The original purpose of the Vedas (Mundaka Upaniṣad #10)
The bodies of the living entities are very complicated machines, composed of the senses and mind, vital air, etc., and all of these were created by the Lord, together with the sense objects.
Both the original purpose of the Vedas and the path of fruitive sacrifices come from the Lord, just as all living beings, fonts of sustenance, and spiritual qualities and practices. The material bodies of the living entities are very complicated machines, composed of the senses and mind, intelligence, vital air, etc., and all of these were created by the Lord, together with the sense objects. In other words, the Lord is the creator of both the world and the means we use to explore this world and He is present in all these creations as the Supersoul. He also created the different types of duties prescribed in the scriptures by which one can progress in spiritual realization.
One who comes to know this Supreme Lord, situated inside the heart, can cut the knots of ignorance that bind him to this world.
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Text 2.1.6
tasmād ṛcaḥ sāma yajūmṣi dīkṣā
yajñāś ca sarve kratavo dakṣiṇāś ca
samvatsaraś ca yajamānaś ca lokāḥ
somo yatra pavate yatra sūryaḥ
From Him, the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas arose, together with rites of initiation (dīkṣā), animal sacrifices (kratavaḥ), and rituals (yajñāḥ), the offerings of gifts (dakṣiṇāḥ) and the cycles of time (samvatsaraḥ), together with the worshiper (yajamānaḥ), and the celestial worlds (lokāḥ), which are purified by the rays of the sun and the moon.
Commentary: In verse 2.1.4 the Vedas were already mentioned as coming from the Lord. Why then are the Vedas mentioned again here? The difference is that in the previous verse, the Vedas are mentioned in their original, undivided form, as they were studied by the inhabitants of Satya-yuga. Here, the divisions of the Vedas assumed starting from Treta-yuga, are mentioned, together with the process of fruitive sacrifices revealed by them, and the destination of these sacrifices (the celestial planets). In other words, verse 2.1.4 mentions the Lord creating the original purpose of the Vedas (parā-vidyā), and 2.1.6 mentions the Lord creating also the path of fruitive sacrifices (aparā-vidyā) for souls desirous of enjoying the material energy. Everything comes from the Lord.
Text 2.1.7
tasmāc ca devā bahudhā samprasūtāḥ
sādhya manuṣyāḥ paśavo vayāmsi
prāṇāpānau brīhi-yavau tapās ca
śraddhā satyam brahmacaryam vidhiś ca
From Him also emanated the various types of demigods (devāḥ) and celestial beings (sādhya), as well as humans and all classes of beasts and birds. From Him, the vital airs manifested, together with grains and all forms of sustenance, penance and faith, truth, self-control (brahmacaryam), and the observance of the laws of the scriptures (vidhiḥ).
Commentary: This verse describes how three groups emanated from the Lord. The first is composed of all living beings, including demigods and other higher beings, ordinary humans, animals, birds, etc. The second group is the fonts of sustenance, such as the life airs (prāṇāpānau) and food grains such as rice and barley (brīhi-yavau). The third are spiritual qualities and practices, such as penance, faith, truth, self-control, etc. The observance of the law of the scriptures (vidhiḥ) also comes from the Lord, indicating both His desire to conduct us back to our original consciousness as pure souls and the way He empowers sincere souls to travel the path.
The laws of the scriptures are described in the form of duties that one should perform according to his situation. These duties are divided into two categories: nitya and naimittika dharmas. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes this topic in detail in the Jaiva-Dharma.
In the highest sense, nitya-dharma is just one: the soul's eternal nature as a servant of Krsna. This is the original and eternal dharma, the eternal religion. Once one is reestablished in his original position, there is no end to this original service. In other words, nitya-dharma means pure Krsna Consciousness, the original consciousness of the soul. Nitya-dharma can also be applied to devotional activities that conduce one to this ultimate goal. A devotee may not worship the deity with pure love, but because this service is connected with His original nature as an eternal servant of Krsna, it is also considered nitya-dharma. One may not practice exactly the same type of worship with the same rules and regulations after going back to Godhead, but the attitude of service that is developed by this worship is connected with the eternal nature of the soul, and the same Lord who is worshipped in the form of the deity continues to be the eternal object of worship, even if in a different form. The same applies to different services we may perform, such as book distribution. There is no need to distribute books in the spiritual world since everyone is a devotee there, but still, book distribution is considered a form of nitya-dharma because it is based on the eternal propensity of loving service of the soul. One may not be distributing books in the spiritual world, but his devotional service will continue eternally in a different form. In this way, his service may change in form but not in substance.
Naimittika dharmas, on the other hand, are ordinary duties prescribed in the scriptures in the context of the Varnasrama system. These activities are not eternal, because they relate to a certain material identity. One may have certain duties as a Brahmacari, for example, but if he later becomes a householder, the duties will be different, and again become different if he enters into renounced life later in life. The duties of a Ksatriya will become different if in his next life he becomes a Brahmana and so on. Naimittika dharmas are important to the extent they help one to come to the platform of devotional service. They may be abandoned as a person becomes fixed in his original identity as a soul, but they should be practiced as long as one is identified with a certain identity in this material world.
As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains:
"Naimittika-dharma is impermanent. It cannot be practiced as an eternal religion under all the different conditions the living entity has to undergo. The specific religious duties of a brāhmaṇa, or the duties of statecraft of the kṣatriya, etc., are inevitably discarded with the termination of the immediate cause and reason for one’s earthly duties, namely the body. After being born in one life as a brāhmaṇa, a living entity may get a very low birth in his next life as a caṇḍāla, dog-eater. Then, the naimittika-dharma as previously prescribed for him in his birth as a brāhmaṇa is not acceptable as the sva–dharma in his birth as a low class caṇḍāla. In this instance, the use of the term sva–dharma is merely figurative, because in every new birth, the conditioned soul assumes a new and temporary sva–dharma in accordance with the body he has attained; whereas, the real sva-dharma is nitya–dharma and thus remains constant from life to life." (Jaiva Dharma, ch.3)
Text 2.1.8
sapta-prāṇāḥ prabhavanti tasmāt
saptārciṣaḥ samidhaḥ sapta homāḥ
sapta ime lokā yeṣu caranti prāṇā
guhāśayā nihitāḥ sapta sapta
The Lord created the seven divisions of the senses and vital airs, their seven flames and fuel, and their perception by the living entity. Using these divisions, the soul, placed inside the heart, explores the material world.
Commentary: This verse explores the concept of the seven to describe how we perceive reality in this world, and how all of this comes from the Lord. He creates not only the material world but also the senses by which we perceive it.
According to Srila Madhvācārya, "sapta lokāḥ" means the seven sense organs (tongue, two eyes, two ears, and two nostrils) and "sapta prāṇāḥ" the seven vital airs that sustain them. "Sapta-arciṣaḥ" (seven flames) indicate their capacity of perception, "samidhaḥ" indicates their "fuel", or source of support, which are the objects of the senses. "Sapta homāḥ" means the perception of these sense objects, or how they are perceived by consciousness.
In the philosophy of Lord Kapila, explained in the 3rd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, five functional senses are counted, but in the 11th canto Krsna explains that the material elements (including the material senses) can be counted in different ways, therefore there is no contradiction with the current verse. In other explanations, there are five knowledge-acquiring senses and five vital airs, but because here the senses are counted in a different way, the counting of the vital airs that maintain them, as well as the objects of the senses, etc. also follow.
"Sapta lokāḥ" also means the seven planes, or the realms of existence in the material world, which are explored by the souls using their senses. The soul itself resides (caranti) in the cavity of the heart (guhā), covered by seven coverings (starting with material consciousness and false-ego, and culminating with the gross body) and floats in the subtle vital airs (prāṇāḥ).
In each of the seven words, or seven divisions of existence, the same seven-fold division is present, or in other words, everywhere souls assume bodies and senses and try to enjoy material nature.
In this way, there are seven divisions of seven (sapta sapta), and the Lord is the master of all these divisions. These divisions were created by Him in order for us to acquire knowledge and realize our eternal relationship with Him.
Text 2.1.9
ataḥ sumudrā girayaś ca sarve
’smāt syandante sindhavaḥ sarva-rūpāḥ
ataś ca sarvā oṣadhayo rasaś ca
yenaiṣa bhūtais tiṣṭhate hy antarātmā
From Him arise all the oceans and mountains, from which many different rivers of various forms flow in all directions. From Him came all the plants and herbs, as well as their juices and fruits which sustain all bodies. The Lord is present inside of all these manifestations as the Supersoul.
Commentary: Water starts in the ocean. However, this salty water can't be used before it is evaporated (and thus distilled) by the sun, forming clouds that are moved by the wind, and deposited on the top of the mountains by the rain, where it freezes into ice. During summer, the ice melts, filling the rivers, which transport the water downstream, nourishing different types of plantations. These plants produce different types of grains and fruits, which contain juices that can be extracted and used by human beings.
All plants arise from the earth, and thus they ultimately arise from the Lord. They are also nourished by the Lord, and by His arrangement, they nourish human beings and all other types of animals and other creatures. In this way, the Lord is present everywhere as the Supersoul and he sustains everyone. Everyone and everything is sustained by the Lord.
As mentioned in the Katha Upaniṣad: nityaḥ nityānām cetanaś cetanānām. There are innumerable eternally conscious individual souls, but the Lord is Supreme amongst all these conscious eternals, and He maintains all.
As Srila Prabhupada explains:
"Lord Viṣṇu and the individual souls, who are part and parcel of Him, are both eternal. Nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām. Lord Viṣṇu is the chief living being, whereas the individual living entities are parts of Lord Viṣṇu. All the various grades of bodies — from the gigantic universal body to the small body of an ant — are perishable, but the Supersoul and the soul, being equal in quality, both exist eternally." (SB 7.7.18)
Text 2.1.10
puruṣa evedam viśvam karma
tapo brahma parāmṛtam
tad yo veda nihitam guhāyām
so ’vidyā-granthim vikiratīha saumya
O gentle one! Everything that exists inside this universe is part of the Lord. There is nothing separated from Him. The Lord is the creative power, wisdom, and austerity. He is the Supreme Immortal. For one who knows this Supreme Brahman, localized in the cave of the heart, The Lord gladly cuts the knots of ignorance that bind him to this world.
Commentary: In the classical Indian systems of philosophy, two common ideas about the nature of the Lord are monism and dualism. Monist philosophers believe that everything is one: everything is Brahman and there is nothing apart from Brahman. In the philosophy of Sankaracarya, for example, it's said that the souls are just parts of Brahman that become covered by Maya. Once this illusory covering is removed, we become one again. Dualist philosophers believe there is a difference between Brahman and the individual souls, as well as the material energy, and explain the existence of the universe through the combination of these different forces. In dualism, Brahman is not Supreme, because other forces are separated and independent from him.
All the Vaishnava acaryas disagreed with both monism and dualism, accepting that the Lord has multiple potencies, that are simultaneously one and different from Him.
The philosophy of Ramanujacarya is called Visistadvaita-vada (non-dualism with distinctions); the philosophy of Madhvācārya is called Suddha-dvaita vada (purified dualism); the philosophy of Vishnusvami is called Suddhdāvaita-vada (purified monism) and the philosophy of Nimbarka is called Dvaitadvaita-vada (monism and dualism, oneness and difference). There are differences in their presentations, but they all agree on the essential points. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered the perfect explanation of this concept in his Acintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy, explaining how the Lord and his energies are inconceivably one and different.
Therefore, although the Lord is involved in all steps of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe through His different potencies, at the same time he is transcendental. Because these two points are simultaneously true, they can be difficult to understand.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam (chapter 3.7), Vidhura asks: If the Lord is transcendental, how can He become involved in the material creation? This is answered by Maitreya.
We can divide their dialogue into three parts:
1- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is pure, spiritual, and unchangeable. Being so, how is it possible that He can be connected with the three modes of nature and their activities, getting involved in the creation of the universe and different activities inside the material universes in His different incarnations? People get involved in material activities due to desire, but it is not possible that the Lord may have such material desires because He is self-satisfied and detached.
Maitreya answers: "Certain conditioned souls put forward the theory that the Supreme Brahman, or the Personality of Godhead, is overcome by illusion, or māyā, and at the same time, they maintain that He is unconditioned. This is against all logic." (SB 3.7.9)
Mayavadis and others argue that the Lord falls into Maya when he comes to this material world as an incarnation, while at the same time defining Brahman as transcendental. Maitreya argues that this is against all logic. In the first canto, it was already stated that Vyasadeva saw the Lord and the material energy in his meditation, and the material energy was completely under His control. There is no possibility of the Lord being overpowered by His own illusory energy, just as a person cannot drown in a drop of water.
The Lord is completely transcendental to the illusory energy and the material creation. He doesn't desire anything from here. He creates the material manifestation simply to give a chance to His parts and parcels to practice devotional service and re-attain their eternal spiritual position. When He comes in His different incarnations, He appears in His eternal spiritual form and performs His transcendental pastimes. He doesn't at any time become involved with the illusory energy like we do.
2- How can the spirit soul, who is by nature transcendental and full of knowledge and bliss, fall into illusion? In other words, how can the pure soul leave the association of Krsna and become a conditioned soul covered by ignorance?
Maitreya answers: "The living entity is in distress regarding his self-identity. He has no factual background, like a man who dreams that he sees his head cut off. As the moon reflected on water appears to the seer to tremble due to being associated with the quality of the water, so the self associated with matter appears to be qualified as matter." (SB 3.7.10-11)
One may dream that he is seeing his head being cut off, but this is simply due to his delirious state. In reality, this is an impossible situation. The eyes are situated in the head, so one can't see his own head being cut out.
Similarly, the material sufferings of the soul appear only due to ignorance, in identification with the body. In reality, these are illusory situations. The soul never dies, but when we identify with a material body, we think we are dying. The soul is full of knowledge, but by identifying with the body we identify with the ignorance of it and forget our original transcendental knowledge. The soul is by nature full of bliss, but due to identification with the body we experience suffering. In reality, it is only the body that dies, that is in ignorance, and that suffers, but because we identify with it, we experience all these situations.
To better explain this point, Maitreya offers the example of the moon being reflected in a pond of water. Although the moon in the sky is fixed and doesn't tremble, because the water trembles, the reflection of the moon appears to also tremble.
When the consciousness of the soul is reflected in matter, it appears to assume the qualities of matter, such as ignorance, but this association is not factual. In his purport, Prabhupada emphasizes the word pratīyate, which means “apparently” and “not actually” (like the experience of having one’s head cut off in a dream). He mentions that "the living entities appear to be tainted by material qualities like illusion, lamentation and miseries, although in the pure soul such qualities are completely absent."
When a soul is associated with the modes of passion and ignorance, the quivering of the reflection on the water is more intense, and when a soul is associated with the mode of goodness, the quivering becomes less, just like the moon reflected in a lake on a day without wind. When the soul finally recovers his transcendental position, the association with the pond of water completely ceases. This example also describes the transcendental position of Krsna, who just like the original moon never comes in contact with the water.
How can we get rid of this false identification? The solution is of course the process of devotional service:
"But that misconception of self-identity can be diminished gradually by the mercy of the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, through the process of devotional service to the Lord in the mode of detachment. When the senses are satisfied in the seer-Supersoul, the Personality of Godhead, and merge in Him, all miseries are completely vanquished, as after a sound sleep. Simply by chanting and hearing of the transcendental name, form, etc., of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one can achieve the cessation of unlimited miserable conditions. Therefore what to speak of those who have attained attraction for serving the flavor of the dust of the Lord’s lotus feet?" (SB 3.7.12-14)
In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains the processes of Sadhana Bhakti and Raga Bhakti (or Raganuga Bhakti). The first is the process of practicing devotional service with our present senses under the regulations of the recognized scriptures. This is the process we have to follow until we become liberated. After liberation one may start the process of Raga Bhakti, in which the mature devotee automatically takes to the various services to the Lord out of sincere attachment.
3- Paramatma is always with the soul, always present in the heart and accompanying the soul from one body to the other. Why are the living entities subjected to so many miseries and misfortunes despite the Lord’s presence in their hearts as the Supersoul?
Maitreya's answer to this is that although the Lord is present in the hearts of all, He doesn't interfere with the material activities of the soul, acting as a neutral witness. The Lord is not responsible for the miseries of the soul, He just creates the conditions for the soul to act according to his desires. However, when one desires to become free from material illusion, the Lord helps in all aspects.