Devotional service of the Lord is ever green, and it is increasingly transcendentally pleasing. Thus there is a gulf of difference between the results derived from devotional service and those derived from religious rituals. The great divine energy known as Jaḍādhiṣṭhātrī, or Mahāmāyā, the superintendent of the material world, and the material departmental directors, the demigods, as well as the products of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, are but perverted reflections of the opulence of the Supreme Lord. The demigods are actually order carriers of the Supreme Lord, and they help manage the material creation. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.44, 52, 49) it is stated that the workings of the supremely powerful superintendent, Durgā, are but shadows of the workings of the Supreme Lord, that the sun works just like the eye of the Supreme Lord, and that Brahmā works just like a jewel reflecting the light of the Supreme Lord.
Divine energy
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable energies, and all these energies are divine. Although the living entities are part of His energies and are therefore divine, due to contact with material energy their original superior power is covered. Being thus covered by material energy, one cannot possibly overcome its influence. As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal.
The word prādhānyataḥ ("principal") is very important because we can understand only a few of the principal details of the Supreme Lord, for His features are unlimited. It is not possible to understand them all. And vibhūti, as used in this verse, refers to the opulences by which He controls the whole manifestation. In the Amara-kośa dictionary it is stated that vibhūti indicates an exceptional opulence.
The impersonalist or pantheist cannot understand the exceptional opulences of the Supreme Lord nor the manifestations of His divine energies. Both in the material world and in the spiritual world His energies are distributed in every variety of manifestation. Now Kṛṣṇa is describing what can be directly perceived by the common man; thus part of His variegated energy is described in this way.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
sThe eternal living entity transmigrates from one material body to another by the law of karma, and material bodies are perishable by their fundamental structures. Therefore there is nothing to be lamented in the case of the soul's being transferred into another body, or the material body's perishing at a certain stage. There are others also who believe in the merging of the spirit soul in the Supreme Spirit when it is uncovered by the material encagement, and there are others also who do not believe in the existence of spirit or soul, but believe in tangible matter. In our daily experience we find so many transformations of matter from one form to another, but we do not lament such changing features. In either of the above cases, the force of divine energy is uncheckable; no one has any hand in it, and thus there is no cause of grief.
No one, therefore, can be independently powerful in any measure without being endowed by the Lord. When the Lord descends on the earth along with His eternal ever-liberated associates, He not only displays the divine energy possessed by Himself, but also empowers His associate devotees with the required energy to execute His mission of incarnation. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.5) that the Lord and His eternal associates descend on the earth many times, but the Lord remembers all the different roles of incarnations, whereas the associates, by His supreme will, forget them. Similarly, the Lord takes away with Him all His associates when He disappears from the earth. The power and energy which were bestowed upon Arjuna were required for fulfillment of the mission of the Lord, but when His mission was fulfilled, the emergency powers were withdrawn from Arjuna because the astounding powers of Arjuna, which were astonishing even to the denizens of heaven, were no longer required, and they were not meant for going back home, back to Godhead.
SB Canto 4
"My divine energy consisting of the three modes of material nature is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." A Vaiṣṇava should take care of those who are bewildered by this māyā instead of becoming angry with them, because without a Vaiṣṇava's mercy they have no way to get out of the clutches of māyā. Those who have been condemned by māyā are rescued by the mercy of devotees.
- vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca
- kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
- patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
- vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls." Those who are under the influence of the illusory energy are attracted to fruitive activities, but a Vaiṣṇava preacher attracts their hearts to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." Therefore, unless one surrenders completely at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot get out of the entanglement of the three modes of material nature.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Only by the grace of Kṛṣṇa can one get out of the clutches of māyā. It is not possible to get out by mental speculation or other activities. When the living entity understands his real position by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he keeps himself always fit in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and acts accordingly. Thus he gradually becomes completely free from the clutches of māyā. When he is strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, māyā cannot touch him. In this way, in the association of Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, the living entity can get free from the contamination of material existence.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." (BG 7.14)
As soon as the living entity engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he immediately attains freedom from all material conditions (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26)). In the material state the living entity is on the jīva-bhūta platform, but when he renders devotional service to the Lord, he is elevated to the brahma-bhūta platform (SB 4.30.20). On the brahma-bhūta platform the living entity is liberated from material bondage, and he engages in the service of the Lord. In this verse the word dhīra is sometimes read as vīra. Actually there is not very much difference. The word dhīra means "sober," and vīra means "hero." One who is struggling against māyā is a hero, and one who is sober enough to understand his position is a dhīra. Without becoming sober or heroic, one cannot attain spiritual salvation.
SB Canto 5
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome."
Only a devotee can surpass māyā's great influence. It was no fault on Mahārāja Nābhi's part that he wanted a son. He wanted a son like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the best of all sons. By the association of the Lord's devotee, one no longer desires material opulence. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 22.54):
- sādhu-saṅga", "sādhu-saṅga" sarva-śāstre kaya
- lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya
- and (CC Madhya 22.51):
- mahat-kṛpā vinā kona karme 'bhakti' naya
kṛṣṇa-bhakti dūre rahu, saṁsāra nahe kṣaya
If one is serious about escaping māyā's influence and returning home, back to Godhead, one must associate with a sādhu (devotee). That is the verdict of all scriptures. By the slight association of a devotee, one can be freed from the clutches of māyā. Without the mercy of the pure devotee, one cannot get freedom by any means.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." All conditioned souls working within the illusory energy of the Lord consider the body to be the self, and thus they continuously wander throughout the universe, taking birth in different species of life and creating more and more problems. Sometimes they become disgusted with the problems and seek out a process by which they can get out of this entanglement. Unfortunately, such so-called research workers are unaware of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His illusory energy, and thus all of them work only in darkness, never finding a way out. So-called scientists and advanced research scholars are ludicrously trying to find the cause of life. They take no notice of the fact that life is already being produced. What will be their credit if they find out the chemical composition of life? All their chemicals are nothing but different transformations of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20), the living entity is never created (na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin).
SB Canto 6
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7) the Lord says:
- mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
- jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
- manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
- prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." The living entity's struggle for existence within the material world is due to his rebellious nature. Unless a living entity surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he must continue this life of struggle.
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." To surrender to Kṛṣṇa means to surrender to His devotees also, for no one can be a proper servant of Kṛṣṇa unless he is a proper servant of a devotee. Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: without serving a servant of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot be elevated to being a servant of Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore mother Pārvatī spoke to Citraketu exactly like a mother who says to her naughty child, "My dear child, I am punishing you so that you won't do anything like this again." This tendency of a mother to punish her child is found even in mother Yaśodā, who became the mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mother Yaśodā punished Kṛṣṇa by binding Him and showing Him a stick. Thus it is the duty of a mother to chastise her beloved son, even in the case of the Supreme Lord. It is to be understood that mother Durgā was justified in punishing Citraketu. This punishment was a boon to Citraketu because after taking birth as the demon Vṛtrāsura, he was promoted directly to Vaikuṇṭha.
SB Canto 7
There is a river known as Vaitaraṇī between the material and spiritual worlds, and one must cross this river to reach the other side, or the spiritual world. This is an extremely difficult task. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." The same word duratyaya, meaning "very difficult," is used here. Therefore one cannot surpass the stringent laws of material nature except by the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Nonetheless, although all materialists are baffled in their plans, they try again and again to become happy in this material world. Therefore they have been described as vimūḍha—first-class fools. As for Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was not at all unhappy, for although he was in the material world, he was full of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, trying to serve the Lord, are not unhappy, whereas one who has no assets in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is struggling for existence is not only foolish but extremely unhappy also. Prahlāda Mahārāja was happy and unhappy simultaneously.
SB Canto 9
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." If one wants to be free from the influence of māyā, the illusory energy, one must become Kṛṣṇa conscious and always keep Kṛṣṇa prominent within the core of his heart. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.34) the Lord advises that one always think of Him (man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65)). In this way, by always being Kṛṣṇa-minded or Kṛṣṇa conscious, one can surpass the influence of māyā (māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14)). Because Rantideva was Kṛṣṇa conscious, he was not under the influence of the illusory energy. The word svapnavat is significant in this connection. Because in the material world the mind is absorbed in materialistic activities, when one is asleep many contradictory activities appear in one's dreams. When one awakens, however, these activities automatically merge into the mind.
Everyone is under His control, and He is not under the control of anyone else. Foolish people who because of a poor fund of knowledge think that one can equal Kṛṣṇa or become Kṛṣṇa are condemned in every way. No one can equal or surpass Kṛṣṇa, who is therefore described as asamaurdhva. According to the Viśva-kośa dictionary, the word māyā is used in the sense of "false pride" and also in the sense of "compassion." For an ordinary living being, the body in which he appears is his punishment. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." But when Kṛṣṇa comes the word māyā refers to His compassion or mercy upon the devotees and fallen souls. By His potency, the Lord can deliver everyone, whether sinful or pious.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." To surpass the influence of the illusory energy is very difficult, but those who are determined to catch hold of the lotus feet of the Lord are freed from the clutches of māyā. Therefore, pure devotees can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but demons, because of their miscreant behavior, cannot understand the Lord, in spite of seeing the many revealed scriptures and the uncommon activities of the Lord.
CC Madhya-lila
“"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome."
The nitya-baddhas are always conditioned by the external energy, and the nitya-muktas never come in contact with the external energy. Sometimes an ever-liberated personal associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends into this universe just as the Lord descends. Although working for the liberation of conditioned souls, the messenger of the Supreme Lord remains untouched by the material energy. Generally ever-liberated personalities live in the spiritual world as associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they are known as kṛṣṇa-pāriṣada, associates of the Lord. Their only business is enjoying Lord Kṛṣṇa's company, and even though such eternally liberated persons come within this material world to serve the Lord's purpose, they enjoy Lord Kṛṣṇa's company without stoppage. The ever-liberated person who works on Kṛṣṇa's behalf enjoys Lord Kṛṣṇa's company through his engagement. The ever-conditioned soul, provoked by lusty desires to enjoy the material world, is forced to transmigrate from one body to another.
“"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
“"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
CC Antya-lila
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." This was actually proved by the behavior of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Māyā enchants the entire world. Indeed, people have forgotten the ultimate goal of life because of the dazzling attractions of the material world. But this dazzling attraction, especially the attractive beauty of a woman, is meant for persons who are not surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) "One who is surrendered unto Me cannot be conquered by the illusory energy." The illusory energy personally came to test Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but herein she admits her defeat, for she was unable to captivate him. How is this possible? It was because Haridāsa Ṭhākura, fully surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, was always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the holy names of the Lord 300,000 times daily as a vow.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Thus millennia ago the Bhagavad-gītā comprehensively discussed the same topic the editor of Amrita Bazar Patrika writes about in a despondent mood: "If one kind of trouble goes, another quickly follows." In the Gītā (7.14) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "This divine energy of mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." The Sanskrit words daivī māyā used here can be translated into modern terms as "nature's law." This natural law is so stringent that it is impossible to overcome it, in spite of our prolific articles in the newspapers or our big conferences tabling motions that run into volumes. Our advanced technological and scientific efforts aimed at protecting us from the clutches of nature's law are futile because they are all controlled by the very same nature's law, or daivī māyā. Therefore trying to utilize mundane science to overpower nature's law is like creating a Frankenstein. Efforts to extirpate human suffering through advanced technology and bring about lasting happiness have brought us to the Atomic Age.
It is impossible for anyone to surmount the two-pronged attack of daivī māyā—that is, her covering potency and her throwing potency. The more we try to conquer this divine energy, the more powerfully she defeats us by exciting us through the mode of passion and punishing us with the threefold miseries, culminating in all-devouring death. This struggle between the divine energy and the evil forces is eternal. Our inability to understand this struggle has led us to lament, "In the dispensation of providence, mankind cannot have any rest."
Despite repeatedly tasting defeat at the hands of the divine energy, the evil forces cannot understand why "mankind cannot have any rest." Yet in the Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Personality of Godhead clearly explains this. At first He sternly warns the evil forces with these words, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome" (BG 7.14); and then in the next line He tells them how to overcome this divine energy, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: "But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Mahisāsura, the most powerful demon, who was the personification of the forces of evil, was in fact endowed with intelligence, education, wealth, the ability to perform severe penances and attract large followings, and so on. His present-day followers, possessing identical qualifications, are no less enterprising and expert in exploiting the divine energy. They carry out elaborate scientific research, misspending huge amounts of money, time, energy, intelligence, men, and so on. But instead of bringing peace and joy, what they discover through these researches ends up producing untold misery for humanity. This is a perfect example of daivī māyā's throwing agency in action. All these evil activities bring great losses to human society. As a result of this evil, the mundane scientists incur grievous sin, which destroys their real intelligence. And this loss of intelligence turns them away from God and robs them of their chance to surrender to Him.
The root cause of the aforementioned lament—"In the dispensation of providence, mankind cannot have any rest"—is this demoniac mentality of exploiting and enjoying the Lord's divine energy.
The demons do not know when or where to renounce, nor do they know when or where to accept or receive. When diagnosing a patient, one has to properly judge this accepting and rejecting principle. So, in order to cure the demoniac mentality in human society, which causes the Rāvaṇa syndrome of trying to steal Sītā-devī, it is essential that the demoniac nature be transformed. For any treatment, two important factors are that the patient be in clean surroundings and that his medicine and food be administered punctually. Similarly, to transform the demoniac mentality, people have to be clean, disciplined, and truthful. This end is not served by advocating the theory of yata mat, tata path—that "there are as many ways to salvation as there are opinions"—for in this way one confuses and deceives the populace.
Deluded by the three modes (goodness, passion, and ignorance), the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible. This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
The dualities of like and dislike, good and bad, are all due to the three modes of material nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. These modes hold all conditioned living entities under their sway. Therefore it is difficult for conditioned souls to understand that the Supreme Lord, being absolutely spiritual, is above the three modes and thus param avyayam, absolutely inexhaustible. The reason the Lord uses these words param avyayam is that although He permeates everything by means of His transcendental energies, He remains eternally unchanged and the complete whole. One should avoid making the mistake of thinking that because Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, pervades the entire cosmic manifestation, therefore He cannot possess a definitive form or personality. The heat radiating from a fire spreads in all directions, yet the fire remains unchanged.
Real mahātmās do not distract their minds with sense gratification and material desires, but with single-minded resolve they engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Because they are under the protection of His divine energy, they understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme cause of all causes. Such persons alone possess all saintly qualities. Lord Kṛṣṇa's devotees are exceptional personalities, for at all times they are embellished with extraordinary characteristics rarely attained even by the demigods. To usher in the age of peace in this world, the presence such mahātmās is imperative.
Recently, at a medical convention held in New Delhi, our honorable prime minister made the following observation in his speech:
We go in for public health, sanitation, and all kinds of preventive measures rather than wait for people to fall ill and then treat them. Why not apply that principle in the larger sphere and prevent social diseases that, left untreated, we will have to deal with later in a much more difficult form? So when wise men like you gather together, perhaps you might think of the ills and diseases of humanity as a whole that create so many conflicts and troubles and impede human progress.
As the Lord says, "A little advancement on this path protects one from the most dangerous type of fear." In other words, the Supreme Lord personally intervenes and arranges for His surrendered devotee's success in spiritual life. Is there any doubt that once the Lord's divine energy is active, all our artificial endeavors are most insignificant and futile? The Lord's inconceivable potency that descends to bless us with spiritual perfection shows the magnitude and glory of His potencies. Certainly there are other methods for spiritual advancement, such as rāja-yoga, by which one can become equipoised, or difficult prāṇāyāma exercises, severe austerities, and renunciation, and these practices are very powerful. But when the Lord's divine potency acts, they all seem extremely ineffectual compared to the process of surrender, which invokes that potency. All these other methods, though very potent, are human endeavors. So how can they compare with the Supreme Lord's divine potency?
"(The surrendered devotee knows) Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." And the Upaniṣads state, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: "Everything is permeated by Brahman." A person attains the highest stage of this realization when he sees this cosmic creation as a transformation and manifestation of the Supreme Lord's divine energies. Śrī Nārada instructed Śrīla Vyāsadeva with the following words:
- idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaro
- yato jagat-sthāna-nirodha-sambhavāḥ
- tad dhi svayaṁ veda bhavāṁs tathāpi te
- prādeśa-mātraṁ bhavataḥ pradarśitam
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only has this cosmic manifestation emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him it enters after annihilation. Your good self knows all about this. I have given only a synopsis.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Give me my spectacle. Behind that, there is small book. Just up, here. (break) ...seven. Give me that. Hayagrīva, you can come here. Sit down here. Seventh Chapter, fourteenth verse.
Hayagrīva: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material..."
Prabhupāda: Fourteen? That is fourteen?
Hayagrīva: 7.14?
Prabhupāda: Seventh Chapter, fourteenth verse.
Hayagrīva: Fourteenth verse. "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Prabhupāda: This is the solution. This material nature... What is that? Read it again.
Hayagrīva: "This divine energy... This divine energy of Mine..."
Prabhupāda: Yes. This material nature is another energy of Kṛṣṇa, or God. So the energy is very strong. It is very difficult to surpass the problems put forward by the material energy. What is the exact language?
Hayagrīva: "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome."
Prabhupāda: "Is difficult to overcome." There are three modes of material nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. But they are very difficult to overcome. And now, what is the solution?
Hayagrīva: "But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Prabhupāda: Yes. The solution is we have to surrender unto the Supreme. Just like if you are arrested by the police, then it is very difficult to get out of their clutches. But if you are a good citizen, surrendered soul to the state, there is no problem. The police has nothing to do with you. Is it very difficult to understand? The problems are there and the problems are under the management of this material nature. So it is not possible to overcome the stringent laws of material nature, exactly like if you are once arrested by the police department, it is not very easy to come out. So mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14).
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Pradyumna:
- daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī
- mama māyā duratyayā
- mām eva ye prapadyante
- māyām etāṁ taranti te
- (BG 7.14)
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome, but those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Prabhupāda: So this thing we are teaching, how to get out of the control of the three modes of material nature, to put him into the transcendental platform. That is the success of life. And this chance is obtainable in the human form of life. If he misses this chance, again he becomes, suppose, a tree, or a cat, or a dog... There is every chance. Because it is under the control of material nature; according to my work and mentality, I'll get another body.
Lord Brockway: Yes, there are... There are many things I'd like to say, many questions...
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
Spirit is transcendental to all these. The spiritual energy para Prakrti is simultaneously one and different from the spirit whole. Qualitatively they are one but quantitatively they are different. The Brahman Ray is the effulgence of the Supreme Person.
You have defined impersonal Brahman as the Divine Energy. I fully agree with you in pursuanee of its description in the Brahman Samhita, I am going to publish in the next issue an article of the name "Variety of Planetary System" in which there is reference from the Brahma Samhita.
According to the Bhagavata Puranam the Supreme Truth is realized in three stages namely the Impersonal Brahman or the Nirakara Absolute. The Paramatma or the localized aspect of Brahman. The neutron part of the atom may be taken as the representation of Paramatma who enters into the atom also. It is described in the Brahma-samhita. But ultimately the Supreme Divine Being is realized as the Supreme Person all attractive (Krishna) with full and inconceivable potencies of opulence, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. The six potencies are fully exhibited by Sri Rama and Sri Krishna when He descends before the human being.
1973 Correspondence
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But, those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it."
Unless everyone of us sticks to the regulative principles of chanting, there is no other alternative than fall-down. That is a fact. I repeatedly say this, so if people do not follow, what can I do?
You cannot resign your position. You have to tolerate. Otherwise why does Caitanya Mahaprabhu say this verse:
- trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna
- amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih
- (CC Adi 17.31)
These things will happen, and we have to tolerate.
We shall talk over this subject matter seriously when I shall return to Los Angeles. Do not be worried.
| Page Title: | Divine energy |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 30 of Sep, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=13, CC=6, OB=9, Lec=2, Con=1, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 35 |