The Lord manifests as the Purusha and other avataras SB – 1.3.1-8

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.1 Chapter 3 is entitled Krishna is the source of all Ganas Shuddha Vacha Jagruhe Paurusham Ropam Bhagavan Mahadadhibhim Sambhutam Shodashakalam Adau Lokasis Rukshaya Jagruhe Paurusham Ropam that in this chapter the different incarnations of the Lord are talked about and the transcendence of the Lord while being being involved in this world in terms of its maintenance and keeping it on the path of purification both are talked about by discussion of his incarnations so Jagruhe he accepted Paurusham Ropam the Paurusha avatars Bhagavan Mahadadhibhim that Supreme Lord Bhagavan Mahadadhibhim the Mahatattva and other ingredients Adhibhim this is a common mode of reference in the Vedic scriptures where if certain items are known are well known to be a set then just one is mentioned and etc. as we say in English Adhibhim so the others are understood so in the previous chapter for example Sthiti was mentioned Sthiti Adhibhim so Sushti, Sthiti, Pralaya that is to be understood similarly here Mahad Adhibhim so Mahad and the other material elements the ingredients of material existence which are there Mahad and Adhibhim Sambhutam Shodashakalam Kalam Sambhutam the creation took place Shodashakalam the 16 primary principles Adau Loka Siksisrukshaya for the purpose of creating the Lokas so it is said over here that in the beginning the Lord accepted as the Paurusha Rupa manifested himself as the first Paurusha avatar and then he manifested all the ingredients for material existence Bhagavan Mahadadhibhim now among those material elements required first what is manifested was the Shodashakalam the 16 principles of material action so in Sankhya there are various more various frames of analysis Sankhya is related to the word Sankhya Sankhya means to count Sankhya is the analysis the word analysis means dividing into components something is very big we cut it down break it down into its components and thus we are able to understand what it is made up of how it functions how it is all brought together we try to understand all this so Shodashakalam this means that the 16 elements of which eventually give rise to material existence they are talked about now usually there are different ways to talk so for example the Bhagavad Gita talks about the 24 elements it’s talked about in 13.6 and 7 Mahabhutani ahamkaro buddhiravyakta me kaccha eva cha indriyan dashai kamcha pancha chendriya gocharaha so Mahabhutani the five gigantic elements earth, water, fire, air, ether then ahamkaro buddhiravyakta me kaccha ahamkara is ego, buddhi is intelligence avyakta is unmanifest that is pradhan indriyan dashai kamcha 11 senses which include the 5 working senses, 5 knowledge acquiring senses and the mind pancha chendriya gocharaha and then there is 5 gocharaha indriya gocharaha that refers to the sense objects so 5 plus 3 plus 11 plus 5 so we have 24 like that 5 plus 4 actually Mahabhutani ahamkaro buddhiravyakta me kaccha indriyan dashai kamcha pancha chendriya gocharaha so here out of those 24 elements instead of those 24 elements 16 are talked about and prabhupada explains the purpose of 16 having referred to he says they are the 11 senses the 11 working senses and the 5 gross elements so Mahabhutani and indriyan dashai kamcha so depending on the mode of frame of analysis sometimes all the elements may be talked about sometimes some elements may be referred to because those are the primary ingredients so here the unfolding of creation is being described and it begins thus yasyambhasi shayanasya yoganidram vitanvataha nabhiradam bhujad asid brahma vishwa sujam patihi so ambha ambhasi means water so when this first purusharthar is lying down in the ocean yoganidram vitanvataha yoganidram vitanvataha he is reclining in yoga nidra at that time nabhiradam bhujad asid nabhirad so his navel this is a huge form and within his huge form his navel itself like a lake so nabhiradam bhujad asid ambhujad ambu is water, ja is that which is born so born in water refers to lotus ambujad so nabhiradam bhujad asid from the nabhi appears the lotus flower, the primaeval lotus flower and from there what happens brahma vishwa sujam patihi brahma appears as vishwa sujam who is the creator of the world patihi, he is the master so in the process of creation there has to be some there is sarga and there is visarga so if we look at the later we will see towards the end of the second kind of bhagatam there are atra sarga visarga visarga is in one sense the creation of the material elements and then visarga is there are different ways in which these are analysed at different places but broadly speaking we will say the elements are created and then the living beings are manifested with the presence of the elements, just like there is a cook and there are ingredients and then after that the cook uses the ingredients to make the recipe or there is a land and then there is a gardener who uses the land and the land contains some seeds and the gardener uses the land and the seeds and whatever resources are needed to go create a garden over there so after the first basic elements are manifested then this verse that was mentioned in the previous verse then this verse the manifestation of Brahmaji is described and Vishwasujam he is the master who will create the whole world he will create the universe, this means he will ensure the universe will become populated and will become will fulfil its purpose of offering an arena for both gratification and purification text 3 kalpito loka vistarah tadvai bhagvato roopam vishuddham sattam urjitam yasya vayavasamsthanai so yasya vayavasamsthanai in his bodily expansion samsthanai they are situated kalpito loka vistarah kalpito kalpana means imagination so it is imagined it is conceived loka vistarah the various lokas the various planetary systems they are in his in his bodily expansion that form of the lord now beyond that vishuddham sattam urjitam but the actual form of the lord vishuddham sattam urjitam it is transcendental it is vishuddham it is completely pure that existence is completely transcendental urjitam it is excellent so two points are being said over here that the first verse is that it is conceived it is imagined it is thought that the various planetary systems are situated in the body of the lord but the lord’s body is completely transcendental so this point of so are the two talking about the same thing no the virata rupa is a conceptualisation kalpito so it is not that there is any particular virata rupa loka where the lord with where the form of the virata rupa as we will discuss especially in the second canto that the sun and the moon are the eyes or the lower planetary systems are the thighs and the knees and the ankles and the calves and the feet like that there is no form like that it is a conceptualisation and especially the conceptualisation is meant for people who are too much in the material conception of life to help those people to at least get a preliminary understanding of God’s greatness in terms of material greatness and gradually from that understanding will rise towards understanding of spiritual greatness which does not have to depend on dimension it depends primarily on the intensity of affection so the bhagavato rupa is transcendental so while describing the unfolding of creation the bhagavata makes it clear that although the lord oversees the creation he himself does not have a material form sahasra molyam kundalolasat kundalolasat so pashyanti so the devotees the spiritual the spiritually realised souls pashyanti they see what is it pashyanti adorupam adabra chakshusham chakshusha so in this form adorupam the father rupa is adabra chakshusha the perfect form with chakshusha sahas with many many eyes sahasrapadoru there are thousands of legs there are thakuru is thighs bhuja anana is hands and face adbhutam it’s all wonderful sahasramudhasravanakshinasikam then there are thousands of faces and ears and nose eyes sahasramaulya then there is so many garlands thousands of garlands and there are dresses and kundalolasat and the earrings are all glowing so here the magnificent form of the supreme is talked about so now the lord manifests in various ways and in this verse the sahasrashirsha purusha just talked about in the purusha of the prayers are offered to manifestation of the lord who is all glorious who is all opulent and that manifestation is being talked about here so now which particular manifestation is referring to this we consider in the sequence of the manifestation of the creation there is maha vishnu there is karbodakshaya vishnu and there is shirodakshaya vishnu so bhagavatam here is not giving analytical step-by-step description using the framework of the three purusha avatars scripture in different places and the acharyas also in different places may use different schema for analysis and for example we may see that bhaktivinoda dhakuna chaitanya shiksha amrit talks about the four levels at which people approach god fear, desire, duty and love and in contrast krishna talks about the four motives which people approach god the distress, the desire of wealth the inquisitive and the knowledgeable so now these are two different schemas of reference these four are motives with which people approach god, krishna is talking about them and what the bhaktivinoda dhakuna talks about is four levels at which people approach now we can bring about some intersection and we can say that oh those who are distressed or those who have desires of wealth they are approaching at the level of desire now that’s true but where do we put the inquisitive and the knowledgeable they are not necessarily approaching out of love inquisitiveness is not exactly a duty although we can say from spiritual perspective philosophical perspective that it’s duty in the human form to enquire but it’s not duty in the sense in which it is normally understood so we all need to recognise that there are different schema and trying to specifically pinpoint which particular form is being referred to in which verse we can do that based on the guidance of the acharyas but we need to understand the underlying principles the bhagavatam as long as it does not use a particular name to refer to a particular form so we may find that sometimes different the description of different form or one form may seem to have different features that’s what it may seem like to us so the first verse if he is lying down in the ocean we might say is this referring to Mahavishnu he also lies down in the ocean is it referring to Karnadaksha Vishnu or some Mahagarbhodaksha Vishnu yes he also lies down in the ocean within the Garbhodakshagar or is it Ravishyodaksha Vishnu he also lies down in the ocean but not at the bottom of the universe at the top of the universe in the Kshirasagar so if we see from from him Brahma is born then we can understand from whom Brahma is born in the Garbhodaksha Vishnu so this refers to the Garbhodaksha Vishnu so now as far as he is having is it the same that was what was referred to two verses earlier now is this also referring to the same yes we could say he is and as far as he is having thousands of forms thousands of hands and legs that is a vision which a devotee can relish in meditation and is perfectly compatible with the lord’s omnipotence in being able to manifest anything and everything so fifth text Ethan is that same lord who manifests in this universe and who sustains the universe so through various avatars through various descends that lord what does he do he who is the indestructible source and seed of all existence whose plenary portion and part of plenary through expansions and further expansions and expansions are created and manifest so devatas animals and humans all of them means others also means all living beings are manifest through him this verse is talking about two things now first is that this purusha from him Prabhupada identifies this as the second manifestation of the purusha so in particular visions the may also reveal many many heads and many many legs so from this manifestation firstly there are the avatars that come and secondly there are the various living beings that are manifested so here the principle is the point here is not a technical analysis of precise sequence of manifestations where the core point is the principle that the lord is the source of everything we could say that yes from garbhodaksha vishnu there is shivdaksha vishnu and avatars come from shivdaksha vishnu and even the living beings come from shivdaksha vishnu yes that would be true at one level no doubt but the important thing is that even shivdaksha vishnu comes from garbhodaksha vishnu and therefore we could very well say that it is the garbhodaksha vishnu which is the source and because we are talking about the frame of one universe right now we talked about how brahma is the creator brahma the creator of the universe is created here so in that sense things are moving onwards with the frame of one universe and how the emanations happen within that universe so therefore we could say that this refers to garbhodakshaya vishnu so sixth text sa eva prathamam devaha kaumaram sargam ashritaha cha chaara duscharam brahma brahmacharyam akhanditam so now from this verse onwards the first six verses talk about how the purushavatar sustains the various manifestations in the material existence originates and sustains the various manifestations in the material existence and now from here onwards how that purushavatar moves onwards and is the source of various incarnations which is talked about so eva prathamam devaha so among the first manifestations of the lord that appears devaha from that supreme lord kaumaram sargam ashritaha kaumara the word kumara can be both a common noun and a proper noun a common noun kumara can be that means it is referring any young boy who is in the stage of kaumara so it is roughly between between the ages of 5 around the age of 5 little more little less so bal avastha, kumara avastha, yava avastha we can say pavagandha avastha can also be there depending on different modes of classification so usually from the age of 5 onwards it is said kumara avastha starts it is probably till the age of 10 now so here it is said that the kumaras can kumara can refer to anybody who is in the kumara avastha anybody in the age of 5 or 10 it can also refer to specific people who are known as kumaras and these people are the four kumaras so usually in the kumara stage one is considered to be one is expected to be unmarried one is a brahmachari at that time so kaumaram sargam ashritaha sargam ashritaha at the time of creation right in the beginning of creation among the first previously it was said how brahma was created and brahma vishwas he created the universe so here the first being that manifested after he appeared were the kumaras chachara duscharam brahma chachara duscharam they perform that is very difficult to perform brahma brahmacharyam kanditam so brahma so brahma brahmacharyam kanditam so the word brahma comes twice brahmacharyam kanditam refers to their practise of uninterrupted celibacy and brahma refers to the fact of spiritual truth of ultimate reality it doesn’t refer here to brahma their father it refers to brahma the absolute truth so for attaining the absolute truth they perform austerity the kumaras using this particular framework this chapter as a reference and of course other sources the goswamis have analysed in the bhagavata amrit the various incarnations and they are considered to be the first incarnations of the supreme now in a broad sense this first second third is not necessarily in a absolutely linear sense in the sense that within one day of brahma depending on the rough timing when these particular people appear they can be called as first second third fourth at the same time we need to understand these avataras keep appearing and within the bhagavatam sometimes one avatar may be described earlier another later avatar may be described earlier and earlier avatar may be described later and the reason for this may well be that the bhagavatam is not restricted to one kalpa so although the point is that all the bhagavatam is first second third fourth fifth this is not necessarily in any sense the sequence is not indicative of primacy you know the first is the most important or the last is the most important it is just indicating in a rough chronological sense within a day of brahma within a manifestation how the avataras appear and this is a broad listing that is given so the point is not a chronologically or any other way systematically linear analysis the point is a number of examples are given to broadly illustrate the principle that the lord appears time and time again to reclaim the living beings who are lost in material existence so seventh text vithiyam tu bhavaya bhavayasyasya rasatalgatam him udharshyan upadatta yagyesha saukarambapuhum vithiyam second is saukarambapuhum saukarambapuhum refers to the boar incarnation lord boar so normally boar if somebody says you are a boar you are a pig you consider it a big offence nobody would consider juxtaposing the two words lord and boar together but it is done over here to illustrate the point to convey that even if the lord appears in a form which might not at all seem very attractive or respectable still the lord remains supremely attractive and supremely respectable saukarambapuhum he appears in the form of a boar tu bhavaya bhavayasyasya bhavaya bhavaya bhavaya means for the welfare of asya means of this earth rasatalgatam him when the earth rasatalgatam had fallen down to the level of rasatal udharshyan upadatta udharshyan he lifted it up upadatta and established it it’s proper position yagyesha he is the isha of yajnas saukarambapuhum he manifested in a saukara form so this story will further illustrate in later parts of the bhagavatam essentially when the earth had become earth’s balance had got destabilised because of Hiranyaks exploiting too much gold from it and the earth fell from it’s present situation down to a lower position and that lower position to which the earth fell is conveyed here in through the metaphor through the example not the metaphor through the deliverance was done through the manifestation of the lord in the saukarambapuhum he may dig underground for something to eat or may search some thing by burrowing underground so the lord manifested in a bore form to go underwater and the earth has fallen to the rasatan level actually the lord’s earth had fallen down he picked it up udharshyan he delivered it so third the incarnation manifested in the millennium of the rishi Narada Muni is known as usually devarishi he is a rishi among the gods he sometimes descends to the earth also and we know about him most of the time when he has descended to the earth but he still is a being of the celestial lord like devarishi tantram sattvatam achashtam tantra tantra is one genre of literature especially bhakti literature which talks about rituals of worshipping the lord especially duty worship tantram sattvatam achashtam sattvatam tantra means that tantra which is in the mode of goodness so what happens to that naishkarmam karmanam yatha naishkarmam karmanam yatha so how one can work without becoming bound that is what this particular manifestation of the lord taught it is interesting Narada Muni is a teacher usually of bhakti wherever he goes he delivers people by his purity by his potency and by his words of wisdom he inspires them to practise bhakti so that reference to bhakti is given indirectly by your friend tantram sattvatam sattvatantra is the name of a book also sattvatantra can also mean sattvata if you consider devotee tantra is referring to the literature sattvatantra means he we know Narada Muni compiled the narada bhakti sutra and there are others also compiled bhakti sutra like Shandilya sutra is also there but the point is Narada is himself exemplar of bhakti he is a teacher of bhakti who has inspired many many other people to take a bhakti and he is also the giver of bhakti to everyone including by bringing the by himself manifesting by carrying the lord within his heart and by manifesting the lord in this world he actually brings the world and its inhabitants close to the supreme lord such is the purpose for which the lord descends into this world and till now we discussed about how he manifests the graceful and then he manifests he manifests he manifests in various ways as the kumaras as the boar and as Narada to deliver the world which are the incarnations he manifests in and what all he does in those incarnations we will discuss in our future talks thank you