Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 5: “The Creative Impetus”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twelve
Conversation Between Maharaja Rahugana and Jada Bharata
SB5.12Summary
Because Maharaja Rahugana was still doubtful about his enlightenment, he asked the brahmana Jada Bharata to repeat his instructions and clarify ideas he could not understand. In this chapter, Maharaja Rahugana offers his respectful obeisances to Jada Bharata, who was concealing his real position. The King could understand by his speech how exalted and advanced he was in spiritual knowledge. He very much regretted his offense against him. Maharaja Rahugana was bitten by the serpent of ignorance, but was cured by the nectarean words of Jada Bharata. Later, because he was doubtful about the subjects discussed, he made further inquiries, one question after another. First he wanted to be released from the offense he had committed at the lotus feet of Jada Bharata.
Maharaja Rahugana was somewhat unhappy at not being able to grasp Jada Bharata’s instructions, which were full of meaning that could not be understood by a materialistic person. Therefore Jada Bharata repeated his instructions more clearly. He said that on the surface of the globe all living entities, moving and unmoving, were but transformations of the earth in different ways. The King was very proud of his king’s body, but that body was simply another transformation of the earth. Out of his false prestige, the King was misbehaving toward the palanquin carrier. as a master toward a servant, and he was actually very unkind to other living entities. Consequently King Rahugana was unfit to give protection to the citizens, and because he was ignorant, he was unfit to be counted among advanced philosophers. Everything in the material world is but a transformation of the earth, although things have different names according to their transformations. Actually the varieties are one and the same, and ultimately all these varieties are vanquished into atoms. Nothing is permanent in this material world. The variety of things and their distinctions are simply mental concoctions. The Absolute Truth is beyond illusion and is manifest in three features—impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, called Vasudeva by His devotees. Unless one is blessed with the dust from the feet of a pure devotee on his head, one cannot possibly become a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Jada Bharata also told about his own previous birth and informed the King that by the grace of the Lord he still remembered all the incidents of his past life. Due to the activities of his past life, Jada Bharata was being very cautious and was therefore assuming the characteristics of a deaf and dumb man to avoid mingling with the material world. Association with the material modes of nature is very powerful. The bad association of materialistic men can be avoided only in the association of devotees. In the association of devotees, one is given an opportunity to render devotional service in nine different ways—sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]. In this way, in the association of devotees, one can pass over material association, cross over the ocean of nescience and return home, back to Godhead.
namo ’vadhuta dvija-bandhu-linga-
nigudha-nityanubhavaya tubhyam
From the Brahma-samhita we understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes (sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]). Rsabhadeva was the direct incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. His son, Bharata Maharaja, who was now acting as the brahmana Jada Bharata, had received his body from the cause of all causes. Therefore he is addressed as karana-vigrahaya.
jvaramayartasya yathagadam sat
nidagha-dagdhasya yatha himambhah
brahman vacas te ’mrtam ausadham me
The conditioned soul has a body full of dirty things—bones, blood, urine, stool and so forth. Nonetheless, the most intelligent men in this material world think they are these combinations of blood, bone, urine and stool. If this is so, why can’t other intelligent men be made with these ingredients, which are so readily available? The entire world is going on under the bodily conception and creating a hellish condition unfit for any gentleman’s living. The instructions given to King Rahugana by Jada Bharata are very valuable. They are like the medicine that can save one from a snakebite. The Vedic instructions are like nectar and cool water for one suffering from scorching heat.
tasmad bhavantam mama samsayartham
praksyami pascad adhuna subodham
adhyatma-yoga-grathitam tavoktam
The Vedic literature instructs: tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. An intelligent man must be very inquisitive to know the transcendental science deeply. Therefore one must approach a guru, a spiritual master. Although Jada Bharata explained everything to Maharaja Rahugana, it appears that his intelligence was not perfect enough to understand clearly. He therefore requested a further explanation. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.34): tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. The student must approach a spiritual master and surrender unto him fully (pranipatena). He must also question him in order to understand his instructions (pariprasnena). One should not only surrender to the spiritual master but also render loving service unto him (sevaya) so that the spiritual master will be pleased with the student and explain the transcendental subject matter more clearly. A challenging spirit before the spiritual master should be avoided if one is at all interested in learning the Vedic instructions in depth.
kriya-phalam sad-vyavahara-mulam
na hy anjasa tattva-vimarsanaya
bhavan amusmin bhramate mano me
Formal inquiries and answers about the bodily conception do not constitute knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Knowledge of the Absolute Truth is quite different from the formal understanding of bodily pains and pleasures. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna informs Arjuna that the pains and pleasures experienced in relation to the body are temporary; they come and go. One should not be disturbed by them but should tolerate them and continue with spiritual realization.
ayam jano nama calan prthivyam
yah parthivah parthiva kasya hetoh
tasyapi canghryor adhi gulpha-jangha-
amse ’dhi darvi sibika ca yasyam
yasmin bhavan rudha-nijabhimano
rajasmi sindhusv iti durmadandhah
After analyzing the material bodies of the palanquin carrier and the palanquin passenger, Jada Bharata concludes that the real living force is the living entity. The living entity is the offshoot or offspring of Lord Visnu; therefore within this material world, among moving and nonmoving things, the real principle is Lord Visnu. Due to His presence, everything is working, and there are actions and reactions. One who understands Lord Visnu as the original cause of everything is to be understood to be perfectly situated in knowledge. Although he was falsely proud of being a king, King Rahugana was not really situated in knowledge. Therefore he was rebuking the palanquin carriers, including the self-realized brahmana, Jada Bharata. This is the first accusation Jada Bharata made against the King, who was daring to talk to a learned brahmana from the flimsy ground of ignorance, identifying everything with matter. King Rahugana argued that the living entity is within the body and that when the body is fatigued the living entity within must therefore be suffering. It is clearly explained in the following verses that the living entity does not suffer due to the body’s fatigue. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti gives an example of a child heavily decorated with ornaments; although the child’s body is very delicate, he does not feel fatigue, nor do the parents think that his ornaments should be taken away. The living entity has nothing to do with bodily pains and pleasures. These are simply mental concoctions. An intelligent man will find the original cause of everything. Material combinations and permutations may be a matter of fact in worldly dealings, but actually the living force, the soul, has nothing to do with them. Those who are materially upset take care of the body and manufacture daridra-narayana (poor Narayana). However, it is not a fact that the soul or Supersoul becomes poor simply because the body is poor. These are the statements of ignorant people. The soul and Supersoul are always apart from bodily pleasure and pain.
socyan imams tvam adhikasta-dinan
vistya nigrhnan niranugraho ’si
na sobhase vrddha-sabhasu dhrstah
The Lord incarnates and sets things in order when things are mismanaged by so-called kings and heads of government. As Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita, yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata [Bg. 4.7]. Of course this takes many years, but the principle is there. When the king or governmental head does not follow the proper principles, nature deals out the punishments in the forms of war, famine and so forth. Therefore if the governmental head is not aware of life’s goal, he should not take charge of ruling the people. Actually the supreme proprietor of everything is Lord Visnu. He is the maintainer of everyone. The king, the father, and the guardian are simply representatives of Lord Visnu, empowered by Him to look after the management and maintain things. It is therefore the duty of the head of the state to maintain the general populace in such a way that people will ultimately know the goal of life. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. Unfortunately the foolish governmental head and the general populace do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to understand and approach Lord Visnu. Without this knowledge, everyone is in ignorance, and all society is crowded with cheaters and cheated.
vidama nistham prabhavam ca nityam
tan namato ’nyad vyavahara-mulam
In the Brahma-sutra it is said: tad-ananyatvam arabhambhana-sabdadibhyah (2.1.14). This cosmic manifestation is a mixture of matter and spirit, but the cause is the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.20) it is said: idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetarah. The entire cosmic manifestation is but a transformation of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because of illusion, no one can appreciate that God is nondifferent from the material world. Actually He is not different, but this material world is simply a transformation of His different energies; parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. There are also other versions of this in the Vedas: sarvam khalv idam brahma. Matter and spirit are all nondifferent from the Supreme Brahman, Bhagavan. Lord Sri Krsna confirms this statement in the Bhagavad-gita (7.4): me bhinna prakrtir astadha. The material energy is Krsna’s energy, but it is separated from Him. The spiritual energy is also His energy, but it is not separated from Him. When the material energy is engaged in the service of the Supreme Spirit, so-called material energy is also transformed into spiritual energy, just as an iron rod becomes fire when placed in contact with fire. When we can understand by an analytical study that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, our knowledge is perfect. Simply understanding the transformations of different energies is partial knowledge. We must come to the ultimate cause. Na te viduh svartha gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. The knowledge of those who are not interested in knowing the original cause of all emanations is never perfect knowledge. There is nothing in the phenomenal world that is not produced by the supreme energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aromas from the earth are different scents manufactured and used for different purposes, but the original cause is the earth, nothing else. A waterpot made of earth can be used to carry water for some time, but ultimately the pot is nothing but earth. Therefore there is no difference between the pot and its original ingredient, earth. It is simply a different transformation of the energy. Originally the cause or primary ingredient is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the varieties are only by-products. In the Chandogya Upanisad it is stated: yatha saumy ekena mrt-pindena sarvam mrnmayam vijnatam syad vacarambhanam vikaro namadheyam mrttikety eva satyam. If one studies the earth, he naturally understands the by-products of the earth. The Vedas therefore enjoin, yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati: if one simply understands the original cause, Krsna, the cause of all causes, then naturally everything else is understood, although it may be presented in different varieties. By understanding the original cause of different varieties, one can understand everything. If we understand Krsna, the original cause of everything, we do not need to separately study the subsidiary varieties. Therefore from the very beginning it is said: satyam param dhimahi. One has to concentrate one’s understanding on the Supreme Truth, Krsna or Vasudeva. The word Vasudeva indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all causes. Mat-sthani sarva-bhutani na caham tesv avasthitah. This is a summary of phenomenal and noumenal philosophy. The phenomenal world depends on the noumenal existence; similarly, everything exists by virtue of the potency of the Supreme Lord, although due to our ignorance the Supreme Lord is not perceived in everything.
evam niruktam ksiti-sabda-vrttam
Those who follow the atomic theory think that the protons and electrons of atoms combine in such a way as to bring all material existence into being. However, the scientists fail to discover the cause of atomic existence itself. Under these circumstances, we cannot accept that the atom is the cause of the universe. Such theories are advanced by unintelligent people. According to real intelligence, the real cause of the cosmic manifestation is the Supreme Lord. Janmady asya yatah: [Bhag. 1.1.1] He is the original cause of all creation. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (10.8): aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate. Krsna is the original cause. Sarva-karana-karanam: [Bs. 5.1] He is the cause of all causes. Krsna is the cause of atoms, the material energy.
bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha
(Bg. 7.4)
The ultimate cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and only those in ignorance try to find out other causes by posing different theories.