Truth About False Ego

Truth About False Ego

Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.110-111
Bombay, November 17, 1975

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Prabhupada:

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

We were discussing this verse last Sunday night. So the example is given: just like fire is localized in a place but the heat and light is expanded. The vivid example we can see, the sun. The sun globe is situated in one place -- every one of us, we can see -- and the heat and light is distributed throughout the whole universe. According to our Vedic conception, the sun is moving round, not the sun is the center. It is in the center of the universe, but it is going round. Kala-cakra. It is called kala-cakra. In Brahma-samhita it is said,

yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

From Bhagavatam we understand sun is not fixed up in one place but it is going round. And the whole universal planetary system, they are also moving, making the polestar, making the polestar as the pivot.

So we can see that sun is in the center of the universe, but it is illuminating and heating the whole universe. Similarly, Krsna is situated in his own abode, Goloka Vrndavana, but by distribution of His different energies He is all-pervading. This is idea. When you speak God "all-pervading" -- His energy. But He is not different from His energy. Sakti-saktimatayor abheda. Saktiman, the energetic, and the energy, they are not different. In the Bhagavad-gita also it is said -- Krsna says -- maya tatam idam sarvam jagat avyakta-murtina: [Bg. 9.4] "I am situated all over the universe in My avyakta form, nonmanifested form." The manifested form is Krsna. That is in Goloka Vrndavana. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. He is distributed all over the universe, everywhere. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham [Bs. 5.35]. He is within the universe, andantara-stham, and paramanu-cayantara-stham, within the atom also. That is all-pervading. Sarvam khalv idam brahma. So this is to be understood. The God is simultaneously localized and all-pervading. The Mayavadi philosophers, they think materially, that "If God is all-pervading, why He should be localized?" Why He should not be? That is answer. God is not under your dictation. He is all-powerful. He can do so. Remaining in His own place, He can be distributed. He can distribute Himself everywhere. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33].

eko 'py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim
yac-caktir asti jagad-anda-caya yad-antah
andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
This is the conception of all-pervading.

So eka-desa-sthitasyagner jyotsna vistarini yatha, parasya brahmanah saktih. So we should understand presence of God everywhere by His energy. Parasya brahmanah saktis tathedam akhilam jagat. There are many places in Bhagavad-gita it is also said,

atha va bahunaitena
kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam
ekamsena sthito jagat
 [Bg. 10.42]

Ekamsena sthito. As Paramatma, He is situated everywhere. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

krsnera svabhavika tina-sakti-parinati
cic-chakti jiva-sakti ara maya-sakti

So everything is parasya brahmanah sakti. Whatever we see, that is manifestation of the Supreme Lord's different energies. The example is the fire and the heat and light. That's all. So heat is the material energy, and light is the spiritual energy. Just like when you feel some heat, you can immediately understand there is some fire. And if there is light, you can immediately understand there is fire. The light you can see, and heat we can feel. By feeling or seeing, we can understand the existence of God everywhere. This is intelligence, not that... They challenge foolishly, "I can... Can you show me God? I cannot see God, therefore..." No. Why you cannot see God? You can feel the presence of God by heat and light. Light. Light you can see. When there is sunshine, you can see both the light and the heat. So as it is confirmed in the Vedic literature, we should appreciate the presence of God everywhere by His different energies, exactly like heat and light.

So this energy of Krsna... He has got multi-energies.

na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate
na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate
parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate
svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca
 [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]

This is Vedic injunction. Na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate. Krsna... Here He is playing on His flute, but His energies are working. Just like a big man, a big business magnate: he is sitting in his room, but his energy is working -- big, big factory is going on; large amount of profit is coming automatically. So if it is possible for ordinary human being that he is sitting in one place, and still, things are going on by management of his energy, so why not Krsna, the Supreme Lord? He is sitting in one place. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah [Bs. 5.37]. Ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis tabhir ya eva nija-rupataya kalabhih, goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah. He is situated in His planet, Goloka Vrndavana; still His energies are going on. The material energy is working, this material world. Krsna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]. Under His vigilance all the laws of material nature is going on. Exactly in time the sun is rising, the moon is rising. Everything is going on minutely, very nicely. Parasya saktih. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. It is going so nicely that Krsna hasn't got to learn how to do it. The machine is so perfect, it is going on perfectly. The flower is coming by His energy. Punyo gandhah prthivyam ca. The special seed you sow on the ground and a particular type of plant will come out, then rose will come out, a particular flavor will come out. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. We do not see how Krsna's energies are working, but it is working. Don't think that "It is automatically... There was a chunk and there was..." No. Not like that. Everything. But His energy is so perfect. Just like if you want to paint one nice flower, you have to arrange so many things -- color, and the brush, and the painting cloth -- and you have to apply your energies and... But still, it will not come so perfect. But Krsna's energies are so perfect that we see automatically, but there is supervision of Krsna. There is no question of accident. Everything is supervised. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. We have to do it with our hand, to paint a picture of a nice rose flower, but in the nature the flower is coming out. We see automatically. No. The Krsna's energy is working, there but it is going on so swiftly, so, I mean to say, accurately, that he hasn't got to exact His energy, but it is working automatically. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca. Whatever knowledge is required... If you have studied, you will find in the petals of the flower the color, exactly symmetrical, everything. Whatever color is required, it is coming out. We say "automatically." No automatically. Svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya. The knowledge and the action of Krsna is so perfect, it is coming out.

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that krsnera svabhavika tina... Svabhavika. Natural, automatically, inconceivable. We cannot conceive that, how it is working. So,

krsnera svabhavika tina-sakti-parinati
cic-chakti jiva-sakti ara maya-sakti
 [Cc. Madhya 20.111]

So there are many energies, and all the energies now aggregated divide into three. One is cit-sakti, the spiritual energy; another is jiva-sakti, the marginal energy. Jiva-sakti... We are marginal energy. We are sakti; we are not saktiman. You must always remember. Jiva-bhutah maha-baho yayedam dharya... Para prakrti. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim param, jiva-bhuta. Jiva is para prakrti. It is prakrti. The other day I have already explained. It is not purusa. Purusa is enjoyer, and prakrti is enjoyed, predominated. Prakrti is predominated and God is predominator. So all these saktis are under, fully under control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]. In another place:

srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka
chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga
icchanurupam api yasya ca cestate sa
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
 [Bs. 5.44]

Every sakti is working under His direction. That is Krsna.
krsnera svabhavika tina-sakti-parinati
cic-chakti jiva-sakti ara maya-sakti
 [Cc. Madhya 20.111]

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu... That is the acarya process. Acarya. Acinoti sastra, sastrartha. One who knows the sastra-artha, one who has assimilated the sastrartha, he is acarya. So immediately He is giving evidence from sastra.

visnu-saktih para prokta
ksetrajnakhya tatha para
avidya-karma-samjnanya
trtiya saktir isyate
 [Cc. Madhya 6.154]

The... He has divided the whole energy of Krsna into three: cit-sakti, jiva-sakti, and maya-sakti. So the evidence is quoted from sastra, Visnu-Purana, that visnu-saktih para prokta. Originally the Krsna's energy is cit-sakti. Cit-sakti means spiritual energy, originally. Everything... Just like the sun and the sunshine. The sunshine originally shining, but when it is covered by cloud it is not shining. Within the cloud the real sunshine is there. So this material energy means it is covered by ignorance. This is the difference between spiritual energy and material energy. There is no two energies. Energy is one: visnu-sakti para prokta. That is para, spiritual energy. Ksetrajnakhya tatha para. Ksetrajnakhya tatha para. Ksetrajna means jiva-sakti, one who knows ksetra and ksetrajna. This subject matter is there in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. Ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam. So when Arjuna inquired, ksetra-jnam, Krsna replied, idam sariram ksetram abhidhiyate: "This body is ksetra, and one who knows this body..." Just like I say, "It is my body," so I am ksetrajna.

So here the same ksetrajna. Ksetrajnakhya tatha para. The jiva-sakti, that is also spiritual. We are all spiritual, and this is our mistake, that I am thinking "I am this body." This is ignorance. The whole world is going on under this ignorance, that "I am this body," "I am this body." Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke, sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]. If we study this verse, that anyone who is under the conception of..., bodily conception -- "I am this body" -- then he is no better than the animal. Sa eva go-kharah. Go means cow, and khara means ass. But this is going on. The whole, the so-called nationalism, nations... So what is this idea of nation? "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Hindustani," "I am Pakistani." Bodily concept of life. But sastra rejects immediately. If anyone is under the bodily conception of life he is... Sa eva go-kharah: "He is no better than the animal." This is the challenge of the sastra. So all these so-called nationality, big, big nations, big, big races, caste, and so on, so on, what is their position? The position is that all of them are animals. That's all. This is the verdict of the sastra. Sa eva go-kharah. Actually this morning we were talking, one dog sees another dog: "Oh, he is coming from another neighborhood." He immediately begins to bark. Immigration department: "Why you are coming in this neighborhood? All right, you can stay here for three days. Then you must have to go out." The dog barking. So we have opened so many branches, but the basic principle is sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]. All of them are on the platform of animal consciousness. This is the modern civilization. India was never meant for that. Panditah sama-darsinah. This high culture we have lost now. Panditah sama-darsinah. They never distin... Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini, suni caiva sva-pake... [Bg. 5.18]. Because there was no bodily concept of life. This is India's prerogative. But now we are also developing the bodily concept of life and becoming one of the animals. There is no distinction. If one is in bodily concept of life he is no better than animal. It may be... The dogs are fighting that "I am dog, and you are a different dog." If the man also fights on that same principle, then where is the difference between dog and man?

So this can be understood when actually... Prahlada Maharaja was surprised when his teacher was teaching him how to deal with enemies. He was surprised: "Who is enemy?" So a Vaisnava has no enemy. Vaisnava is friend. Patitanam pavanebhyo.

vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca
krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.]

Vaisnava is meant for delivering the patita, the fallen. Fallen means fallen in the bodily conception of life. That is patita. So patitanam pavanebhyo. Krsna's also business is to deliver these fools and rascals in the bodily concept of life, that dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg. 2.13], first pointing out that "You are not this body." Then knowledge begins. And otherwise, where is knowledge if one is under the bodily concept of life? He has no knowledge. And he is para-sakti. But not apara-sakti. The apara-sakti... What is that apara-sakti? Now, avidya-karma-samjna anya trtiya saktir isyate. This material world means full of avidya and karma-samjna, and working hard like hogs and dogs day and night. This is material world. Material world means based on ignorance that "I am this body," and working day and night like hogs and dogs. That is material life. But human life, although we have got this material life, body, we should not be, I mean to say, bewildered. Ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]. Ahankara, taking this body in the concept of ahankara, false ahankara, egotism -- "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am this," "I am that" -- this is called ahankara. Vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]. And the whole world is going on.

So if we want to become out of this ignorance, then we have to take to Krsna consciousness. Otherwise there is no possibility. And if we remain in ignorance, then we shall go on committing sinful activities and entangle ourselves in the karma-cakra. Asann api klesada asa dehah [SB 5.5.4]. If you don't give up this ignorance of bodily concept of life, and if you go on continuing this bodily concept of life, then we are becoming entangled in the laws of nature. Karmana daiva-netrena jantor deha upapatti [SB 3.31.1]. And then we'll create another situation for another body. And another body means another period of suffering. This is going on. Asann api klesada asa dehah, na sadhu manye yato atmano 'yam. Atma is sac-cid-ananda, but on account of being bodily covered, encaged in this body, we are suffering. We are suffering. Therefore Krsna says that tams titiksasva bharata: "Bharata, O the son of Bharata dynasty, Bharata..." So in the material world the suffering is there. But what is that suffering? Matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitosna sukha-duhkha-dah [Bg. 2.14]. On account of this body... Now, in this season, we are feeling heat. Therefore the fan is there. But another season the body is the same, but season has changed. Therefore I will have to cover with hot coat and pant. So this feeling of heat and cold is due to this body. And what is this body, this material body? Therefore all our feelings of happiness and distress, it is due to this body. That we do not know. So therefore the best solution of miserable condition of life is to stop this material body. Then you become spiritually situated, and there is no more contradiction.

matra-sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino anityah
tams titiksasva bharata
 [Bg. 2.14]

That is the advice. We have to do our own business, self-realization. That is tapasya. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattvam [SB 5.5.1]. Existence... To purify the existence we have to practice tapasya, not running like cats and dogs here and there. This will not make solution of life. Human life is meant for tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattvam yasmad brahma-saukhyam anantam. This is the process. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh [SB 5.5.2]. If you want to get out of this entanglement of distressed condition of material body, then mahat-sevam: you associate with mahatmas and serve him. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimuktes tamo-dvaram yositam sangi-sangam. And if you want to enjoy senses, then the path of darkness is there: tamo-dvaram. Then you do not know where you are going. Today you are human being. Tomorrow, after this body, you may become a plant or tree or something else. That is tamo-dvaram. We are pushing through darkness. But we should not remain in darkness. Jyotir gamah, tamasi ma: "Don't remain in darkness. Come to the light."

So we have got so many books of knowledge giving us light, especially in this age, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Take advantage of this and come into the light and make your life successful. This is Krsna consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 20.110-111 -- Bombay, November 17, 1975

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