Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 312

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita As It Is -Shri Shrimad A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Prev.png
Knowledge of the Absolute
Chapter 7: Verse-4

bhümir äpo ’nalo väyuh kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankära itiyam me bhinnä prakrtir astadhä[1]


TRANSLATION

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.


PURPORT

The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakåti, or the energy of the Lord in His different puruña incarnations (expansions) as described in the Sätvata-tantra:

visnos tu trini rüpäni purusäkhyäny atho
viduh ekam tu mahatah srastr dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam
trtiyam sarva-bhüta-stham täni jnätvä vimucyate

“For material creation, Lord Krsna’s plenary expansion assumes three Visnus. The first one, Mahä-Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as the mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasäyi Visnu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Ksirodakasäyi Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramätmä. He is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Visnus can be liberated from material entanglement.”

This material world is a temporary manifestation of one of the energies of the Lord. All the activities of the material world are directed by these three Visnu expansions of Lord Krsna. These purusas are called incarnations. Generally one who does not know the science of God (Krsna) assumes that this material world is for the enjoyment of the living entities and that the living entities are the purusas—the causes, controllers and enjoyers of the material energy. According to Bhagavad-gita this atheistic conclusion is false. In the verse under discussion it is stated that krsna is the original cause of the material manifestation.



Next.png

References

  1. bhümih=earth; äpah=water; analah=fire; väyuh=air; kham=ether; manah=mind; buddhih=intelligence; eva=certainly; ca=and; ahankärah=false ego; iti=thus; iyam=all these; me=My; bhinnä=separated; prakrtih=energies; astadhä=eightfold.

Related Articles