See Illumination Of God

See Illumination Of God

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.110
New York, July 17, 1976

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Pusta Krsna: (chants verse, etc.) "Translation: Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe."

Prabhupada:

eka-desa-sthitasyagner
jyotsna vistarini yatha
parasya brahmanah saktis
tathedam akhilam jagat

Akhilam, entire; jagat, universe. So this is the manifestation of the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like we read in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna says that imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam: [Bg. 4.1] "I first of all spoke this yoga system to Vivasvan, the sun-god." The sun-god, the present sun-god, predominating Deity of the sun planet, is named as Vivasvan, and his son is called Vaivasvata Manu. This is the age of Vaivasvata Manu we are passing through. So Krsna is person, and Vivasvan the sun-god is also person. Otherwise how Krsna could speak to him? Imam vivasvate yogam. How He instructed him? Just like exactly Arjuna was instructed by Krsna. Krsna is person and Arjuna is person. Person-to-person talk. Similarly, that predominating deity in the sun planet is also a person, and there are many other persons. Just like when Krsna and Arjuna talked, there were many, many others, individual persons. Similarly, in the sun planet, not only the sun-god himself is a person, but all the population there, they are like sun-god, made of fire, their body is made of fire, they can stay in the fire. Just like the fish, their body is so made that they can live within the water. Similarly, there also there are many, many living entities. The sun planet is very, very big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So it is all congested with population. And because they are all fiery, everything made there fiery, therefore it is a blazing fire, and the illumination is coming all over the universe. But they cannot understand this, the so-called scientists. It is not... Beyond their conception. But this is a fact. And the moon planet is also fiery, exactly like the sun. Therefore that illumination is distributed. But the difference is, so far I can remember, that the moon planet fire is surrounded by cool atmosphere. Because the heat is coming through some cool atmosphere, it is at night so pleasing. It is not vacant. There is also living entities. This is one of the heavenly planets. Heavenly planet begins from the sun, then moon, then Mars, Jupiter, like that. We have challenged this, that moon planet is beyond the sun planet. The moon planet is not the first planet. The sun is first, moon is second. So we have to learn from Vedic literature all this information. Many, many millions of years ago this Vedic literature was given to us. So about these planetary systems, everything is there, described. It is not unknown.

So anyway, our point is, either the sun or the moon, they are localized. They are situated in one place, we can see. But the illumination, the heat or the cool illumination... Sun illumination is hot, and moon illumination is cold, very soothing. Krsna is so kind that both things are there, and both things are required. It is not that unnecessarily. No. Krsna says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasi-surayoh [Bg. 7.8]. This prabha, this illumination, the light coming from the moon, from the sun, sasi-surayoh... Sasi means the moon, and surya means the sun. So those foolish persons who are challenging, "Can you show me God?" rascal, why don't you see God here, sasi-surayoh? You do not see the sunshine, the moonshine? Why do you say that "I did not see God"? Huh? What is this argument? If Krsna said, God said, "Here I am. I am the moonshine, I am the sunshine," why don't you see Him? Huh? You have to see according to your capacity. You cannot see with your, these present eyes the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is not possible. Now see the illumination of God. Just like, practical, we can experience the sunshine. Everyone knows what is sunshine, but everyone is not aware of the temperature of the sun or the person within the sun. But that's a fact. Otherwise, Krsna is liar. Krsna said, "I spoke this philosophy to the sun-god." So sun-god is there, that's a fact. And then if the sun-god is there, his devotees or his associates are also there.

So far we get information, all the planets, they are full of living entities. Janakirna. It is stated in the Vedic literatures, janakirna. Janakirna means congested with living entities. Therefore we see New York City is congested with so many living entities. But if you go higher, then you cannot appreciate how New York City is so congested, or other cities are congested. So similarly, we have no knowledge of these planets, but each and every planet, millions and trillions, they are all congested, full with living entities. This is Vedic information. It is not imagination, imperfect imagination. No. It is fact. So we learn from the sastra that on account of illumination of the moon, the vegetation in every planet is, I mean to say, flourishing condition, due to the moon. Still we find reaction of the moon on the waves of the seas and ocean. So everything has got its necessity. Parasya brahmanah saktir. They are all acting as potency of the Supreme Lord. Parasya brahmanah saktir. They are sakti; they are not saktiman. Saktiman means one who possesses the potency. And we are all saktis.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is going to explain the potency of the Lord -- three potencies: spiritual potency and material potency and the marginal potency. How they are acting, throughout the whole cosmic manifestation, beyond that also, that very simple word, everyone can understand. The light is here, the bulb is here, localized, but the illumination is spread. And we can take advantage of the illumination. By the sun's illumination we see practically how trees are growing their leaves, their color. Everything is due to the sunshine, we have got practical experience. Where there is no sunshine, especially in these countries, all the leaves fall down, and as soon as there is sunshine, immediately millions and trillions of leaves come out. Immediately. Not that waiting. Immediately. At least in this way you have to understand how Krsna's potency is working. That is the Vedic information, parasya brahmanah saktir. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. Just like the sunshine is the potency of the sun and how it is acting wonderfully. Everything is perfectly -- the flowers, the leaves -- perfectly done. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. It doesn't require any research work how this leaf has come out. It is coming out automatically. They cannot understand. They say, "Automatically." No automatically. There is the working of the potency, but it is so perfect that svabhaviki, as if natural, coming out. Everywhere you'll find, in your body also, potencies. You shave your head, immediately next day again coming out, again coming out. But you do not know. Let the scientist say how it is coming out, his own hair, what to speak of others.

So everywhere the potency of the Supreme Lord is working. Very good example, exactly like the illumination, sunshine, moonshine, they are influencing the creation and they are situated in their own place, and they are all different potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this is the potency of Krsna. Krsna is engaged in Vrndavana, Goloka Vrndavana. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah [Bs. 5.37]. Although He is in the Goloka Vrndavana, He is playing with His cowherd boyfriends and the gopis and His father and mother, but still He's expanded all over the creation. That is Krsna. That is Krsna. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah. Just like we live in some apartment. Now we are here, we are absent from that apartment. God is not like that. God is in His apartment, at the same time universally present. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna... [Bg. 18.61]. He's everywhere present. That is God. He's not limited; unlimited. That is God. Param bhavam ajanantah. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, avajananti mam mudha, manusim tanum asritam, param bhavam ajananto [Bg. 9.11]. The rascals, they do not know what kind of... Krsna, He appears like a human being with two hands and two legs. They do not understand what are the quality of these two hands, two legs. They think that He has got two hands, two legs like us; therefore they are called mudha. Param bhavam ajananto. Mudha nabhijanati, mam ebhyah param avyayam. Sarvato pani-padah. Not only two hands, but He has got many, many millions and trillions of hands and legs all over the universe. This is Krsna. So don't take it as ordinary human being. Then you'll be calculated as one of the rascals. Don't be rascal; be intelligent to understand Krsna. And if you understand Krsna, then you become liberated, immediately.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naitimam eti so 'rjuna
 [Bg. 4.9]

That is the qualification. As soon as you understand Krsna -- not thoroughly; at least partial, what is the nature of Krsna -- then immediately you become liberated. That is, Krsna says personally. Nasta prayesu abhadresu. Prayesu. Prayesu means almost. We cannot become perfect in this material world, but to some extent if we become perfect, then our life becomes successful. To some extent. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat. These things are there.

So this expansion of energy, that is impersonal. But Krsna is not impersonal. These foolish people, they do not understand Him. We see daily that the sunshine is so expansive, all over the universe, but it is..., the source of sunshine is the sun globe. That we see. So which is important? The sunshine or the sun globe? That we can see practically. And which is important, the sun globe or the sun-god? We can see every day. So similarly, God the person is important. God person is important. God... Just like the sun-god is important, and because he has his place, residential quarter, in the sun globe -- the next important. And because his effulgence is distributed all over the universe, next important. Parasya brahmanah sakti. Actually, the illumination is coming from the sun-god. It is a material thing, and what to speak of spiritual body of Krsna? That is stated in the Brahma-samhita: yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Bs. 5.40]. Yasya prabha. You can study Krsna's position from the sun. It is stated here that eka-desa-sthitasyagner jyotsna vistarini yatha. So His potencies are working. What is the sun and the sunshine different? The sunshine is combination of illuminating molecules, that's all, but each of them particle. Not that it is homogeneous. Each and every that particle, kana-kana means atomic (indistinct) -- they are all individual. Similarly, in the impersonal Brahman effulgence, these living entities are small particles. This smallness is also described in the sastra: one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair, such a small particle. They are congested. That is called Brahman effulgence.

So if you want to merge into the Brahman effulgence, it is not difficult, because you are a small particle of spiritual identity. If you don't want your individuality, you can stay in the Brahman effulgence. That is not very difficult for Krsna, if you want to merge into the Brahman effulgence. But what is the profit? There is no profit. Suppose if you are placed in the sky, in the sunshine, and if somebody asks, "Now, you remain in the sky," would you agree? Huh? Will anyone agree that "Let me remain in the sky as a small particle of the sunshine"? No. You can agree out of some sentiment, but you cannot stay there. That is not possible. Therefore, those who merge into the existence of Brahman, impersonal Brahman, they again fall down. Just like they are going moon excursion, Mars excursion. "Stay there." They cannot stay. Because, actually, whether they are going or not -- that's another thing -- but there is no staying place. Simply rotating in the sky is not very pleasant thing. We have got experience in the airplane. If we go five or six hours in the planes, we become suffocated. So it is not possible. Therefore those who merge into the Brahman effulgence, they again fall down, because they have no engagement in Krsna's business. They never cultivated such knowledge. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah [SB 10.2.32]. Because the Mayavadis, they think, "What is this nonsense, serving Krsna? Krsna is maya. We are not going to serve maya. We are going to become one with God, with effulgence." That oneness, you can stay within sunshine and be burnt up, but you cannot stay there. After your whims are fulfilled or you become disgusted... But because you have no information of serving Krsna, then come down again to this material world and serve maya -- so-called hospitals and other things, philanthropic work. Because they have no information to serve Krsna, the result is aruhya krcchrena param padam [SB 10.2.32]. The Brahman is also param padam. It is not material; it is spiritual world. But because they have no shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna, they fall down again at the shelter of the maya.

So this whole cosmic manifestation is nothing but expansion of the potency or energy of Krsna. This is the conclusion. This expansion of the energy, that is impersonal. Krsna is not impersonal: the original source, brahmano 'ham pratistha. The sunshine is coming from the sun globe, but the sun globe is more important than the sunshine. Similarly, Krsna's personality is more important than His impersonal feature, expansion of His energy. In this way, if we understand, then it is very easy, what is the difference between impersonal and personal understanding of the Absolute Truth.

Thank you very much. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.110 -- New York, July 17, 1976

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