Temporary (CC)

Expressions researched:
"temporal" |"temporarily" |"temporary" |"temporaryness"

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Preface:

The conditioned soul, engrossed in the material body, increases the pages of history by all kinds of material activities. The teachings of Lord Caitanya can help the members of human society stop such unnecessary and temporary activities and be elevated to the topmost platform of spiritual activities, which begin after liberation from material bondage. Such liberated activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness constitute the goal of human perfection. The false prestige one acquires by attempting to dominate material nature is illusory. Illuminating knowledge can be acquired by studying the teachings of Lord Caitanya, and by such knowledge one can advance in spiritual existence.

CC Introduction:

The subject matter of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta deals primarily with what is beyond this material creation. The cosmic material expansion is called māyā, illusion, because it has no eternal existence. Because it is sometimes manifested and sometimes not, it is regarded as illusory. But beyond this temporary manifestation is a higher nature, as indicated in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.20):

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo ’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ

yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati

"Yet there is another unmanifested nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is."

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.34, Purport:

The six principles are differently manifested but all equally worshipable. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja begins by offering his obeisances unto them to teach us the method of worshiping Lord Caitanya. The external potency of Godhead, called māyā, can never associate with the Lord, just as darkness cannot remain in the presence of light; yet darkness, being but an illusory and temporary covering of light, has no existence independent of light.

CC Adi 1.53, Purport:

The source of birth of the cosmic manifestation, or mahat-tattva, is the Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā. In the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) the Lord says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: "I am the fountainhead of all emanations." The material cosmos, being temporary, is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest, but its energy emanates from the Supreme Absolute Lord. Before the creation there was neither cause nor effect, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead existed with His full opulence and energy.

CC Adi 1.54, Purport:

That which is relative, temporary and far away from the Absolute Truth is called māyā, or ignorance. This illusion is exhibited in two ways, as explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The inferior illusion is inert matter, and the superior illusion is the living entity. The living entities are called illusory in this context only because they are implicated in the illusory structures and activities of the material world. Actually the living entities are not illusory, for they are parts of the superior energy of the Supreme Lord and do not have to be covered by māyā if they do not want to be so. The actions of the living entities in the spiritual kingdom are not illusory; they are the actual, eternal activities of liberated souls.

CC Adi 1.91, Purport:

The path of fruitive work (karma-kāṇḍa), even when decorated by religious ceremonies meant to elevate one's material condition, is a cheating process because it can never enable one to gain relief from material existence and achieve the highest goal. A living entity perpetually struggles hard to rid himself of the pangs of material existence, but the path of fruitive work leads him to either temporary happiness or temporary distress in material existence. By pious fruitive work one is placed in a position where he can temporarily feel material happiness, whereas vicious activities lead him to a distressful position of material want and scarcity. However, even if one is put into the most perfect situation of material happiness, he cannot in that way become free from the pangs of birth, death, old age and disease. A materially happy person is therefore in need of the eternal relief that mundane religiosity in terms of fruitive work can never award.

CC Adi 1.91, Purport:

He therefore came to India not to learn the methods of the yogīs' mystic powers but to learn the path of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord, as mentioned in the great scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Mystic powers can make a yogī materially powerful and thus give temporary relief from the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease, as other material sciences can also do, but such mystic powers can never be a permanent source of relief from these miseries. Therefore, according to the Bhāgavata school, this path of religiosity is also a method of cheating its followers. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly defined that the most elevated and powerful mystic yogī is one who can constantly think of the Supreme Lord within his heart and engage in the loving service of the Lord.

CC Adi 1.91, Purport:

This system of worshiping many gods, such as Durgā, Śiva, Gaṇeśa, Sūrya and the impersonal Viṣṇu form, is accepted by persons who have been blinded by an intense desire for sense gratification. When properly executed in terms of the rites mentioned in the śāstras, which are now very difficult to perform in this age of want and scarcity, such worship can certainly fulfill one's desires for sense gratification, but the success obtained by such methods is certainly transient, and it is suitable only for a less intelligent person. That is the verdict of the Bhagavad-gītā. No sane man should be satisfied by such temporary benefits.

CC Adi 2.10, Purport:

His infinitesimal particles and are qualitatively one with Him. They are sent into this material world for material enjoyment, to fulfill their desires to be independent individuals, but still they are subject to the supreme will of the Lord. The Lord deputes Himself in the state of Supersoul to supervise the arrangements for such material enjoyment. The example of a temporary fair is quite appropriate in this connection. If the citizens of a state assemble in a fair to enjoy for a short period, the government deputes a special officer to supervise it. Such an officer is invested with all governmental power, and therefore he is identical with the government. When the fair is over, there is no need for such an officer, and he returns home. The Paramātmā is compared to such an officer.

CC Adi 2.97, Purport:

The prābhava forms are fully potent like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the vaibhava forms are partially potent. The prābhava forms are manifested in relation with potencies, but the vaibhava forms are manifested in relation with excellences. The potent prābhava manifestations are also of two varieties: temporary and eternal. The Mohinī, Haṁsa and Śukla forms are manifested only temporarily, in terms of a particular age. Among the other prābhavas, who are not very famous according to the material estimation, are Dhanvantari, Ṛṣabha, Vyāsa, Dattātreya and Kapila. Among the vaibhava-prakāśa forms are Kūrma, Matsya, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Varāha, Hayagrīva, Pṛśnigarbha, Baladeva, Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Hari, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara and Bṛhadbhānu.

CC Adi 4.208, Purport:

This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.67) was spoken by the Lord in connection with the characteristics of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Merging into the existence of the Absolute is as temporary as living in the celestial kingdom. Both of them are controlled by time; neither position is permanent.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

To answer Śaṅkarācārya's commentary on Vedānta-sūtra 2.2.45, the substance of the transcendental qualities and their spiritual nature is described in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 5.208–214) as follows: “Some say that transcendence must be void of all qualities because qualities are manifested only in matter. According to them, all qualities are like temporary, flickering mirages. But this is not acceptable. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolute, His qualities are nondifferent from Him. His form, name, qualities and everything else pertaining to Him are as spiritual as He is. Every qualitative expansion of the absolute Personality of Godhead is identical with Him.

CC Adi 5.51, Purport:

Material nature has two different phases. The aspect called pradhāna supplies the material ingredients for cosmic development, and the aspect called māyā causes the manifestation of her ingredients, which are temporary, like foam in the ocean. In reality, the temporary manifestations of material nature are originally caused by the spiritual glance of the Lord. The Personality of Godhead is the direct, or remote, cause of creation, and material nature is the indirect, or immediate, cause. Materialistic scientists, puffed-up by the magical changes their so-called inventions have brought about, cannot see the real potency of Godhead behind matter. Therefore the jugglery of science is gradually leading people to a godless civilization at the cost of the goal of human life.

CC Adi 5.66, Purport:

The Absolute Truth is identical with His spiritual energy. Only when contacted by the spiritual energy can the material energy work and the temporary material manifestations thus appear active. In the conditioned state the living entities of the marginal energy are a mixture of spiritual and material energies. The marginal energy is originally under the control of the spiritual energy, but, under the control of the material energy, the living entities have been wandering in forgetfulness within the material world since time immemorial.

CC Adi 7.10, Purport:

The living entities are also eternal and are also living forces, but they are very minute in quantity, whereas the Supreme Lord is the supreme living force and the supreme eternal. The supreme eternal never accepts a body of a temporary material nature, whereas the living entities, who are part and parcel of the supreme eternal, are prone to do so. Thus according to the Vedic mantras the Supreme Lord is the supreme master of innumerable living entities.

CC Adi 7.112, Purport:

It is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has a spiritual body which is full of knowledge, eternity and bliss." In this material world everyone's body is just the opposite—temporary, full of ignorance and full of misery. Therefore when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sometimes described as nirākāra, this is to indicate that He does not have a material body like us.

Māyāvādī philosophers do not know how it is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is formless. The Supreme Lord does not have a form like ours but has a spiritual form.

CC Adi 7.118, Purport:

A reflection of the sun in a mirror or on water appears to be the sun but is not. Similarly, the material world is but a reflection of the spiritual world. Although it appears to be factual, it is not; it is only a temporary reflection, whereas the spiritual world is a factual reality. The material world, with its gross and subtle forms, is merely a reflection of the spiritual world.

The living entity is not a product of the material energy; he is spiritual energy, but in contact with matter he forgets his identity.

CC Adi 7.121, Purport:

If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a fact, how can His creation be false? Even in ordinary dealings, one cannot think the material cosmic manifestation to be false. Therefore Vaiṣṇava philosophers say that the cosmic creation is not false but temporary. It is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but since it is wonderfully created by the energy of the Lord, to say that it is false is blasphemous.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 4.82, Translation:

A temporary temple was constructed by covering the bed all around with a straw mattress. Thus there was a bed and a straw mattress to cover it.

CC Madhya 6.173, Translation:

“The theory of illusion can be applied only when the living entity identifies himself with the body. As far as the cosmic manifestation is concerned, it cannot be called false, although it is certainly temporary.

CC Madhya 6.174, Purport:

Oṁkāra is the representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in sound. This form of His holy name is accepted as the transcendental vibration (mahā-vākya) by virtue of which the temporary material manifestation has come into being. If one takes shelter of the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (oṁkāra), he can realize his constitutional identity and engage in devotional service even though in conditioned life.

CC Madhya 8.90, Purport:

"Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet." (BG 7.23)

Being elevated to the heavenly planets or other material planets does not mean attaining an eternal life of knowledge and bliss. At the end of the material world, all attainments of material elevation will also end. Again, according to Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), only those who engage in His loving devotional service will be admitted to the spiritual world and return to Godhead, not others:

CC Madhya 8.138, Purport:

The desire for enjoyment is present both in Kṛṣṇa and in His parts and parcels, the living entities. In the spiritual world, such desires are also spiritual. No one should mistakenly consider such desires to be material. In the material world, if one is sexually inclined and enjoys sex life, he enjoys something temporary. His enjoyment vanishes after a few minutes. However, in the spiritual world the same enjoyment may be there, but it never vanishes. It is continuously enjoyed. In the spiritual world such sex pleasure appears to the enjoyer to be more and more relishable with each new feature. In the material world, however, sex enjoyment becomes distasteful after a few minutes only, and it is never permanent. Because Kṛṣṇa appears very much sexually inclined, He is called the new Cupid in the spiritual world. There is no material inebriety in such desire, however.

CC Madhya 8.246, Purport:

In the material world everyone is trying to be famous by accumulating a large bank balance or material opulence. There is a steady competition among karmīs attempting to advance in a wealthy society. The whole world is turning in accordance with that competitive mood. But this kind of name and fame is temporary, for it lasts only as long as the temporary material body exists. One may become famous as a brahma-jñānī, an impersonalist scholar, or one may become a materially opulent person. In either case, such reputations are inferior to the reputation of Kṛṣṇa's devotee. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said:

CC Madhya 8.266, Translation:

""O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.""

CC Madhya 9.49, Purport:

The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.

CC Madhya 13.141, Purport:

Similarly, the fruitive workers' attempt to attain to the heavenly planets is nothing more than a phantasmagoria for the devotee. After all, the heavenly planets are material, and in due course of time they will all be dissolved. Devotees do not care for such temporary things. They engage in transcendental devotional activities because they desire elevation to the spiritual world, where they can live eternally and peacefully and with full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, the gopīs, cowherd boys and even the calves, cows, trees and water are fully conscious of Kṛṣṇa. They are never satisfied with anything but Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya 16.238, Purport:

Such renunciation is called markaṭa-vairāgya—the renunciation of a monkey. One cannot be really renounced until one actually becomes disgusted with material activity and sees it as a stumbling block to spiritual advancement. Renunciation should not be phalgu, temporary, but should exist throughout one's life. Temporary renunciation, or monkey renunciation, is like the renunciation one feels at a cremation ground. When a man takes a dead body to the crematorium, he sometimes thinks, "This is the final end of the body. Why am I working so hard day and night?" Such sentiments naturally arise in the mind of any man who goes to a crematorial ghāṭa. However, as soon as he returns from the cremation grounds, he again engages in material activity for sense enjoyment. This is called śmaśāna-vairāgya, or markaṭa-vairāgya.

CC Madhya 17.116, Purport:

That is, He always exhibited ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. However, foolish people considered Him sentimental. In the material world, so-called devotees sometimes exhibit emotional symptoms. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's ecstatic love cannot be compared to the imitative emotional exhibitions of pretenders. Such exhibitions do not continue for very long. They are temporary. We actually see that some emotional imitators exhibit certain symptoms, but immediately after their exhibition, they are attracted to smoking and other things. In the beginning, when Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī heard of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's activities, he considered them to be those of a pretender.

CC Madhya 17.116, Purport:

In the beginning, when Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī heard of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's activities, he considered them to be those of a pretender. Consequently he called Him a loka-pratāraka, a pretender. Māyāvādīs cannot understand the transcendental symptoms exhibited by a devotee; therefore when such symptoms are manifest, the Māyāvādīs equate them with temporary emotional feelings. However, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī’s statement is offensive, and consequently he should be considered an atheist (pāṣaṇḍī). According to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, since Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was not engaged in the Lord's devotional service, his sannyāsa is to be considered phalgu-vairāgya. This means that since he did not know how to use things for the Lord's service, his renunciation of the world was artificial.

CC Madhya 20.359, Translation:

“"O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth."

CC Madhya 22.145, Purport:

Sometimes a neophyte devotee or ordinary person thinks highly of speculative knowledge, austerity, penances and renunciation, thinking them the only path for advancement in devotional service. Actually this is not a fact. The path of knowledge, mystic yoga and renunciation has nothing to do with the pure soul. When one is temporarily in the material world, such processes may help a little, but they are not necessary for a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. In the material world, such activities end in material enjoyment or merging into the effulgence of the Supreme. They have nothing to do with the eternal loving service of the Lord. If one abandons speculative knowledge and simply engages in devotional service, he has attained his perfection. The devotee has no need for speculative knowledge, pious activity or mystic yoga. All these are automatically present when one renders the Lord transcendental loving service.

CC Madhya 24.104, Purport:

"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change."

Not knowing the real science of life, a foolish person engages in the temporary activities of this life and thus becomes further entangled in the cycle of birth and death. He always desires material opulence, which can be attained by karma, jñāna and yoga. But when one is actually elevated to the devotional platform, he gives up all these desires. This is called anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya. Then one becomes a pure devotee.

CC Madhya 24.202, Purport:

It is here mentioned that every living entity is ātmārāma. Temporarily covered by the influence of māyā, the living entity serves his senses, which are represented as kāma-krodha-lobha-moha-mada-mātsarya—lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. In the material condition, all living entities are engaged in sense gratification, but when they associate with devotees who follow the regulative principles, they become purified and awakened to their original consciousness. They then attempt to satisfy the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa and engage in His devotional service.

CC Madhya 24.330, Purport:

"Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet."

Demigod worship is meant for unintelligent men because the benefits derived from demigod worship are all material, temporary and retractable. It is also stated in the Padma Purāṇa:

CC Madhya 25.34, Purport:

In the Vedic literatures, including the Purāṇas, there are full descriptions of the spiritual potency of Kṛṣṇa. All the pastimes of the Lord are eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, just as the form of Kṛṣṇa Himself is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1)). Unintelligent people with a poor fund of knowledge compare their temporary bodies to the spiritual body of Kṛṣṇa, and by such foolishness they try to understand Kṛṣṇa as one of them. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam. The Bhagavad-gītā (9.11) points out that foolish people think of Kṛṣṇa as one of them. Not understanding His spiritual potency, they simply decry the personal form of the Absolute Truth, foolishly thinking of themselves as jñānīs cognizant of the complete truth.

CC Madhya 25.148, Translation:

“‘O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.

CC Madhya 25.264, Purport:

"All Indians should seriously take up the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and should perfect their lives by adopting the process of devotional service. After perfecting their lives, they should broadcast this message all over the world for the welfare of all human beings (para-upakāra)." (CC Adi 9.41) A Vaiṣṇava is especially interested in para-upakāra, doing good to others. Prahlāda Mahārāja was also interested in this. He did not want to be delivered alone; rather, he wanted to deliver all fallen souls, who are bereft of knowledge of bhakti and who misuse their intelligence for the temporary benefit of the material body. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also wanted His mission spread all over the world.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 5.97, Purport:

“A mellow temporarily appearing transcendental but contradicting mellows previously stated and lacking some of a mellow's necessities is called rasābhāsa, an overlapping mellow, by advanced devotees who know how to taste transcendental mellows. Such mellows are called uparasa (submellows), anurasa (imitation transcendental mellows) and aparasa (opposing transcendental mellows). Thus the overlapping of transcendental mellows is described as being first grade, second grade or third grade. When the twelve mellows—such as neutrality, servitorship and friendship—are characterized by adverse sthāyi-bhāva, vibhāva and anubhāva ecstasies, they are known as uparasa, submellows.

CC Antya 6.199, Purport:

"A materialistic person, madly engaged in activities for sense enjoyment, does not know that he is entangling himself in repeated birth and death and that his body, although temporary, is full of miseries." A viṣayī, a person blindly caught in a web of materialistic life, remains in the cycle of birth and death perpetually. Such a person cannot understand how to execute pure devotional service, and therefore he acts as a karmī, jñānī, yogī or something else, according to his desire, but he does not know that the activities of karma, jñāna and yoga simply bind one to the cycle of birth and death.

CC Antya 11.105, Purport:

Haridāsa Ṭhākura is mentioned here as the most learned scholar, parama-vidvān. Actually, the most important science to know is the science of getting out of the clutches of material existence. Anyone who knows this science must be considered the greatest learned person. Anyone who knows the temporary situation of this material world and is expert in achieving a permanent situation in the spiritual world, who knows that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond the jurisdiction of our experimental knowledge, is understood to be the most learned scholar. Haridāsa Ṭhākura knew this science perfectly. Therefore, he is described in this connection as parama-vidvān. He personally preached the importance of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, which is approved by the revealed scriptures. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.24):