|
In the material world these spiritual varieties are merely reflected, just like trees on a riverbank. A tree is reflected in the water, but reflected how? Upside down. Similarly, this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world, but a perverted reflection. In the spiritual world there is love between Radha and Krsna. Krsna is always youngnava-yauvana. And Radharani is always young, because She is Krsnas pleasure potency. Sri-radhika-madhavayor apara **. Jaya radha-madhava. We worship not Krsna alone but Krsna with His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani. There is eternal love between Radharani and Krsna. Therefore the Vedanta-sutra says, janmady asya yatah: [SB 1.1.1] The Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates. In this world we find love between mother and son, love between wife and husband, love between master and servant, between friend and friend, between the master and the dog or the cat or the cow. But these are only reflections of the spiritual world. Krsna is also the good lover of the animals, the calves and cows. Just as here we love dogs and cats, there Krsna loves cows and calves. You have seen this in pictures of Krsna. So the propensity to love even an animal is there in the spiritual world. Otherwise, how can it be reflected? This world is simply a reflection. If in the reality there is nothing like that, how can it be reflected here? So everything is there in the spiritual world. But to understand that original propensity to love, you have to practice Krsna consciousness. (More...) But here in the sastra we see that that is real life. This is not real life. It is shadow. In the Bhagavad-gita in the Fifteenth Chapter it has been described as shadow. Urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham asvattham prahur avyayam [Bg. 15.1]. Asvattham. We have got experience of banyan tree. It is very durable. It stands for many, many hundreds of years. Therefore this material world has been compared with the asvattham, asvattham tree, very durable and very expansive. It goes on increasing, increasing. That is very nicely described in the Fifteenth Chapter. So it is called urdhva-mulam. Urdhva-mulam means... Here we have got experience: the tree has got its roots underneath, down. But this material world, which is compared with the asvattha tree, the root is upside and the branches downside. That means it is shadow. We can experience of this tree, urdhva-mulam. The root upside and the branches downside, we have got experience. Where it is? In the shadow. If you stand on the bank of a river or reservoir of water and if there is any tree by the side of that reservoir of water, you will find the shadow, urdhva-mulam. The root upside and the branches downside. Exactly the same tree, but it is shadow. It has no fact; it is simply shadow. Many places it has been compared with the mirage, mirage in the desert. Just like in bright sunshine in the desert you will find that there is water. So the thirsty animal, they think there is water. They jump over it, and the animal runs after the water, and the water also goes away, goes away, goes away. Sometimes we have got also experience. In bright sunshine on the street we find exactly a shadow of water, but there is no water. Tejo-vari-mrt, amrsa. In the Bhagavata it is stated: tejo-vari-mrt, amrsa. Sometimes in the water we see land, and on land we can see water. This is called maricika, or mirage. (More...) Therefore here it is said that na karhicin mat-parah santa-rupe, yesam aham priya atma sutas ca sakha guruh. You can establish your relationship in so many way. There is no question of making it zero. Because that is reality. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita, Fifteenth Chapter, it is stated, "the shadow of the tree." The shadow of the tree has got the branches, fruit, leaves. Everything is there. But it is nonreality. The real reality is up in the spiritual world. And that is shadow. Urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham [Bg. 15.1]. That is very practical example in the world. Urdhva-mulam. The real mula is up. Therefore we sometimes find that the lowest abominable thing is the highest there. Because the opposite. You see the upside of the tree down, but the upside is there. Therefore the rasas, there are so many mellows, and the parakiya-rasa... Parakiya-rasa means love without marriage. That is called parakiya-rasa. Therefore you will find the parakiya-rasa... Krsna's loving affairs with the gopis without marriage, that is called parakiya-rasa. Parakiya-rasa is the highest, topmost relishable spiritual bliss. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommended ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita. Krsna displayed everything so to attract us, that "You are captivated by this material jada-rasa, material rasa." There is rasa; otherwise why a man is working so hard to maintain the family? Unless there is some ananda, why he is taking? Nobody is taking so much hard responsibility for others. But children, wife, family, they take. There is... Unless there is some ananda, how he can take? So the relationship has got ananda. But this ananda is flickering, illusion. Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho 'yam [SB 5.5.8]. This is moha. It will not stay; it is temporary, illusion. (More...) In the bhakti platform there are different stages. Spiritually, there is no difference. One in dasya-rasa and one in madhurya-rasa, there is no difference. But a devotee likes to serve the Supreme Lord according to his inclination. Some wants to love Him in santa-rasa, some wants to love Him in dasya-rasa, someone in friendly, then paternal love, then conjugal love. So there is no difference between these different phases of loving affair, but great devotees and learned scholars, they have given their decision that the loving affairs of Krsna in the conjugal platform between husband and wife, or above that, between lover and beloved... That is very much prominent in the Western countries, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend. In the spiritual world that platform of remaining as friend without marriage, that is considered as the highest. And whatever we see herea perverted reflection of that loving affairs. Just like perverted reflection... It is described in the Bhagavad-gita, urdhva-mulam adho-sakha asvattham prahur avyayam. This material world has been described as having its root up, urdhva-mulam adho-sakha, and the branches down. We have several times explained this urdhva-mulam adho-sakha. In the material world this is a shadow. Unless it is shadow, how the mulam, or the root, can be upwards? We have got experience: a tree on the bank of a river. The tree is reflected adho-sakha, on the root upward, shadow. So this is shadow. Real thing is in the spiritual world. Therefore it is called adho-sakha. Sakha. In the spiritual world the topmost part is this conjugal love, and here, the same thing, when pervertedly reflected, it is the lowest abominable thing. We should know this, that in the spiritual world, to remain as girlfriend and boyfriend, that is the topmost pleasure, and in the material world, the same thing is the most abominable thing. Therefore it is adho-sakha. We cannot imitate the loving affairs of Krsna and Radharani unless we understand the real fact. (More...) The external manifested energy in the form of material existence is temporary and illusory, no more real than a mirage in the desert. Therefore Srila Vyasadeva gives the reader a chance to gradually develop in spiritual realization before actually relishing the essence of the pastimes of the Lord. Thus Vyasadeva purposefully invokes the gayatri mantra: dhimahi. This gayatri mantra is especially meant for spiritually advanced people. When one attains success in chanting gayatri mantra, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord. First, however, one must acquire the brahminical qualities and become perfectly situated in the mode of goodness in order to chant the gayatri mantra successfully. From that point one can begin to transcendentally realize the Lord, His name, His fame, His qualities, etc. Srimad-Bhagavatam is a narration dealing with the svarupa (form) of the Lord, which is manifested by His internal potency. This potency is distinguished from the external potency, which has manifested the cosmic world within our experience. Srila Vyasadeva makes a clear distinction between the internal and external potencies in the very first verse of the First Chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In that verse he says that the internal potency is factual reality, whereas the external manifested energy in the form of material existence is temporary and illusory, no more real than a mirage in the desert. Water may appear present in a mirage, but real water is somewhere else. Similarly, the manifested cosmic creation appears to be reality, but it is simply a reflection of the true reality which exists in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there are no mirages. Absolute Truth is there; it is not here in the material world. Here, everything is relative truth; one truth seems to depend upon another. This cosmic creation results from an interaction of the three modes of material nature. The temporary manifestations are so created as to present an illusion of reality to the bewildered mind of the conditioned soul. Thus there appear to be so many species of life, including the higher demigods like Brahma, Indra, Candra, etc. In fact there is no reality in the manifested world, but there appears to be reality because the true reality exists in the spiritual world, where the Personality of Godhead eternally abides with His transcendental paraphernalia. (More...) The material world is a reflection of the spiritual world In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, the real picture of the material world is given. It is said there: (More...) The material world is a reflection of the spiritual world "The Supreme Lord said: There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas." (Bg. 15.1) Here the material world is described as a tree whose roots are upwards and branches are below. We have experience of a tree whose roots are upward: if one stands on the bank of a river or any reservoir of water, he can see that the trees reflected in the water are upside down. The branches go downward and the roots upward. Similarly, this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is but a shadow of reality. In the shadow there is no reality or substantiality, but from the shadow we can understand that there is substance and reality. In the desert there is no water, but the mirage suggests that there is such a thing as water. In the material world there is no water, there is no happiness, but the real water of actual happiness is there in the spiritual world. (More...) This material cosmic manifestation is but the reflection of the spiritual world. The Lord possesses His internal energy, His external, marginal and relative energies, the manifestation of the cosmic world and the living entities. The external energy is manifested by the qualitative modes (gunas) of material nature. One who can understand the nature of the living entity in the spiritual world can actually understand vedyam, or perfect knowledge. One cannot understand the Supreme Lord simply by seeing the material energy and the conditioned soul, but when one is in perfect knowledge, he is freed from the influence of the external energy. The moon reflects the light of the sun, and without the sun the moon cannot illuminate anything. Similarly, this material cosmic manifestation is but the reflection of the spiritual world. When one is actually liberated from the spell of the external energy, he can understand the constitutional nature of the Supreme Lord. Devotional service to the Lord is the only means by which the Lord can be attained, and this devotional service can be accepted by everyone and anyone in any country and under any circumstance. Devotional service is above the four principles of religion and the understanding derived from liberation. Even the preliminaries of devotional service are transcendental to the highest understanding derived from liberation and the understanding derived from ordinary religion. (More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=2866 Previous: [none] Next: [none]
|