is inexhaustible, transcendental, pure, self-luminous and never covered by anything material. It is like fire. But the nonliving material body, like firewood, is dull and unaware. So in this world, who is it that actually undergoes the experience of material life?
Although thus not existing in reality, this manifestation of transformations created from the mode of passion appears real because the self-manifested, self-luminous Absolute Truth exhibits Himself in the form of the material variety of the senses, the sense objects, the mind and the elements of physical nature.
The Supreme Lord is self-luminous, unborn and immeasurable. He is pure transcendental consciousness and perceives everything. One without a second, He is realized only after ordinary words cease. By Him the power of speech and the life airs are set into motion.
The soul within the body is self-luminous and is separate from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison.
O best of brāhmaṇas, He alone is the self-luminous, original source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. By His material energy He creates, destroys and maintains this entire universe. Because He is the performer of various material functions, He is sometimes described as materially divided, yet He always remains transcendentally situated in pure knowledge. Those who are dedicated to Him in devotion can realize Him to be their true Soul.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The all-pervading Brahman, composed of the impersonal glowing rays of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, exists in the spiritual world with the Vaikuṇṭha planets. We can get some idea of that spiritual sky by a comparison to the material sky, for the rays of the sun in the material sky can be compared to the brahmajyoti, the glowing rays of the Personality of Godhead. In the brahmajyoti there are unlimited Vaikuṇṭha planets, which are spiritual and therefore self-luminous, with a glow many times greater than that of the sun. The Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, His innumerable plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions dominate each Vaikuṇṭha planet. In the highest region of the spiritual sky is the planet called Kṛṣṇaloka, which has three divisions, namely Dvārakā, Mathurā and Goloka, or Gokula.
CC Madhya-lila
The spiritual realm of Vṛndāvana is always spiritual. The goddess of fortune and the gopīs are always present there. They are Kṛṣṇa's beloveds, and all of them are as spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person and is the husband of all the gopīs and the goddess of fortune. The trees in Vṛndāvana are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical vibrations, and all movements are dancing. The flute is the Lord's constant companion. The planet Goloka Vṛndāvana is self-luminous like the sun and is full of spiritual bliss. The perfection of life lies in tasting that spiritual existence; therefore everyone should cultivate its knowledge. In Vṛndāvana, spiritual cows are always supplying spiritual milk. Not a single moment is wasted there—in other words, there is no past, present or future. Not a single particle of time is wasted. Within this material universe, the devotees worship that transcendental abode as Goloka Vṛndāvana. Lord Brahmā himself said, "Let me worship that spiritual land where Kṛṣṇa is present." This transcendental Vṛndāvana is not appreciated by those who are not devotees or self-realized souls because this Vṛndāvana-dhāma is all spiritual. The pastimes of the Lord there are also spiritual. None are material.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Easy Journey to Other Planets
Lord Kṛṣṇa, in the Bhagavad-gītā, also informs us that this material world is full of miseries in the shape of birth, old age, disease and death. Even in the topmost planet of the material universe, Brahmaloka, these miseries are present. Only in His own abode is there a total absence of misery. In that abode there is no need of light from sun, moon or fire. The planets are self-luminous. Life there is perpetual and full of knowledge and bliss. That is what is known as sanātana-dharma. It is therefore natural to conclude that the living entities must return home, back to Godhead, to enjoy life in the sanātana-dhāma with the sanātana-puruṣa, or the puruṣottama, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They must not remain to rot in this miserable land of material existence. There is no happiness in the material sphere—even in Brahmaloka—so plans and activities for elevation to higher planets within the material universe are carried out by those who are less intelligent. Less intelligent men also take shelter of demigods and only derive benefits which endure for a limited period. Thus their religious principles and the benefits derived therefrom are only temporary. The intelligent man, however, abandons all engagements in the name of religion and takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus receives absolute protection from the Almighty Father. Sanātana-dharma is therefore the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one can come to know the sanātana Lord and His sanātana abode. By this process only can one return to the spiritual universe, the sanātana-dhāma, to take part in the sanātana enjoyment prevailing there.
Light of the Bhagavata
From the Transcendence, which is called Kṛṣṇaloka, there emanates a glowing effulgence that resembles the tail of a comet. This glowing effulgence is unlimited, immeasurable, and unfathomable. Within this effulgence there are innumerable glowing planets, each of them self-luminous. Somewhere, a limited part of that glowing effulgence is covered by material energy, just as a part of the sky is covered by a cloud. Within this material energy there are innumerable universes, in every universe there are innumerable material planets, and the earth is one of these planets. Thus we can understand what an insignificant part of the entire cosmos is this globe on which we live.
Kṛṣṇaloka, as above mentioned, is the residence of the Personality of Godhead, the original Transcendence. The glowing effulgence emanating from Kṛṣṇaloka is the personal glow of the Lord. The almighty Lord, being full of inconceivable energies, expands Himself in various forms and energies. There are forms from His energy as well as forms from His person. He has innumerable energies, and therefore He can do anything and everything as He desires, and these things take place immediately, with all perfection. His energies are like the heat and light that expand from a fire. The entire cosmic manifestation is nothing but an expansion of His energies; the energies are emanations from Him, and therefore the emanations are simultaneously one with and different from Him.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Man (2): Prabhupāda, in quite a few places in your writings you say that of all the billions of astronomical bodies in this universe, that the sun is the only self-luminous one, the only one that gives off its own light. Now, astronomers throughout the world are in universal agreement and teach as an absolutely verifiable fact that there are millions of bodies in our universe that give off their own light, just like our sun does, that our sun is just one of them. Now, on this point your teaching is diametrically opposed to the teachings of all the qualified astronomers in the world, and I would like to know...
Prabhupāda: What is that astronomical calculation?
Madhudviṣa: He is saying that this... Do you understand the question?
Prabhupāda: No. Explain.
Madhudviṣa: He is saying that in your teachings you say the sun is the only self-illuminous body in the universe, whereas the scientists say that there is many millions of stars that are in the sky that are also self-illuminous.
Prabhupāda: No. We say that there are innumerable universes. We say.
Man (2): But in this particular universe, we're talking about.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. Jagad-aṇḍa means universe, and koṭi means millions. So there are millions and millions of universes, and in each universe there are millions and millions of planets. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). And each planet is differently constituted. The atmosphere of each planet is different from another. This is God's creation. Now as there are innumerable universes, there may be innumerable suns also.
Man (2): Yeah, but they say that's in this universe....
Prabhupāda: Just try to understand. Because there are innumerable universes and in each and every universe there is a sun, there is a moon, there is Venus, everything. So under the circumstances, as we accept innumerable universes, automatically we accept innumerable suns. So where is the difference between the astrologer and our...
Man (2): The astronomers also accept that there are innumerable universes and they say that in each one they have millions and millions of self-luminous stars, and in this one also, but you say that in this one there is only the sun.
Prabhupāda: But do you think that I have to accept the astronomers blindly?
Man (2): Well, they say...
Prabhupāda: No. Why? Why? If there are innumerable suns, why they are not present at night? Why you are suffering from want of one sun?
Man (2): Because we are much further away from the others than our particular one.
Prabhupāda: No. At least, we are not able to bring them into service. We are depending only on one sun in this universe. You may say there are innumerable suns, but why the astronomers or the scientists could not take advantage of another sun at night? Why it is darkness?
Man (2): Because we're much closer to this one than the others. We're much closer to this one.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is... What is that?
Madhudviṣa: He says that the earth is much more closer to this sun than it is to other suns.
Prabhupāda: Anyway, we do not take. But we, according to our Vedic information, this is only one universe, which is within our vision, this sky, the dome. That is one universe. The other universes are outside this universe. That is the Vedic information.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Śrutakīrti: ...someone had asked me yesterday. You say that the moon is self-luminous. So then... But during the course of the month there are times when only part of the moon is showing. The moon is not always full.
Prabhupāda: Maybe some planet between. Maybe due to sun. So moon is above the sun. Above the sun.
Śrutakīrti: Yes.
| Page Title: | Self luminous |
| Compiler: | Kanupriya, MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 20 of Nov, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=8, CC=2, OB=3, Lec=2, Con=1, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 17 |