The Physical Universe (Mahat Tattva)
BY: GAURAGOPALA DASA
Oct 16, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (SUN) —
The Physical Universe (Mahat Tattva) is a Virtual Reality that is Real, but Temporary
All marginal living entities in Vaikuntha can project a holographic version of the sub-conscious self that is a real feature of their individual personality and physic. This inferior lower self is known as the nitya-baddha consciousness. When one desires to forget Krishna and the svarupa body they serve Krishna as in Goloka, they can enter the dreams of Maha-Vishnu within His mahat tattva creation as this nitya-baddha echo of the self.
This secondary self or baddha-jiva consciousness, activated by free will and the desire to forget Krishna, is a living real holographic counterfeit projection of the marginal living entity that enables one to enter the mahat-tattva without their real nitya-siddha body leaving Goloka or Vaikuntha.
It is there in the mahat-tattva, that is a real reality but temporary, the living entity, manifesting as their secondary jiva projected consciousness, attempts to fulfill their mistaken dreams to achieve anything they want. Such material facilities are provided by Maha Vishnu and simultaneously gained and created by their own material desires.
Srila Prabhupada - "This material creation is the spirit soul's dream, all existence in this world is the dream of Maha-Vishnu. The real, factual platform is the spiritual world, but when the spirit soul wants to imitate the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is put into this dreamland of material creation." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.83)
Srila Prabhupada - “Everything happening within time, which consists of past, present and future, is merely a dream. This is the secret in understanding in all the Vedic literature.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.2b)
Srila Prabhupada is saying that our original and perpetual state of being an eternal nitya-siddha bodily servant of Krishna means one never falls down, that is, their nitya-siddha body never leaves Goloka. However, he also tells us that the memory of being nitya-siddha can be covered over or forgotten by the choice to imagine your own existence without Krishna. This is just like dreaming in our present material body where we dream, or think we are King of a world, but actually our material body has not moved.
In this way Srila Prabhupada is saying that our nitya-siddha or svarupa body can be covered over only and the memory of being nitya-siddha forgotten, like one forgets their material body while dreaming.
In this way, our present baddha jiva mundane consciousness dream state enters material vessels due to our thoughts of material desires and our imagination to be master instead of servant. Due to such selfish desires manifested by our free will to choose, our awareness of reality within Goloka is transferred to temporary reality of the mahat-tattva cloud, or the physical universe of virtual reality.
It is there, within the dreams of Maha Vishnu, one may remain trapped in their own psychosis within that virtual reality dream state, as depicted in the movie 'The Matrix,' for a very, very, very, very, very long duration, therefore many creations within the mahat-tattva are coming and going.
Srila Prabhupada - “Due to this long period of time, it is sometimes said that we are ever conditioned. But this long duration of time becomes very insignificant when one actually wakes up from the material dream and comes to Krishna consciousness”.
When that happens, one wakes up from their nitya-baddha condition and realizes their nitya-siddha body and that they were with Krishna all along.
What does the word 'real' mean?
In Goloka-Vrndavana/Vaikuntha, the actions, thoughts and dreams of the marginal living entity are ALL REAL, are all on the same level of a reality that exists eternally in God's Kingdom in a perpetual atmosphere devoid of past, future and impermanence.
So, what is the difference between what is REAL in Goloka and what is REAL in the material creation known as the mahat tattva?
The answer is, there is NO difference in the meaning of word reality in both places because both creations are real solid realities devoid of apparitions to those who have true Knowledge.
In other words, they are both the same within the criteria of the word real however, one reality (Goloka) is imperishable situated within the eternal present mode of eternal loving bhakti, while the other reality (maha tattva) is also real but is perishable, exists for sometime then fades to be as if it never was.
The highest and natural expression of the marginal living entity is realizing their full potential as their perpetual nitya-siddha-svarupa devotional body, as already explained. This state is also the full potential of the word 'REAL'.
This is hard for us to understand from our present dimensional platform of consciousness that is trapped in the mahat-tattva because we are governed by the divided eternal presents that manifests as past, present, future, which causes the reaction of decay and forgetfulness.
By foolishly desiring to ignore God and the perpetual body one REALLY is in Goloka in their full potential, we are restricted to our secondary dream state conscious REALITY (nitya-baddha) that is constrained to the laws of the mahat-tattva or material creation.
On the absolute level every dream and thought is as real as ones deeds.
Even in the heavenly planets within the mahat-tattva, where the nitya-baddha dream state is confined to an ethereal body in a sub-space dimension of the mahat-tattva, one's thoughts and deeds are on an equal footing.
The heavenly realm or atmosphere is completely different from our secular condition on this gross material planet, where the ethereal or subtle body that houses the baddha jiva consciousness is further restricted and restrained by a biological vessel.
However, both the secular world of biological bodies and the subtle bodies of ghost or ethereal vessels IN THE MATERIAL WORLD are also REAL. But it must be understood that that reality created by the baddha jiva contained in those ethereal and biological vessels, fades away or perishes.
The full potential of what is REAL, of what is REALITY is that it is imperishable, and never fades away, which means it is always in the perpetual state of originality.
So how are we to understand that our dreams on the absolute level are also real and transmitted as the nitya-baddha conscious state to the material creation? Now we cannot compare the dreams we have in our material body that are illusion, with the dreams we have in our pure state initiated by free will and choice.
Nitya-siddha is when we are in our natural pure state of REALITY, eternally liberated in Goloka, serving God or Krishna.
Nitya-baddha state is when we are in our unnatural impure state of TRANSITORY REALITY eternally conditioned in the mahat tattva, serving one's selfish interests, unaware of their PERMANENTLY REAL nitya-siddha authentic self in Goloka.
The original and eternal position of all living individuals, known as the marginal living entities, is their perpetual rasa (devotional mood) nitya-siddha-svarupa body that is eternally serving Krishna in the ‘eternal present’ where there is no past or future, as previously explained.
This means there is also no decay, impermanence birth, disease, old age, death and forgetfulness in the perpetual REALITY Kingdom of God known as Goloka-Vrndavana and the Vaikuntha planets.
If we are to correctly understand that we all originate from Goloka-Vrndavana/Vaikuntha, such realizations are only possible by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, and without his mercy one will never understand. Everything Srila Prabhupada said and wrote must be understood in the context of His books, lectures, morning walks, and classes.
This is the correct way to appreciate the criteria of guru, sadhu, and shastra. All interpretations of his teachings that fail these criteria of guru, sadu and shastra are to be considered bogus; therefore everything in this book is based very clearly on the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.
Lord Krishna or the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always the absolute truth with an all-attractive Vigraha or Bodily Form yet is also simultaneously everywhere personally and impersonally within His creation.
Krishna is always as His beautiful Syamasundara form that never vacates from His Goloka-Vrndavana central abode, yet is simultaneously manifested as unlimited four-armed Vishnu Forms throughout the Vaikuntha planets. Both these abodes are the perpetual Kingdom of Krishna that exists in the eternal present devoid of past and future, as the Brahma Samhita tells us.
Vishnu and Lakshmi in the Vaikunthas where their devotees are in the mood of servitorship, and Radha Krishna in Goloka-Vrndavana where Krishnas mood is more intimate with His devotees in the disposition of friendship and conjugal love.
Even though Krishna is eternally in His central Goloka-Vrndavana Planet that resembles a lotus flower as shown above, He also resides as Vishnu in the surrounding Vaikuntha Planets.
Krishna further expands Himself from His Sankarsana or Balarama bodily form to the sleeping Maha-Vishnu form who builds His own abode in one corner of the Spiritual Sky, as shown above that is called the mahat-tattva or material creation.
Maha-Vishnu is never affected by this dark cloud OF TEMPORARY OR FADING REALITY He has constructed in His corner of the Spiritual Sky (shown above) that exists in a completely different dimensional phenomenon of time and space than the Vaikuntha planets.
In His mahat-tattva (jada-jagat- lifeless world) there is also eternal time however, it is divided by past, present and future which has the by-product phenomenon of impermanence, decay birth and death that does not exist in the perpetual ‘present’ in Goloka-Vrndavana or Vaikuntha (cid-jagat) which makes up the majority of the Spiritual Sky or Brahmajyoti.
The original and eternal position of all living individuals, known as the marginal living entities is their perpetual rasa (devotional mood) nitya-siddha-svarupa body, that is eternally serving Krishna in the ‘eternal present’ where there is no past or future, as previously explained.
Above is the Mahat tattva reality created by Maha Vishnu that is a REAL existence, but temporary.
The eternal reality of Goloka and Vaikuntha in comparison to the small material reality or mahat tattva.
Another view of the eternal reality of Goloka and Vaikuntha in comparison to the small material reality or mahat tattva.
Above - The perpetual devotional REALITY of Goloka or the Supreme Kingdom of God where nothing ever fades.
Below - Childs Play. A drawing by 6 year old Bhaktisiddhanta dasa from our Bega NSW Hare Krishna community. This young boy shows us how it all works and how we dream we are in the material creation and never really leave Goloka. We only 'think' or 'imagine' we do, as Srila Prabhupada explains.
Lord Brahma within the material creation and above him is Radha and Krishna in Goloka Vrndavana.
From your aspiring servant,
Gauragopala dasa
Images copyright, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
