Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.20–23 – July 3, 1976, Washington D.C.

Our position in this material world: darkness

Pradyumna: Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. [Prabhupada and devotees repeat] [leads chanting, etc.]

Translation: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who is infallible and indefatigable, is present in different forms of life, from the inert living beings [sthavara], such as the plants, to Brahma, the foremost created living being. He is also present in the varieties of material creations and in the material elements, the total material energy and the modes of material nature [sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna], as well as the unmanifested material nature and the false ego. Although He is one, He is present everywhere, and He is also the transcendental Supersoul, the cause of all causes, who is present as the observer in the cores of the hearts of all living entities. He is indicated as that which is pervaded and as the all-pervading Supersoul, but actually He cannot be indicated. He is changeless and undivided. He is simply perceived as the supreme sac-cid-ananda [eternity, knowledge and bliss]. Being covered by the curtain of the external energy, to the atheist He appears nonexistent."

Prabhupada: So this is the description of the Absolute Truth. [to Svarupa Damodara:] You can explain in your own way. Just stand up and explain. They'll be glad. The Absolute Truth, explanation.

Svarupa Damodara: The Absolute Truth?

Prabhupada: Yes, you can explain in your scientific way. [laughter]

Svarupa Damodara: We impose that, ah...

Prabhupada: Stand up and say. They'll be glad to hear. [laughter]

Svarupa Damodara: We make a prerequisite, saying that in order to understand the difference between life and matter, the basic requirement is to have some understanding of the Absolute Truth. Just like in mathematics and physics and in chemistry, there are certain axioms from which the knowledge... [break] ...and theories are produced from these axioms. [indistinct] Similarly, if one would accept Absolute Truth, the axiom of the truth, in order to understand the basic meaning of God, the difference between life and matter, the requirement is very scientific process, they say axioms, actions that can be proven. They say the Absolute Truth cannot be proven by experiment. So we take Absolute Truth source of everything.

Prabhupada: Yes. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Absolute Truth, Krsna, is explaining Himself. Absolute Truth is the ultimate end, Vedanta. The subject matter of knowledge is Absolute Truth. Athato brahma-jijnasa. So we have got this human form of life to inquire about the Absolute Truth. Jijnasuh sreyah uttamam. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreyah uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. Unless one is jijnasuh, inquisitive, there is no need of accept a so-called fashionable guru. To accept guru is not a fashion, style, that "Everyone has guru; I'll have a guru." No. The sastra says, tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreyah uttamam: One should accept guru when he is inquisitive, jijnasuh. What about? Sreyah uttamam, the Absolute, or the auspicity, beyond this material world. Uttamam. Tamah means darkness, ignorance.

So here, our position in this material world: darkness. We are simply speculating in so many ways what is the ultimate cause. There are so many philosophers, but they are speculating only, without any definite knowledge. So sastra says that speculative knowledge will not be successful at any time. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo vayor athapi manaso muni-puṅgavanam [Bs 5.34]. Manaso, by mental speculation, muni-puṅgavanam. One who speculates, he is called muni. So muni-puṅgava. Puṅgava means the most exalted muni, if he simply speculates about the Absolute Truth, how many years? Panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara.

Just like people are now going in the outer space to find out some shelter in the moon planet, in the Mars planet, similarly, if you want to find out the Absolute Truth or the abode of the Absolute Truth... The description is there in the sastra:

The topmost planet in the spiritual sky is the..., called Goloka. That is Krsna's place. Goloka-namni nija-dhamni. And below this there are Vaikuntha-dhamas, unlimited number of Vaikuntha-dhamas. Goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale ca tasya devi-mahesa. Devi-dhama. This is called Devi-dhama, this material world. And Mahesa-dhama, the Sivaloka. And devi-mahesa, hari-dhamasu. Hari-dhamasu means Vaikuntha. So these are the different status of dhama. We cannot calculate, estimate even this Devi-dhama. This is called Devi-dhama. This material world is called Devi-dhama. It is controlled by Devi, goddess Durga.

So this Devi-dhama is being controlled by the most powerful energy, Durga. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka. But she's acting as chayeva, a shadow of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also summarized in the Bhagavad-gita:

So in this way, if we study through the sastra, everything is there. If you want to find out the Absolute Truth, how? Sastra caksusat [Vedanta-sutra] through the sastras, through the Vedic knowledge, you'll find the Absolute Truth. If we actually accept that Veda means knowledge... Vetthi veda vida jnane. Veda means knowledge, jnana. So Veda-anta, the last, last phase of knowledge. The last phase of knowledge is the Absolute Truth. You have to go up to that. So that Absolute Truth, if you go on speculating, panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo [Bs 5.34], that will not be possible. Sata-vatsara-sampragamyo, by hundreds and hundreds of years, if you go on with speed... What is that speed? Panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo vayor athapi. Aeroplane, airplane, vayor athapi. And what is the speed? Vayor athapi. Panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara sampragamyo vayor athapi. Manaso vayu: by the speed of air and mind. Mind is very speedy. You are sitting here, you can immediately remember ten thousand miles away, it is so speedy. So even by the mind's speed you cannot, by going over the space, koti-sata-vatsara, many millions of years still it remains unknown. So this is not the way to understand the Absolute Truth, but if we accept the Vedic process, avaroha pantha [descending path], when the knowledge comes from the Absolute Truth, then it is possible.

So we Krsna conscious, I mean to say, devotees, we try to understand the Absolute Truth by the grace of the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is Krsna. Krsna says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg 7.7]: "I am the Supreme." Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15]. In this way, if we try to understand Krsna as He is speaking, as they are stated in the sastra, as it is accepted by the acaryas, then we can have some trace of the Absolute Truth. Just like Krsna says,

The expansion of the Absolute Truth, how it is working, so Krsna summarized before Arjuna that this material world, material world... Ekamsena sthito jagat, this material world. What is that material world? This material world, we see only one universe to our vision. Similarly, there are millions of universes. Yasya prabha prabhavato jadad-anda koti [Bs 5.40]. Jagad-anda means one universe, and in each universe, kotisu asesa. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-kotisv asesu vibhuti-bhinnam [Bs 5.40]. There are millions of planets, and each planet is different from the earth. That is God's creation. So all this together, ekamsena sthito jagat, this material world is one-fourth part exhibition of God's creation. And three-fourths' part is in the Vaikuntha-loka, spiritual world. So by speculation, by our research, it is impossible, but we can get a glimpse of knowledge of the Absolute Truth when we receive it through the Absolute Truth, Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness movement.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Srila Prabhupada. [end]