BY: SUN STAFF
Jan 23, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIFTY-SEVEN
To explain the meaning of the tenth subject, the Asraya, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami gives the definition of these ten items in seven verses (four are quoted here and three in the next two sections) (SB. 2.10.3):
The primary creation of the five elements, the five subtle elements, the five sense organs, the mahat, and ahankara, caused by disturbance in the equilibrium of the modes by the Supreme Lord, is known as sarga. The secondary creation, produced by Lord Brahma, is called visarga.
Here, in the compound word bhuta-matra-indriya, bhuta refers to the five material elements--(sky, air, fire, water, and earth); matra refers to the five subtle elements or sense objects--sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell; and indriya refers to the five senses--ears, skin, eyes, tongue, and nose. Dhi is indicative of the mahat and ahankara. Gunanam vaishmyat means the transformation of the modes. This creation of the elements from Brahman, the Supreme Controller is called sarga. Lord Brahma is called Vairaja or Purusha and his creation is called paurusha. This paurusha creation of Lord Brahma, of the moving and non-moving, is called visarga.
(The second, third and fourth of the seven verses defining the ten topics, SB. 2.10.4-6):
Sthiti indicates the victory of Lord Vishnu, in His ability to maintain the laws of the universe. Poshana refers to His grace on His devotees. Manvantara indicates the lives of holy people in charge of the Manu period, or other saintly people living in that duration. Iti means the samskara or impressions accumulated from past lives. Isanukatha refers to the descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees in His various incarnations, presented in the form of histories.
The victory of Lord Vishnu means His supermacy by maintaining the various rules and regulations for living beings in His creation. This is called sthiti or sthanam. Poshana means the Lord's grace on His devotees living in the creation. Manvantara refers to the lives of holy men such as Manu and other saintly people who have been blessed by the Lord. Their conduct is called dharma, or religion, and the worship of the Lord is called sad-dharma. The various desires for material activities during the period of maintenance are called Iti. And the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees in the same duration of maintenance are called Isanukatha.
The sleep of the jiva along with its energies following the cosmic rest of the Lord is called Nirodha. Mukti refers to giving up the acquired subtle and gross bodies and becoming situated in one's own original nature.
At the time of annihilation following the period of maintenance, the Lord goes to sleep and the jivas follow Him along with their energies, or limiting adjuncts. This is called nirodha. The "sleep of Hari" means closing His eyes from the material creation; and the "sleep of the jiva" means merging into the state of annihilation or inactivity. In the state of nirodha, if the jiva is free from its acquired nature or superimposition of the self into the subtle or gross bodies due to ignorance, and attains his original nature that is called mukti, or liberation.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
To understand the Lord or Brahman means to know Him along with His potencies, just as one who knows the sun must also know about its potency, sunshine. According to the Second Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, tenth chapter, the material world is a creation of the Lord and indicative of His personality. It goes through eternal cycles of creation, maintenance, and annihilation. During annihilation all the material elements are unmanifest because they merge into the original dormant state of material nature called Prakriti or Pradhana. In this phase the three modes of nature are in balance and thus inactive. Then the Supreme Lord, by His glance, causes disturbance in them and the next stage of creation begins. This disturbed state of the modes is called the mahat-tattva, which, when further activated by the time factor gives rise to ahankara. From ahankara comes the five material elements, the five objects of the senses, or the subtle elements, and the five senses. This phase of creation is called sarga, or the primary creation. The creation from then onwards is conducted by Lord Brahma and is called visarga, or the secondary creation. Brahma is also called Purusha or Vairaja.
The maintenance of the rules and regulations governing universal affairs, called sthiti or sthanam, is looked after by Lord Vishnu. This function shows His preeminence over Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, who are in charge of the secondary creation and of destruction respectively. For sthiti the Lord incarnates in every millennium, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8):
"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion, I advent myself millennium after millennium".
The Lord's grace showered on saintly personalities is called poshana. In a day of Lord Brahma there are fourteen Manus. A Manu is a godly person who is charged with looking after the welfare of human beings. His activities as well as the deeds of saintly people during a Manu's reign is called a Manvantara. Their behavior and mode of worship is called sad-dharma.
Living beings perform various activities during the sthiti or maintenance of the creation. These activities give rise to various desires for further material activities. These desires, in the form of impressions within the mind, are called uti. The descriptions of the Lord's pastimes with His associates during His incarnations in this material world are called Isanukatha.
The creation cycle begins when the Lord glances at material nature. sa ikshata lokannu srija iti, sa imallokanasrijata, "He glanced and desired to create people. Indeed He created them." (Aitareyopanishad 1.1)
When it is time for annihilation the Lord turns His eyes away from this creation. This is called His sleep or cosmic rest. All the material elements become unmanifest in the reverse telescopic order in which they become manifest and the material nature then exists in equilibrium. At that time the jivas give up their gross bodies, but they remain conditioned by their subtle bodies, which is made of their karmic impressions. This inactive state of the jivas is called sleep, after the Lord's sleep, and this phase of existence is called nirodha. When the time comes for the creation cycle, the jivas are given suitable bodies according to a fraction of their past karma, earned in the previous cycle.
During the maintenance period, if a living being takes to the devotional service of the Lord and attains perfection, he becomes free from both the subtle and gross bodies and is situated in his original nature. This is called mukti, which is also a type of nirodha, but having attained it the jiva does not take birth again in the material world. He attains the ultimate end to all his material miseries. He enters the spiritual planets and eternally resides there in his spiritual form. This state of eternal liberation is attained only by devotional service to Lord Krishna, as was seen by Vyasadeva in His trance.
The support of all the nine items is the Supreme Lord. They all occur by His potency and the purpose of their description is to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for a person is known by His works and attributes. In the next section, Srila Jiva Gosvami defines the asraya tattva, or the fountainhead of all existence, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Go to Section Fifty-eight
Return to Section Fifty-six
