The Supreme Person behind the cosmos (Mundaka Upaniṣad #05)

Brahman is described as omniscient, being everywhere and knowing everything in all detail. He is sat-cit-ananda, full of existence, knowledge, and bliss, the ultimate destination.

Jan 18, 2025

Brahman is described as omniscient, being everywhere and knowing everything in all detail (sarva-jñaḥ sarva-vid). Brahman includes the creative potency (tapaḥ), responsible for producing the mahat-tattva, the seed of the material creation. The words jñāna-maya indicate that this creative potency is not some mechanical unconscious force but is rooted in intelligent and knowledge-based intention. This resonates with the description of the absolute truth being sat-cit-ananda, full of existence, knowledge, and bliss. This definition describes Brahman as conscious and intelligent, creating out of His desire, not as a qualityless, impersonal mass.

The real meaning of the scriptures, parā-vidyā, is the linking process of devotional service that connects us with the Lord. When one studies the scriptures starting from the conclusion that all verses describe Krsna and our relationship with Him, armed with the proper philosophical conclusions, received through the Parampara, he can understand the deep meaning of the verses, parā-vidyā. Otherwise, one gets just the superficial meaning and has the impression that the verses describe other subjects apart from Krsna, aparā-vidyā. This illustrates the importance of the work of Srila Prabhupada in his books, condensing the teachings of the previous acaryas in his purports and giving us the conclusions by which we can understand the scriptures.

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Satyam

The next word, "satyam" describes the creation of the five material elements by Lord Brahma. Normally, the word "satyam" is translated as "truth", but in this case, it is used in the sense of "that which exists", describing the five material elements, which are the building blocks of the material creation.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is described that the material elements were created by Maha-Vishnu before the creation of the universe and then described that they were created by Lord Brahma. This may appear as a contradiction at first, but it is not. Lord Maha-Vishnu first creates the subtle manifestation of the material elements as part of the primary creation, and Brahma creates the physical manifestations of the elements as part of the secondary creation. As he (Brahma) describes in the Srimad Bhagavatam:

"I create after the Lord’s creation by His personal effulgence [known as the brahmajyoti], just as when the sun manifests its fire, the moon, the firmament, the influential planets and the twinkling stars also manifest their brightness." (SB 2.5.11)
"Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-pervading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only." (SB 2.5.17)

When we think about matter, we think about atoms, but Srimad Bhagavatam explains it in a different way, focusing on the practical aspects of material experience. It explains how the material experience, as well as the tools we use to experience it, are created.

According to the Vedas, all material objects are a combination of the five material elements. These elements are created together with the senses that can experience them. There is no point in having eyes if there are no forms to be seen, there is no point in having ears if there are no sounds to be heard, etc. Similarly, there would be no point in form, sound, and taste existing if there were no one to experience them, therefore, all these manifestations come together. From the moment sound is created, the possibility of hearing such sounds (the sense of hearing) is created, when forms are created, the possibility of seeing such forms (vision) is created, and so on.

The element ether is not connected with the disproven theory of the luminiferous ether from past centuries, nor is it just a vacuum, like in space. The Vedic conception of ether is a subtle element that serves as a fabric or support for all the other material manifestations.

Ether is described as capable of conducting sound. Of course, the gross sounds we can hear depend on the presence of atoms that can conduct the vibration, but there are subtle forms of sound that can travel on ether. Even in our gross reality, radio signals can travel through the vacuum of space. The creation of the element ether thus comes together with the creation of sound and the sense of hearing.

Next, air is created, together with the sense of touch. We can't see air; when it's pure, we can't taste or smell it, but we can easily feel it when we move our arms. Thus, the creation of air comes together with the sense of touch.

The next element is fire, which also includes form. Sound can pass through fire and we can surely feel its warmth, but fire adds a third quality which is form. Different from pure air or ether, fire can be seen, and thus it comes together with the sense of vision.

The fourth element is water. Pure water doesn't have a smell, but it has taste. It also has form and can transmit sound. We can surely also feel it with our hands. Thus, water has all the three previous properties, and add one more, which is taste. Together with the creation of water, comes the sense of taste that allows us to experience it.

The final element is earth, the grossest, which includes all the four previous qualities, and adds smell, which leads to the creation of the last of the five senses.

The Vedas explain that reality exists on several different levels. There are levels of existence much subtler than the reality we currently experience. In our current level, matter is composed of atoms, but in subtler levels matter has a different nature, not being based on physical particles. Matter there is still composed of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), and has all the properties connected with them, but is not based on gross atoms like here. Thus, the Vedas explain the five original elements that are used to constitute all types of matter in all different planes, and not just atoms, which are relevant only to our particular plane.

Lokāḥ

The next word in the verse, "lokāḥ" refers to the creation of the planetary systems as well as their inhabitants by Lord Brahma.

Our universe is divided into 14 planetary systems. The intermediate planetary system, of which the Earth is part, is called Bhūrloka, it is the 8th planetary system from lower to higher. Above Bhūrloka is Bhuvarloka, inhabited by subtle beings such as the Yaksas and Rakshasas, followers of Kuvera, and above it is Svargaloka, the abode of the demigods. Souls who perform pious activities while living on Earth have the opportunity of being born there as a demigod, gandharva, apsara, etc. and thus enjoy the heavenly atmosphere available there for some time until the results of his pious karma are exhausted. Higher than Svargaloka are the planetary systems of Marloka, Janaloka, and Tapoloka, where great sages, engaged in performing fire sacrifices and meditation are situated, culminating with Satyaloka, the highest planetary system, where Brahma lives. Inhabitants of Bhurloka and Bhuvarloka have relatively short lives, while the inhabitants of Svargaloka can live up to one manvantara (306.72 million years), the inhabitants of Maharloka can live until the end of the day of Brahma, while the inhabitants of Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka can live until the end of the universe. Similarly, there are seven lower planetary systems, known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala, and Pātāla, where demons, nagas, and other materialistic beings live.

Each of these planetary systems is composed of innumerable planets, which are kept together and moved in their respective orbits by currents of subtle air. The planets of each planetary system are connected by subtle pathways that can be used by qualified souls to travel from one planet (or dvipa) to another, forming gigantic flat structures that appear like discs one on top of the other. The planets in the universe are inhabited by different classes of living beings, and a soul can take birth in any of them according to his level of consciousness.

Prabhupada taught for a long time about the model of the universe described in the Vedas and how to depict it, and he gave his final conclusions in a letter addressed to Swarupa Damodara Maharaja:

"My final decision is that the universe is just like a tree, with root upwards. Just as a tree has branches and leaves so the universe is also composed of planets which are fixed up in the tree like the leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. of the tree. The pivot is the pole star, and the whole tree is rotating on this pivot. Mount Sumeru is the center, trunk, and is like a steep hill, like the alps mountains which also have very high peaks. I have seen in Switzerland one mountain peak which was so high that is penetrated through the clouds. The tree is turning and therefore, all the branches and leaves turn with the tree. The planets have their fixed orbits, but still they are turning with the turning of the great tree. There are pathways leading from one planet to another made of gold, copper, etc., and these are like the branches. Distances are also described in the 5th Canto just how far one planet is from another.
We can see that at night, how the whole planetary system is turning around, the pole star being the pivot. Each planet has its orbit fixed but the sun is moving up and down, north and south. It is not that we shall accept the theory that the sun is fixed up and the others are all going around the sun. That is not correct. Even the 7th star is rotating once around the pole star in each 24 hours. The whole universe is just like a big tree, that is a fact. I do not think that the modern astronomers have any such idea that the whole universe is like a big tree. The planets which are full of living entities are one after another, one above the other. The relative positions of the planets is fixed up but the whole thing is turning. The sun is going north and south, it has its own orbit below the moon."

Karmasu cāmṛtam

The final words of the verse, karmasu cāmṛtam, describe the material activities performed by the souls inside the material creation and the process by which we can become free and re-attain our original position of service to the Lord.

"Karma" is used both in the sense of material activities, and the results of these activities. Due to our propensity to enjoy the material nature, we accept the covering of the false ego, mind intelligence, and senses (the subtle body), and finally, a gross body with sense organs that allow us to act in this world and perform different activities, guided by the desires stored in the mind and the deliberation of the material intelligence.

Each material activity we perform is like a seed that is planted. Just as a seed does not grow immediately into a plant, the results of these activities take time to mature. The karma that is already manifested and producing fruits is called prārabdha karma. This karma represents the situation we live in during this life and can't be easily changed. For example, if someone is born without an arm, or loses it due to some accident, no amount of pious activities will make his arm grow back. However, by acting properly in this life one can go to a better situation in his next life.

A second and much larger stock of reactions is stored in the form of the aprārabdha karma, the karma that is stored in the form of seeds that will still grow and fructify, generating reactions we will experience in the future. This aprārabdha karma is defined as "amritam", because as long as it is not destroyed, it will continue generating fruits that will force us to continue accepting material bodies. Karma however is not eternal in the literal sense. Although it is not possible to trace it back, karma has an origin, having started with our first contact with material energy, and it will also have an end when we finally regain our original identity as pure souls.

In this way, the verse describes both the creation of the universe and the process of fruitive activity that keeps us bound to it. Hidden in the word "amṛtam" is another meaning: the process by which the soul can become free, attaining immortality (amṛta).

Lord Kapila also describes this point later in His teachings:

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One can get liberation by seriously discharging devotional service unto Me and thereby hearing for a long time about Me or from Me. By thus executing one’s prescribed duties, there will be no reaction, and one will be freed from the contamination of matter. This devotional service has to be performed strongly in perfect knowledge and with transcendental vision. One must be strongly renounced and must engage in austerity and perform mystic yoga in order to be firmly fixed in self-absorption." (SB 3.27.21-22)

Here He explains that the real process for attaining the final destination is devotional service. He details that one should practice devotional service by executing his prescribed duties without desiring the fruits of such activities, just like Krsna instructs Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita.

Prabhupada makes a very interesting point in his purport. Mentioning Śrīdhara Svāmī, the original commentator of the Srimad Bhagavatam, he explains: "If someone is in contact with the police department, that does not mean that he is a criminal. As long as one does not commit criminal acts, even though there is a police department, he is not punished. Similarly, the liberated soul is not affected, although he is in the material nature."

Conditioned life does not start because one comes in contact with material nature, just like one doesn't become a prisoner by just visiting a police station. One becomes conditioned by accepting the covering of the false ego and thus coming under the control of the three modes of material nature.

To accept the false ego means to reject one's eternal identity as a servant of Krsna. We can see that eternal associates of the Lord, like Arjuna, come all the time to the material world to perform pastimes, but they don't become conditioned like us, because they preserve their identities as eternal servants of the Lord. Only when we reject this eternal identity and desire to enjoy material nature do we fall under its control. Thus, the question is not about being or not in contact with the material nature, being or not in this material world, or even accepting or not a material body, but about identifying with some material identity under the false ego or with our eternal nature as servants of the Lord. Just like a lotus flower grows on water without ever touching it, one can live in the material world without being touched by Maya.

The easiest way to remain on this platform is to constantly execute activities in Krsna Consciousness, in clear consciousness, for the satisfaction of the Lord, while simultaneously avoiding activities disconnected from Him that can bring us again in the direction of material illusion. In other words, we should seriously practice devotional service.

Text 1.1.9

yaḥ sarva-jñaḥ sarva-vid yasya jñāna-mayam tapaḥ
tasmād etad brahma nāma rūpam annam ca jāyate

From that Supreme Brahman, who is omniscient and who knows everything in all detail, from His creative potency, based on intelligence and knowledge arose the mahat-tattva. From this external potency, also spiritual and non-different from the Supreme Brahman, this world of names and forms that is enjoyed by the illusioned souls is born.

Commentary: While the previous verse described the creation of the material manifestation, this verse starts by describing some of the characteristics of the Supreme Brahman, from whom this temporary material world has emanated.

The importance of understanding that the absolute truth is a person right from the beginning is emphasized by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself in the Caitanya Caritamrta:

"In His original form the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full with transcendental opulences, which are free from the contamination of the material world. It is to be understood that in all Vedic literature the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal. When we speak of the Supreme as impersonal, we deny His spiritual potencies. Logically, if you accept half of the truth, you cannot understand the whole. It is only by devotional service, beginning with hearing, that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the only means to approach Him." (CC Adi 7.139-141)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains:

"Partial realization of the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman denies the complete opulences of the Lord. This is a hazardous understanding of the Absolute Truth. Unless one accepts all the features of the Absolute Truth — namely impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead — one’s knowledge is imperfect. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya, in his Vedārtha-sangraha, says, jñānena dharmeṇa svarūpam api nirūpitam, na tu jñāna-mātram brahmeti katham idam avagamyate. He thus indicates that the real identity of the Absolute Truth must be understood in terms of both His knowledge and His characteristics. Simply to understand the Absolute Truth to be full of knowledge is not sufficient. In the Vedic literature (Muṇḍaka Up. 1.1.9) we find the statement yaḥ sarva-jñaḥ sarva-vit, which means that the Absolute Truth knows everything perfectly, but we also learn from the Vedic description parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate that not only does He know everything, but He also acts accordingly by utilizing His different energies. Thus to understand that Brahman, the Supreme, is conscious is not sufficient. One must know how He consciously acts through His different energies. Māyāvāda philosophy simply informs us of the consciousness of the Absolute Truth but does not give us information of how He acts with His consciousness. That is the defect of that philosophy."

To understand the scriptures, one has to start from the right conclusions, otherwise, he will interpret the verses according to his previous misconceptions, which will in turn just create even more misconceptions. Mayavada philosophy is the epitome of this mistaken approach. If one studies the scriptures starting from the conclusion that the absolute truth is impersonal, he will misinterpret the verses and arrive at the wrong conclusions, which will block him from understanding the Lord.

In the Bhagavad-gita (15.15), Krsna says: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo, "By all the Vedas, I am to be known." The primary purpose of studying the scriptures is to come to know Krsna.

Madhvācārya goes deep into this point in his commentary. In verse 1.1.3, Saunaka asked Angirasa: "Knowing what does all become known?". In other words, he asks about one science, one subject by knowing which everything becomes known. From understanding this one science, all other sciences can be deducted. Madhvācārya defines this science as Akṣara-Vidyā, the unifying knowledge that is the essence of all understanding. This knowledge is the understanding of Krsna, His energy, and our eternal relationship with Him. When the syllables of the Vedas are studied with this understanding, the real meaning is revealed. Otherwise, one receives only the superficial meaning.

In other words, the real meaning of the scriptures, parā-vidyā, is the linking process of devotional service that connects us with Krsna. When one studies the scriptures starting from the conclusion that all verses describe Krsna and our relationship with Him, armed with the proper philosophical conclusions, received through the Parampara, he can understand the deep meaning of the verses, parā-vidyā. Otherwise, one gets just the superficial meaning and has the impression that the verses describe other subjects apart from Krsna, aparā-vidyā. This illustrates the importance of the work of Srila Prabhupada in his books, condensing the teachings of the previous acaryas in his purports and giving us the conclusions by which we can understand the scriptures.

Back to the current verse, the second line, tasmād etad brahma nāma rūpam annam ca jāyate, gives the conclusion of the description of creation from the previous verse.

In his purport to Bg 14.3, Srila Prabhupada explains that the word "brahma" (brahman) in the second line refers to the mahat-tattva, from where the material creation sprouts due to the presence of the souls. The reason the mahat-tattva is called "brahman" is because it is the external potency of the Lord, and being part of His energy is non-different from Him.

The Lord is both the efficient cause, the creator, and the material cause, the substance from which the universe is created. Brahman creates the universe from His own energy, and the illusioned souls who are charmed by the illusion of Maya, seeing themselves as independent enjoyers, assume temporary material forms and names to try to enjoy it.

This relationship of the souls and the mahat-tattva is explained in more detail in his purport:

"This is an explanation of the world: everything that takes place is due to the combination of kṣetra and kṣetra-jña, the body and the spirit soul. This combination of material nature and the living entity is made possible by the Supreme God Himself. The mahat-tattva is the total cause of the total cosmic manifestation; and that total substance of the material cause, in which there are three modes of nature, is sometimes called Brahman. The Supreme Personality impregnates that total substance, and thus innumerable universes become possible. This total material substance, the mahat-tattva, is described as Brahman in the Vedic literature (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.9): tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annam ca jāyate. The Supreme Person impregnates that Brahman with the seeds of the living entities. The twenty-four elements, beginning from earth, water, fire and air, are all material energy, and they constitute what is called mahad brahma, or the great Brahman, the material nature. As explained in the Seventh Chapter, beyond this there is another, superior nature – the living entity. Into material nature the superior nature is mixed by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thereafter all living entities are born of this material nature.
The scorpion lays its eggs in piles of rice, and sometimes it is said that the scorpion is born out of rice. But the rice is not the cause of the scorpion. Actually, the eggs were laid by the mother. Similarly, material nature is not the cause of the birth of the living entities. The seed is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they only seem to come out as products of material nature. Thus every living entity, according to his past activities, has a different body, created by this material nature, so that the entity can enjoy or suffer according to his past deeds. The Lord is the cause of all the manifestations of living entities in this material world." (Bg 14.3 purport)

Madhvācārya interprets this line slightly differently, interpreting the words “etat brahma” as meaning the caturmukha Brahmā, the creator of this particular universe. Following this interpretation, the verse could be translated as "From that Supreme Brahman, who is omniscient and who knows everything in all detail, from His creative potency, based on intelligence and knowledge arose the four-headed Brahma, and from him this world of names and forms is born."

The essence is however the same. The material world arises from the Lord, who is both the efficient cause and the material cause. The Lord creates the universe from His own energy, and the illusioned souls try to enjoy it.

This illustrates how even great acaryas can sometimes disagree on minor points, and therefore one who looks for differences will surely find them. However, they all agree on the main points: Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are His parts and parcels, and the goal of life is to reestablish this eternal relationship. This is the unifying knowledge that leads us to the real understanding of the scriptures.

What to say about our immediate acaryas, even Sankaracarya agreed on this point in his later instructions to his disciples, captured in the Moha Mudgara, urging his disciples to ascend to the platform of bhakti:

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mūḍha-mate
samprāpte sannihite kāle nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛñ-karaṇe

"Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O foolish-minded one! When the time of death approaches, the rules of grammar will not save you."

As Prabhupada explains: "The current Brahma-sampradāya is known as the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. Even though Lord Śiva appeared to preach Māyāvāda philosophy, at the end of his pastime in the form of Śankarācārya, he preached the Vaiṣṇava philosophy: bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mūḍha-mate. He stressed worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Govinda, three times in this verse and especially warned his followers that they could not possibly achieve deliverance, or mukti, simply by word jugglery and grammatical puzzles. If one is actually serious to attain mukti, he must worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. That is Śrīpāda Śankarācārya's last instruction." (SB 4.28.18 purport)