"A Description of Jambūdvīpa."

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 16 Text 1 to Text 29.

By His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

(Our small earth globe is 24,901 miles in circumference and is 7,917.5 miles in diameter)

It is also very clear our small earth globe we live on is NOT Bhu-Mandala described in Srimad Bhagavatam which is almost 4 billion miles in diameter and 12.34 billion miles in circumference.

No, our earth globe is way too small to be Bhū-maṇḍala according to Vedic Cosmologist and ISKCON scientist Sadaputa Dasa ACBSP. 

Bhu-Mandala is actually our entire small material universe that has 14 planetary systems in it.

Our small universe is further surrounded on all sides, and is deep within this outer spherical  shaped larger universe called a "Brahmanda."

This Brahmanda universe that our smaller Bhu-Mandala universe is deep within, is made up of 7 layers of material energy such as -

Earth, 

Water, 

Fire, 

Air, 

Sky, 

False Ego, 

Mahat-tattva.

That are all together are a massive 44 quadrillion 444 trillion 444 billion miles in diameter and possible just from one side of Bhu-Mandala that is situated in the center of the Brahmanda, meaning it is double that figure in diameter.

Our 4 billion mile diameter inner Bhu-Mandala universe is just a spec deep with this Brahmanda universal shell shaped spherical material universe that comes from Maha-Visnu along with billions of others, all in different sizes too.

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains our small earth planetary global round sphere within our 4 billion diameter Bhu-Mandala universe as a global sphere and NOT flat as primitive minded people believed.

Srila Prabhupada - "Within this material energy there are innumerable universes, in every universe there are innumerable material planets, and the earth is one of these planets. Thus we can understand what an insignificant part of the entire cosmos is this globe on which we live''. (Light of the Bhāgavata 47)

While describing the character of Mahārāja Priyavrata and his descendants, Śukadeva Gosvāmī also described Meru Mountain and the planetary system known as Bhū-maṇḍala.

Bhū-maṇḍala universe is in the lotus stem, and its seven islands are compared to the whorl of the lotus.

The place known as Jambūdvīpa is in the middle of that whorl. In Jambūdvīpa there is a mountain known as Sumeru, which is made of solid gold. The height of this mountain is 84,000 yojanas, of which 16,000 yojanas are below the earth.

Its width is estimated to be 32,000 yojanas at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its foot. (One yojana equals approximately eight miles.)

This king of mountains, Sumeru, is the support of the planet earth.

On the southern side of the land known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa are the mountains known as Himavān, Hemakūṭa and Niṣadha, and on the northern side are the mountains Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅga.

Similarly, on the eastern and western side there are Mālyavān and Gandhamādana, two large mountains. Surrounding Sumeru Mountain are four mountains known as

Mandara,

Merumandara,

Supārśva

Kumuda,

Each 10,000 yojanas long and 10,000 yojanas high.

On these four mountains there are trees 1,100 yojanas high — a mango tree, a rose apple tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. There are also lakes full of milk, honey, sugarcane juice and pure water. These lakes can fulfill all desires.

There are also gardens named Nandana, Citraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra.

On the side of Supārśva Mountain is a kadamba tree with streams of honey flowing from its hollows, and on Kumuda Mountain there is a banyan tree named Śatavalśa, from whose roots flow rivers containing milk, yogurt and many other desirable things.

Surrounding Sumeru Mountain like filaments of the whorl of a lotus are twenty mountain ranges such as

Kuraṅga,

Kurara,

Kusumbha,

Vaikaṅka

Trikūṭa.

To the east of Sumeru are the mountains Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, to the west are Pavana and Pāriyātra, to the south are Kailāsa and Karavīra, and to the north are Triśṛṅga and Makara.

These eight mountains are about 18,000 yojanas long, 2,000 yojanas wide and 2,000 yojanas high. On the summit of Mount Sumeru is Brahmapurī, the residence of Lord Brahmā.

Each of its four sides is 10,000 yojanas long. Surrounding Brahmapurī are the cities of King Indra and seven other demigods. These cities are one fourth the size of Brahmapurī.

SB 5.16.1

King Parīkṣit said to Śukadeva Gosvāmī: O brāhmaṇa, you have already informed me that the radius of Bhū-maṇḍala extends as far as the sun spreads its light and heat and as far as the moon and all the stars can be seen.

Purport:

In this verse it is stated that the planetary system known as Bhū-maṇḍala extends to the limits of the sunshine. According to modern science, the sunshine reaches earth from a distance of 93,000,000 miles.

If we calculate according to this modern information, 93,000,000 miles can be considered the radius of Bhū-maṇḍala. In the Gāyatrī mantra, we chant om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ.

The word bhūr refers to Bhū-maṇḍala. Tat savitur vareṇyam: the sunshine spreads throughout Bhū-maṇḍala. Therefore the sun is worshipable.

The stars, which are known as nakṣatra, are not different suns, as modern astronomers suppose. From Bhagavad-gītā (10.21) we understand that the stars are similar to the moon (nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī).

Like the moon, the stars reflect the sunshine. Apart from our modern distinguished estimations of where the planetary systems are located, we can understand that the sky and its various planets were studied long, long before Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained the location of the planets, and this indicates that the information was known long, long before Śukadeva Gosvāmī related it to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The location of the various planetary systems was not unknown to the sages who flourished in the Vedic age.

SB 5.16.2

My dear Lord, the rolling wheels of Mahārāja Priyavrata’s chariot created seven ditches, in which the seven oceans came into existence. Because of these seven oceans, Bhū-maṇḍala is divided into seven islands. You have given a very general description of their measurement, names and characteristics. Now I wish to know of them in detail. Kindly fulfill my desire.

SB 5.16.3

When the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His external feature made of the material modes of nature — the gross universal form — it is brought to the platform of pure goodness.

In that transcendental position, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who in His subtler form is self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my lord, please describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is perceived.

Purport:

Mahārāja Parīkṣit had already been advised by his spiritual master, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, to think of the universal form of the Lord, and therefore, following the advice of his spiritual master, he continuously thought of that form.

The universal form is certainly material, but because everything is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ultimately nothing is material. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja’s mind was saturated with spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated:

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā

hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ

mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo

vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate

Everything, even that which is material, is connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore everything should be engaged in the service of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura translates this verse as follows:

hari-sevāya yāhā haya anukūla

viṣaya baliyā tāhāra tyāge haya bhula

“One should not give up anything connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking it material or enjoyable for the material senses.” Even the senses, when purified, are spiritual. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit was thinking of the universal form of the Lord, his mind was certainly situated on the transcendental platform.

Therefore although he might not have had any reason to be concerned with detailed information of the universe, he was thinking of it in relationship with the Supreme Lord, and therefore such geographical knowledge was not material but transcendental.

Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.20) Nārada Muni has said, idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: the entire universe is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him.

Therefore although Parīkṣit Mahārāja had no need for geographical knowledge of this universe, that knowledge was also spiritual and transcendental because he was thinking of the entire universe as an expansion of the energy of the Lord.

In our preaching work also, we deal with so much property and money and so many books bought and sold, but because these dealings all pertain to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they should never be considered material. That one is absorbed in thoughts of such management does not mean that he is outside of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the mahā-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 5.16.4

The great ṛṣi Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, there is no limit to the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s material energy. This material world is a transformation of the material qualities [sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa], yet no one could possibly explain it perfectly, even in a lifetime as long as that of Brahmā.

No one in the material world is perfect, and an imperfect person could not describe this material universe accurately, even after continued speculation. O King, I shall nevertheless try to explain to you the principal regions, such as Bhūloka, with their names, forms, measurements and various symptoms.

Purport:

The material world is only one fourth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s creation, but it is unlimited and impossible for anyone to know or describe, even with the qualification of a life as long as that of Brahmā, who lives for millions and millions of years.

Modern scientists and astronomers try to explain the cosmic situation and the vastness of space, and some of them believe that all the glittering stars are different suns.

From Bhagavad-gītā, however, we understand that all these stars (nakṣatras) are like the moon, in that they reflect the sunshine. They are not independent luminaries.

Bhūloka is explained to be that portion of outer space through which the heat and light of the sun extend. Therefore it is natural to conclude that this universe extends in space as far as we can see and encompasses the glittering stars.

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī admitted that to give full details of this expansive material universe would be impossible, but nevertheless he wanted to give the King as much knowledge as he had received through the paramparā system.

We should conclude that if one cannot comprehend the material expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one certainly cannot estimate the expansiveness of the spiritual world. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) confirms this:

advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam

ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca

The limits of the expansions of Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be estimated by anyone, even a person as perfect as Brahmā, not to speak of tiny scientists whose senses and instruments are all imperfect and who cannot give us information of even this one universe.

We should therefore be satisfied with the information obtainable from Vedic sources as spoken by authorities like Śukadeva Gosvāmī.

SB 5.16.5

The planetary system known as Bhū-maṇḍala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of the island known as Jambūdvīpa, which is situated in the middle of the whorl, are one million yojanas [eight million miles]. Jambūdvīpa is round like the leaf of a lotus flower.

SB 5.16.6

In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas [72,000 miles]. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely.

Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following quotation from the Vāyu Purāṇa, wherein the locations of the various mountains, beginning with the Himālayas, are described.

dhanurvat saṁsthite jñeye dve varṣe dakṣiṇottare; dīrghāṇi tatra catvāri caturasram ilāvṛtam iti dakṣiṇottare bhāratottara-kuru-varṣe catvāri kiṁpuruṣa-harivarṣa-ramyaka-hiraṇmayāni varṣāṇi nīla-niṣadhayos tiraścinībhūya samudra-praviṣṭayoḥ saṁlagnatvam aṅgīkṛtya bhadrāśva-ketumālayor api dhanur-ākṛtitvam; atas tayor dairghyata eva madhye saṅkucitatvena nava-sahasrāyāmatvam; ilāvṛtasya tu meroḥ sakāśāt catur-dikṣu nava-sahasrāyāmatvaṁ saṁbhavet vastutas tv ilāvṛta-bhadrāśva-ketumālānāṁ catus-triṁśat-sahasrāyāmatvaṁ jñeyam.

SB 5.16.7

Amidst these divisions, or varṣas, is the varṣa named Ilāvṛta, which is situated in the middle of the whorl of the lotus. Within Ilāvṛta-varṣa is Sumeru Mountain, which is made of gold. Sumeru Mountain is like the pericarp of the lotuslike Bhū-maṇḍala planetary system.

The mountain’s height is the same as the width of Jambūdvīpa — or, in other words, 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles].

Of that, 16,000 yojanas [128,000 miles] are within the earth, and therefore the mountain’s height above the earth is 84,000 yojanas [672,000 miles].

The mountain’s width is 32,000 yojanas [256,000 miles] at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its base.

SB 5.16.8

Just north of Ilāvṛta-varṣa — and going further northward, one after another — are three mountains named Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgavān. These mark the borders of the three varṣas named Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru and separate them from one another.

The width of these mountains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Lengthwise, they extend east and west to the beaches of the ocean of salt water. Going from south to north, the length of each mountain is one tenth that of the previous mountain, but the height of them all is the same.

Purport:

In this regard, Madhvācārya quotes the following verses from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa:

yathā bhāgavate tūktaṁ

bhauvanaṁ kośa-lakṣaṇam

tasyāvirodhato yojyam

anya-granthāntare sthitam

maṇḍode puraṇaṁ caiva

vyatyāsaṁ kṣīra-sāgare

rāhu-soma-ravīṇāṁ ca

maṇḍalād dvi-guṇoktitām

vinaiva sarvam unneyaṁ

yojanābhedato ’tra tu

It appears from these verses that aside from the sun and moon, there is an invisible planet called Rāhu. The movements of Rāhu cause both solar and lunar eclipses. We suggest that the modern expeditions attempting to reach the moon are mistakenly going to Rāhu.

SB 5.16.9

Similarly, south of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and extending from east to west are three great mountains named (from north to south) Niṣadha, Hemakūṭa and Himālaya. Each of them is 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles] high. They mark the boundaries of the three varṣas named Hari-varṣa, Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and Bhārata-varṣa [India].

SB 5.16.10

In the same way, west and east of Ilāvṛta-varṣa are two great mountains named Mālyavān and Gandhamādana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles] high, extend as far as Nīla Mountain in the north and Niṣadha in the south. They indicate the borders of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and also the varṣas known as Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva.

Purport:

There are so many mountains, even on this planet earth. We do not think that the measurements of all of them have actually been calculated. While passing over the mountainous region from Mexico to Caracas, we actually saw so many mountains that we doubt whether their height, length and breadth have been properly measured.

Therefore, as indicated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, we should not try to comprehend the greater mountainous areas of the universe merely by our calculations. Śukadeva Gosvāmī has already stated that such calculations would be very difficult even if one had a duration of life like that of Brahmā.

We should simply be satisfied with the statements of authorities like Śukadeva Gosvāmī and appreciate how the entire cosmic manifestation has been made possible by the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The measurements given herein, such as 10,000 yojanas or 100,000 yojanas, should be considered correct because they have been given by Śukadeva Gosvāmī.

Our experimental knowledge can neither verify nor disprove the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We should simply hear these statements from the authorities. If we can appreciate the extensive energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that will benefit us.

SB 5.16.11

On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four mountains — Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumuda — which are like its belts. The length and height of these mountains are calculated to be 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles].

SB 5.16.12

Standing like flagstaffs on the summits of these four mountains are a mango tree, a rose apple tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. Those trees are calculated to have a width of 100 yojanas [800 miles] and a height of 1,100 yojanas [8,800 miles]. Their branches also spread to a radius of 1,100 yojanas.

SB 5.16.13-14

O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, best of the Bharata dynasty, between these four mountains are four huge lakes. The water of the first tastes just like milk; the water of the second, like honey; and that of the third, like sugarcane juice. The fourth lake is filled with pure water.

The celestial beings such as the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Gandharvas, who are also known as demigods, enjoy the facilities of those four lakes. Consequently they have the natural perfections of mystic yoga, such as the power to become smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest.

There are also four celestial gardens named Nandana, Caitraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra.

SB 5.16.15

The best of the demigods, along with their wives, who are like ornaments of heavenly beauty, meet together and enjoy within those gardens, while their glories are sung by lesser demigods known as Gandharvas.

SB 5.16.16

On the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain is a mango tree named Devacūta. It is 1,100 yojanas high. Mangoes as big as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar fall from the top of this tree for the enjoyment of the denizens of heaven.

Purport:

In the Vāyu Purāṇa there is also a reference to this tree by great learned sages:

aratnīnāṁ śatāny aṣṭāv

eka-ṣaṣṭy-adhikāni ca

phala-pramāṇam ākhyātam

ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhiḥ

SB 5.16.17

When all those solid fruits fall from such a height, they break, and the sweet, fragrant juice within them flows out and becomes increasingly more fragrant as it mixes with other scents. That juice cascades from the mountain in waterfalls and becomes a river called Aruṇodā, which flows pleasantly through the eastern side of Ilāvṛta.

SB 5.16.18

The pious wives of the Yakṣas act as personal maidservants to assist Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva. Because they drink the water of the river Aruṇodā, their bodies become fragrant, and as the air carries away that fragrance, it perfumes the entire atmosphere for eighty miles around.

SB 5.16.19

Similarly, the fruits of the jambū tree, which are full of pulp and have very small seeds, fall from a great height and break to pieces.

Those fruits are the size of elephants, and the juice gliding from them becomes a river named Jambū-nadī.

This river falls a distance of 10,000 yojanas, from the summit of Merumandara to the southern side of Ilāvṛta, and floods the entire land of Ilāvṛta with juice.

Purport:

We can only imagine how much juice there might be in a fruit that is the size of an elephant but has a very tiny seed. Naturally the juice from the broken jambū fruits forms waterfalls and floods the entire land of Ilāvṛta. That juice produces an immense quantity of gold, as will be explained in the next verses.

SB 5.16.20-21

The mud on both banks of the river Jambū-nadī, being moistened by the flowing juice and then dried by the air and the sunshine, produces huge quantities of gold called Jāmbū-nada.

The denizens of heaven use this gold for various kinds of ornaments. Therefore all the inhabitants of the heavenly planets and their youthful wives are fully decorated with golden helmets, bangles and belts, and thus they enjoy life.

Purport:

By the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the rivers on some planets produce gold on their banks. The poor inhabitants of this earth, because of their incomplete knowledge, are captivated by a so-called bhagavān who can produce a small quantity of gold.

However, it is understood that in a higher planetary system in this material world, the mud on the banks of the Jambū-nadī mixes with jambū juice, reacts with the sunshine in the air, and automatically produces huge quantities of gold. Thus the men and women are decorated there by various golden ornaments, and they look very nice.

Unfortunately, on earth there is such a scarcity of gold that the governments of the world try to keep it in reserve and issue paper currency. Because that currency is not backed up by gold, the paper they distribute as money is worthless, but nevertheless the people on earth are very proud of material advancement.

In modern times, girls and ladies have ornaments made of plastic instead of gold, and plastic utensils are used instead of golden ones, yet people are very proud of their material wealth. Therefore the people of this age are described as mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (Bhāg. 1.1.10).

In other words, they are extremely bad and slow to understand the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have been described as sumanda-matayaḥ because their conceptions are so crippled that they accept a bluffer who produces a little gold to be God. Because they have no gold in their possession, they are actually poverty-stricken, and therefore they are considered unfortunate.

Sometimes these unfortunate people want to be promoted to the heavenly planets to achieve fortunate positions, as described in this verse, but pure devotees of the Lord are not at all interested in such opulence. Indeed, devotees sometimes compare the color of gold to that of bright golden stool.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed devotees not to be allured by golden ornaments and beautifully decorated women. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīm: a devotee should not be allured by gold, beautiful women or the prestige of having many followers.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, therefore, confidentially prayed, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: “My Lord, please bless Me with Your devotional service. I do not want anything else.” A devotee may pray to be delivered from this material world. That is his only aspiration.

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ

patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau

kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-

sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya

The humble devotee simply prays to the Lord, “Kindly pick me up from the material world, which is full of varieties of material opulence, and keep me under the shelter of Your lotus feet.”

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prays:

hā hā prabhu nanda-suta, vṛṣabhānu-sutā-yuta,

karuṇā karaha ei-bāra

narottama-dāsa kaya, nā ṭheliha rāṅgā-pāya,

tomā vine ke āche āmāra

“O my Lord, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, now You are standing before me with Your consort, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Kindly accept me as the dust of Your lotus feet. Please do not kick me away, for I have no other shelter.”

Similarly, Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī indicates that the position of the demigods, who are decorated with golden helmets and other ornaments, is no better than a phantasmagoria (tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate). A devotee is never allured by such opulences. He simply aspires to become the dust of the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB 5.16.22

On the side of Supārśva Mountain stands a big tree called Mahākadamba, which is very celebrated. From the hollows of this tree flow five rivers of honey, each about five vyāmas wide. This flowing honey falls incessantly from the top of Supārśva Mountain and flows all around Ilāvṛta-varṣa, beginning from the western side. Thus the whole land is saturated with the pleasing fragrance.

Purport:

The distance between one hand and another when one spreads both his arms is called a vyāma. This comes to about eight feet. Thus each of the rivers was about forty feet wide, making a total of about two hundred feet.

SB 5.16.23

The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around.

SB 5.16.24

Similarly, on Kumuda Mountain there is a great banyan tree, which is called Śatavalśa because it has a hundred main branches. From those branches come many roots, from which many rivers are flowing. These rivers flow down from the top of the mountain to the northern side of Ilāvṛta-varṣa for the benefit of those who live there.

Because of these flowing rivers, all the people have ample supplies of milk, yogurt, honey, clarified butter [ghee], molasses, food grains, clothes, bedding, sitting places and ornaments. All the objects they desire are sufficiently supplied for their prosperity, and therefore they are very happy.

Purport:

The prosperity of humanity does not depend on a demoniac civilization that has no culture and no knowledge but has only gigantic skyscrapers and huge automobiles always rushing down the highways.

The products of nature are sufficient. When there is a profuse supply of milk, yogurt, honey, food grains, ghee, molasses, dhotis, saris, bedding, sitting places and ornaments, the residents are actually opulent.

When a profuse supply of water from the river inundates the land, all these things can be produced, and there will not be scarcity. This all depends, however, on the performance of sacrifice as described in the Vedic literature.

annād bhavanti bhūtāni

parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ

yajñād bhavati parjanyo

yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.”

These are the prescriptions given in Bhagavad-gītā (3.14). If people follow these principles in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, human society will be prosperous, and they will be happy both in this life and in the next.

SB 5.16.25

The residents of the material world who enjoy the products of these flowing rivers have no wrinkles on their bodies and no grey hair. They never feel fatigue, and perspiration does not give their bodies a bad odor. They are not afflicted by old age, disease or untimely death, they do not suffer from chilly cold or scorching heat, nor do their bodies lose their luster. They all live very happily, without anxieties, until death.

Purport:

This verse hints at the perfection of human society even within this material world. The miserable conditions of this material world can be corrected by a sufficient supply of milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, molasses, food grains, ornaments, bedding, sitting places and so on.

This is human civilization. Ample food grains can be produced through agricultural enterprises, and profuse supplies of milk, yogurt and ghee can be arranged through cow protection. Abundant honey can be obtained if the forests are protected.

Unfortunately, in modern civilization, men are busy killing the cows that are the source of yogurt, milk and ghee, they are cutting down all the trees that supply honey, and they are opening factories to manufacture nuts, bolts, automobiles and wine instead of engaging in agriculture. How can the people be happy? They must suffer from all the misery of materialism.

Their bodies become wrinkled and gradually deteriorate until they become almost like dwarves, and a bad odor emanates from their bodies because of unclean perspiration resulting from eating all kinds of nasty things. This is not human civilization.

If people actually want happiness in this life and want to prepare for the best in the next life, they must adopt a Vedic civilization. In a Vedic civilization, there is a full supply of all the necessities mentioned above.

SB 5. 16. 26.

There are other mountains beautifully arranged around the foot of Mount Meru like the filaments around the whorl of a lotus flower. Their names are Kuraṅga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikaṅka, Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Niṣadha, Sinīvāsa, Kapila, Śaṅkha, Vaidūrya, Jārudhi, Haṁsa, Ṛṣabha, Nāga, Kālañjara and Nārada.

SB 5.16.27

On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas [144,000 miles]. Similarly, on the western side of Sumeru are two mountains named Pavana and Pāriyātra, which also extend north and south for the same distance.

On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailāsa and Karavīra, which extend east and west for 18,000 yojanas, and on the northern side of Sumeru, extending for the same distance east and west, are two mountains named Triśṛṅga and Makara.

The width and height of all these mountains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Sumeru, a mountain of solid gold shining as brilliantly as fire, is surrounded by these eight mountains.

SB 5.16.28

In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahmā. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for ten million yojanas [eighty million miles]. It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Śātakaumbhī.

SB 5.16.29

Surrounding Brahmapurī in all directions are the residences of the eight principal governors of the planetary systems, beginning with King Indra. These abodes are similar to Brahmapurī but are one fourth the size.

Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura confirms that the townships of Lord Brahmā and the eight subordinate governors of the planetary systems, beginning with Indra, are mentioned in other Purāṇas.

merau nava-pūrāṇi syur

manovaty amarāvatī

tejovatī saṁyamanī

tathā kṛṣṇāṅganā parā

śraddhāvatī gandhavatī

tathā cānyā mahodayā

yaśovatī ca brahmendra

bahyādīnāṁ yathā-kramam

Brahmā’s township is known as Manovatī, and those of his assistants such as Indra and Agni are known as Amarāvatī, Tejovatī, Saṁyamanī, Kṛṣṇāṅganā, Śraddhāvatī, Gandhavatī, Mahodayā and Yaśovatī. Brahmapurī is situated in the middle, and the other eight purīs surround it in all directions.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Sixteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “A Description of Jambūdvīpa.”

PHOTO - A depiction of the material creation and the spiritual worlds will be in the dome of the "Temple of Vedic Planetarium" (TOVP)***.

"The Subterranean Heavenly Planets."

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 24 Text 1 to Text 31. 

By His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

This chapter describes the planet Rāhu, which is 10,000 yojanas (80,000 miles) below the sun, and it also describes Atala and the other lower planetary systems. 

Rāhu is situated below the sun and moon. It is between these two planets and the earth. 

When Rāhu conceals the sun and moon, eclipses occur, either total or partial, depending on whether Rāhu moves in a straight or curving way.

Below Rāhu by another 1,000,000 yojanas (8 million miles) are the planets of the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Vidyādharas, and below these are planets such as Yakṣaloka and Rakṣaloka. 

Below these planets is the earth, and 70,000 yojanas (280,000 miles) below the earth are the lower planetary systems — Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla. 

Demons and Rakṣasas live in these lower planetary systems with their wives and children, always engaged in sense gratification and not fearing their next births.

The sunshine does not reach these planets, but they are illuminated by jewels fixed upon the hoods of snakes. Because of these shining gems there is practically no darkness. 

Those living in these planets do not become old or diseased, and they are not afraid of death from any cause but the time factor, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In the planet Atala, the yawning of a demon has produced three kinds of women, called svairiṇī (independent), kāmiṇī (lusty) and puḿścalī (very easily subdued by men). Below Atala is the planet Vitala, wherein Lord Śiva and his wife Gaurī reside.

Because of their presence, a kind of gold is produced called hāṭaka. Below Vitala is the planet Sutala, the abode of Bali Mahārāja, the most fortunate king. Bali Mahārāja was favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāmanadeva, because of his intense devotional service.

The Lord went to the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja and begged him for three paces of land, and on this plea the Lord took from him all his possessions. When Bali Mahārāja agreed to all this, the Lord was very pleased, and therefore the Lord serves as his doorkeeper. The description of Bali Mahārāja appears in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead offers a devotee material happiness, this is not His real favor. The demigods, who are very puffed up by their material opulence, pray to the Lord only for material happiness, not knowing anything better.

Devotees like Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, do not want material happiness. Not to speak of material happiness, they do not want even liberation from material bondage, although one can achieve this liberation simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, even with improper pronunciation.

Below Sutala is the planet Talātala, the abode of the demon Maya. This demon is always materially happy because he is favored by Lord Śiva, but he cannot achieve spiritual happiness at any time. 

Below Talātala is the planet Mahātala, where there are many snakes with hundreds and thousands of hoods. Below Mahātala is Rasātala, and below that is Pātāla, where the serpent Vasukī lives with his associates.

SB 5.24. 1

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, some historians, the speakers of the Purāṇas, say that 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles] below the sun is the planet known as Rāhu, which moves like one of the stars.

The presiding deity of that planet, who is the son of Siṁhikā, is the most abominable of all asuras, but although he is completely unfit to assume the position of a demigod or planetary deity, he has achieved that position by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Later I shall speak further about him.

SB 5.24.2

The sun globe, which is a source of heat, extends for 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles]. The moon extends for 20,000 yojanas [160,000 miles], and Rāhu extends for 30,000 yojanas [240,000 miles]. 

Formerly, when nectar was being distributed, Rāhu tried to create dissension between the sun and moon by interposing himself between them. Rāhu is inimical toward both the sun and the moon, and therefore he always tries to cover the sunshine and moonshine on the dark-moon day and full-moon night.

Purport:

As stated herein, the sun extends for 10,000 yojanas, and the moon extends for twice that, or 20,000 yojanas. The word dvādaśa should be understood to mean twice as much as ten, or twenty. 

In the opinion of Vijayadhvaja, the extent of Rāhu should be twice that of the moon, or 40,000 yojanas.

However to reconcile this apparent contradiction to the text of the Bhāgavatam, Vijayadhvaja cites the following quotation concerning Rāhu; rāhu-soma-ravīṇāṁ tu maṇḍalā dvi-guṇoktitām. 

This means that Rāhu is twice as large as the moon, which is twice as large as the sun. This is the conclusion of the commentator Vijayadhvaja.

SB 5.24.3

After hearing from the sun and moon demigods about Rāhu’s attack, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, engages His disc, known as the Sudarśana cakra, to protect them. The Sudarśana cakra is the Lord’s most beloved devotee and is favored by the Lord. 

The intense heat of its effulgence, meant for killing non-Vaiṣṇavas, is unbearable to Rāhu, and he therefore flees in fear of it. During the time Rāhu disturbs the sun or moon, there occurs what people commonly know as an eclipse.

Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is always the protector of His devotees, who are also known as demigods. The controlling demigods are most obedient to Lord Viṣṇu, although they also want material sense enjoyment, and that is why they are called demigods, or almost godly. 

Although Rāhu attempts to attack both the sun and the moon, they are protected by Lord Viṣṇu.

Being very afraid of Lord Viṣṇu’s cakra, Rāhu cannot stay in front of the sun or moon for more than a muhūrta (forty-eight minutes). The phenomenon that occurs when Rāhu blocks the light of the sun or moon is called an eclipse. 

The attempt of the scientists of this earth to go to the moon is as demoniac as Rāhu’s attack. Of course. their attempts will be failures because no one can enter the moon or sun so easily. Like the attack of Rāhu, such attempts will certainly be failures.

SB 5.24.4

Below Rāhu by 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles] are the planets known as Siddhaloka, Cāraṇaloka and Vidyādhara-loka.

Purport:

It is said that the residents of Siddhaloka, being naturally endowed with the powers of yogīs, can go from one planet to another by their natural mystic powers without using airplanes or similar machines.

SB 5.24.5

Beneath Vidyādhara-loka, Cāraṇaloka and Siddhaloka, in the sky called antarikṣa, are the places of enjoyment for the Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, ghosts and so on. Antarikṣa extends as far as the wind blows and the clouds float in the sky. Above this there is no more air.

SB 5.24.6

Below the abodes of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas by a distance of 100 yojanas [800 miles] is the planet earth. Its upper limits extend as high as swans, hawks, eagles and similar large birds can fly.

SB 5.24.7

My dear King, beneath this earth are seven other planets, known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla. I have already explained the situation of the planetary systems of earth. The width and length of the seven lower planetary systems are calculated to be exactly the same as those of earth.

SB 5.24.8

In these seven planetary systems, which are also known as the subterranean heavens [bila-svarga], there are very beautiful houses, gardens and places of sense enjoyment, which are even more opulent than those in the higher planets because the demons have a very high standard of sensual pleasure, wealth and influence.

Most of the residents of these planets, who are known as Daityas, Dānavas and Nāgas, live as householders. Their wives, children, friends and society are all fully engaged in illusory material happiness. 

The sense enjoyment of the demigods is sometimes disturbed, but the residents of these planets enjoy life without disturbances. Thus they are understood to be very attached to illusory happiness.

Purport:

According to the statements of Prahlāda Mahārāja, material enjoyment is māyā-sukha, illusory enjoyment. A Vaiṣṇava is full of anxieties for the deliverance of all living entities from such false enjoyment. 

Prahlāda Mahārāja says, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: these fools (vimūḍhas) are engaged in material happiness, which is surely temporary.

Whether in the heavenly planets, the lower planets or the earthly planets, people are engrossed in temporary, material happiness, forgetting that in due course of time they have to change their bodies according to the material laws and suffer the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease.

Not caring what will happen in the next birth, gross materialists are simply busy enjoying during the present short span of life. A Vaiṣṇava is always anxious to give all such bewildered materialists the real happiness of spiritual bliss.

SB 5.24.9

My dear King, in the imitation heavens known as bila-svarga there is a great demon named Maya Dānava, who is an expert artist and architect. He has constructed many brilliantly decorated cities. 

There are many wonderful houses, walls, gates, assembly houses, temples, yards and temple compounds, as well as many hotels serving as residential quarters for foreigners.

The houses for the leaders of these planets are constructed with the most valuable jewels, and they are always crowded with living entities known as Nāgas and Asuras, as well as many pigeons, parrots and similar birds. All in all, these imitation heavenly cities are most beautifully situated and attractively decorated.

SB 5.24.10

The parks and gardens in the artificial heavens surpass in beauty those of the upper heavenly planets. The trees in those gardens, embraced by creepers, bend with a heavy burden of twigs with fruits and flowers, and therefore they appear extraordinarily beautiful. 

That beauty could attract anyone and make his mind fully blossom in the pleasure of sense gratification. There are many lakes and reservoirs with clear, transparent water, agitated by jumping fish and decorated with many flowers such as lilies, kuvalayas, kahlāras and blue and red lotuses. 

Pairs of cakravākas and many other water birds nest in the lakes and always enjoy in a happy mood, making sweet, pleasing vibrations that are very satisfying and conducive to enjoyment of the senses.

SB 5.24.11

Since there is no sunshine in those subterranean planets, time is not divided into days and nights, and consequently fear produced by time does not exist.

SB 5.24.12

Many great serpents reside there with gems on their hoods, and the effulgence of these gems dissipates the darkness in all directions.

SB 5.24.13

Since the residents of these planets drink and bathe in juices and elixirs made from wonderful herbs, they are freed from all anxieties and physical diseases. 

They have no experience of grey hair, wrinkles or invalidity, their bodily lusters do not fade, their perspiration does not cause a bad smell, and they are not troubled by fatigue or by lack of energy or enthusiasm due to old age.

SB 5.24.14

They live very auspiciously and do not fear death from anything but death’s established time, which is the effulgence of the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport:

This is the defect of material existence. Everything in the subterranean heavens is very nicely arranged. There are well situated residential quarters, there is a pleasing atmosphere, and there are no bodily inconveniences or mental anxieties, but nevertheless those who live there have to take another birth according to karma.

Persons whose minds are dull cannot understand this defect of a materialistic civilization aiming at material comforts. One may make his living conditions very pleasing for the senses, but despite all favorable conditions, one must in due course of time meet death. 

The members of a demoniac civilization endeavor to make their living conditions very comfortable, but they cannot check death. The influence of the Sudarśana cakra will not allow their so-called material happiness to endure.

SB 5.24.15

When the Sudarśana disc enters those provinces, the pregnant wives of the demons all have miscarriages due to fear of its effulgence.

SB 5.24.16

My dear King, now I shall describe to you the lower planetary systems, one by one, beginning from Atala. In Atala there is a demon, the son of Maya Dānava named Bala, who created ninety-six kinds of mystic power. 

Some so-called yogīs and svāmīs take advantage of this mystic power to cheat people even today. Simply by yawning, the demon Bala created three kinds of women, known as svairiṇī, kāmiṇī and puḿścalī.

The svairiṇīs like to marry men from their own group, the kāmiṇīs marry men from any group, and the puḿścalīs change husbands one after another. If a man enters the planet of Atala, these women immediately capture him and induce him to drink an intoxicating beverage made with a drug known as hāṭaka [cannabis indica].

This intoxicant endows the man with great sexual prowess, of which the women take advantage for enjoyment. A woman will enchant him with attractive glances, intimate words, smiles of love and then embraces. In this way she induces him to enjoy sex with her to her full satisfaction.

Because of his increased sexual power, the man thinks himself stronger than ten thousand elephants and considers himself most perfect. Indeed, illusioned and intoxicated by false pride, he thinks himself God, ignoring impending death.

ŚB 5.24.17

The next planet below Atala is Vitala, wherein Lord Śiva, who is known as the master of gold mines, lives with his personal associates, the ghosts and similar living entities. Lord Śiva, as the progenitor, engages in sex with Bhavānī, the progenitress, to produce living entities, and from the mixture of their vital fluid the river named Hāṭakī is generated. 

When fire, being made to blaze by the wind, drinks of this river and then sizzles and spits it out, it produces gold called Hāṭaka. 

The demons who live on that planet with their wives decorate themselves with various ornaments made from that gold, and thus they live there very happily.

Purport

It appears that when Bhava and Bhavānī, Lord Śiva and his wife, unite sexually, the emulsification of their secretions creates a chemical which when heated by fire can produce gold. 

It is said that the alchemists of the medieval age tried to prepare gold from base metal, and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī also states that when bell metal is treated with mercury, it can produce gold. 

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī mentions this in regard to the initiation of low-class men to turn them into brāhmaṇas. Sanātana Gosvāmī said:

yathā kāñcanatāḿ yātikāḿsyaḿ rasa-vidhānataḥtathā dīkṣā-vidhānenadvijatvaḿ jāyate nṛṇām

"As one can transform kaḿsa, or bell metal, into gold by treating it with mercury, one can also turn a lowborn man into a brāhmaṇa by initiating him properly into Vaiṣṇava activities."

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is trying to turn mlecchas and yavanas into real brāhmaṇas by properly initiating them and stopping them from engaging in meat-eating, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling.

One who stops these four principles of sinful activity and chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra can certainly become a pure brāhmaṇa through the process of bona fide initiation, as suggested by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī.

Apart from this, if one takes a hint from this verse and learns how to mix mercury with bell metal by properly heating and melting them, one can get gold very cheaply. The alchemists of the medieval age tried to manufacture gold, but they were unsuccessful, perhaps because they did not follow the right instructions.

ŚB 5.24.18

Below the planet Vitala is another planet, known as Sutala, where the great son of Mahārāja Virocana, Bali Mahārāja, who is celebrated as the most pious king, resides even now.

For the welfare of Indra, the King of heaven, Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the form of a dwarf brahmacārī as the son of Aditi and tricked Bali Mahārāja by begging for only three paces of land but taking all the three worlds. Being very pleased with Bali Mahārāja for giving all his possessions, the Lord returned his kingdom and made him richer than the opulent King Indra.

Even now, Bali Mahārāja engages in devotional service by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the planet of Sutala.

Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as Uttamaśloka, "He who is worshiped by the best of selected Sanskrit verses," and His devotees such as Bali Mahārāja are also worshiped by puṇya-śloka, verses that increase one's piety. 

Bali Mahārāja offered everything to the Lord — his wealth, his kingdom and even his own body (sarvātma-nivedane baliḥ).

The Lord appeared before Bali Mahārāja as a brāhmaṇa beggar, and Bali Mahārāja gave Him everything he had. However, Bali Mahārāja did not become poor; by donating all his possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became a successful devotee and got everything back again with the blessings of the Lord.

Similarly, those who give contributions to expand the activities of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and to accomplish its objectives will never be losers; they will get their wealth back with the blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. 

On the other side, those who collect contributions on behalf of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness should be very careful not to use even a farthing of the collection for any purpose other than the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

ŚB 5.24.19

My dear King, Bali Mahārāja donated all his possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāmanadeva, but one should certainly not conclude that he achieved his great worldly opulence in bila-svarga as a result of his charitable disposition.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the source of life for all living entities, lives within everyone as the friendly Supersoul, and under His direction a living entity enjoys or suffers in the material world. Greatly appreciating the transcendental qualities of the Lord, Bali Mahārāja offered everything at His lotus feet.

His purpose, however, was not to gain anything material, but to become a pure devotee. For a pure devotee, the door of liberation is automatically opened. One should not think that Bali Mahārāja was given so much material opulence merely because of his charity.

When one becomes a pure devotee in love, he may also be blessed with a good material position by the will of the Supreme Lord. However, one should not mistakenly think that the material opulence of a devotee is the result of his devotional service. 

The real result of devotional service is the awakening of pure love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which continues under all circumstances.

ŚB 5.24.20

If one who is embarrassed by hunger or who falls down or stumbles chants the holy name of the Lord even once, willingly or unwillingly, he is immediately freed from the reactions of his past deeds. 

Karmīs entangled in material activities face many difficulties in the practice of mystic yoga and other endeavors to achieve that same freedom.

Purport

It is not a fact that one has to offer his material possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be liberated before he can engage in devotional service. A devotee automatically attains liberation without separate endeavors. 

Bali Mahārāja did not get back all his material possessions merely because of his charity to the Lord.

One who becomes a devotee, free from material desires and motives, regards all opportunities, both material and spiritual, as benedictions from the Lord, and in this way his service to the Lord is never hampered. Bhukti, material enjoyment, and mukti, liberation, are only by-products of devotional service.

A devotee need not work separately to attain mukti. Śrīla Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura said, muktiḥ svayaḿ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate 'smān: a pure devotee of the Lord does not have to endeavor separately for mukti, because mukti is always ready to serve him.

In this regard, Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 3.177-188) describes Haridāsa Ṭhākura's confirmation of the effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord.

keha bale — 'nāma haite haya pāpa-kṣaya'keha bale — 'nāma haite jīvera mokṣa haya'

Some say that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one is freed from all the reactions of sinful life, and others say that by chanting the holy name of the Lord one attains liberation from material bondage.

haridāsa kahena, — "nāmera ei dui phala nayanāmera phale kṛṣṇa-pade prema upajaya

Haridāsa Ṭhākura, however, said that the desired result of chanting the holy name of the Lord is not that one is liberated from material bondage or freed from the reactions of sinful life. 

The actual result of chanting the holy name of the Lord is that one awakens his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his loving service to the Lord.

ānuṣańgika phala nāmera — 'mukti', 'pāpa-nāśa'tāhāra dṛṣṭānta yaiche sūryera prakāśa

Haridāsa Ṭhākura said that liberation and freedom from the reactions of sinful activities are only by-products of chanting the holy name of the Lord. 

If one chants the holy name of the Lord purely, he attains the platform of loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard Haridāsa Ṭhākura gave an example comparing the power of the holy name to sunshine.

ei ślokera artha kara paṇḍitera gaṇa"sabe kahe, — 'tumi kaha artha-vivaraṇa'

He placed a verse before all the learned scholars present, but the learned scholars asked him to state the purport of the verse.

haridāsa kahena, — "yaiche sūryera udayaudaya nā haite ārambhe tamera haya kṣaya

Haridāsa Ṭhākura said that as the sun begins to rise, it dissipates the darkness of night, even before the sunshine is visible.

caura-preta-rākṣasādira bhaya haya nāśaudaya haile dharma-karma-ādi parakāśa

Before the sunrise even takes place, the light of dawn destroys the fear of the dangers of the night, such as disturbances by thieves, ghosts and Rākṣasas, and when the sunshine actually appears, one engages in his duties.

aiche nāmodayārambhe pāpa-ādira kṣayaudaya kaile kṛṣṇa-pade haya premodaya

Similarly, even before one's chanting of the holy name is pure, one is freed from all sinful reactions, and when he chants purely he becomes a lover of Kṛṣṇa.

'mukti' tuccha-phala haya nāmābhāsa haiteye mukti bhakta nā laya, se kṛṣṇa cāhe dite"

A devotee never accepts mukti, even if Kṛṣṇa offers it. Mukti, freedom from all sinful reactions, is obtained even by nāmābhāsa, or a glimpse of the light of the holy name before its full light is perfectly visible.

The nāmābhāsa stage is between that of nāma-aparādha, or chanting of the holy name with offenses, and pure chanting. There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the first stage, one commits ten kinds of offenses while chanting.

In the next stage, nāmābhāsa, the offenses have almost stopped, and one is coming to the platform of pure chanting. In the third stage, when one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without offenses, his dormant love for Kṛṣṇa immediately awakens. This is the perfection.

ŚB 5.24.21

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone's heart as the Supersoul, sells Himself to His devotees such as Nārada Muni. In other words, the Lord gives pure love to such devotees and gives Himself to those who love Him purely. 

Great, self-realized mystic yogīs such as the four Kumāras also derive great transcendental bliss from realizing the Supersoul within themselves.

Purport

The Lord became Bali Mahārāja's doorkeeper not because of his giving everything to the Lord, but because of his exalted position as a lover of the Lord.

5.24.22

The Supreme Personality of Godhead did not award His mercy to Bali Mahārāja by giving him material happiness and opulence, for these make one forget loving service to the Lord. The result of material opulence is that one can no longer absorb his mind in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport

There are two kinds of opulence. One, which results from one's karma, is material, whereas the other is spiritual. A surrendered soul who fully depends upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not want material opulence for sense gratification.

Therefore when a pure devotee is seen to possess exalted material opulence, it is not due to his karma. Rather, it is due to his bhakti. In other words, he is in that position because the Supreme Lord wants him to execute service to Him very easily and opulently.

The special mercy of the Lord for the neophyte devotee is that he becomes materially poor. This is the Lord's mercy because if a neophyte devotee becomes materially opulent, he forgets the service of the Lord. However, if an advanced devotee is favored by the Lord with opulence, it is not material opulence but a spiritual opportunity.

Material opulence offered to the demigods causes forgetfulness of the Lord, but opulence was given to Bali Mahārāja for continuing service to the Lord, which was free from any touch of māyā.

5.24.23

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead could see no other means of taking everything away from Bali Mahārāja, He adopted the trick of begging from him and took away all the three worlds. Thus only his body was left, but the Lord was still not satisfied.

He arrested Bali Mahārāja, bound him with the ropes of Varuṇa and threw him in a cave in a mountain. Nevertheless, although all his property was taken and he was thrown into a cave, Bali Mahārāja was such a great devotee that he spoke as follows.

5.24.24

Alas, how pitiable it is for Indra, the King of heaven, that although he is very learned and powerful and although he chose Bṛhaspati as his prime minister to instruct him, he is completely ignorant concerning spiritual advancement. Bṛhaspati is also unintelligent because he did not properly instruct his disciple Indra. 

Lord Vāmanadeva was standing at Indra's door, but King Indra, instead of begging Him for an opportunity to render transcendental loving service, engaged Him in asking me for alms to gain the three worlds for his sense gratification.

Sovereignty over the three worlds is very insignificant because whatever material opulence one may possess lasts only for an age of Manu, which is but a tiny fraction of endless time.

Purport

Bali Mahārāja was so powerful that he fought with Indra and took possession of the three worlds. Indra was certainly very advanced in knowledge, but instead of asking Vāmanadeva for engagement in His service, he used the Lord to beg for material possessions that would lie finished at the end of one age of Manu.

An age of Manu, which is the duration of Manu's life, is calculated to last seventy-two yugas. One yuga consists of 4,300,000 years, and therefore the duration of Manu's life is 309,600,000 years. 

The demigods possess their material opulence only until the end of the life of Manu. Time is insurmountable. The time one is allotted, even if it be millions of years, is quickly gone.

The demigods own their material possessions only within the limits of time. Therefore Bali Mahārāja lamented that although Indra was very learned, he did not know how to use his intelligence properly, for instead of asking Vāmanadeva to allow him to engage in His service, Indra used Him to beg Bali Mahārāja for material wealth.

Although Indra was learned and his prime minister, Bṛhaspati, was also learned, neither of them begged to be able to render loving service to Lord Vāmanadeva. Therefore Bali Mahārāja lamented for Indra.

5.24.25

Bali Mahārāja said: My grandfather Prahlāda Mahārāja is the only person who understood his own self-interest. Upon the death of Prahlāda's father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva wanted to offer Prahlāda his father's kingdom and even wanted to grant him liberation from material bondage, but Prahlāda accepted neither.

Liberation and material opulence, he thought, are obstacles to devotional service, and therefore such gifts from the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not His actual mercy. 

Consequently, instead of accepting the results of karma and jñāna, Prahlāda Mahārāja simply begged the Lord for engagement in the service of His servant.

Purport

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed that an unalloyed devotee should consider himself a servant of the servant of the servant of the Supreme Lord (gopī-bhartuḥ pāda-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ). 

In Vaiṣṇava philosophy, one should not even become a direct servant. Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered all the blessings of an opulent position in the material world and even the liberation of merging into Brahman, but he refused all this.

He simply wanted to engage in the service of the servant of the servant of the Lord. Therefore Bali Mahārāja said that because his grandfather Prahlāda Mahārāja had rejected the blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in terms of material opulence and liberation from material bondage, he truly understood his self-interest.

5.24.26

Bali Mahārāja said: Persons like us, who are still attached to material enjoyment, who are contaminated by the modes of material nature and who lack the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot follow the supreme path of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the exalted devotee of the Lord.

PURPORT

It is said that for spiritual realization one must follow great personalities like Lord Brahmā, Devarṣi Nārada, Lord Śiva and Prahlāda Mahārāja. The path of bhakti is not at all difficult if we follow in the footsteps of previous ācāryas and authorities, but those who are too materially contaminated by the modes of material nature cannot follow them.

Although Bali Mahārāja was actually following the path of his grandfather, because of his great humility he thought that he was not. It is characteristic of advanced Vaiṣṇavas following the principles of bhakti that they think themselves ordinary human beings. This is not an artificial exhibition of humility; a Vaiṣṇava sincerely thinks this way and therefore never admits his exalted position.

5.24.27

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, how shall I glorify the character of Bali Mahārāja? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the three worlds, who is most compassionate to His own devotee, stands with club in hand at Bali Mahārāja's door.

When Rāvaṇa, the powerful demon, came to gain victory over Bali Mahārāja, Vāmanadeva kicked him a distance of eighty thousand miles with His big toe. I shall explain the character and activities of Bali Mahārāja later [in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam].

5.24.28

Beneath the planet known as Sutala is another planet, called Talātala, which is ruled by the Dānava demon named Maya. Maya is known as the ācārya [master] of all the māyāvīs, who can invoke the powers of sorcery.

For the benefit of the three worlds, Lord Śiva, who is known as Tripurāri, once set fire to the three kingdoms of Maya, but later, being pleased with him, he returned his kingdom. Since that time, Maya Dānava has been protected by Lord Śiva, and therefore he falsely thinks that he need not fear the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5.24.29

The planetary system below Talātala is known as Mahātala. It is the abode of many-hooded snakes, descendants of Kadrū, who are always very angry. The great snakes who are prominent are Kuhaka, Takṣaka, Kāliya and Suṣeṇa. 

The snakes in Mahātala are always disturbed by fear of Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, but although they are full of anxiety, some of them nevertheless sport with their wives, children, friends and relatives.

Purport 

It is stated here that the snakes who live in the planetary system known as Mahātala are very powerful and have many hoods. They live with their wives and children and consider themselves very happy, although they are always full of anxiety because of Garuḍa, who comes there to destroy them. 

This is the way of material life. Even if one lives in the most abominable condition, he still thinks himself happy with his wife, children, friends and relatives.

5.24.30

Beneath Mahātala is the planetary system known as Rasātala, which is the abode of the demoniac sons of Diti and Danu. They are called Paṇis, Nivāta-kavacas, Kāleyas and Hiraṇya-puravāsīs [those living in Hiraṇya-pura]. They are all enemies of the demigods, and they reside in holes like snakes.

From birth they are extremely powerful and cruel, and although they are proud of their strength, they are always defeated by the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who rules all the planetary systems. 

When a female messenger from Indra named Saramā chants a particular curse, the serpentine demons of Mahātala become very afraid of Indra.

Purport 

It is said that there was a great fight between these serpentine demons and Indra, the King of heaven. When the defeated demons met the female messenger Saramā, who was chanting a mantra, they became afraid, and therefore they are living in the planet called Rasātala.

5.24.31

Beneath Rasātala is another planetary system, known as Pātāla or Nāgaloka, where there are many demoniac serpents, the masters of Nāgaloka, such as Śańkha, Kulika, Mahāśańkha, Śveta, Dhanañjaya, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Śańkhacūḍa, Kambala, Aśvatara and Devadatta. The chief among them is Vāsuki.

They are all extremely angry, and they have many, many hoods — some snakes five hoods, some seven, some ten, others a hundred and others a thousand. These hoods are bedecked with valuable gems, and the light emanating from the gems illuminates the entire planetary system of bila-svarga.

(Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Subterranean Heavenly Planets.")

Krsna promises there is no return to the material world once the jiva-soul is in the spiritual world, is this true?

In Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Krsna promises there is no return to the material world once in the spiritual world, but ONLY if the jiva-souls returning to the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka-Vrindavana ALSO agree with Krsna. 

In other words, Srila Prabhupada tells us there IS return if the jiva-souls wants to return, explaining it will always be voluntary to return to the material world or stay in the spiritual world otherwise free will has no meaning. 

This is because "free will" is also applied to Krsna's promise, which means the jiva-souls can choose to accept that promise by Krsna or reject it. 

Krsna will always promise to protect the jiva-souls He directs back home back to Godhead and say they will never again fall down to the material world, but it is also up to the jiva-souls to choose for themselves to either accept or reject that promise from Krsna too.

For example, yes we know Krsna will never break His promise, but try to understand that loving exchanges and relationships are a "two-way" street, meaning you always have a choice, you never lose that free will in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana. 

Krsna offers His promise to the fallen jiva-souls but it is up to them to accept or reject that promise Prabhupada explains.

This means there is always free will even in choosing to accept or reject Krsna's promise because without having that free will we are no better than dead stone.

Therefore, even though Krsna has promised there is no return to the material creation once returning to the spiritual worlds, the fact is there is return if the jiva-souls want to return as Prabhupada explains here-

Acyutananda – "In Bhagavad Gita Krsna says, once coming to the spiritual world, the jiva-soul never returns to the material world, so He can return?"

Srila Prabhupada – "If he likes he can return, that is voluntary."

Guru-kripa – "How is it that one can become envious of Krsna?"

Srila Prabhupada – "You have got little independence, you can violate. Because you are part and parcel of God. God has got full independence, but you have got independence too, proportionately, because you are part and parcel, so if he likes, he can return. That independence has to be accepted. We can misuse that. Krsna-bahirmukha haïä bhoga väïchä kare. That misuse is the cause of our falldown." (Mayapur February 19, 1976)

Devotee - "Well, I believe you once said that once a conditioned soul becomes perfected and gets out of the material world and he goes to Krsnaloka, there’s no possibility of falling back there."

Srila Prabhupada - "No! There is possibility, but he does not come IF he is intelligent. Just like after putting your hand in the fire, you never put it in again. So those who are going back to Godhead, they must become intelligent. Why going back to Godhead?" (Talk with Syamasundara Dasa)

Note - Prabhupada says above, "IF he is intelligent," indicating there will be some who are NOT intelligent and again will fall down to the material world.

So, clearly those who believe no one can ever fall down from Vaikuntha have not understood the variety of living entities in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana, who most of them are Krsna's direct expansions and NOT jiva-tattva (jiva-soul)

The spiritual world is the manifestation of the Lord's internal potency, and the material world is the manifestation of His external potency. 

The living entities (jiva-souls) are also His marginal potency, and by their own choice they can live in either the spiritual or material worlds.

Only the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are separate individuals who can express themselves in "separate-way" from Krsna, including disagreeing with Him if they choose, which means they have free will.

As said above, the Visnu-tattva personalities and Visnu-"sakti"-tattvas ARE Krsna just playing unlimited roles in Krsna's own pastimes.

An example of Visnu"sakti"-tattva is Mother Yasoda, she is NOT a jiva-soul, she is a direct expansion of Krsna. 

In other words, just like Krsna is also Balarāma, and Radharani is also Krsna but in a different mood, Mother Yasoda is also an expansion of Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada - "Nanda and mother Yasoda are the eternal father & mother of Krsna. This means that whenever Krsna descends, Nanda and Yasoda, as well as Vasudeva and Devaki, also descend as the Lord's father and mother. Their personalities are expansions of Krsna's personal body." (SB, Canto 10.8.48)

There are no new jiva-souls being created by Krsna, Maha-Visnu, or the impersonal brahmajyoti. 

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, 7/9/1970)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 text 20 explains the jiva-souls have existed for “infinity”

This means, just like Krsna, they are beginning less and endless, and were NEVER created-

Bhagavad Gita - “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (BG, Ch 2 text 20 “corrected” 1983 edition)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 text 12 also confirms the jiva-souls were NEVER created because they have no origin and have existed for infinity like Krsna has, as Krsna explains-

Bhagavad Gita - “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” (BG 2.12)

Being "marginal" means having the choice to be influenced by the spiritual energy or the material energy-

1 - The jiva-souls nature position and full potential in the spiritual world is always being connected to the spiritual energy.

2 - Or by the material energy which is an unnatural or incompatible "conditioned state" the jiva-soul is in.

As said above, the real meaning of "marginal" means the jiva-souls can choose to be influenced by either the spiritual energy, or the material energy, based on the expression of their free will.

It is only of the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) who can fall down, and NOT Kṛṣṇa's direct internal energy who are His eternal associates that always accompany Him. 

And even with the jiva-souls who express their free will, very few of them also choose to leave the spiritual world Prabhupada explains.

Srila Prabhupada has explained there will ALWAYS be a very small minority of only the "jiva-souls," less than 10%.

Dr. John Mize – "Did all the jiva-souls that were in the spiritual sky (the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavan) fall out of the spiritual sky at once or at different times, or are there any jiva-souls that are always good, they’re not foolish, they don’t fall down?"

Srila Prabhupada – "No, there are majority, 90%, they are always good. They never fall down."

Dr. John Mize – "So we’re among the 10%."

Srila Prabhupada – "Yes, or less than that. In the material, whole material world all the living entities they are… Just like in the prison house, there is some population, but they are not majority. The majority of the population, they are outside the prison house. Similarly, majority of living being, part and parcel of God, they are in the spiritual world. Only a few fall down."

Dr. John Mize – "Does Krsna know ahead of time that a jiva-soul is going to be foolish and fall?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Krsna? Yes, Krsna may know because He is omniscient."

Dr. John Mize – "Are more jiva-souls falling all the time?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Not all the time. But there is the tendency of fall down, not for all, but because there is independence. Everyone is not liking to misuse the independence. The same example, just like a government constructing a city and constructs also prison house because the government knows that somebody will be criminal. So their shelter must be also constructed. It is very easy to understand. Not that cent percent population will be criminal, but government knows that some of them will be. Otherwise why they construct prison house also? One may say, "Where is the criminal? You are constructing." Government knows, there will be criminal. So if the ordinary government can know, why God cannot know? Because there is tendency."

Dr. John Mize – "The origin of that tendency (to fall from Goloka) is?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Yes."

Dr. John Mize – "From where does that tendency come?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Tendency means the independence. So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that you cannot become fall down, that is not independence. That is force. Therefore Krsna says,yathecchasi tathä kuru. “Now you do whatever you like." (BG, As It Is. lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)

Free will is eternal in the spiritual worlds and without having the choice to either forget or remember Krsna, then we would have no independent personality separate from Krsna's Personality and no ability to voluntarily offer love, we would be like dead stone. 

Srila Prabhupada - "So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly or one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that you cannot fall down, that is not independence, that is force. Therefore Krsna says, yathecchasi tathä kuru. "Now you do whatever you like." (LA, June 23, 1975)

Therefore, returning back home back to Godhead is not necessarily permanent for the jiva-souls Prabhupada has explained above, that choice to stay with Krsna or go is also the jiva-soul's choice too, even when Krsna promises there is no return.

So, clearly it is not just a "one-way" decision that Krsna only makes, no, real loving exchanges can never exist in a one-sided affair because there is always free will. 

Krsna does not control the surrendered jiva-souls by force like a puppet master controls0p every movement of his puppets with the manipulations of strings.

The jiva-souls do not lose their free will in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana which means Krsna does not forcibly take control of the jiva-souls and deny them their free will, which is their natural constitutional right of voluntary self expression or individual contributions based on theirs own unique personality that is eternally independent from Krsna's Personality. 

Srila Prabhupada - "Krsna does not want to become a lover by force, from the point of revolver. ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!’ That is not love; that is threatening. Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force; that is rape. Why one is called lover, another is called rape?" (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)

Srila Prabhupada - ''We have got the propensity to love. Love means somebody else. Love cannot be one or love cannot be executed by only one, there must be another one. I love somebody; swhatomebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction, then love." (SB Canto 1 Ch 2 text 6, Delhi, Nov 12, 1973)

Srila Prabhupada - "Love means two, there must be two, the lover and the belove." (Lecture on BG Ch 9 text 2-5, New York, Nov 23, 1966)

Srila Prabhupāda – ''Unless there are two persons, where is the question of love? Love means two persons, then there is exchange, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these things must be there." (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)

In Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana personal voluntary expressions of loving exchanges are always encouraged by Krsna in His relationship with the jiva-souls. This adds flavour, variety and mystery to their association with the Lord.

This means the Kingdom of God (Goloka-Vrindavana and Vaikuntha) are not a "one-sided" dominating impersonal domain devoid of free will or voluntary service.

Denying free will does not allow or encourage voluntary personal contributions (offerings) expressed in a two-way exchange, that can only expand, enrich and flavour one's eternal relationship with Krsna (God).

Loving service to Krsna and exchanges with Him cannot exist if there is only a one-sided affiliate of total supremacy or preeminence. 

The fact is genuine loving relations and service are based on free will which includes loving exhanges between two, and is never a one-sided dominating affair!

Having Free will confirms the jiva-souls are Krsna’s marginal energy and that all decision making is a "two-sided affair," that allows the jiva-souls to voluntarily express themselves by choosing for themselves how to serve Krsna, or even reject Krsna if they choose.

Srila Prabhupada - "If you have no free will, then you are a stone. The stone has no free will. You want to be stone? Then you must have free will. But don't misuse your free will. But don't try to become stone either. That is not life." (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)

Having free will always allows the jiva-souls to voluntarily choose their own unique contributions that they want to selflessly offer to Krsna in loving service, this is the real meaning of surrender. 

Without free will, loving voluntary exchanges and reciprocation as a contributing PERSON in one's relationship  with Krsna, is NOT possible

Loving relationships can only work in a "two-way" exchange based on reciprocation and loving selfless service by two sharing loving voluntary exchanges.

Paramahamsa - "But ultimately if we come to Krsna, there’s no return Krsna says?"

Srila Prabhupada - "There is return, that is voluntary, return is there."

Paramahamsa - "If we want."

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes."

Paramahamsa - "So we can come to the spiritual world and return?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes."

Paramahamsa -"Fall down?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, as soon as we try, "Oh, this material world is very nice, yes, Krsna says, yes, you go and enjoy the material world, otherwise what is the meaning of free will? Every living entity has got a little free will. And Krsna is so kind, He gives him opportunity, "All right, you enjoy like this." Just like some of our students sometimes go away, again come back. It is free will. Just like one goes to the prisonhouse, not that government welcomes, "Come on. We have got prisonhouse. Come here, come here." He goes out of his free will; again comes out, again goes. Like that."

Paramahamsa - ''So our desire to enjoy, we achieve these material bodies; and our desire to achieve Krsna brings us to our natural position."

Srila Prabhupada - ''Yes." (Morning walk, May 13, 1973, LA)

Srila Prabhupada - "Unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)

The choice for the jiva-souls to leave Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana is possible because Krsna allows a "two-way" relationship which means one can accept or reject Krsna if they choose, otherwise how could you claim you have a "two-way" relationship with Krsna?

Srila Prabhupada - "Free will means that you can act wrongly. That is free will, unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I act only one sided, that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly, that means free will."

Hayagriva - "A man may know better but still act wrongly."

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, but that is free will He misuses his. Just like a thief, he knows that his stealing is bad but still he does it. That is free will. He cannot check his greediness, so in spite of his knowing that he is doing wrong thing—he will be punished, he knows; he has seen another thief, he was punished, he was put into prison— everything he knows, but still he steals. Why? Misuse of free will. Unless there is misuse of free will, there is no question of free will." (Talk about Rene Descartes with Hayagriva)

Syamasundara - "Can we predict that returning back home, back to Godhead will be permanent? Can we predict that? Just like many prisoners leave the prison, however, some do come back?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No, there is no permanent effect because we have got little independence. There is nothing permanent because you can misuse your independence at any time and leave when ever you choose."

Syamasundara - "So some come back to the material creation?"

Srila Prabhupada -"Yes, otherwise there is no meaning of independence. Independence means you can do this, you can do that. "All right. Whatever you like."

Devotee - "Then the jiva-soul is so many times falling down, again and again, so will he eventually permanently come back?"

Srila Prabhupada - "He has got independence, therefore there is always the possibility he can misuse his independence and fall down. That's why when a man is released from the prison house, that does not mean permanently because he can come back again, the general law is not to come back, but if he likes, he can come back, otherwise what is the meaning of independence? But naturally if one becomes free from the prison house, he should not return there again."(Discussions with Syamasundara about Henri Bergson)

For those who believe no one can ever fall down from Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana once there, have not understood these clear points explained by Srila Prabhupada.

So, no, it would not negate the essence of Goloka-Vrindavana if we can leave God's Kingdom at anytime we choose, otherwise there is no question of free will or having freedom Prabhupada explains above. 

This is because the real essence of the jiva-soul's character is their constitutional nature of having free will.

Entering spiritual life does not mean you have to "surrender" or give up your free will.

The choice to leave Goloka-Vrindavana or Vaikuntha or stay is always there because we have free will, Prabhupada explains that.

In 1978 in Mayapur I argued this point with two senior gurus from another spiritual group (sanga) and humbly explained to them they have not understood that "free will" is never lost in Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana "with only the jiva-souls (marginal living entities)," and is the real cause of fall down for the jiva-souls and not maya.

Of course, Krsna's direct associates and most of His family members, who are an unlimited member of personalities in the spiritual world, are NOT jiva-soul, therefore they NEVER fall down.

The spiritual world is the manifestation of the Lord's internal potency, and the material world is the manifestation of His external potency. 

The living entities (jiva-souls) are also His marginal potency, and by their own choice they can live in either the spiritual or material worlds.

Only the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are separate individuals who can express themselves in "separate-way" from Krsna, including disageeing with Him if they choose, which means they have free will.

As said above, the unlimited  Visnu-tattva personalities and Visnu-"sakti"-tattvas in the spiritual sky ARE Krsna just playing unlimited roles in Krsna's own pastimes.

An example of Visnu"sakti"-tattva is Mother Yasoda, she is NOT a jiva-soul, she is a direct expansion of Krsna. 

In other words, just like Krsna is also Balarāma, and Radharani is also Krsna but in a different mood, Mother Yasoda is also an expansion of Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada - "Nanda and mother Yasoda are the eternal father & mother of Krsna. This means that whenever Krsna descends, Nanda and Yasoda, as well as Vasudeva and Devaki, also descend as the Lord's father and mother. Their personalities are expansions of Krsna's personal body." (SB, Canto 10.8.48)

I really could not understand why people were going to these men when we had Prabhupada.

There is always the voluntary expression of free will the jiva-souls have on the spiritual planets Prabhupada has told us.

For the jiva-souls to remain in Goloka-Vrindavana, the Vaikuntha planets, or entering the material world are all voluntary..*^*..

Part Two - "The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa."

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 18 Text 21 to Text 39

By His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

SB 5.18.21

My dear Lord, You automatically fulfill all the desires of a woman who worships Your lotus feet in pure love. However, if a woman worships Your lotus feet for a particular purpose, You also quickly fulfill her desires, but in the end she becomes broken-hearted and laments. Therefore one need not worship Your lotus feet for some material benefit.

Purport:

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes pure devotional service as anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam. One should not worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead to fulfill some material desire for success in fruitive activities or mental speculation. 

To serve the lotus feet of the Lord means to serve Him exactly as He desires. The neophyte devotee is therefore ordered to worship the Lord strictly according to the regulative principles given by the spiritual master and the śāstras. 

By executing devotional service in that way, he gradually becomes attached to Kṛṣṇa, and when his original dormant love for the Lord becomes manifest, he spontaneously serves the Lord without any motive.

This condition is the perfect stage of one’s relationship with the Lord. The Lord then looks after the comfort and security of His devotee without being asked. Kṛṣṇa promises in Bhagavad-gītā (9.22):

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ

ye janāḥ paryupāsate

teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ

yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

The Supreme Lord personally takes care of anyone who is completely engaged in His devotional service. Whatever he has, the Lord protects, and whatever he needs, the Lord supplies. Therefore why should one bother the Lord for something material? Such prayers are unnecessary.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that even if a devotee wishes the Lord to fulfill a particular desire, the devotee should not be considered a sakāma-bhakta (a devotee with some motive). In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.16) Kṛṣṇa says:

catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ

janāḥ sukṛtino ’rjuna

ārto jijñāsur arthārthī

jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

“O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me — the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” 

The ārta and the arthārthī, who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for relief from misery or for some money, are not sakāma-bhaktas, although they appear to be. 

Being neophyte devotees, they are simply ignorant. Later in Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, udārāḥ sarva evaite: they are all magnanimous (udārāḥ). Although in the beginning a devotee may harbor some desire, in due course of time it will vanish. Therefore the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam enjoins:

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of all material desire, is free from material desire, or has a desire for liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.” (Bhāg. 2.3.10)

Even if one wants something material, he should pray to no one but the Lord to fulfill his desire. If one approaches a demigod for the fulfillment of his desires, he is to be considered naṣṭa-buddhi, bereft of all good sense. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20):

kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ

prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ

taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya

prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā

“Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.”

Lakṣmīdevī advises all devotees who approach the Lord with material desires that according to her practical experience, the Lord is Kāmadeva, and thus there is no need to ask Him for anything material. She says that everyone should simply serve the Lord without any motive. 

Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sitting in everyone’s heart, He knows everyone’s thoughts, and in due course of time He will fulfill all desires. Therefore let us completely depend on the service of the Lord without bothering Him with our material requests.

SB 5.18.22

O supreme unconquerable Lord, when they become absorbed in thoughts of material enjoyment, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, as well as other demigods and demons, undergo severe penances and austerities to receive my benedictions.

But I do not favor anyone, however great he may be, unless he is always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet. Because I always keep You within my heart, I cannot favor anyone but a devotee.

Purport:

In this verse the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, clearly states that she does not bestow her favor on any materialistic person. Although sometimes a materialist becomes very opulent in the eyes of another materialist, such opulence is bestowed upon him by the goddess Durgādevī, a material expansion of the goddess of fortune, not by Lakṣmīdevī herself.

Those who desire material wealth worship Durgādevī with the following mantra: dhanaṁ dehi rūpaṁ dehi rupavati bharyam dehi. “O worshipable mother Durgādevī, please give me wealth, strength, fame, a good wife and so on.” By pleasing Goddess Durgā one can obtain such benefits, but since they are temporary, they result only in māyā-sukha (illusory happiness).

As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: those who work very hard for material benefits are vimūḍhas, foolish rascals, because such happiness will not endure.

On the other hand, devotees like Prahlāda and Dhruva Mahārāja achieved extraordinary material opulences, but such opulences were not māyā-sukha. When a devotee acquires unparalleled opulences, they are the direct gifts of the goddess of fortune, who resides in the heart of Nārāyaṇa.

The material opulences a person obtains by offering prayers to the goddess Durgā are temporary. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.23), antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: men of meager intelligence desire temporary happiness.

We have actually seen that one of the disciples of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted to enjoy the property of his spiritual master, and the spiritual master, being merciful toward him, gave him the temporary property, but not the power to preach the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. 

That special mercy of the power to preach is given to a devotee who does not want anything material from his spiritual master but wants only to serve him. The story of the demon Rāvaṇa illustrates this point.

Although Rāvaṇa tried to abduct the goddess of fortune Sītādevī from the custody of Lord Rāmacandra, he could not possibly do so. The Sītādevī he forcibly took with him was not the original Sītādevī, but an expansion of māyā, or Durgādevī. As a result, instead of winning the favor of the real goddess of fortune, Rāvaṇa and his whole family were vanquished by the power of Durgādevī (sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā).

SB 5.18.23

O infallible one, Your lotus palm is the source of all benediction. Therefore Your pure devotees worship it, and You very mercifully place Your hand on their heads. 

I wish that You may also place Your hand on My head, for although You already bear my insignia of golden streaks on Your chest, I regard this honor as merely a kind of false prestige for me. You show Your real mercy to Your devotees, not to me. Of course, You are the supreme absolute controller, and no one can understand Your motives.

Purport:

In many places, the śāstras describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead as being more inclined toward His devotees than toward His wife, who always remains on His chest. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.15) it is stated:

na tathā me priyatama

ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ

na ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr

naivātmā ca yathā bhavān

Here Kṛṣṇa plainly says that His devotees are more dear to Him than Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa (the original cause of creation), the goddess of fortune or even His own Self. Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.20) Śukadeva Gosvāmī says:

nemam viriñco na bhavo

na śrīr apy aṅga saṁśrayā

prasādaṁ lebhire gopī

yat tat prāpa vimuktidāt

The Supreme Lord, who can award liberation to anyone, showed more mercy toward the gopīs than to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva or even the goddess of fortune, who is His own wife and is associated with His body. Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.60) also states:

nāyaṁ śriyo ’ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ

svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto ’nyāḥ

rāsotsave ’sya bhuja-daṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha-

labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-sundarīṇām

“The gopīs received benedictions from the Lord that neither Lakṣmīdevī nor the most beautiful dancers in the heavenly planets could attain. In the rāsa dance, the Lord showed His favor to the most fortunate gopīs by placing His arms on their shoulders and dancing with each of them individually. 

No one can compare with the gopīs, who received the causeless mercy of the Lord.”

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that no one can receive the real favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without following in the footsteps of the gopīs. 

Even the goddess of fortune could not receive the same favor as the gopīs, although she underwent severe austerities and penances for many years. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu discusses this point with Vyeṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 9.111-131):

“The Lord inquired from Vyeṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, ‘Your worshipable goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, always remains on the chest of Nārāyaṇa, and she is certainly the most chaste woman in the creation. However, My Lord is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, a cowherd boy engaged in tending cows.

Why is it that Lakṣmī, being such a chaste wife, wants to associate with My Lord? Just to associate with Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī abandoned all transcendental happiness in Vaikuṇṭha and for a long time accepted vows and regulative principles and performed unlimited austerities.’

“Vyeṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa replied, ‘Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Nārāyaṇa are one and the same, but the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are more relishable due to their sportive nature. They are very pleasing for Kṛṣṇa’s śaktis. Since Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa are both the same personality, Lakṣmī’s association with Kṛṣṇa did not break her vow of chastity. Rather, it was in great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

The goddess of fortune considered that her vow of chastity would not be damaged by her relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Rather, by associating with Kṛṣṇa she could enjoy the benefit of the rāsa dance. If she wanted to enjoy herself with Kṛṣṇa what fault is there? Why are you joking so about this?’

“Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, ‘I know that there is no fault in the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rāsa dance. We hear this from revealed scriptures. The authorities of Vedic knowledge met Lord Rāmacandra in Daṇḍakāraṇya, and by their penances and austerities, they were allowed to enter into the rāsa dance. But can you tell me why the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, could not get that opportunity?’

“To this Vyeṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa replied, ‘I cannot enter into the mystery of this incident. I am an ordinary living being. My intelligence is limited, and I am always disturbed. How can I understand the pastimes of the Supreme Lord? They are deeper than millions of oceans.’

“Lord Caitanya replied, ‘Lord Kṛṣṇa has a specific characteristic. He attracts everyone’s heart by the mellow of His personal conjugal love. By following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of the planet known as Vrajaloka or Goloka Vṛndāvana, one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

However, the inhabitants of that planet do not know that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unaware that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, the residents of Vṛndāvana like Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodādevī and the gopīs treat Kṛṣṇa as their beloved son or lover. 

Mother Yaśodā accepts Him as her son and sometimes binds Him to a grinding mortar. Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd boyfriends think He is an ordinary boy and get up on His shoulders. In Goloka Vṛndāvana no one has any desire other than to love Kṛṣṇa.’”

The conclusion is that one cannot associate with Kṛṣṇa unless he has fully received the favor of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi. Therefore if one wants to be delivered by Kṛṣṇa directly, he must take to the service of the residents of Vṛndāvana, who are unalloyed devotees of the Lord.

SB 5.18.24

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In Ramyaka-varṣa, where Vaivasvata Manu rules, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Matsya at the end of the last era [the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara]. Vaivasvata Manu now worships Lord Matsya in pure devotional service and chants the following mantra.

SB 5.18.25

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is pure transcendence. He is the origin of all life, bodily strength, mental power and sensory ability. Known as Matsyāvatāra, the gigantic fish incarnation, He appears first among all the incarnations. Again I offer my obeisances unto Him.

Purport:

Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī sings:

pralayo payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedaṁ

vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam

keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare

Soon after the cosmic creation, the entire universe was inundated with water. At that time Lord Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) incarnated as a gigantic fish to protect the Vedas. Therefore Manu addresses Lord Matsya as mukhyatama, the first incarnation to appear.

Fish are generally considered a mixture of the modes of ignorance and passion, but we must understand that every incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely transcendental.

There is never any deterioration of the Supreme Lord’s original transcendental quality. Therefore the word sattvāya is used here, meaning pure goodness on the transcendental platform.

There are many incarnations of the Supreme Lord: Varāha mūrti (the boar form), Kūrma mūrti (the tortoise form), Hayagrīva mūrti (the form of a horse) and so on. Yet we should never think any of Them material. They are always situated on the platform of śuddha-sattva, pure transcendence.

SB 5.18.26

My dear Lord, just as a puppeteer controls his dancing dolls and a husband controls his wife, Your Lordship controls all the living entities in the universe, such as the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras.

Although You are in everyone’s heart as the supreme witness and commander and are outside everyone as well, the so-called leaders of societies, communities and countries cannot realize You. Only those who hear the vibration of the Vedic mantras can appreciate You.

Purport:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is antarbahiḥ, present within and without everything. One must overcome the delusion caused by the Lord’s external energy and realize His presence both externally and internally. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.19) Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī has explained that Kṛṣṇa appears in this world naṭo nāṭyadharo yathā, “exactly like an actor dressed as a player.”

In Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) Kṛṣṇa says, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna.” The Lord is situated within everyone’s heart, and outside as well. Within the heart He is the Supersoul, the incarnation who acts as the adviser and witness. Yet although God is residing within their hearts, foolish people say, “I cannot see God. Please show Him to me.”

Everyone is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, exactly like dancing dolls controlled by a puppeteer or a woman controlled by her husband. A woman is compared to a doll (dārumayī) because she has no independence. She should always be controlled by a man. Still, due to false prestige, a class of women wants to remain independent.

What to speak of women, all living entities are prakṛti (female) and therefore dependent on the Supreme Lord, as Kṛṣṇa Himself explains in Bhagavad-gītā (apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām). The living entity is never independent. Under all circumstances, he is dependent on the mercy of the Lord. 

The Lord creates the social divisions of human society — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras — and ordains that they follow rules and regulations suited to their particular position. In this way, all members of society remain always under the Supreme Lord’s control. Still, some people foolishly deny the existence of God.

Self-realization means to understand one’s subordinate position in relation to the Lord. When one is thus enlightened, he surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is liberated from the clutches of the material energy.

In other words, unless one surrenders to the lotus feet of the Lord, the material energy in its many varieties will continue to control him. No one in the material world can deny that he is under control. The Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, who is beyond this material existence, controls everyone.

The following Vedic mantra confirms this point: eko ha vai nārāyaṇa āsīt. Foolish persons think Nārāyaṇa to be on the platform of ordinary material existence. Because they do not realize the natural constitutional position of the living entity, they concoct names like daridra-nārāyaṇa, svāmī-nārāyaṇa or mithyā-nārāyaṇa. However, Nārāyaṇa is actually the supreme controller of everyone. This understanding is self-realization.

SB 5.18.27

My Lord, from the great leaders of the universe, such as Lord Brahmā and other demigods, down to the political leaders of this world, all are envious of Your authority. Without Your help, however, they could neither separately nor concertedly maintain the innumerable living entities within the universe. You are actually the only maintainer of all human beings, of animals like cows and asses, and of plants, reptiles, birds, mountains and whatever else is visible within this material world.

Purport:

It is fashionable for materialistic persons to compete with the power of God. When so-called scientists try to manufacture living entities in their laboratories, their only purpose is to defy the talent and ability of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called illusion. It exists even in the higher planetary systems, where great demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and others reside.

In this world everyone is puffed up with false prestige despite the failure of all his endeavors. When so-called philanthropists, who supposedly want to help the poor, are approached by members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they say, “You are simply wasting your time, while I am feeding vast masses of starving people.” Unfortunately, their meager efforts, either singly or together, do not solve anyone’s problems.

Sometimes so-called svāmīs are very eager to feed poor people, thinking them to be daridra-nārāyaṇa, the Lord’s incarnations as beggars. They prefer to serve the manufactured daridra-nārāyaṇa than the original, supreme Nārāyaṇa. They say, “Don’t encourage service to Lord Nārāyaṇa.

It is better to serve the starving people of the world.” Unfortunately such materialists, either singly or combined in the form of the United Nations, cannot fulfill their plans. The truth is that the many millions of human beings, animals, birds and trees — indeed, all living entities — are maintained solely by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān: one person, the Supreme Lord, is supplying the necessities of life for all other living entities.

To challenge the authority of Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the business of asuras (demons). Yet sometimes suras, or devotees, are also bewildered by the illusory energy and falsely claim to be the maintainer of the entire universe. Such incidents are described in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells how Lord Brahmā and King Indra became puffed up and were eventually chastised by Kṛṣṇa.

SB 5.18.28

O almighty Lord, at the end of the millennium this planet earth, which is the source of all kinds of herbs, drugs and trees, was inundated by water and drowned beneath the devastating waves.

At that time, You protected me along with the earth and roamed the sea with great speed. O unborn one, You are the actual maintainer of the entire universal creation, and therefore You are the cause of all living entities. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport:

Envious persons cannot appreciate how wonderfully the Lord creates, maintains and annihilates the universe, but devotees of the Lord can understand this perfectly well. Devotees can see how the Lord is acting behind the wonderful workings of the material nature. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) the Lord says:

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.”

All the wonderful transformations of nature are happening under the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Envious persons cannot see this, but a devotee, even though very humble and even if uneducated, knows that behind all the activities of nature is the supreme hand of the Supreme Being.

SB 5.18.29

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In Hiraṇmaya-varṣa, the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, lives in the form of a tortoise [kūrma-śarīra]. This most dear and beautiful form is always worshiped there in devotional service by Aryamā, the chief resident of Hiraṇmaya-varṣa, along with the other inhabitants of that land. They chant the following hymns.

Purport:

The word priyatama (dearmost) is very significant in this verse. Each devotee regards a particular form of the Lord as most dear. Because of an atheistic mentality, some people think that the tortoise, boar and fish incarnations of the Lord are not very beautiful.

They do not know that any form of the Lord is always the fully opulent Personality of Godhead. Since one of His opulences is infinite beauty, all the Lord’s incarnations are very beautiful and are appreciated as such by devotees. 

Nondevotees, however, think that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations are ordinary material creatures, and therefore they distinguish between the beautiful and the not beautiful.

A certain form of the Lord is worshiped by a particular devotee because he loves to see that form of the Lord. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33): advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca. The very beautiful form of the Lord is always youthful. Sincere servants of a particular form of the Lord always see that form as very beautiful, and thus they engage in constant devotional service to Him.

SB 5.18.30

O my Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who have assumed the form of a tortoise. You are the reservoir of all transcendental qualities, and being entirely untinged by matter, You are perfectly situated in pure goodness. You move here and there in the water, but no one can discern Your position.

Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Because of Your transcendental position, You are not limited by past, present and future. You are present everywhere as the shelter of all things, and therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.

Purport:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ: the Lord always remains in Goloka, the topmost planet in the spiritual world.

At the same time, He is all-pervading. This paradox is only possible for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of all opulences. The Lord’s all-pervasiveness is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) where Kṛṣṇa states, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: “The Supreme Lord is seated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna.”

Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) the Lord says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Therefore, although the Lord is present everywhere, He cannot be seen with ordinary eyes. As Aryamā says, the Lord is anupalakṣita-sthāna: no one can locate Him. This is the greatness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 5.18.31

My dear Lord, this visible cosmic manifestation is a demonstration of Your own creative energy. Since the countless varieties of forms within this cosmic manifestation are simply a display of Your external energy, this virāṭ-rūpa [universal body] is not Your real form. Except for a devotee in transcendental consciousness, no one can perceive Your actual form. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport:

Māyāvādī philosophers think the universal form of the Lord to be real and His personal form illusory. We can understand their mistake by a simple example. A fire consists of three elements: heat and light, which are the energy of the fire, and the fire itself. Anyone can understand that the original fire is the reality and that the heat and light are simply the fire’s energy.

Heat and light are the formless energies of fire, and in that sense they are unreal. Only the fire has form, and therefore it is the real form of the heat and light. As Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4), mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: 

“By Me, in My unmanifested form. this entire universe is pervaded.” 

Thus the impersonal conception of the Lord is like the expansion of heat and light from a fire.

In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord also says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: the entire material creation is resting on Kṛṣṇa’s energy, either material, spiritual or marginal, but because His form is absent from the expansion of His energy, He is not personally present. This inconceivable expansion of the Supreme Lord’s energy is called acintya-śakti. Therefore no one can understand the real form of the Lord without becoming His devotee.

SB 5.18.32

My dear Lord, You manifest Your different energies in countless forms: as living entities born from wombs, from eggs and from perspiration; as plants and trees that grow out of the earth; as all living entities, both moving and standing, including the demigods, the learned sages and the pitās; as outer space, as the higher planetary system containing the heavenly planets, and as the planet earth with its hills, rivers, seas, oceans and islands. 

Indeed, all the stars and planets are simply manifestations of Your different energies, but originally You are one without a second.

Therefore there is nothing beyond You. This entire cosmic manifestation is therefore not false but is simply a temporary manifestation of Your inconceivable energy.

Purport:

This verse completely rejects the theory of brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, which states that spirit, or Brahman, is real, whereas the manifested material world, with its great variety of things, is false. Nothing is false.

One thing may be permanent and another temporary, but both the permanent and the temporary are facts. For example, if someone becomes angry for a certain period, no one can say that his anger is false. It is simply temporary. Everything we experience in our daily lives is of this same character; it is temporary but real.

The different kinds of living entities coming from various sources are very clearly described in this verse. Some are born from a womb and some (like certain insects) from human perspiration. Others hatch from eggs, and still others sprout from the earth.

A living entity takes birth under different circumstances according to his past activities (karma). Although the body of the living entity is material, it is never false. No one will accept the argument that since a person’s material body is false, murder has no repercussions.

Our temporary bodies are given to us according to our karma, and we must remain in our given bodies to enjoy the pains and pleasures of life. Our bodies cannot be called false; they are only temporary. In other words, the energy of the Supreme Lord is as permanent as the Lord Himself, although His energy is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. As summarized in the Vedas, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: “Everything is Brahman.”

SB 5.18.33

O my Lord, Your name, form and bodily features are expanded in countless forms. No one can determine exactly how many forms exist, yet You Yourself, in Your incarnation as the learned scholar Kapiladeva, have analyzed the cosmic manifestation as containing twenty-four elements.

Therefore if one is interested in Sāṅkhya philosophy, by which one can enumerate the different truths, he must hear it from You. Unfortunately, nondevotees simply count the different elements and remain ignorant of Your actual form. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport:

Philosophers and scientists have been trying to study the entire cosmic situation and have been theorizing and calculating in different ways for millions and millions of years. However, the speculative research work of a so-called scientist or philosopher is always interrupted when he dies, and the laws of nature go on without regard for his work.

For billions of years changes take place in the material creation, until at last the whole universe is dissolved and remains in an unmanifested state. Constant change and destruction (bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate) is perpetually going on in nature, yet the material scientists want to study natural laws without knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the background of nature. As Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10):

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.”

Now the material creation is manifest, eventually it will be annihilated and remain for many millions of years in a dormant state, and finally it will again be created. This is the law of nature.

SB 5.18.34

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Dear King, the Supreme Lord in His boar incarnation, who accepts all sacrificial offerings, lives in the northern part of Jambūdvīpa. There, in the tract of land known as Uttarakuru-varṣa, mother earth and all the other inhabitants worship Him with unfailing devotional service by repeatedly chanting the following Upaniṣadic mantra.

SB 5.18.35

O Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You as the gigantic person. Simply by chanting mantras, we shall be able to understand You fully. You are yajña [sacrifice], and You are the kratu [ritual].

Therefore all the ritualistic ceremonies of sacrifice are part of Your transcendental body, and You are the only enjoyer of all sacrifices. 

Your form is composed of transcendental goodness. You are known as tri-yuga because in Kali-yuga You appeared as a concealed incarnation and because You always fully possess the three pairs of opulences.

Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the incarnation for this Age of Kali, as confirmed in many places throughout the Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Upaniṣads. The summary of His appearance is given in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 6.99) as follows:

kali-yuge līlāvatāra nā kare bhagavān

ataeva ‘tri-yuga’ kari’ kahi tāra nāma

In this Age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Bhagavān) does not appear as a līlāvatāra, an incarnation to display pastimes. Therefore He is known as tri-yuga. Unlike other incarnations, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appears in this Age of Kali as a devotee of the Lord. Therefore He is called a concealed incarnation (channāvatāra).

SB 5.18.36

By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything — even in their own bodies. 

Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport:

The word kriyārthaiḥ means “by performing ritualistic ceremonies to satisfy the demigods.” The word vipaścitaḥ is explained in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad as follows: satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma; yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ parame vyoman; so ’śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaściteti. As Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19), bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate:

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me.”

When one understands that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart and actually sees the Lord present everywhere, he has perfect knowledge. The word jāta-vedaḥ means “fire which is produced by rubbing wood.” In Vedic times, learned sages could bring forth fire from wood. Jāta-vedaḥ also indicates the fire in the stomach, which digests everything we eat and which produces an appetite.

The word gūḍha is explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad. Eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood by chanting the Vedic mantras. Sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntar-ātmā: He is all-pervading, and He is within the heart of living entities.

Karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ: He witnesses all activities of the living entity. Sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaś ca: The Supreme Lord is the witness as well as the living force, yet He is transcendental to all material qualities.

SB 5.18.37

The objects of material enjoyment [sound, form, taste, touch and smell], the activities of the senses, the controllers of sensory activities [the demigods], the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy.

Those whose intelligence has become fixed by perfect execution of mystic yoga can see that all these elements result from the actions of Your external energy. They can also see Your transcendental form as Supersoul in the background of everything. Therefore I repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport:

The objects of material enjoyment, the sensory activities, attachment to sensual pleasure, the body, false egotism and so on are produced by the Lord’s external energy, māyā. The background of all these activities is the living being, and the director of the living beings is the Supersoul. The living being is not the all in all. He is directed by the Supersoul. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa confirms this:

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo

mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” The living entity depends on the Supersoul for directions.

A person advanced in spiritual knowledge, or a person expert in the practice of mystic yoga (yama, niyama, āsana and so on) can understand transcendence either as Paramātmā or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is the original cause of all natural events. Therefore He is described as sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam, the cause of all causes.

Behind everything visible to our material eyes is some cause, and one who can see the original cause of all causes, Lord Kṛṣṇa, can actually see. Kṛṣṇa, the sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, is the background of everything, as He Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10):

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.”

SB 5.18.38

O Lord, You do not desire the creation, maintenance or annihilation of this material world, but You perform these activities for the conditioned souls by Your creative energy. Exactly as a piece of iron moves under the influence of a lodestone, inert matter moves when You glance over the total material energy.

Purport:

Sometimes the question arises why the Supreme Lord has created this material world, which is so full of suffering for the living entities entrapped in it. 

The answer given herein is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not wish to create this material world just to inflict suffering on the living entities. The Supreme Lord creates this world only because the conditioned souls want to enjoy it.

The workings of nature are not going on automatically. It is only because the Lord glances over the material energy that it acts in wonderful ways, just as a lodestone causes a piece of iron to move here and there.

Because materialistic scientists and so-called Sāṅkhya philosophers do not believe in God, they think that material nature is working without supervision. But that is not the fact. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 6.18-19) the creation of the material world is explained as follows:

yadyapi sāṅkhya māne ‘pradhāna’ — kāraṇa

jaḍa ha-ite kabhu nahe jagat-sṛjana

nija-sṛṣṭi-śakti prabhu sañcāre pradhāne

īśvarera śaktye tabe haye ta’ nirmāṇe

“Atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophers think that the total material energy causes the cosmic manifestation, but they are wrong. Dead matter has no moving power, and therefore it cannot act independently. The Lord infuses the material ingredients with His own creative potency. Then, by the power of the Lord, matter moves and interacts.”

Sea waves are moved by the air, the air is created from ether, the ether is produced by the agitation of the three modes of material nature, and the three modes of material nature interact due to the Supreme Lord’s glance over the total material energy.

Therefore the background of all natural occurrences is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram). This is also further explained in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 5.59-61):

jagat-kāraṇa nahe prakṛti jaḍa-rūpā

śakti sañcāriyā tāre kṛṣṇa kare kṛpā

kṛṣṇa-śaktye prakṛti haya gauṇa kāraṇa

agni-śaktye lauha yaiche karaye jāraṇa

ataeva kṛṣṇa mūla-jagat-kāraṇa

prakṛti — kāraṇa yaiche ajā-gala-stana

“Because prakṛti [material nature] is dull and inert, it cannot actually be the cause of the material world. Lord Kṛṣṇa shows His mercy by infusing His energy into the dull, inert material nature. Thus prakṛti, by the energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire.

Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. Prakṛti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk.” Thus it is a great mistake on the part of the material scientists and philosophers to think that matter moves independently.

SB 5.18.39

My Lord, as the original boar within this universe, You fought and killed the great demon Hiraṇyakṣa. Then You lifted me [the earth] from the Garbhodaka Ocean on the end of Your tusk, exactly as a sporting elephant plucks a lotus flower from the water. I bow down before You.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa.”

End of Part Two.