Lord Brahmā stressed herein that without accepting the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot explain things as they are. He continued: “My dear Lord, leaving aside all other things and just considering today's happenings—what I have seen—are they not all due to Your inconceivable energies? First of all I saw You alone; thereafter You expanded Yourself as Your cowherd boyfriends, the calves and the whole existence of Vṛndāvana; then I saw You and all the boys and calves as four-handed Viṣṇus, and They were being worshiped by all elements and all demigods, including myself. Again They were all wound up, and You remained alone, as You were before. Does this not mean that You are the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa, the origin of everything, that everything emanates from You and again enters into You, leaving You the same as before?
Wind up
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
Unless one is able to follow the do's and the do-not's, restricting oneself from sense enjoyment, it is not possible to be firmly fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The best example, set herein, is the tortoise. The tortoise can at any moment wind up its senses and exhibit them again at any time for particular purposes. Similarly, the senses of the Kṛṣṇa conscious persons are used only for some particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are withdrawn otherwise. Arjuna is being taught here to use his senses for the service of the Lord, instead of for his own satisfaction. Keeping the senses always in the service of the Lord is the example set by the analogy of the tortoise, who keeps the senses within.
BG Chapters 7 - 12
O son of Kuntī, at the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I create them again.
The creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material cosmic manifestation are completely dependent on the supreme will of the Personality of Godhead. "At the end of the millennium" means at the death of Brahmā. Brahmā lives for one hundred years, and his one day is calculated at 4,300,000,000 of our earthly years. His night is of the same duration. His month consists of thirty such days and nights, and his year of twelve months. After one hundred such years, when Brahmā dies, the devastation or annihilation takes place; this means that the energy manifested by the Supreme Lord is again wound up in Himself. Then again, when there is a need to manifest the cosmic world, it is done by His will. Bahu syām: "Although I am one, I shall become many." This is the Vedic aphorism (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.3). He expands Himself in this material energy, and the whole cosmic manifestation again takes place.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, like his brother Arjuna, began to concentrate and gradually became freed from all material bondage. First he concentrated all the actions of the senses and amalgamated them into the mind, or in other words he turned his mind toward the transcendental service of the Lord. He prayed that since all material activities are performed by the mind in terms of actions and reactions of the material senses, and since he was going back to Godhead, the mind would wind up its material activities and be turned towards the transcendental service to the Lord. There was no longer a need for material activities.
SB Canto 2
Kindly describe how the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, engages His different energies and different expansions in maintaining and again winding up the phenomenal world in the sporting spirit of a player.
The acts of the Supreme Lord, in the creation of just this one universe, appear inconceivably wonderful. And there are innumerable universes, and all of them aggregated together are known as the created material world. And this part of His creation is only a fractional portion of the complete creation. The material world stands as a part only (ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42)). Supposing that the material world is a display of one part of His energy, the remaining three parts consist of the vaikuṇṭha jagat or spiritual world described in the Bhagavad-gītā as mad-dhāma or sanātana-dhāma, or the eternal world. We have marked in the previous verse that He creates and again winds up the creation. This action is applicable only in the material world because the other, greater part of His creation, namely the Vaikuṇṭha world, is neither created nor annihilated; otherwise the Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma would not have been called eternal. The Lord exists with dhāma; His eternal name, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all a display of His different energies and expansions. The Lord is called anādi, or having no creator, and ādi, or the origin of all.
After the incarnation of the first puruṣa (Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu), the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. Nature means the three qualitative appearances. They transform into activities.
By the omnipotency of the Supreme Lord, the whole material creation evolves by the process of transformation and reactions one after another, and by the same omnipotency, they are wound up again one after another and conserved in the body of the Supreme. Kāla, or time, is the synonym of nature and is the transformed manifestation of the principles of material creation. As such, kāla may be taken as the first cause of all creation, and by transformation of nature different activities of the material world become visible. These activities may be taken up as the natural instinct of each and every living being, or even of the inert objects, and after the manifestation of activities there are varieties of products and by-products of the same nature. Originally these are all due to the Supreme Lord. The Vedānta-sūtras and the Bhāgavatam thus begin with the Absolute Truth as the beginning of all creations (janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1)).
The material world is created by the energy of the Lord, which is manifested in the beginning of the creation by the penance of Brahmājī, the first living being in the creation, and then there are the nine Prajāpatis, known as great sages. In the stage when the creation is maintained, there are devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu, or factual religion, the different demigods, and the kings of different planets who maintain the world. At last, when the creation is preparing to wind up, there is first the principle of irreligion, then Lord Śiva along with the atheists, full of anger. But all of them are but different manifestations of the Supreme Lord. Therefore Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Mahādeva (Śiva) are different incarnations of the different modes of material nature. Viṣṇu is the Lord of the mode of goodness. Brahmā is the lord of the mode of passion, and Śiva is the lord of the mode of ignorance. Ultimately, the material creation is but a temporary manifestation meant to give the chance of liberation to the conditioned souls, who are entrapped in the material world, and one who develops the mode of goodness under the protection of Lord Viṣṇu has the greatest chance of being liberated by following the Vaiṣṇava principles and thus being promoted to the kingdom of God, no more to return to this miserable material world
By the inconceivable energy of the Lord, every creative element has its own potencies, known as the potency of the element, potency of knowledge and potency of different actions and reactions. By a combination of such potential energies of the Lord there is the manifestation of creation, maintenance and annihilation in due course of time and by different agents like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara. Brahmā creates, Viṣṇu maintains, and Lord Śiva destroys. But all such agents and creative energies are emanations from the Lord, and as such there is nothing except the Lord, or the one supreme source of different diversities. The exact example is the spider and spider's web. The web is created by the spider, and it is maintained by the spider, and as soon as the spider likes, the whole thing is wound up within the spider. The spider is covered within the web. If an insignificant spider is so powerful as to act according to its will, why can't the Supreme Being act by His supreme will in the creation, maintenance and destruction of the cosmic manifestations? By the grace of the Lord, a devotee like Brahmā, or one in his chain of disciplic succession, can understand the almighty Personality of Godhead eternally engaged in His transcendental pastimes in the region of different energies.
The merging of the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Mahā-Viṣṇu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.
As we have discussed several times, there are two types of living entities. Most of them are ever liberated, or nitya-muktas, while some of them are ever conditioned. The ever-conditioned souls are apt to develop a mentality of lording over the material nature, and therefore the material cosmic creation is manifested to give the ever-conditioned souls two kinds of facilities. One facility is that the conditioned soul can act according to his tendency to lord it over the cosmic manifestation, and the other facility gives the conditioned soul a chance to come back to Godhead. So after the winding up of the cosmic manifestation, most of the conditioned souls merge into the existence of the Mahā-Viṣṇu Personality of Godhead, lying in His mystic slumber, to be created again in the next creation. But some of the conditioned souls, who follow the transcendental sound in the form of Vedic literatures and are thus able to go back to Godhead, attain spiritual and original bodies after quitting the conditional gross and subtle material bodies.
The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul is the supreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir and winding up. Thus He is the Supreme Fountainhead, the Absolute Truth.
SB Canto 3
After the three worlds—the upper, lower and middle planetary systems—merged into the water of dissolution, the living entities of all the three worlds remained in their subtle bodies by dint of the energy called kāla. In this dissolution, the gross bodies became unmanifest, but the subtle bodies existed, just like the water of the material creation. Thus the material energy was not completely wound up, as is the case in the full dissolution of the material world.
My dear Lord, You alone create the universes. O Personality of Godhead, desiring to create these universes, You create them, maintain them and again wind them up by Your own energies, which are under the control of Your second energy, called yogamāyā, just as a spider creates a cobweb by its own energy and again winds it up.
In this verse two important words nullify the impersonalist theory that everything is God. Here Kardama says, "O Personality of Godhead, You are alone, but You have various energies." The example of the spider is very significant also. The spider is an individual living entity, and by its energy it creates a cobweb and plays on it, and whenever it likes it winds up the cobweb, thus ending the play. When the cobweb is manufactured by the saliva of the spider, the spider does not become impersonal. Similarly, the creation and manifestation of the material or spiritual energy does not render the creator impersonal. Here the very prayer suggests that God is sentient and can hear the prayers and fulfill the desires of the devotee. Therefore, He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the form of bliss, knowledge and eternity.
Devahūti, the mother of Kapila, instead of prolonging her prayers, summarized that Lord Kapila was none other than Viṣṇu and that since she was a woman it was not possible for her to worship Him properly simply by prayer. It was her intention that the Lord be satisfied. The word pratyak is significant. In yogic practice, the eight divisions are yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. Pratyāhāra means to wind up the activities of the senses. The level of realization of the Supreme Lord evidenced by Devahūti is possible when one is able to withdraw the senses from material activities. When one is engaged in devotional service, there is no scope for his senses to be engaged otherwise. In such full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can understand the Supreme Lord as He is.
SB Canto 4
My dear lord, you create this cosmic manifestation, maintain it, and annihilate it by expansion of your personality, exactly as a spider creates, maintains and winds up its web.
In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts—one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due to agitation by the mode of ignorance, the five gross elements are created. Due to agitation by the mode of passion, the mind is created, and due to agitation by the mode of goodness, false egoism, or identification with matter, is created. The mind is protected by a particular type of demigod. Sometimes the mind (manaḥ) is also understood to have a controlling deity or demigod. In this way the total mind, namely the material mind controlled by material demigods, was amalgamated with the senses. The senses, in turn, were amalgamated with the sense objects. The sense objects are forms, tastes, smells, sounds, etc. Sound is the ultimate source of the sense objects. The mind was attracted by the senses and the senses by the sense objects, and all of them were ultimately amalgamated in the sky. The creation is so arranged that cause and effect follow one after the other. The merging process involves amalgamating the effect with the original cause. Since the ultimate cause in the material world is mahat-tattva, everything was gradually wound up and amalgamated with the mahat-tattva. This may be compared to śūnya-vāda, or voidism, but this is the process for cleansing the real spiritual mind, or consciousness.
The two examples given in this verse are very vivid. During the rainy season, the rain, by rejuvenating the production of vegetables on earth, enables man and animals to obtain living energy. When there is no rain, food is scarce, and man and animal simply die. All vegetables, as well as moving living entities, are originally products of the earth. They come from the earth, and again they merge into the earth. Similarly, the total material energy is generated from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and at such a time the entire cosmic manifestation is visible. When Kṛṣṇa winds up His energy, everything vanishes. This is explained in a different way in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48):
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: While Akrūra was still offering prayers, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa withdrew His form that He had revealed in the water, just as an actor winds up his performance.
This scripture also relates the discussions Vidura had with Uddhava and with Maitreya, inquiries about the subject matter of this Purāṇa, and the winding up of creation within the body of the Supreme Lord at the time of annihilation.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
“"Here (in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam) ten subjects are described: (1) the creation of the ingredients of the cosmos, (2) the creations of Brahmā, (3) the maintenance of the creation, (4) special favor given to the faithful, (5) impetuses for activity, (6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men, (7) a description of the incarnations of the Lord, (8) the winding up of the creation, (9) liberation from gross and subtle material existence, and (10) the ultimate shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The tenth item is the shelter of all the others. To distinguish this ultimate shelter from the other nine subjects, the mahājanas have described these nine, directly or indirectly, through prayers or direct explanations."
(8) Nirodha: the winding up of all energies employed in creation. Such potencies are emanations from the Personality of Godhead who eternally lies in the Kāraṇa Ocean. The cosmic creations, manifested with His breath, are again dissolved in due course.
“This cosmic manifestation is one of the diverse energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As a spider secretes saliva and weaves a web by its own movements but at the end winds up the web within its body, so Lord Viṣṇu produces this cosmic manifestation from His transcendental body and at the end winds it up within Himself. All the great sages of the Vedic understanding have accepted that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original creator.
CC Madhya-lila
“"The living entities and other potencies merge into Mahā-Viṣṇu as the Lord lies down and winds up (destroys) the cosmic manifestation. Liberation means being situated in one"s eternal, original form after giving up the changeable gross and subtle bodies.’
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6).
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Renunciation Through Wisdom
All the pastimes of the Supreme Lord in the spiritual world are eternal. His earthly pastimes are similarly transcendental and eternal. As the Caitanya-bhāgavata states, "Even at this very moment Lord Gaurāṅga is enacting His eternal, transcendental pastimes, but only the most fortunate souls can see them." When the sun sets, it goes out of our sight, but it continues to shine somewhere on this globe. Similarly, when the Lord winds up His earthly pastimes, He continues to manifest them in one or more of the uncountable millions of planets in the universe. As Lord Brahmā declares in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.39):
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Prabhupāda: We get information from Brahma-saṁhitā, yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Just like the sun-god is diffusing the effulgence of his bodily light in this universe, in one universe. Similarly the original person, He is diffusing that light. So those who are less intelligent, they simply can see that light; therefore they say light. But in the Vedic literature there is information that you have to search out the Supreme Person penetrating the light. In the Īśopaniṣad it says, "My dear Lord, please wind up this effulgent light so that I can see Your face actually." That is stated in the Vedic literature. So originally the Absolute Supreme Truth is a person. If you want proof from Vedas, there is proof. Bhagavad-gītā is proof. Why should we accept a third-class man who is speaking something against? Is that man greater than Kṛṣṇa? Then why shall I talk about him? He's not important even ordinary man. We shall treat all these persons less intelligent, foolish. They have no perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth. What do you think?
Viṣṇujana: The world needs Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Viṣṇujana: The world has never had anything like Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Prabhupāda: Yes, they do not know. Less intelligent. Ajānata. This very word is used in the Śrīmad... Ajānata. Jānata means with knowledge. A-jāna, "a" is negative. Without any knowledge. And in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll see that bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). These less intelligent class of men, they are searching after the Absolute Truth. That is also creditable. They are searching. But they have not come to the right point.
We have to study from so many things from lower animals. So here the very good example is set herewith that yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ kūrmaḥ aṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ. Just like the tortoise is practiced to wound up his senses within his body according to his will, similarly, indriyāṇi indriyārthebhyaḥ, similarly, when we should use the senses and what purpose, when, when one comes to understand this, then he is situated in spiritual consciousness.
Now, just, just take the same example of Arjuna. Now, Arjuna says that "I'll not fight. I'll not fight with my relatives and brothers for the sake of achieving some kingdom. No, no, no." Now, for the ordinary man it appears to be: "Oh, Arjuna is very nice man, nonviolent. He's giving up everything for the sake of his relatives. Oh, what a nice man he is." This is ordinary calculation. But what Kṛṣṇa says? "You are fool, damn fool number one." You see? And that we have already discussed.
Sometimes in New Delhi I was invited to give some good lessons to the prisoners. So I have seen so many prisoners. They were shackled with iron chains, iron chains. So we are also chained up here, and what is that chain? That is our sense enjoyment. Yes. We are chained in this material world by sense enjoyment. That's all. So if we want to cut our prison life, then the first symptom will be to minimize this sense enjoyment or to regulate the sense enjoyment. Here the Lord says that yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ kūrmo 'ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ. The example is given just like the tortoise. The tortoise can close up, wind up his senses as he likes. That means he becomes the master of the senses. He does not like to be the servant of the senses. So this, I mean to say, verse, we have already discussed. So indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā. One who is practiced to control his senses... Senses are not to be stopped. They are to be used at proper time, but not at the dictation of the senses. When one comes to that standard of life, that he is not dictated by the senses but he uses senses when it is properly required... Senses are not to be stopped.
So you have to penetrate... In the Īśopaniṣad, it is said that, requested, it is requesting the, that "You kindly wind up Your brahma-jyotir so can, I can see Your face rightly." So ultimately, there is person. Tattva-vastu.
- vadanti tat tattva-vidas
- tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
- brahmeti paramātmeti
- bhagavān iti śabdyate
- (SB 1.2.11)
This is the version of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So Brahman realization is for the persons who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by philosophical speculation. That is the understanding. Similarly, the localized Paramātmā feature is realized by the yogis. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). And the devotees, they realized directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, ṣaḍ-aiśvarya bhagavān, with full richness, full reputation, full strength, full knowledge, full renunciation. This is the meaning of Bhagavān. I have already explained. So that Bhagavān is speaking.
He says, yathā ākāśa-sthitaḥ nityaṁ vāyuḥ. The air is situated in the sky. Everyone knows it, that air is passing or blowing within the sky. And nityaṁ vāyuḥ, sarvatra-go mahān. And it is blowing everywhere. You cannot find out any place where there is no air. If you want to drive out air, then you have to make by machine, by vacuum, airtight. Otherwise, air is everywhere. Yathākāśa-sthito nityaṁ vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān. "As the air is spread all over, anywhere, similarly," tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni mat-sthānīty upadhāraya, "similarly, everything that is there that is existing, it is within Me. It is within Me." Sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām. And when this manifestation, material manifestation, is dissolved, then where does it take place? Where does it go? He says, sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām: "My prakṛti, My nature, My nature, is manifested and when the time is finished, that nature is wound up." And kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpa, kalpādau visṛjāmy aham: "In this way, at a certain interval, this material manifestation is exhibited, and again it is wound up."
As we have got our spiritual presence within this body, similarly, this universe is also containing the God's representative as Paramātmā, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. That information we get. Due to His presence, the material existence is there. Just due to my presence, the body is existing, and as soon as I am out of this body, the body will go to hell, similarly, this material manifestation is due to the presence of God. Otherwise there is no such existence. So sometimes He manifests, and sometimes He does not. This is going on. Sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām: "Similarly, I wound up. It goes to Me again." Kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham. Then, after certain intervals, when there is again kalpa... Each creation is called a kalpa. Kalpānta-sthāyinaḥ-guṇaḥ.(?) Each creation is called a kalpa. So there are many kalpas. We can, cannot calculate what is the age of one kalpa. One hint is there in the Bhagavad-gītā that in each kalpa the one day of Brahmā..., that sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ... (BG 8.17). Four hundred thousand, four hundred forty-three, forty-three hundred thousands of years into one thousand, that makes one day of Brahmā. Similarly, he lives for hundred years and, after each hundred years, the kalpa is finished and again another kalpa begins. That is the calculation from Vedic literature. (incomplete) (end)
Kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham. Now, this verse we have been discussing the last meeting that this whole cosmic manifestation, it is not permanent. It is created, and it is again annihilated, and the whole energy is wound up into the body of the Supreme Lord. It comes out, and again it is winded. Now, jagad avyakta-mūrtinā... Sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām. The prakṛti... Prakṛti is not independent. Prakṛti means nature. It is dependent on the Supreme Lord. When He desires or when the time is, He gives us chance. This prakṛti, this material cosmic manifestation, is meant for the conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls. So this manifestation is given, a chance, so that we can return back to the eternal prakṛti or eternal nature. Otherwise this prakṛti, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), as you have studied in the Eighth Chapter, it is created, it is maintained and it is annihilated. Kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham. So each creation is called a kalpa, and it, after kalpa, after similar years... One kalpa, that is not possible for us to calculate, how many years, but some idea is given in this Bhagavad-gītā that suppose the kalpa exists for so many years, and as we have got calculation of the day of the year, just like 365 days in a year, so the duration of one day is given in the Bhagavad-gītā as forty-three hundred thousands of years into one thousand. That is the calculation of one day of the whole cosmic creation.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
We accept yad vadasi keśava, following the footsteps of Arjuna, who directly understood Bhagavad-gītā. He said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, whatever You say, I accept them as it is." Then others may say, "Well, Arjuna was Kṛṣṇa's friend. So just to flatter Him, he might have said like that." No. Arjuna gave immediately evidences that "I..., not only I accept You, but great personalities like Vyāsa, Nārada, Devala, Asita, and many others." Authorities. Just like when you speak something in the legal court, you give evidences from other judgement, authorities. That is a good case. Similarly, Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). "My dear Kṛṣṇa, I accept You. You are the Supreme Brahman." Brahmeti bhagavān, paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Brahmeti bhagavān, paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Therefore Bhagavān is paraṁ brahma. Simply impersonal Brahman-realization is not finishing the business. You have to go further, further, further. In the Īśopaniṣad, it is said, "My dear Lord, kindly wind up Your blazing effulgence so that I can see You actually." That is stated in the Īśopaniṣad.
So this is a chance, these conditioned souls who have come to this material world to enjoy senses, they are given chance, they are given chance, "All right, you enjoy. You want to enjoy as human being. All right, take a body of human being. If you want to enjoy like a tiger, all right, take a body. If you want to enjoy as demigod, all right, take a body." Kṛṣṇa is so liberal, "Take, and enjoy as you like. But you'll never be happy." That is the crucial point. "If you want to happy, then surrender unto Me." This is the point. You cannot manufacture your happiness. That is not possible. Therefore this is, this creation is there. Try to understand. Why there is creation? This creation is a chance given to the conditioned soul, how to come to his senses, that living entity, that he is eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa, part and parcel. His only business is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. So here is a chance. If we don't take this chance, then again the creation will be wound up, it will be destroyed. Again there will be creation, again another chance will be given. This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate. It is manifested sometimes and maintained for some time and again destroyed.
Pratyāhāra means that your senses have been withdrawn from material engagement. The example is just like the tortoise. The tortoise can wind up all these parts of the limbs of the body within immediately. And when it is required, he can expand. So pratyāhāra means that you have to withdraw the sensual activities inside. When you withdraw your senses for inside activities, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You have to think of always how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam (CC Madhya 19.170). Therefore hṛṣīka, hṛṣīka means the senses, and hṛṣīkeśa means the master of the senses. Kṛṣṇa is the master of the senses. I am possessing my hand, but actually the owner of the hand is Kṛṣṇa. These things are very nicely explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). Suppose you are writing with your hands. So your memory must be acting; otherwise you cannot write. If your memory, if your brain, does not act, how you can write? Suppose you are typing. If memory does not act, then what is the use of this hand or your leg? Then Bhagavad-gītā says, Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāham hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam: "The knowledge and memory is from Me." Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa gives you memorization, gives you knowledge, then you can write or do something.
So your question was that how we can know a śūdra? That because everyone is now faithless and everyone is seeking after employment. Therefore... We may discuss in so many ways. Because people have become śūdra, therefore the capitalists are exploiting them. If everyone denies to be, serve, then these so-called industries will fail. Immediately. That is Gandhi's proposal. "Noncooperate with the British government, and it will wind up." And actually so happened. Because people are now śūdras, they depend for their bread to others, the others exploit them: "Come here. You work and I shall give you bread." They do not believe any more, "O God, give us our daily bread." They think that "This, our master give us daily bread." That is śūdra. Śūdra means one who is dependent on others. Paricaryātmakaṁ kāryaṁ śūdra-karma svabhāva-jam. This is the description, definition of śūdra. And vaiśya: kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). The vaiśya is doing the kṛṣi, agriculture. Why he should depend on...? Take some land from the government. You produce your food. Where is the difficulty? Keep some cows. You get milk. Vaiśya-karma svabhāva... Go-rakṣya. If you have got excess, then make trade. Why you should depend on others?
Similarly, everyone has got particular type of business. Kṣatriya has got; vaiśya has got. So yat karoṣi, whatever you are doing, you must do it for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction. Kṛṣṇa's satis... If you have got some knowledge, you distribute the knowledge for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction. How you can do that? Whatever knowledge you have got, you try to describe Kṛṣṇa. Kavibhir nirūpitaḥ yad uttama-śloka-guṇānuvarṇanam (SB 1.5.22). This is the first-class distribution of knowledge. Whatever you know, you try to explain Kṛṣṇa by that knowledge. Just like our Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara. He's a scientist, and now he is trying to explain Kṛṣṇa through his scientific knowledge. Similarly, if you are a medical man, you can explain also Kṛṣṇa through medical science. If you are engineer, you can explain also Kṛṣṇa through engineering. Kṛṣṇa can be explained. But the person who is explaining, he must be intelligent. Because Kṛṣṇa is everything, so simply we must have the intelligence how to explain engineering and come to the conclusion of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was doing that. He was teaching grammar. So when there was question of dhātu, He was explaining Kṛṣṇa. So the students, some of the students, they did not like that explanation. So therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had to wind up His school because they did not like.
Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja is standing, and his father is being killed. Is it moral? Would you like to see your father being killed in your presence and you stand. You don't protest. Is that moral? Nobody will approve it, that this is moral. But actually it so happened that Hiraṇyakaśipu was being killed... The picture is here. And Prahlāda Mahārāja is trying to garland—the killer. "My dear Lord, Killer, You take this garland. You are killing my father. You are very good boy." You see. This is, this is spiritual understanding. Nobody will sanction that you, if you cannot protect your father, you must protest, you must cry that: "Here is my father is being killed. Come on, come on, come on. Help..." No. He's prepared with the garland. And when he was killed, he said to Nṛsiṁha-deva: "My dear Lord, now my father is killed. So everyone is happy. You now wind up Your angry mood." Nobody is unhappy. He said this very word. Modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā (SB 7.9.14). Modeta sādhur api. A sādhu, a saintly person never approves that one should be killed. Never. Even an animal. A sādhu does not approve. Why animal should be killed? That is sādhu's business. But Prahlāda Mahārāja says: modeta sādhur api. A sādhu, a saintly person, is also pleased... When? When a scorpion or a snake is killed. They're also living entity. A sādhu is never satisfied seeing another living entity being killed, but Prahlāda Mahārāja says "Even a sādhu is pleased when a snake is killed or a scorpion is killed. So my father is just like snake and scorpion. So he's killed. Therefore everyone is happy." Everyone was... Such demon, who simply troubles the devotees, such demon, a very dangerous demon. So when such demon is killed, even saintly persons are satisfied. Although saintly persons, they do not want anyone should be killed. So Kṛṣṇa is akiñcana-vitta. One who has lost everything materially, for him, Kṛṣṇa is the only solace.
So the Māyāvādīs, they simply see the effulgence, something impersonal, effulgence. They cannot see anything more. Just like the sunshine. In the sunshine, there are so many things. Suppose in bright sunshine, you saw one airplane is gone up, but after some time you cannot see. You cannot see. You cannot see because due to the dazzling sunshine, although the airplane is there you cannot see. Similarly, simply if we try to see the effulgence, brahma-jyotir, we are unable to see inside. The Īśopaniṣad, there is this statement that a devotee is praying to the Lord that "You wind up Your, this effulgence so that I can see You properly." So the Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot see the personal activities or the planets where Kṛṣṇa is personally active. That they cannot see. Therefore Bhāgavata says anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ. Because they neglected to see the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, therefore, despite their severe penances and austerities, on account of not seeing the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they come back again to this material world. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
So here is very nicely explained, how from that one... Prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that "This prakṛti," means nature, "will be wound up, again come to Me within." Just like the spider. The spider makes a cobweb. From the saliva from him, he can work—he knows how to work on it—and again he can wound it up. That is practical example. Similarly, the material nature... Here is the point of creation. The energy is conserved. Energy is never lost, avyaya. But this prakṛti, this material nature, is not eternal. It is temporary. The same example, the spider. The spider, suppose it is eternal, but the cobweb made by the spider, that is not eternal. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It is created and again wound up. Similarly, the point of creation comes from God. God is not created. They ask this question generally, that "Everything is created. Then God must be created." That idea comes because we have no other idea than the creation, maintenance and again annihilation. We have no other idea. In this material world, we have no other idea. We see this body is created by father and mother. Then it remains for a time, it grows, and then it become old. Then it vanishes. Ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes. Janma-sthiti-pariṇāma...
In this way everything in this material world, nothing is permanent. But the soul within the body, that permanent. That is the conservation of energy. That they do not know. Where the energy is reserved and wherefrom the energy is manifested, again wound up... A living entity... As God and we living entities, we have got the same quality... As God is the reservation, conversation of all energy, material energy, similarly, I, you, we being small particle of God's fraction... Just like spark, spark of fire, big fire, and the small spark. That small spark has all the qualities of fire. All the chemicals composition of fire is there in the small spark, but in very, very small quantity. A drop of seawater has got the all chemical composition of the ocean. That is equality. Qualitatively. And quantitatively, where is the comparison between the drop of ocean water and the ocean? There is no comparison. That is difference. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy is perfect. Acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivably, simultaneously one and different. We are one with one, but these rascals who have no thorough knowledge, they simply take this oneness, "I am one with God." That is rascaldom. There are two things: one and different simultaneously. Qualitatively one, quantitatively different.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.35). He has expanded Himself by His energies. Just like heat and light, the energy of fire expands. It is very easy to understand. Similarly the energies, multi-energies... Not only one, but multi-energies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). So His energies are acting so nicely, that everything is coming in front as if automatically done. But it is not automatically done. This is foolishness. To understand that nature is working automatically is foolishness. The nature is working under the direction of Kṛṣṇa. That is real understanding. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). At the present moment, the so-called scientists, philosophers, they are simply studying the working of the material nature. But they do not know behind this material nature the real powerful is there. Just like we are enjoying the electric light, electric power, but as soon as it has failed from the powerhouse, everything stoped. Similarly, the real power is Kṛṣṇa. He's the powerful, śaktimān. When He desires, there is creation, this material manifestation, and when He winds up, everything is finished. This is the way. So how He is doing that? That is explained in this chapter. Pañca-tattva: He's acting by expansion of His different features.
So those who are merging into the Supreme Absolute, the jñānīs... Their ultimate goal is to merge into the Absolute Truth in His impersonal feature. That's all right; you can do so. That is also not this material; that is also spiritual. That is not material. If you want to merge... Generally, people think that is the ultimate goal. But that is not the ultimate goal. In the Īśopaniṣad you'll find that it is said that "Please wind up Your effulgence so that I can see the actual face." The same example that the sunshine is light. There is no doubt about it. This is different from darkness. This material world is darkness. Tamasi mā jyotir gamaḥ. The jyoti, the brahma-jyotir... It is recommended in the Vedas that you try to approach the jyoti; don't remain in this darkness of material world. That is the injunction of Vedas. And the whole process of emancipation is to, how to approach that Brahman effulgence.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
So if you want satisfaction, then you have to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Compulsory: "You must." There is no other alternative. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I have simply wasted my time." Actually, anyone who has not taken Kṛṣṇa consciousness—simply wasting time. This is fact, scientifically true. But they do not know it. Māya-mohita. Mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (BG 7.13). Being covered by the illusory energy, they do not know the background of this gigantic cosmic manifestation. That is Kṛṣṇa. So intelligence means to find out Kṛṣṇa. In the Īśopani..., Īśo, it is stated that "My dear Lord, please wind up Your, these dazzling rays so that I can actually see Your face." Within brahma-jyotir the Kṛṣṇa is there. So Kṛṣṇa can be seen only by service. You cannot challenge Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, come here. I shall see You." No. That is not possible. You have to submit. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is the way. You have to surrender. So long you don't surrender, that is up to you. Kṛṣṇa will not force you. He is almighty, He can force you, but He does not do that. He says, "You do this. If you do not do it, that is your business. But I say you do it."
General Lectures
So we have to wind up from the material concept of life to the spiritual concept, or spiritual platform. That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). When... One who is on the spiritual platform, he has no more hankering, no more lamentation. Why he should be hankering? He knows that "I don't want anything material. Why shall I be hankering? Whatever is, I mean, barely required, I must be satisfied with that thing." So that is a, a very, not very nice proposal to the materially advanced world at this present moment. People will not accept it. Therefore this process, transcendental... Yukta-vairāgya. It is called yukta-vairāgya. You just remain in your place. This is the facility of this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You haven't got to change your place. You remain. You are student; you remain a student. You are businessman; you remain businessman. You are woman, man, or anyone, any, black, white, anyone—you remain in your position. Simply you try to hear. Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. You just remain in your position. You simply hear. Kindly give your aural reception to this transcendental sound. Very simple process. No charges. We are not charging anything, that "You give us so many dollars, then I shall give you this mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa." It is publicly distributed. You simply catch up and try it. You'll... Very quickly you'll come to the transcendental platform, and when you hear the chanting, that is transcendental meditation.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: So he says that to apply those four categories of reason onto objects in order to understand them, he says this creates certain knowledge, and so that further judgment beyond these categories would be guesswork or unprovable dogma. But, he says, still the mind is not satisfied with these partial explanations. Even though knowledge that transcends these categories is guesswork, still the mind desires to know something beyond them.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is called philosophy. That inquisitiveness is called philosophy. Cause of the cause: this is caused by this; what is the cause of this? Unless he comes to the final cause, this research goes on. That is the nature of advanced mind. They are called munis, those who are very thoughtful. So that is the nature of greater mind, mahātmā, to find out the ultimate cause. That is human nature. Therefore, athāto brahma jijñāsā. The Vedānta-sūtra says this jijñāsā, inquiry, "What is after this? What is after this? What is brāhmaṇas? What is Brahman? This is not Brahman. This is not Brahman..." The next answer is that "Brahman means janmādy asya (SB 1.1.1), the supreme source from where everything emanates." So unless he goes to the supreme source, he is not satisfied. So those who are going by mental speculation, they come to that impersonal feature. Then, if he makes further advancement, just like in Īśopaniṣad, that "You wind up Your glaring impersonal feature so that we can see You brightly." So this glaring impersonal Brahman, if you go, penetrate, again through this impersonal Brahman, when you come to Kṛṣṇa, then you will be satisfied. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) after researching in this way, speculating, researching and researching and researching, bahūnāṁ janmanām, birth after birth, and when he comes to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti, sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19), that mahātmā is rare.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Allen Ginsberg: But if we could apprehend it only in terms of the globe, then the globe.
Prabhupāda: So that means your approach may be up to globe, but that is not finished.
Allen Ginsberg: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That is not finished. You have to go... That is... Upaniṣad says that, he's praying that "Please wind up Your effulgence so that I can see Your true face." The Upaniṣad says. You see in the Upaniṣad. And he's praying that "Please wind up Your this glaring effulgence so that I can see Your real face." So real face is there. And Bhagavad-gītā says, brahmaṇo 'ham pratiṣṭhā. "This impersonal Brahman is standing on My existence." And Brahma-saṁhitā says that
- yasyā prabha prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
- koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam
- tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.40)
This Brahman effulgence is nothing but His bodily effulgence. You see whenever we put Kṛṣṇa, there's a bodily effulgence. Within that bodily effulgence every creation is there. Just like this effulgence of sun. Within the sunshine all these planets are moving, all this vegetation, everything growing, coming. The whole thing is existing on the sunshine. Similarly, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything existing on brahma-jyotir. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said māyā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā. "This impersonal exhibition of this whole manifestation, it is I." Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4). "Everything existing in Me." Nahaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ. "But I am not there." So we have to study everything intelligently.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Nature, they cannot even challenging nature; they cannot understand the nature. And behind nature, there is God. So what they will understand God? They cannot understand the curtain by which God is hidden, and what they will understand God? This is a curtain. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4). Just like this planet, this universe, everything is resting on Him, but He cannot be found. Just like if you sit down on this chair, on this bench, I can see the bench you are sitting. But this whole universe is floating on something, but you cannot see on which it is floating. You are so limited. This universe is floating on water, just like (indistinct). Yaḥ kāraṇārṇava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidrām anantam aśeṣa-bhūtam, viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.47). Each and every universe is coming out of the pores in the body of Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu. Just like an infected person, he distributes infection by breathing. Is it not?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Similarly, these universes are coming from the breathing of the Maha-Visnu, and again it will wind up when it is inhaled. This is creation. So what they will understand? But we understand because we take the knowledge from experience. Here is experienced knowledge(?). They will simply bluff, "Yes, we are trying. In future we shall know." That's all.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: "With mind attached to Me." This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to keep the mind attached to Kṛṣṇa. That is success. That yoga we are practicing, how to keep the mind attached to Kṛṣṇa. Then it is successful. Our mind is attached to something. Without attachment, mind cannot be free even for a moment. So the bhakti-yoga means how to transfer the attachment of mind to Kṛṣṇa, that's all. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You are working, you are rendering your service without any charges, without any profit—why? Because your mind has been attached to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise what business you have got to work for Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement without any remuneration? You are all American boys. You are qualified. You can earn thousands of dollars. But why you have given up? Because you are attached to Kṛṣṇa. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). You have found better attachment; therefore you given up. So that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are attached to so many nonsense things. When we wind up all these attachments and concentrate on Kṛṣṇa, then life is perfect. That is wanted. We are not going to sacrifice attachment. But we are trying to transfer the attachment from matter to Kṛṣṇa. Then our life is successful. But that attachment is very rare.
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yatati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
So our business is, spiritual master's business is, how to help the disciple to transfer the attachment. It is not that we are creating an, it, artificially, no. The attachment quality is there. But it is being mixed up with material things. And if you purify this material contamination, then the attachment become pure, and that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like the water falls from the sky. It is distilled water. And as soon as it is in touch with the ground it becomes muddy, dirty. Again that water, if you distill, again it becomes distilled water, as good as the rain water, original.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
Subhadra is yogamaya. The spiritual energy is called yogamaya. And she has 16 different expansions. Out of these 16 expansions, Subhadra is one. The mahamaya of the material energy is also expansion of the energy of yogamaya; and both yogamaya and mahamaya are equally important to Krishna as much as any government department is equally important for functioning of the government. The police department may be horrible for the criminals, but to the government it is a department as good as university department. Similarly, mahamaya is horrible to the conditioned soul, but to the liberated soul, there is no fear of mahamaya, because he is protected by yogamaya. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita when Krishna said the following: "I am not visible to everyone on account of being curtained by yogamaya." So when a conditioned soul surrenders unto Krishna, the yogamaya winds up the curtain and Krishna is visible to the devotee.
1969 Correspondence
Your next question: In regard to Kardama Muni, how can a pure devotee become passionate for any amount of agitation? That is not passion. One should not be impotent also. One should have full potency, to beget children, but such sex life should be under his full control. Passion is a different thing. Passion makes one blind. And a devotee is full controller; that is the difference. The example is given of the tortoise; as soon as he likes he discloses his senses, and when he likes he pulls them within. That is the position of a pure devotee. He can wind up the senses, whenever he likes and he can exhibit the senses whenever he likes. On the whole, the senses are under his control. He is not under the control of the senses as are the ordinary persons. That is the meaning of Goswami. A Goswamin does not mean he is to become impotent; and can have no children; but he can use it when he likes. They are never the victim of passion.
1973 Correspondence
Actually the system of polygamy is natural because the human entity is meant for transcending the animal forms of life and going back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore there should remain a class of men who do not marry in the society. But that will create an unfavorable situation of excessive population of unmarried women. Therefore it is advised that all women get themselves married, and if there is any man who is better able to maintain wife and family, he is advised to marry as many women as he can maintain and thereby free other men in the society to remain brahmacari. So I can understand that many men of our society have got themselves married only for some disastrous result. That means that not all of our men are meant for married life, but because there are so many women we may not leave them unprotected without husband, that will also not serve us well. Therefore it will be the best idea if those who are well-qualified as husbands to keep more than one wife very much satisfied in every respect, if such men can marry more than once. That will free the others to remain brahmacari. But you must consider very carefully the possibility of becoming scandalized in the public for breaking their laws in this way. And in future also the devotees who are neophyte may not understand our policy in this connection, and we gradually could wind up attracting only a class of men who are very eager for unlimited sex life only. These things must be avoided at all cost.
| Page Title: | Wind up |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas, Labangalatika, Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 19 of Apr, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=18, CC=4, OB=2, Lec=21, Con=3, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 53 |