According to the Skanda Purana
(2.2.27), there are 35, or sometimes 35 a few times multiplied, million
universes in the material world. In another place, in the same purana, we read
that 35 million are the amount of pores of Maha-Visnu. He emanates a limited
amount of universes.
Also in SB 10.3.25 it says:
“After millions of years, at the time of cosmic annihilation, when everything, manifested and unmanifested, is annihilated by the force of time, the five gross elements enter into the subtle conception, and the manifested categories enter into the unmanifested substance. At that time, You alone remain, and You are known as Ananta Sesha-naga. ” Purport “After many millions of years, when Lord Brahma comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva again enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhana, and the pradhana enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, quality and paraphernalia.”
“After millions of years, at the time of cosmic annihilation, when everything, manifested and unmanifested, is annihilated by the force of time, the five gross elements enter into the subtle conception, and the manifested categories enter into the unmanifested substance. At that time, You alone remain, and You are known as Ananta Sesha-naga. ” Purport “After many millions of years, when Lord Brahma comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva again enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhana, and the pradhana enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, quality and paraphernalia.”
If the material world is literally unlimited how Maha-Visnu can expand and take
it in again every 622.040 trillion years.
The statements that the material world is unlimited is figurative.
Thus, for the 1/4 and 3/4 energies
of CC madhya 21.55, the simple alternative is, eka pad means 1 out of 4. For
example:
1. Material World
2. Brahmajyoti
3. Vaikuntha
4. Goloka
2. Brahmajyoti
3. Vaikuntha
4. Goloka
cic-chakti-vibhuti-dhama—tripad-aisvarya-nama
mayika vibhuti—eka-pada abhidhana
cit-sakti—of the spiritual energy; vibhuti-dhama—opulent abode; tri-pad—three fourths; aisvarya—opulence; nama—named; mayika vibhuti—material opulence; eka-pada—one fourth; abhidhana—known.
“The spiritual world is considered to be three fourths of the energy and opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas this material world is only one fourth of that energy. That is our understanding.”
The quarter parts means vibhutis-parts. This qualitative meaning is given in
Laghu Bhagavatamrta 5.286.
The Lord has 4 vibhutis or excellences:
Meaning:
1. the
spiritual energy of the spiritual world – the svarupa-sakti,
2. the
Brahmajyoti,
3. the
marginal energy and
4. the
material world.
Or also we read
Or also we read
1. His
original form,
2. the
forms of His direct expansions,
3. the
individual spirit souls, and
4. the
world of matter.
Or
1. Krishna,
2. cit-sakti,
3. tatastha-sakti,
4. maya-sakti.
“tripad-vibhuter dhamatvat
tripadbhutam tu tat padam
vibhutir mayiki sarva prokta padatmikayatah
vibhutir mayiki sarva prokta padatmikayatah
TRANSLATION
Vaikuntha is called tripad-bhutam because it is the abode which possess three portions of power. All the powers of the material realm are called only one portion.
Vaikuntha is called tripad-bhutam because it is the abode which possess three portions of power. All the powers of the material realm are called only one portion.
COMMENTARY (– Srila Baladeva
vidyabhusana)
When Vaikuntha is described as tripad-bhutam it means that the material powers of the material realm consisting of one pad or segment, do not exist in Vaikuntha. (Rupa Gosvami– Laghu Bhagavatamrta 5.286)
When Vaikuntha is described as tripad-bhutam it means that the material powers of the material realm consisting of one pad or segment, do not exist in Vaikuntha. (Rupa Gosvami– Laghu Bhagavatamrta 5.286)
Conclusion: The material world is
NOT unlimited. The descriptions of the material world being unlimited are
figurative.
In SB 1.3.1 Srila Prabhupada
comments:
“The mahat-tattva is like the cloud in the clear sky. In the spiritual sky, the effulgence of Brahman is spread all around, and the whole system is dazzling in spiritual light. It is assembled in some corner of the vast, unlimited spiritual sky, and the part which is thus covered by the mahat-tattva is called the material sky. This part of the spiritual sky, called the mahat-tattva, is only an insignificant portion of the whole spiritual sky, and within this mahat-tattva there are innumerable universes.”
Clouds are not unlimited, otherwise they would be formless.
All such words in scripture eg sat, anadir, ananta, nitya can also be non-literal.
See the following examples:
– “When the sun-god and moon-god exposed the plot of wicked Rahu to steal the celestial nectar, a lasting (sasvata) enmity was sealed among them, which endures to the present day.” (Mbh. 1.17.8)
– “The five sons of King Vasu each became kings in their own right, all five establishing permanent (sasvata) dynasties bearing their names.” (Mbh. 1.57.30)
– “Defeated by his old friend Drona, King Drupada diplomatically solicits from him his ‘constant (sasvata) favor’ (Mbh. 1.128.13)
– “The brahmana host of the Pandavas at Ekacakra condemns the incompetent king of the region who cannot provide the people with sasvata safety from harm.” (Mbh. 1.148.9)
– Jaratkaru assures his forefathers that he will marry and beget a son who will preserve the family line and keep the forefathers in heaven:
“Surely for your deliverance offspring will arise in that [marriage]. May my forefathers enjoy, having reached the permanent status (sasvata-sthanam)!” (Mbh. 1.13.28)
– When King Indra of heaven convinces the earthly King Vasu to give up the attempt to take Indra’s position, Indra promises that by sticking to his earthly duties, Vasu will eventually attain to the sasvata worlds:
“Ever protect the dharma that will take you to higher worlds, engaged and with attention, for being so engaged in dharma you shall then attain the pious, everlasting worlds (sasvatan lokan).” (Mbh. 1.57.6)
– The sage Mandapala attempts to enter heaven on the strength of his pious credits, but he is turned back by the gatekeepers with these words:
“These very worlds are concealed from you because of [your lack of] progeny. Beget progeny and then you shall enjoy these everlasting (sasvatan lokan) worlds.” (Mbh. 1.220.13)
– After begetting good sons, the same Mandapala then offered this prayer to the fire-god, Agni, when the blazing inferno of Khandava threatened to consume his young sons:
“Offering obeisances unto you, the sages go with their wives and sons to the everlasting destination (sasvatim gatim), won by their own work.” (Mbh. 1.220.25)
– “After having ruled the citizens according to dharma for endless years (sasvatih samah), King Yayati, son of Nahusha, accepted a very ghastly old age that ruined his beauty.” (Mbh. 1.70.33)
– The Rakshasi Hidimba refused her hungry brother’s order to kill the Pandavas, reasoning that:
“If they are killed (and eaten), there will be but a moment’s satisfaction for my brother and me. But by not killing them (and thus marrying Bhishma), I will enjoy for endless years (sasvatih samah).” (Mbh. 1.139.16)
– When the Pandavas are defeated at dice, the wicked Duhsasana declares that Pritha’s sons have now been driven to hell for a long, virtually unlimited time, and that they are bereft of their happiness and kingdom, and ruined for endless years (sasvatih samah). (Mbh. 2.68.5)
– “Having achieved the worlds of the pious doers, and having dwelt there for endless years (sasvatih samah), a fallen yogi takes birth in the home of pure and opulent persons.” (Bg. 6.41)
– “One should eat very frugally and should always (sasvat) remain secluded so that he can achieve the highest perfection of life.” (Bhag. 3.28.3)
– “O Lord, with a corpselike body that is always (sasvat) fearful, we bear the burden of the dreamlike happiness of kings.” (Bhag. 10.70.28)
– “O almighty Lord, we shall no longer desire a mirage-like kingdom that is to be attentively served by a material body that is always (sasvat) declining, and is the source of sufferings.” (Bhag. 10.73.14)
– “The Pandavas have been driven into hell for an endlessly long time-dirgha-kalam anantakam. They have been deprived of their happiness and their kingdom. They are lost forevermore.” (Mbh. 2.68.5)
– “As a friend of Krishna, I alone with my chariot, crossed over the ocean of the Kuru army, an invincible ocean with no end [of the distance] to its far shore (ananta-param).” (Bhag. 1.15.14)
– (Bhag. 5.5.17), Lord Rishabhadeva warns His sons that a blind materialist does not see his own unlimited (or unending) misery (ananta-duhkham).
– Sukadeva Gosvami announces the benefits of the pumsavana vow, which is said to cause “unlimited satisfaction (ananta-triptih) for the forefathers and demigods” (Bhag. 6.19.27).
– “Formerly, O King, that very Supreme Lord expanded the reputation of Rudra, after that god’s fame had been struck down by Maya Danava, who possessed unlimited (ananta) mystic power.” (Bhag. 7.10.51)
– In Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.10.37, Uddhava says to Lord Krishna:
“The same, single entity is said to be eternally liberated and eternally conditioned. That is my confusion.”
– anadih—the firstborn, Lord Brahma
After being born, Daksha, by the superexcellence of his bodily luster, covered all others’ bodily opulence. Because he was very expert in performing fruitive activity, he was called by the name Daksha, meaning “the very expert.” Lord Brahma therefore engaged Daksha in the work of generating living entities and maintaining them. In due course of time, Daksha also engaged other Prajapatis [progenitors] in the process of generation and maintenance.
Lord Brahma anadi, “the beginningless one.” (SB 4.30.51)
– the demigods are described as amara immortal
– Srila prabhupada also sometimes uses these words non-literal.
“anadi karama-phale, which means that these actions and reactions of one’s activity cannot be traced, for they may even continue from the last millennium of Brahma’s birth to the next millennium.” (Bhag. 3.31.44, purport)
“Eternally conditioned means we do not know when we have been conditioned like this. ……. Many, many Brahma’s life. Not only one Brahma’s. There are so many Brahmas changed, and we are conditioned. So therefore we are called eternally conditioned.” (Cc. lecture, January 9, 1967, New York)
anadi karama-phale. Anadi. Anadi means… Adi means the creation. Creation… before creation, I [become] contaminated [with] this desire, iccha-dvesha samutthena.” (Bhag. lecture, January 1, 1975, Bombay)
“The mahat-tattva is like the cloud in the clear sky. In the spiritual sky, the effulgence of Brahman is spread all around, and the whole system is dazzling in spiritual light. It is assembled in some corner of the vast, unlimited spiritual sky, and the part which is thus covered by the mahat-tattva is called the material sky. This part of the spiritual sky, called the mahat-tattva, is only an insignificant portion of the whole spiritual sky, and within this mahat-tattva there are innumerable universes.”
Clouds are not unlimited, otherwise they would be formless.
All such words in scripture eg sat, anadir, ananta, nitya can also be non-literal.
See the following examples:
– “When the sun-god and moon-god exposed the plot of wicked Rahu to steal the celestial nectar, a lasting (sasvata) enmity was sealed among them, which endures to the present day.” (Mbh. 1.17.8)
– “The five sons of King Vasu each became kings in their own right, all five establishing permanent (sasvata) dynasties bearing their names.” (Mbh. 1.57.30)
– “Defeated by his old friend Drona, King Drupada diplomatically solicits from him his ‘constant (sasvata) favor’ (Mbh. 1.128.13)
– “The brahmana host of the Pandavas at Ekacakra condemns the incompetent king of the region who cannot provide the people with sasvata safety from harm.” (Mbh. 1.148.9)
– Jaratkaru assures his forefathers that he will marry and beget a son who will preserve the family line and keep the forefathers in heaven:
“Surely for your deliverance offspring will arise in that [marriage]. May my forefathers enjoy, having reached the permanent status (sasvata-sthanam)!” (Mbh. 1.13.28)
– When King Indra of heaven convinces the earthly King Vasu to give up the attempt to take Indra’s position, Indra promises that by sticking to his earthly duties, Vasu will eventually attain to the sasvata worlds:
“Ever protect the dharma that will take you to higher worlds, engaged and with attention, for being so engaged in dharma you shall then attain the pious, everlasting worlds (sasvatan lokan).” (Mbh. 1.57.6)
– The sage Mandapala attempts to enter heaven on the strength of his pious credits, but he is turned back by the gatekeepers with these words:
“These very worlds are concealed from you because of [your lack of] progeny. Beget progeny and then you shall enjoy these everlasting (sasvatan lokan) worlds.” (Mbh. 1.220.13)
– After begetting good sons, the same Mandapala then offered this prayer to the fire-god, Agni, when the blazing inferno of Khandava threatened to consume his young sons:
“Offering obeisances unto you, the sages go with their wives and sons to the everlasting destination (sasvatim gatim), won by their own work.” (Mbh. 1.220.25)
– “After having ruled the citizens according to dharma for endless years (sasvatih samah), King Yayati, son of Nahusha, accepted a very ghastly old age that ruined his beauty.” (Mbh. 1.70.33)
– The Rakshasi Hidimba refused her hungry brother’s order to kill the Pandavas, reasoning that:
“If they are killed (and eaten), there will be but a moment’s satisfaction for my brother and me. But by not killing them (and thus marrying Bhishma), I will enjoy for endless years (sasvatih samah).” (Mbh. 1.139.16)
– When the Pandavas are defeated at dice, the wicked Duhsasana declares that Pritha’s sons have now been driven to hell for a long, virtually unlimited time, and that they are bereft of their happiness and kingdom, and ruined for endless years (sasvatih samah). (Mbh. 2.68.5)
– “Having achieved the worlds of the pious doers, and having dwelt there for endless years (sasvatih samah), a fallen yogi takes birth in the home of pure and opulent persons.” (Bg. 6.41)
– “One should eat very frugally and should always (sasvat) remain secluded so that he can achieve the highest perfection of life.” (Bhag. 3.28.3)
– “O Lord, with a corpselike body that is always (sasvat) fearful, we bear the burden of the dreamlike happiness of kings.” (Bhag. 10.70.28)
– “O almighty Lord, we shall no longer desire a mirage-like kingdom that is to be attentively served by a material body that is always (sasvat) declining, and is the source of sufferings.” (Bhag. 10.73.14)
– “The Pandavas have been driven into hell for an endlessly long time-dirgha-kalam anantakam. They have been deprived of their happiness and their kingdom. They are lost forevermore.” (Mbh. 2.68.5)
– “As a friend of Krishna, I alone with my chariot, crossed over the ocean of the Kuru army, an invincible ocean with no end [of the distance] to its far shore (ananta-param).” (Bhag. 1.15.14)
– (Bhag. 5.5.17), Lord Rishabhadeva warns His sons that a blind materialist does not see his own unlimited (or unending) misery (ananta-duhkham).
– Sukadeva Gosvami announces the benefits of the pumsavana vow, which is said to cause “unlimited satisfaction (ananta-triptih) for the forefathers and demigods” (Bhag. 6.19.27).
– “Formerly, O King, that very Supreme Lord expanded the reputation of Rudra, after that god’s fame had been struck down by Maya Danava, who possessed unlimited (ananta) mystic power.” (Bhag. 7.10.51)
– In Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.10.37, Uddhava says to Lord Krishna:
“The same, single entity is said to be eternally liberated and eternally conditioned. That is my confusion.”
– anadih—the firstborn, Lord Brahma
After being born, Daksha, by the superexcellence of his bodily luster, covered all others’ bodily opulence. Because he was very expert in performing fruitive activity, he was called by the name Daksha, meaning “the very expert.” Lord Brahma therefore engaged Daksha in the work of generating living entities and maintaining them. In due course of time, Daksha also engaged other Prajapatis [progenitors] in the process of generation and maintenance.
Lord Brahma anadi, “the beginningless one.” (SB 4.30.51)
– the demigods are described as amara immortal
– Srila prabhupada also sometimes uses these words non-literal.
“anadi karama-phale, which means that these actions and reactions of one’s activity cannot be traced, for they may even continue from the last millennium of Brahma’s birth to the next millennium.” (Bhag. 3.31.44, purport)
“Eternally conditioned means we do not know when we have been conditioned like this. ……. Many, many Brahma’s life. Not only one Brahma’s. There are so many Brahmas changed, and we are conditioned. So therefore we are called eternally conditioned.” (Cc. lecture, January 9, 1967, New York)
anadi karama-phale. Anadi. Anadi means… Adi means the creation. Creation… before creation, I [become] contaminated [with] this desire, iccha-dvesha samutthena.” (Bhag. lecture, January 1, 1975, Bombay)
Our comment: He simply explains
here anadir as before the adi, beginning or creation.
Thus, the spiritual world IS unlimited, the material world is very, very big.
You can do the math for the theory that there are different sizes of infinity, that matter is unlimited.
Mathematics as formulated by mortals can have infinities, since there is also mathematics in the spiritual world; vedic mathematics is truth for all infinity.
Thus, the spiritual world IS unlimited, the material world is very, very big.
You can do the math for the theory that there are different sizes of infinity, that matter is unlimited.
Mathematics as formulated by mortals can have infinities, since there is also mathematics in the spiritual world; vedic mathematics is truth for all infinity.
We studied Caitanya Caritamrta
madhya 21, Verse 85:
“Some of the universes are one billion yojanas
in diameter, some one trillion, some ten trillion and some one hundred trillion
yojanas. Thus they are almost unlimited in area.”
‘Almost unlimited’ means the word ‘unlimited’ is used figuratively. ‘Almost unlimited’ means somewhat bigger than one billion, one trillion, ten trillion, one hundred trillion, would be innumerable, uncountable or unlimited.
‘Almost unlimited’ means the word ‘unlimited’ is used figuratively. ‘Almost unlimited’ means somewhat bigger than one billion, one trillion, ten trillion, one hundred trillion, would be innumerable, uncountable or unlimited.
If the material world would be
unlimited, then there would be unlimited souls in the material world. And also
unlimited material atoms.
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada
told in conversation 17-10-71 that all the material atoms are souls.
But there are no unlimited souls in the material world, only a few. Why would the spiritual world need an unlimitedly big prison= Durga, the citadel of DurgA, the material world. There are only a few rascals to be kicked out of the spiritual world, to the material world. If the amount of rebellious souls is unlimited, God made a mistake in expanding them; He has caused unlimited suffering; there is need of an unlimitedly big jail-house.
And, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, savior of the whole eka-pada world, said there are only a few souls here:
But there are no unlimited souls in the material world, only a few. Why would the spiritual world need an unlimitedly big prison= Durga, the citadel of DurgA, the material world. There are only a few rascals to be kicked out of the spiritual world, to the material world. If the amount of rebellious souls is unlimited, God made a mistake in expanding them; He has caused unlimited suffering; there is need of an unlimitedly big jail-house.
And, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, savior of the whole eka-pada world, said there are only a few souls here:
“The plan of material world is
that some rascals, living entities, they wanted to enjoy. So God has given this
plan, “All right, you enjoy.” This is the plan. And not only enjoy. “You enjoy;
again come back.” This is the plan. Pravrtti-nivrtti. First of all he is given
that “All right, you take all facilities of enjoyment.” Therefore Veda is that
“You enjoy like this, and after you have fulfilled your enjoyment, come back
again.” This is God mercy…The result is that he becomes more attached to this
temporary world and remains the rascal. Because without being rascal, nobody
comes in this material world to enjoy. As soon as anyone has come to this
material world, he’s a rascal. Krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare,
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare (Prema-vivarta).” (Morning Walk, December
16, 1973, Los Angeles)
“He’s already an ass because he’s
part and parcel of Krsna, and he has come to this material world to enjoy. That
is ass mentality. There is no enjoyment. So he’s already an ass. And this
scientific improvement means he’s becoming more attached to this material world
to remain better ass. Avidya… anitya samsare, anitya. He cannot stay here.
Suppose, working very hard like an ass, he gets a skyscraper building,
throughout his whole life, laboring. But he cannot stay there. He’ll be kicked
out. Is it not ass? Is he not an ass? He cannot stay there. Anitya samsare.
Anitya. Because it is not the permanent settlement. You are trying: dum dum.
(sound imitation) Very strong foundation. That’s all right. But your foundation
is nothing. You’ll be kicked out.” (Morning walk Los Angeles, April 28, 1973)
“And there are innumerable
spiritual living entities also. And some of them, those who are not fit to live
in that spiritual world, they are sent to this material world. The same idea is
expressed in Milton’s Paradise Lost. So we, all conditioned souls, we are
practically living in a place after Paradise Lost.” (Lecture, April 23, 1969,
Buffalo, New York)
The theorist of this “many sizes of infinities” is the purvapaksa or opponent; he started to change the siddhanta which was always clear.
Here are some quotes mainly from the Vedabase:
Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava, 24.7
7. Can the living entity understand that the spiritual world exists within the
material world but remains untouched by matter?
Poor human understanding cannot possibly make out how the extensive triquadrantal, which is beyond human comprehension, can be accommodated in the limited material universe of a uniquadrantal disclosure. Gokula is a spiritual plane, hence its condescended position in the region of material space, time, etc., is in no way restricted but unlimitedly manifested with its full boundless propriety.
Poor human understanding cannot possibly make out how the extensive triquadrantal, which is beyond human comprehension, can be accommodated in the limited material universe of a uniquadrantal disclosure. Gokula is a spiritual plane, hence its condescended position in the region of material space, time, etc., is in no way restricted but unlimitedly manifested with its full boundless propriety.
Thus the “uniquadrantal” or
eka-pada is a limited area.
Because this refers to the 1/4 or one of the 4 vaibhavas, bhutas, vibhutis, segments (pada), divisions of the Complete Whole.
Because this refers to the 1/4 or one of the 4 vaibhavas, bhutas, vibhutis, segments (pada), divisions of the Complete Whole.
See: Amnaya Sutra Sutra 8 – Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
“svarupa-tad-rupa-vaibhava-jiva-pradhana-rupena
tac caturdha
svarupa-own form;
tad-rupa-vaibhava-expansions; jiva-individual spirit souls; pradhana-matter;
rupena-in the form; tat-that; caturdha-in four ways.
He has four manifestations: 1. His
original form, 2. the forms of His direct expansions, 3. the individual spirit
souls and 4. the world of matter.
In Bhagavata-sandarbha anuccheda16
Srila Jiva Gosvami explains:
Srila Jiva Gosvami explains:
ekam evam paramam tattvam
svabhavikacintya-saktya sarvadaiva svarupa-tad-rupavaibhava-jiva-pradhana-rupena
caturdhavatishthate.
“Although the Supreme Persoanlity
of Godhead is one, by His inconceivable potencies He always has four
manifestations: 1. His original form, 2. the forms of His direct expansions, 3.
the individual spirit souls and 4. the world of matter.”
Studying the Caitanya Caritamrta
verses about this subject:
“Madhya-lila, Chapter 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Sri Krishna
TEXT 52
tara tale ‘bahyavasa’ virajara para
ananta brahmanda yahan kothari apara
ananta brahmanda yahan kothari apara
tara tale—below the spiritual world; bahya-avasa—external abode; virajara
para—on the other side of the river Viraja; ananta brahmanda—unlimited number
of universes; yahan—where; kothari—apartments; apara—unlimited.
“On the other side of the river Viraja is the external abode, which is full of
unlimited universes, each containing unlimited atmospheres.”
But our Brahmanda is not
unlimited; in fact, the Brahmanda we live in is the smallest of all the
Brahmandas. The universes are always the same size, every in-and-out-breathing
of Maha-Visnu, this maha-kalpa they are of all different sizes.
Again unlimited is figurative.
“Some of the universes are one
billion yojanas in diameter, some one trillion, some ten trillion and some one
hundred trillion yojanas. Thus they are almost unlimited in area.” (CC Madhya
21.85)
‘Almost unlimited’ again means figurative.
‘Almost unlimited’ again means figurative.
“The gist of this verse is: “O
Lord, this material world manifested from the maya potency is limited and it is
in constant flux. On the other hand, Your personal form is perfectly pure and
spiritual.” (SB 10.14.22, Sarartha Darsini by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“The materialist becomes
frustrated in his attempts to enjoy himself in the limited material world, he
may seek impersonal liberation by merging either with the Causal Ocean or with
the impersonal brahma-jyoti effulgence. However, as neither the Causal Ocean
nor the impersonal brahma-jyoti effulgence affords any superior substitute for
association and engagement of the senses, the impersonalist will fall again
into the limited material world to become entangled once more in the wheel of
births and deaths.” (SB 2.2.31 purport by Srila Prabhupada)
“In describing the Kasira
Mayavadis, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has explained that persons
who are bewildered by empiric knowledge or direct sensual perception, and who
thus consider that even this limited material world can be gauged by their
material estimations, conclude that anything that one can discern by direct
sense perception is but maya, or illusion.” (CC Adi 7.39 purport by Srila
Prabhupada)
“Prabhupada: (indistinct) limited
science, when you are in the limited material world, good means which satisfies
my senses good.“ (SP Philosophical discussions with Syamasundar on Ludwig
Wittgenstein)
“As the sun is ever increasingly
unaffected by a spot of cloud, so also the unlimited Lord is unaffected by the
spot of material energy manifested at times in the unlimited span of the Lord’s
rays of brahma-jyoti.” (SB 2.5.18 p)
A spot is a limited area.
“The material creation is something like a cloud in the unlimited sky. The real sky is the spiritual sky, eternally filled with the rays of the brahma-jyoti, and a portion of this unlimited sky is covered by the mahat-tattva cloud.” (SB 2.5.21 p)
“This material world is an insignificant portion of the spiritual world that is covered by the material energy.” (The Laws of Nature: An Infallibele Justice, God and The Law of Karma)
“Therefore there are millions and billions of liberated souls above this material world, just like there is millions and billions of miles’ sunshine above the cloud. You go by airplane above the cloud. Oh, the cloud is, appear to be very insignificant. But sunshine? Oh, so nice, sunshine. Similarly, when you are above this material world, jyotir gamah… Jyotir gamah. Tamasi ma. The Vedanta, the Vedas inform you that “Don’t remain in this darkness. Just try to get out of it.” Jyotir gamah. Similarly… Just like the same way, airplane. As soon as you penetrate the cloud and go to the sky, you’ll see: “Oh, there is immense sunshine.” But while you are in, within the covering of the cloud, you say, “Oh, there is no sunshine today.” (Lecture, CC Adi7.118-121)
“Very insignificant” is not unlimited.
“...suppose the sky on San Francisco
is overcast with cloud. We say that then we are covered in cloud. Practically
this San Francisco sky is only a fragmental portion of the whole sky.
Similarly, the real sky is that spiritual sky, paravyoma. When that paravyoma
partially is clouded with mahat-tattva, that is called material world. This is
the position of material world. Material world is also existing in the
spiritual world, but it is covered and in a fragmental segment”. (Lecture, SB
1.3.1-3 SF 1968)
“An insignificant portion of the sunshine may be covered, or is covered sometimes by the cloud. Similarly, this material world is an insignificant portion of the spiritual world, covered by this material energy.” (Lecture on ISO mantra 1, 1970)
“The mahat-tattva is assembled in
some corner of the vast, unlimited spiritual sky, and the part which is thus
covered by the mahat-tattva is called the material sky. This part of the
spiritual sky, called the mahat-tattva, is only an insignificant portion of the
whole spiritual sky.” (SB 1.3.1 p)
“The person embodying the material
causal principle, viz., the great lord of this mundane world [Mahesvara]
Sambhu, in the form of the male generating organ, is joined to his female
consort the limited energy [Maya] as the efficient causal principle. The Lord
of the world Maha-Vishnu is manifest in him by His subjective portion in the
form of His glance.
purport
…By the power of His spiritual energy a plenary subjective portion of Him, eternally reposing in the neutral stream of Viraja forming the boundary between the spiritual and mundane realms, casts His glance, at creation, unto the limited shadow potency. Maya, who is located far away from Himself.
But then in Sri Brahma-samhita t 13 purport he states: “When those golden sperms, coming out with the exhalation of Maha-Vishnu, enter into the unlimited accommodating chamber of the limited potency (Maya) they become enlarged by the nonconglomerate great elements.” (Sri Brahma-samhita 5.10)
purport
…By the power of His spiritual energy a plenary subjective portion of Him, eternally reposing in the neutral stream of Viraja forming the boundary between the spiritual and mundane realms, casts His glance, at creation, unto the limited shadow potency. Maya, who is located far away from Himself.
But then in Sri Brahma-samhita t 13 purport he states: “When those golden sperms, coming out with the exhalation of Maha-Vishnu, enter into the unlimited accommodating chamber of the limited potency (Maya) they become enlarged by the nonconglomerate great elements.” (Sri Brahma-samhita 5.10)
Because the material world is very
very large, but not literally unlimited.
“We are put into this prison
house, all these rebelled souls…. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that this universe
is just like a mustard seed in the bag of mustard seeds. You just imagine in a
bag how many mustard seeds you can pack. Unlimited. You cannot count. Mustard
seed within a bag, two and a half mounds weight. Can you count? No, it is not
possible. Similarly all these universes, material universes, each of them is
compared with a mustard seed, and this universe which we experience is one of
the mustard seeds within the bag of mustard seeds….. Just like in the jail, the
population in the jail is very small in comparison to the population of the
city.
Similarly, within this material world, all the living entities, they are all conditioned, very limited number. The unlimited number are there in the spiritual world.” (SB lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)
Similarly, within this material world, all the living entities, they are all conditioned, very limited number. The unlimited number are there in the spiritual world.” (SB lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)
“If we want, artificially, more
power to imitate Krsna, then we are gone. …just imagine how many liberated
living entities are there. …. Just like in the jail, the population in the jail
is very small in comparison to the population of the city.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.10.5, June 20, 1973, Mayapur)
“And we small quantity, we misused
our independence. We wanted to enjoy separately. Therefore we are conditioned.
… We are only simple few, this material world. Just like I have several times
told you that the prison house. The population of prison house is nothing in
comparison to the whole population. What is there? Suppose in New York there is
a prison house. Oh, what may be the number? A few thousand maybe. But here,
millions. Similarly, the liberated souls are millions; we are only few
thousands, or hundreds. .. We are thinking this universe is very great. It is
nothing in comparison to the whole creation of the Lord. You are seeing only
universe, but there are millions of universes like this. …This is only a part
of Krishna’s creation. One devotee of Lord Caitanya, requested, “My dear Lord,
You have come to deliver all the fallen souls. You please take all the conditioned
souls of this universe, and if You think they are not competent, they are
sinful, You can give me all the sin to me. I shall suffer for them, but You
kindly take.” So this is the desire of a pure devotee, that “All may go with
Krishna. Let them become liberated. I shall suffer all their…” Now, Caitanya
Mahaprabhu replied that “Suppose I keep your request. I take these, all the
living entities of this universe. Do you think, is there any loss of this
material world? It is just like a one mustard seed in the bag of mustard
seeds.” So this universe is just like one mustard seed in one big bag of
mustard seeds. Can you count how many mustard seeds are there in a big bag? So
the idea was that Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied that
“Even this universe is delivered
fully, oh, there is a big bag of mustard seeds. It is only one grain.” There
are so many conditioned souls, and these conditioned souls are only
insignificant in comparison to the liberated souls. Just imagine what is the
quantity of liberated souls.” (Lecture, Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila
7.108, February 18, 1967, San Francisco)
“One mustard seed is calculated to
be a universe itself. In one of the universes, in which we are now living, the
number of planets cannot be counted by human energy, and so how can we think of
the sum total in all the universes, which are compared to a bucketful of
mustard seeds?” (SB 2.6.18 p)
“Maya and her unlimited material
universes are situated in that Causal Ocean. Indeed, maya appears to be
floating like a pot filled with mustard seeds.” (CC Madhya 15.176)
This analogy of the mustard seeds
in a bag appears 19 x in the Vedabase.
Bags are never unlimited areas.
Bags are never unlimited areas.
“Sri Satacandranana said: O
demigod Brahma, millions of universes bob up and down (in the Karana ocean). As
you are demigods in one universe, so in each each universe there are many
demigods. You do not even know their names. When did you even meet them? Never
leaving your own homes, you remain happy with stunted minds. You know one
universe. Living entities are born in many universes, like mosquitoes in many
udumbara fruits.”
Sri Narada said: Mocked in this way, the demigods were silent. (Garga– samhita
1.2 26-29 )
“They are in the spiritual world.
Just like the number of population outside the prison house is very great, and
the number of population within prison house is very small, this material world
is supposed to be the prison house. Those who are condemned, those who want to
try to lord it over, they are imprisoned within the walls of material universe.
So their number is very small.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6, August 3, 1968,
Montreal)
Prisons are always a very small
part of the whole state.
“Still, although we are put into this prison house, all these rebelled souls, this prison house, this material world, is only one fourth of Krishna’s creation. Ekamsena sthito jagat [Bg. 10.42]. Ekamsena. The three-fourths part of His creation is the spiritual world. Just imagine, this ekamsa. Ekamsa means not only this one universe….in the jail, the population in the jail is very small in comparison to the population of the city.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.10.5, June 20, 1973, Mayapur)
Eka amsa is a part. 1/4 here means
the maya-vibhuti.
“In the spiritual world the number
of liberated person—many, many times greater than these conditioned soul. Just
like the prison house and outside the prison house. The population outside the
prison house, their number is very great, but within the prison house there are
small number, criminals.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.15, February 15, 1975, Mexico City)
“If you go to the prison house you
will find so many people. But what are the proportions? These criminals who are
put in together are a very small proportion.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.11–12, Allahabad, February 2, 1971 )
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.11–12, Allahabad, February 2, 1971 )
“In the Spiritual World the number
of individual souls are far far greater than what they are here. The
conditioned souls are just like prisoners, as we have got less population in
the prison house, similarly, in the material world the number of individual
souls are very small.” (Letter to: Mukunda, New York, 5 May, 1967, 67-05-05)
“Just as a madman becomes crazy
and is put into a lunatic asylum, so we, losing sight of our spiritual
identity, become crazy and are put into this material world. Thus the material
world is a sort of lunatic asylum..” (Perfection of Yoga 3)
Lunatic asylums are always a small
part of the whole state.
“Just like sometimes some of us
becomes crazy and he is, goes to the lunatic asylum, similarly, those who
become crazy, such spiritual identities, they are put into this lunatic asylum.
It is called material world. This is a sort of lunatic asylum. Everything is
being done not very sanely. [laughter] You see? [chuckling] So we have to get
out of this lunatic asylum and enter into the kingdom of God, Sri Krishna.”
(Bhagavad-gita 6.11-21, September 7, 1966, New York)
“These rascals do not know that
they are themselves bound up, and yet they are giving theory. The whole world
is surrounded by all these rascals. We have to devise the means, “Please come
here and take a little mercy. Sit down. Read a book.” We have to work for that.
Don’t become angry by this lunatic asylum; otherwise the preaching will be
finished.” (31. Prabhupada Said: on Sannyasa, Preaching to Fools, Scientists
and Dreams)
“Out of that unlimited expansion
of minute portions-jivas- of the Supreme Lord, some are covered by the
influence of material nature, whereas others are free.” (Krishna book chapter
twenty, Description of Autumn)
“Generally, people are bewildered
by the activities of scientists and technologists. Due to maya they think that
there is no need of God and that they can do everything and anything, but
actually they cannot. Since this cosmic manifestation is limited, their
existence is also limited. Everything in this material world is limited, and
for this reason there is creation, sustenance and dissolution. However, in the
world of unlimited energy, the spiritual world, there is neither creation nor
destruction.” (CC Adi-lila TEXT 116 PURPORT)
One Bhakta purvapaksa quoted
Isopanisad
“om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udacyate”
purnat purnam udacyate”
to explain that the material world is complete meaning infinite. Here is what
Srila Prabhupada says in the introduction to this Isopanisad:
“The Vedas are sabda, or spiritual sound vibration, and are the best form of
evidence. They can even reveal the spiritual realm, far beyond this limited
material world, and this is accepted by such great authorities as
Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya and Vishnusvami, and even by the famous Mayavadi
leader, Sankaracarya.”
Here is one quote from Acarya
Madhva. He says:
“……if different activities are naturally attributed to different personalities
according to their natures, then where really is the question of free will to
act? Given a specified field of activities with a set of previously defined
options, or perimeters there is only so much that one will naturally chose to
do according to one’s nature. This material world is after all limited, even
though due to our limited vision it seems like a vast realm of variety, but there
is only so much here in a temporal dream.” (quote Dattaswatantrya, Ontology.).
Some more quotes from the
Acarya’s:
Bhagavat sandarbha -Sri Jiva
Gosvami Anuccheda 73.8:
“Beyond this darkness, beyond the
ether element, and beyond the boundary of the material universes is the Lord
Siva’s great transcendental abode, which even the great demigods cannot
approach. This is clearly described in the Sruti-sastra.”
Limited areas have boundaries. The
material world is a specific demarcated tamah-dhama.
Krishna sandarbha Anuccheda 106,
Text 31
“In the Pancasititama-patala, in
the Svayambhuva-agama, Lord Siva says to Gauri:
tatas ca brahmano lokam
brahma-cihnam smaret sudhih urdhve tu simni virajam nihsimam vara-varnini
tatah – from that; ca – also;
brahmanah – of Lord Brahma; lokam – the planet; brahma-cihnam – the marks of
spirituality; smaret – should remember; sudhih – an intelligent person; urdhve
– above; tu – also; simni – on the border of the spiritual and material worlds;
virajam – the Viraja river; nihsimam – unlimited; vara-varnini – O
fair-complexioned Parvati.
Below this original feature of the
three modes of nature is the planet of Lord Brahma, which is full of all
symptoms of spiritual awareness. O fair-complexioned Parvati, an intelligent
person should meditate on this planet, and also on the unlimited Viraja river,
which forms the boundary of the spiritual and material worlds.”
Bhagavad sandarbha Anuccheda 10
Lord Siva explains (Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda 255.56.59):
19 “My dear Parvati, you have just heard about the opulences of the material
energy, now hear about the supreme opulences of the spiritual world, which
comprises three quarters of all existence.
20 “Produced from the perspiration of the Personality of Godhead, whose limbs are all the Vedic literatures, the auspicious Viraja River flows on the boundary that separates the material energy from the spiritual sky.
21 “On the farther shore of the Viraja River is the spiritual sky. In that spiritual sky I the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That abode is eternal, imperishable, unlimited, effulgent, transcendental, and full of nectar. That abode is made of the transcendental energy known as the mode of pure goodness (suddha-sattva).”
20 “Produced from the perspiration of the Personality of Godhead, whose limbs are all the Vedic literatures, the auspicious Viraja River flows on the boundary that separates the material energy from the spiritual sky.
21 “On the farther shore of the Viraja River is the spiritual sky. In that spiritual sky I the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That abode is eternal, imperishable, unlimited, effulgent, transcendental, and full of nectar. That abode is made of the transcendental energy known as the mode of pure goodness (suddha-sattva).”
“That original Personality of
Godhead, named Sankarshana, first lies down in the river Viraja, which serves
as a border between the material and the spiritual world. As Karanodakasayi
Vishnu, He is the original cause of the material creation.” ( CC Mad. 20.268)
“The Viraja, or Causal Ocean, is
the border between the spiritual world and material worlds. The material energy
is situated on one shore of that ocean, and cannot enter onto the other shore,
which is the spiritual sky.” (Cc. Mad. 20.269)
“The sole potency of Krsna which
is spiritual, functioning as Krsna’s own proper power, has manifested His
pastimes of Goloka or Gokula. By her grace individual souls who are
constituents of the marginal potency can have admission into even those
pastimes. The deluding energy, who is of the nature of the perverted reflection
of the spiritual (cit) potency, has got her location on the other side of the
river Viraja, which surrounds the Brahma-dhama forming the boundary of
Maha-Vaikuntha as the outer envelope of Goloka. The position of Goloka being
absolutely unalloyed with the mundane, deluding energy, far from having any
association with Krsna, feels ashamed to appear before His view.” (Brahma
samhita purport to 5.6)
“Lying in the causal water as the
primal purusa-avatara He casts His glance towards Maya (the limited potency).“
(Brahma samhita purport to 5.8)
Comment: “The limited realm”
“The full quadrantal extension of
the Supreme Lord, is His majesty. Of this the triquadrantal extensions of
unlamenting, nonperishing and nonapprehending situations constitute the majesties
of the realms of Vaikuntha and Goloka, etc. In this temporal realm of Maya
devas and men, etc.-all these together with all mundane worlds-are the great
majesties of the limited potency.” (Bs 5.9 purport)
“The person embodying the material
causal principle, viz., the great lord of this mundane world [Mahesvara]
Samhhu, in the form of the male generating organ, is joined to his female
consort the limited energy [Maya] as the efficient causal principle. The Lord
of the world Maha-Visnu is manifest in him by His subjective portion in the
form of His glance.” (Bs 5.10)
“Maha-Sankarshana, subjective
plenary facsimile of the extended personality of Sri Narayana, is also the
divine plenary portion of the propagatory embodiment of Sri Krishna. By the
power of His spiritual energy a plenary subjective portion of Him, eternally
reposing in the neutral stream of Viraja forming the boundary between the
spiritual and mundane realms, casts His glance, at creation, unto the limited
shadow potency. Maya, who is located far away from Himself.” (Bs 5.10. purport)
“The Karana Ocean, which is also
known as the Viraja River, lies on the boundary that separates the spiritual
and material worlds.” ( Jaiva dharma. Chapter Thirteen, Nitya-dharma O
Sambandhabhidheya-prayojana (Pramana-vicara O Prameya Arambha)
“Within that one quarter of the
Lord’s opulences exist the material universes that have fourteen planetary
systems. On the boundary that divides the material and spiritual world flows
the Viraja river. On the father shore of the Viraja is the spiritual world.”
(Chapter Thirty-one, Madhura-rasa-vicara, Madhura-rasa – Jaiva dharma)
“…the Absolute Truth is not matter
and the Absolute Truth is not materially restricted by limited potency.” (KB Ch
13, The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahma)
“Now this universe, this material
world is called Devi-dhama. Devi-dhama. It is under the control of the material
energy. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir-eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani
vibharti durga [Bs. 5.44]. This energy is also personified called Durgadevi. So
above this planetary system there is Mahesa-dhama. Mahesa-dhama. In the border
between spiritual sky and material sky. Above that, there are Hari-dhama, the
Vaikuntha planets where Narayana, in various forms is predominating.” (Lecture
by SP, “Purpose Of Installing Deity,” 21 Aug 73 , London)
IF the Material World would be UNLIMITED, IT WOULD PERVADE
THE Spiritual
World WITH ITS UNWHOLESOMENESS , BUT BHAGAVATAM SAYS THERE IS NO MODES OF
NATURE IN THE Spiritual World.
“In the Vaikuntha planets is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original person and who can be
understood through the Vedic literature. He is full of the uncontaminated mode
of goodness, with no place for passion or ignorance.” (SB 3.15.15.)
“In that personal abode of the
Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there
any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence
of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that
region…” (SB 2.9.10.)
The purvapaksa defended his theory with a sloka from Rig veda
etavanasya mahima-ato jyayash-ca purushah
pado-asya vishva bhutani tri-pad-asya-amrtam divi
tri-pad-urdhva udait-purussah pado-asye’ha-abhavat-punah
tato vishvang vya’kramat-sashana-anashane abhi
pado-asya vishva bhutani tri-pad-asya-amrtam divi
tri-pad-urdhva udait-purussah pado-asye’ha-abhavat-punah
tato vishvang vya’kramat-sashana-anashane abhi
“All beings make up only one-quarter of Him. Three-quarters of Him which are
immortal are in Heaven. Three-quarters of the Purusha ascended high;
one-quarter was here, again and again. And, diversified in form, it moved to
the animate and inanimate world.” (Purusha Sukta1.3-4 from Rig Veda 10.90)
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives the purport to this
sloka in his Sarartha Darsini tika on Srimad Bhagavatam 2.6.19-23:
“SB 2.6.19-20 says: The 3 vibhuti’s are amritam—deathlessness or nectar;
kshemam— welfare, all happiness, free from the anxiety of old age, diseases,
etc.; abhayam—fearlessness. The one vibhuti, quality of the material world is
death.” (dictionary meaning and Bhaktivedanta vedabase gives for vibhuti:
glory, prosperity, opulence, specific powers, riches, expansion, effulgence
etc.)
Comment: Nothing with quantity.
Tika continued: “Two verses distinguish the material and
spiritual vibhutis. The wise know that all living beings, whether conditioned
or liberated, reside within either the material or spiritual portions (padeshu)
of the Lord…In the places in the spiritual sky…there is no death (amrtam), no
sickness (kshemam), and no fear (abhaya) arising from offenses to the Lord
among the persons there. Absence of fear from time is already covered in the
word amritam. This is established (adhayi) there. In the place of the three
gunas, death, sickness and fear of offense are well established…This verse (SB
2.6.19) explains the Purusha-sukta phrases pado ’sya visva-bhutani
tripadasyamritam divi: the living entities of the universe are one quarter and
in the spiritual world of three parts everything is eternal. Pado ’sya, the
place and the living entities are linked with a copula verb because of
non-difference between the place and the person residing. Tripadasya is in the
singular to express the whole. In the spiritual place (divi) there is eternity
situated in his place of three vibhutis…. Beyond the coverings of prakriti
(bahih) described by the words trimudha (top of the three gunas), exists the
spiritual world described as three parts (trayo padah). The word ca after bahih
indicates that sometimes the three parts exist within the material world in
places like Mathura. Here are the places (asriamah) of those who do not take
birth at all (aprajanam), those liberated from samsara. The places and the
inhabitants are eternal, since the previous verse said that the place was
without death and sickness. But within prakriti made of the worlds of three
gunas (trilokyah) exists the fourth part (aparah), where the karmis live,
without being devotees of the Lord (abrihad-vratah). But if they become
devotees, then they exist in the other three parts. This verse (SB 2.6.20)
explains the Purusha-sukta line tripad-urdhva udait purushah pado ’syehabhavat
punah: the three quarters portion of the Lord transcended the material portion;
the Lord in the one quarter portion manifested the universe again, as he had
done repeatedly before. The smriti also says:
tripad-vibhuter lokas tu asankhyah parikirtitah |
suddha-sattva-mayah sarve brahmananda-sukhahvayah ||
sarve nitya nirvikara heya-raga-vivarjitah |
sarve hiranmayah suddhah koti-surya-sama-prabhah ||
sarve vedamaya divyah kama-krodhadi-varjitah |
narayana-padambhoja-bhakty-eka-rasa-sevinah ||
nirantaram sama-gana-paripurna-sukham sritah |
sarve pancopanishada-svarupaya veda-varcasah || ity adi ||
suddha-sattva-mayah sarve brahmananda-sukhahvayah ||
sarve nitya nirvikara heya-raga-vivarjitah |
sarve hiranmayah suddhah koti-surya-sama-prabhah ||
sarve vedamaya divyah kama-krodhadi-varjitah |
narayana-padambhoja-bhakty-eka-rasa-sevinah ||
nirantaram sama-gana-paripurna-sukham sritah |
sarve pancopanishada-svarupaya veda-varcasah || ity adi ||
The spiritual worlds are unlimited in number. They are all
suddha-sattva, filled with spiritual bliss, eternal, without change, and devoid
of low passions. They are pure gold, shining like millions of suns,
personifying Vedic knowledge, filled with pastimes and devoid of lust and
anger. These places exclusively serve the lotus feet of Narayana, and are
always blissfully singing verses. They are the essence of the Vedas, embodying
the five Upanishads.
The word tripad-vibhuti means the spiritual world and
pada-vibhuti means the material world. The Sandarbha quotes Padma Purana in
this regard:
tripad-vyaptih param dhamni pado syehabhavat punah |
tripad-vibhuter nityam syat anityam padam aisvaram ||
nityam tad-rupam isasya param dhamni sthitam subham |
acyutam sasvatam divyam sada yauvanam asritam ||
nityam sambhogam isvarya sriya bhumya ca samvrittam ||
tripad-vibhuter nityam syat anityam padam aisvaram ||
nityam tad-rupam isasya param dhamni sthitam subham |
acyutam sasvatam divyam sada yauvanam asritam ||
nityam sambhogam isvarya sriya bhumya ca samvrittam ||
“The spiritual realm is spread over three parts. One part is
this world. The three part spiritual world is eternal. The power of one part is
temporary. The eternal form of the Supreme Lord is situated in that glorious
place. That form of the Lord is undecaying, eternal, full of pastimes,
eternally young, eternally enjoying and surrounded by Sri, Bhumi and Isvari.”..
The jiva attains these two places by specific qualities. He who wanders in the
universe is called visvan, the jiva. The jiva wanders on these two paths
(sriti). The perfect tense is used to mean the present. These paths are
followed to attain enjoyment and liberation (sasananasane). The qualification
is mentioned. He who has avidya attains the material realm and he who has vidya
attains the spiritual world. However, the spiritual world is actually attained
by accepting bhakti after giving up vidya also. Bhaktyaham ekaya grahyah: I am
only attained by bhakti. (SB 11.14.21) The Supreme Lord however is the shelter
of both paths. He is the shelter of maya who has functions of avidya and vidya.
Thus the two paths are dependent on the Lord. This verse (SB 2.6.21) describes
the Purusha-sukta line tato visvan vyakramat sasanasanasane ubhe: the jiva
traverses the two paths of enjoyment and liberation.”
Also Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī says in his sandarbha that death is the
only one quality that makes the material world eka pada vibhuti – tad evam
amartyam aiśvaryaṁ tri-pāt, martyam eka-pāt iti tasya catuṣpād-aiśvaryaṁ.
Then the purvapaksa quotes Srimad Bhagavatam 6.16.37
“There are innumerable universes besides this one, and although they are unlimitedly large….”
The universes are not “unlimitedly large”, our brahmanda is 5 billion yojanas diameter + layers.
Again, unlimited is figurative.
“There are innumerable universes besides this one, and although they are unlimitedly large….”
The universes are not “unlimitedly large”, our brahmanda is 5 billion yojanas diameter + layers.
Again, unlimited is figurative.
The opponent later quotes Brahma Samhita 5.35
“He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.”
And comments:
“Lord Brahma indicates that each unlimited universe is springing from Lord Krsna, and that each universe is composed of infinite atoms, yet in each atom exists the same unlimitedly potent Govinda from whom more unlimited universes could expand.”
But the purport to this verse corrects his apa-siddhanta:
“..All the mundane universes owe their origin to the transformation of His external potency. Again His abode is beyond human conception; since all worlds, limited and spiritual (cit) exist in Him and He resides simultaneously in His fullness and entirety in all the atoms in all the worlds…”
“He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.”
And comments:
“Lord Brahma indicates that each unlimited universe is springing from Lord Krsna, and that each universe is composed of infinite atoms, yet in each atom exists the same unlimitedly potent Govinda from whom more unlimited universes could expand.”
But the purport to this verse corrects his apa-siddhanta:
“..All the mundane universes owe their origin to the transformation of His external potency. Again His abode is beyond human conception; since all worlds, limited and spiritual (cit) exist in Him and He resides simultaneously in His fullness and entirety in all the atoms in all the worlds…”
Comment: The “limited” world(s).
The purport ends with stating: “… This argument favors the doctrine of simultaneous inconceivable distinction and nondistinction, and knocks down the contaminating Mayavada and other allied doctrines.”
K.O. knocked out, not O.K.
The title of the theory is already self-defeating “.. different sizes of infinity”. Different infinities is impossible. If matter and spirit are both infinite, they will (this is theoretically only) overlap each other, and then there will be one or the same infinity. Infinity is one.
The purport ends with stating: “… This argument favors the doctrine of simultaneous inconceivable distinction and nondistinction, and knocks down the contaminating Mayavada and other allied doctrines.”
K.O. knocked out, not O.K.
The title of the theory is already self-defeating “.. different sizes of infinity”. Different infinities is impossible. If matter and spirit are both infinite, they will (this is theoretically only) overlap each other, and then there will be one or the same infinity. Infinity is one.
Hare Krishna
