What is The Eternal & Constitutional Function of The Jiva/Soul?
Q & A’s Extracted From Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Jaiva-dharma
First Division
The Fundamentals of Nitya- and Naimittika-dharma
Chapter “One”
The Eternal & Temporary Natures of the Jiva/Soul
Introduction
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Segment 001: “The Definition of Dharma”.
Segment 002: “What is it That is Called Vastu, and What is the Meaning of True Nature?” Part 1
Segment 003: “What is it That is Called Vastu, and What is the Meaning of True Nature?” Part 2
Segment 004: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 1
Segment 005: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 2
Segment 006: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World" Part 3
Segment 007: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 4
Segment 008: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World" Part 5
Segment 009: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 6
Segment 010: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 7
Segment 011: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 8
Segment 012: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 9
Segment 013: “How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World” Part 10
Segment 014: Summary..
Segment 015: “If the Jiva is Infinitesimal, How Can his Eternal Dharma be Full and Pure? And if the Natural Function of the Jiva is Formed at the Time it is Constituted, How Can That Function be Eternal? And What is the Nitya-Dharma, or Eternal, Constitutional Function of the Jiva?”
Segment 016: “Who Was Sankaracarya? In the Caitanya-Caritamrta, One Will Witness the Super-excellence of the Spotless Vaisnava-Dharma, Which Sri Caitanya has Revealed. At That Time, Around 500 Years Ago, Sankaracarya’s Monistic Doctrine Flooded India and Became Very Prominent. This Doctrine has a Contemptible Nature. The Intense Emotions, Which Were Displayed by Sri Caitanya, is the Highest State of Concentrated Prema. Is it Different From the Attainment of the Perfection of Absolute Oneness That Was Taught by Sankaracarya?”
Segment 017: What is Prema? Part 1
Segment 018: What is Prema? Part 2
Segment 019: “Dharma Scriptures, State That the Brahmana Caste is the Highest Caste. According to These Scriptures, Religious Rites Such as the Chanting of Vedic Mantras, Such as at Dawn, Noon, and Sunset, are Considered Nitya-karma (Eternal Duties) for the Brahmanas. If These Activities Are Obligatory, Why is Vaisnava Behavior Opposed to Them?”
Segment 020: "Now, How Will They Attain Good Fortune? By What Means Can Remembrance of Krishna be Aroused in the Hearts of the Jivas Who Are Enthralled by Maya?”
Segment 021: “What Does It Mean to Adopt the Path of Karma” Part 1
Segment 022: “What Does It Mean to Adopt the Path of Karma” Part 2
Segment 023: “From the Point of View of the Essential Nature of Things, the Nitya-dharma of the Jivas is Unalloyed Spiritual Practice, and all Other Types of Dharma are Naimittika”.
Segment 024: “Accepting Vows”
Segment 025: “What is Vaisnava-Dharma?”
Segment 026: “If the Mind is Agitated by Such Fears, How Will one be Able to Fix it Upon Sri Krishna?”
Segment 027: “So far, it Appears That There is a Close Connection Between Nitya-Dharma and Vaisnava-Dharma. Are These Two-Dharma s Identical?” Part 1
Segment 028: “So far, it Appears That There is a Close Connection Between Nitya-Dharma and Vaisnava-Dharma. Are These Two-Dharma s Identical?” Part 2
Segment 029: “Some Claim That One is a Real Vaisnava Only if He Experiences the Path of Devotion Through Bhava (Emotions), so There is no Need for Knowledge. How Much Truth is There in This Statement?”
Segment 030: “Bhagavan Has a Form. Since Form is Limited by Spatial Considerations, How can Bhagavan be the Resting Place of the Limitless and All-pervading Brahman? How Can Sri Krishna’s Form be Eternal, Since He Takes Birth, Performs Activities, and Gives up His Body?”
Segment 031: “When One Meditates on the Form of Sri Krishna, the Conception That Arises in the Heart is Limited by Time and Space. How Can One Transcend Such Limitations and Meditate on Krishna’s Actual Form? When Can One Receive the Mercy of the Lord and be Granted Such Spiritual Realization? What is Spiritual Experience?”
Segment 032: “What is the Eternal Relationship That Exists Between Maya, the Jivas, and Krishna? If Knowledge is Obtained by Academic Study, Must One be a Scholar to Become a Vaisnava? What Should One do After Receiving Diksa and Siksa?”
Segment 033: “How Does One Perform Bhagavad-Bhajana? What Are the Different Types of Sadhana, and How Are They Performed?”
Segment 034: “How is Adhikara (Eligibility) Determined, in Regard to Sadhana-Bhakti? How is Eligibility Recognized? How Does One Determine Their Own Eligibility? Is Bhajana Not Feasible Without Adhering to the Tenets of Scripture.?"
Segment 035: “What is Prayojana-Tattva?”.
Segment 036: “Is Sandhya-Vandana not Hari-Bhajana? Do the divisions of Hari-Bhajana have some secondary results? Is There any difference between Sandhya-Vandana and the practices that constitute Vaidhi-bhakti (Bhakti that is performed by rule, law, religious injunction or regulation), such as Sandhya-vandana?”
Segment 037: “Then Why Do the Scriptures praise the virtues of the secondary results?”
Segment 038: “If that is the case, how should one know which directives of the Scripture to have Faith in? Moreover, how many of those of lower adhikara (eligibility), attain a higher destination?”
Segment 039: “The activities of the Vaisnavas consist of Sravanam, Kirtanam, Smaranam, Pada-sevanam, Arcanam, Vandanam, Dasyam, Sakhyam, and Atma-nivedanam, and they are significantly connected with mtter; so, why are not they also referred to as temporary, Naimittika? It appears that there is some partiality in these activities, such as the service of the Deity, easting, and worship with material ingredients, which are all connected with gross matter; so, how can they be Eternal?”
Segment 040: "If one worships the Sri-vigraha (Deity) of Bhagavan, but does not accept that Vigraha as Eternal, Then it is not worship of an Eternal Object; it is the Worship of a Temporary Forms? But Sri-vigraha that is worshiped is fashioned by a human being; so, how Can it be Eternal?”
Segment 041: “According to the ideology, of those who follow the tenets found in the Qur’an and the many books of the Sufis; what is meant by mukti? What is the primary teaching of the Qur’an? Does the Qur’an accept that the Lord has a transcendental form? What is the Opinion of the Sufis in this regard?”
Question 1: “Is caste, eternally invariable? Is it constant, rigid, set, unchanging, inflexible, and consistent? Are the Vaisnavas and Hindus not become fallen by associating with Christians, Muslims, and Jew?
Question 2: However, does that mean that there is no caste distinction between Vaisnavas, Christians, Muslims, and Jew? Is there no difference in terms of birth?
Question 3: On the other hand, does the difference between Vaisnavas & Hindus or Muslims & Christians & Jews, consist of nothing more than the difference in clothing and other such things?
Question 4: Then how can Muslims/Christians/Jews be Vaisnavas, and how can respectable Vaisnavas associate with them?”
Segment 043: “According to this progression, one cannot become a Vaisnava without first completing one’s eligibility for Karma. Muslims/Christians/Jews are not eligible even to perform the prescribed Karma within the Varna system, because they are outcastes, so how can they become eligible for Bhakti?”
Segment 044: “How can the defect of degraded birth be removed? Can a defect relating to one’s birth be removed without taking another birth?”
Question 1: “What is the cause of eligibility for Karma, and what is the cause of eligibility for Bhakti?
Question 2: What is meant by ‘nature, birth, and other practical causes’ that make one suitable for a particular type of work; are these sources of eligibility?”
Segment 046: “What is meant by faith in the Absolute Truth? What if some people have developed faith in the Scriptures; although their natures are not elevated? Are such people also eligible for Bhakti?”
Segment 047: ," What if one does not accept the authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam?" Part 1."
Segment 048: "What if one does not accept the authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam?" Part 2."
Segment 049: "How does Sraddha (Faith) develop? Muslims/Jews/Christians, do not perform Sat-Karma, so how can they be eligible for Bhakti?
Segment 050: Please explain clearly what you mean by Bhakta-sanga (association with devotees), and Bhakti-kriya-sanga (contact with acts of devotion). From what type of Sukrti do these arise?
Question 1: Does this mean that Nitya-sukrti comes about by chance?
Question 2: What is the circumstance by which the Jiva first entered the cycle of Karma?
Segment 052: Chapter 6, Is There no difference between an Aryan and a Yavana?
+Segment 53: What is meant by a Vyavaharika difference between Aryans and Yavanas?
Segment 054: “hen how can there possibly be no difference between Aryans and Yavanas from the Absolute point of view?
Segment 055: How can Rrice, Bbeans, Fruit, Milk, Nuts, & Vegetables be Spiritual?
Segment 056: What is the proper behavior's between the Yavanas and Vaisnavas?
Segment 057: Can You Eat Food, Drink Water, & other such activities with a Yavana who Has truly become a Vaisnava?
Segment 058: Then why is it that Yavana Vaisnavas are not permitted to worship & werve the Deities in the Vainava Temples”
Segment 059: Sudras are not eligible to study the Vedas, so can a Sudra study the Vedas when he becomes a Vaisnava?
Segment 060: Then do you people conclude that the Vedas that promote tattva teach only vaisnava-dharma and no other religion?
- Question: “My humble prayer is that you will be merciful to me, and clearly explain what is this material existence?”
- Question: “The conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are active in the conditioned state, but do they also exist in the liberated state?”
- Question: “Then what is the defect in the different conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ that exist in the conditioned state?”
- Question: “Is this deceptive material existence false?”
- Question: “Why have we fallen into this illusory relationship?”
- Question: “Why is it that our true identity does not become manifest despite significant endeavor?”
- Question: “There are two types of endeavor: “appropriate and inappropriate. Appropriate endeavors will certainly dissipate false egoism, but how can inappropriate endeavors do so?”
- Question: “What are inappropriate endeavors?”
- Question: “Why are these endeavors inappropriate?”
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- Question: “What are appropriate endeavors?”
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- Question: “The sadhus who are present in this world, and whom they are also oppressed by the miseries of material existence, so how is it that they can deliver other jivas?”
- Question: “The Bhagavatam slokas which you just quoted refer to four categories of people who possess spiritual insight. Out of these four, which type of association is considered sadhu-sanga?”
- Question: “You have explained that bhaktas live in two conditions. Kindly explain this clearly so that people like myself, who have limited intelligence, may understand easily?”
- Questions: “Please describe the nature of the grhastha-bhaktas’ relationship with this world?”
- Question: “Grhastha Vaisnavas are obliged to remain under the jurisdiction of smarta-brahmanas, otherwise they will have to suffer much harassment in society. Under such circumstances, how can they practice suddha-bhakti?”
- Question: “If grhastha-bhaktas are so highly respected and dear to everyone, why do some of them renounce household life?”
- Question: “Kindly explain how one becomes eligible to renounce household life?”
- Question: “What are the symptoms of a bhakta who is eligible to give up household life?”
- Question: “These days, young men often renounce household life and adopt the dress of the renounced order. They establish a place for sadhus to congregate, and begin to worship the Deity of the Lord. After some time, they fall into association with women again, but do not give up chanting hari-nama. They maintain their hermitage by collecting alms from many places. Are such men tyagis or grhastha-bhaktas?”
Segment 069:
- Question: “I understand that vaisnava-dharma is eternal religion, and I would like to know in detail how one who has taken shelter of vaisnava-dharma should behave with others?”
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- Question: “What is a Vaisnava and what are the symptoms by which he can be recognized?”
- Question: “The philosophical outlook lodged in the heart of Mayavadis and proponents of other similar doctrines is that Bhagavan has no form and that the Deity which is worshiped is simply an imaginary icon. Under such circumstances, how can there be any faith in the Deity?
- Question: “How should suddha-bhaktas behave towards such inimical people?”
- Question: “Some members of one’s own family may acquire a malicious nature as a result of their sinful activities from a previous life. Should one abandon such people?”
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- Question: “What is the behavior of uttama-bhaktas?”
- Question: “What are the Vedas, or sruti?”
- Question: “To which category of Vaisnavas do you think I belong? Am I a kanistha or a madhyama Vaisnava? I am certainly not an uttama Vaisnava. I sincerely want to know my actual position.
- Question: “To which class of Vaisnava do I belong, and how should I behave?”
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- Question: “What are the primary and secondary characteristics of a kanistha-bhakta in regard to bhakti?”
- Question: “How can the kanistha Vaisnava be called a bhakta when he is contaminated with the faults of karma and jnana, and his heart is filled with desires for things other than bhakti?”
- Question: “When will he obtain bhakti?” 20
- Question: “Suddha-bhakti appears along with sambandha-jnana. When is that knowledge awakened by which one becomes eligible for suddha-bhakti?”
- Question: “How long does that take?”
- Question: “What is the first result attained by past sukrti?”
- Question: “What is the progression that evolves from sadhu-sanga?”
- Question: “How does one attain sadhu-sanga”
- Question: “What are the stages of progress for a kanisthabhakta?”
- Question: “Why is it that many kanistha-bhaktas do not progress?”
- Question: “When does that happen?”
- Question: “Under what circumstances can his advancement be assured?”
- Question: “What is the nature of the kanistha-adhikari’s inclination towards sinful and pious activities?”
- Question: I have understood the situation of kanistha-adhikaris. Now kindly describe the primary symptoms of the madhyama-adhikari bhaktas
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- Question: “What are the secondary symptoms of the madhyama-bhakta?”
- Question “Can he still commit sins or offenses?”
- Question: “Does the madhyama-bhakta have any trace of karma, jnana, or extraneous desires?”
- Question: “Do such bhaktas even desire to live, and if so, why?”
- Question: “However, why don’t they long for death?” 24
- Question: “What happiness can come from remaining in this gross material body?”
- Question: “When they die, will they not obtain their spiritual forms and identities by Krishna’s mercy?”
- Question: “I have understood the symptoms of the madhyama-adhikari. Now, please tell me about the secondary symptoms of the uttama-adhikari.”
- Question: “Is it possible that some uttama-adhikaris will live as householders?”
- Question: “If an uttama-adhikari bhakta is a grhastha, and a madhyama-adhikari bhakta is in the renounced order, how should they behave towards each other?
- Question: “Should one bring many Vaisnavas together and hold festivals for distributing bhagavat-prasada?”
- Question: “A new caste has emerged in Baragachi consisting of people who refer to themselves as descendants of Vaisnavas. Kanistha-adhikari householders invite them and feed them in the name of Vaisnava seva. How is this to be viewed?”
- Question: “Babaji: Have these descendants of Vaisnavas taken up suddhabhakti?”
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- Question: “Do the descendants of Vaisnavas deserve any special regard?”
- Question: “What if the descendant of a Vaisnava is only a worldly man?”
- Question: “How can one be free from pride?”
- Question: “It seems from this that one cannot be a Vaisnava without humility and compassion.”
- Question: “Then does Bhakti-devi depend on humility and compassion?”
- Question: “When I am so wretched and insignificant myself, how can I inflict punishment upon others?”
- Question: “How should a Vaisnava behave towards the followers of other religions?”
- Question: “Is it our duty to preach Vaisnava dharma or not?”
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Segment 3
What is it That is Called Vastu, & What is the Meaning of True Nature?
Part 2
Krishna is the complete transcendental substance. He is often compared to the sun of the spiritual realm, and the jivas are compared to the sun’s atomic particles of light. Jivas are innumerable. When it is said that they are individual parts of Krishna, it does not mean that they are like the pieces of stone that form a mountain. Although innumerable, jiva portions emanate from Sri Krishna, Krishna is not diminished by this in the slightest. For this reason, the Vedas have compared the jivas, in one respect, to sparks emanating from a fire. In reality, no adequate comparison can be made. No comparison—whether to sparks of a blazing fire, atomic particles within the rays of the sun, or gold produced from powerful mystic jewels—is completely appropriate. The true nature of the jiva, is easily revealed in the heart, when the mundane, commonplace, and ordinary conception of these comparisons is given up.
Krishna is infinite spiritual substance, whereas the jivas are infinitesimal spiritual substance. The oneness of Krishna and the jivas, lies in their spiritual nature, but they are undoubtedly different as well, because their natures are complete and incomplete respectively.
- Krishna is the eternal Lord of the jivas, and the jivas are Krishna’s eternal servants. This interrelationship is natural.
- Krishna is the attractor, and the jivas are attracted.
- Krishna is the supreme ruler, and the jivas are ruled.
- Krishna is the observer, and the jivas are observed.
- Krishna is the complete whole, and the jivas are parts and parcel, poor and insignificant.
- Krishna is the possessor of all potency (energy), and the jivas are devoid of potency.
- Therefore, the eternal true nature or dharma of the jiva, is eternal service and obedience to Krishna.
- Krishna is endowed with unlimited potencies (energies).
Krishna’s complete potency is perceived in the manifestation of the spiritual world.
Similarly, His marginal potency is observed in the manifestation of the jivas. This marginal energy acts in assembling the finite world. The action of the marginal potency is to create an entity which exists between the animate objects, and inanimate objects, and which can maintain a relationship with both the spiritual, and material worlds. Purely transcendental entities, are by nature, quite the opposite of inanimate objects, and therefore have no connection whatsoever with them. Although the jiva is an animate spiritual particle, he is capable of a relationship with inanimate matter.
The jiva’s nature is spiritual, but still, its composition is such that it can become controlled by the inert nature of the material world. Therefore, the conditioned jiva (conditioned soul) is not beyond all connection with matter, unlike the jivas in the spiritual domain. Nonetheless, the jiva is distinct from dull matter, because of its animate, spiritual nature. Since the jiva is by nature different from both the purely spiritual entities, and dull matter, the jiva is classified as a separate principle. Therefore, the eternal distinction between Bhagavan and the jiva must be accepted.
Bhagavan is the supreme ruler of maya (His external potency which creates the material world and bewilderment), which is under His full control. On the other hand, the jiva may be controlled by maya, under certain circumstances, for it is subject to its influence.
Maya—illusion; an energy of Krishna’s which deludes the living entity into forgetfulness of the Supreme Lord. That which is not, unreality, deception, forgetfulness, material illusion.
Under illusion a man thinks he can be happy in this temporary material world. The nature of the material world is that the more a man tries to exploit the material situation, the more he is bound by maya’s complexities; This is a Sanskrit term of many meanings. It may mean energy; yoga-maya is the spiritual energy sustaining the transcendental manifestation of the spiritual Vaikuntha world, while the reflection, maha-maya, is the energy of the material world. The Lord’s twofold maya bewilders the jéva, hence maya also means bewilderment or illusion. Transcendental bewilderment is in love, by which the devotee sees God as his master, friend, dependent or amorous beloved. The material bewilderment of the living entity begins with his attraction to the glare of the brahmajyoti. That attraction leads to his entanglement in the “modes of material nature”. According to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, maya also means that which can be measured. This is the feature of Lord Krishna’s prakrti that captures the minds of scientific materialists.
Modes of nature—There are three gunas, or modes of material nature: goodness (sattva-guna), passion (rajo-guna) and ignorance (tamo-guna). They make possible our mental, emotional and physical experiences of the universe. Without the influence of the modes, thought, value judgement and action are impossible for the conditioned soul.
The English word mode, as used by Srila Prabhupada in his translations of Vedic literature, best conveys the sense of the Sanskrit term guna (material quality). Mode comes from the Latin modus, and it has a special application in European philosophy. Modus means measure. It is used to distinguish between two aspects of material nature: that which is immeasurable (called natura naturans, the creative nature) and that which seems measurable (called natura naturata, the created nature). Creative nature is a single divine substance that manifests, through modes, the created nature, the material world of physical and mental variety. Being immeasurable (in other words, without modes), creative nature cannot be humanly perceived.
Created nature (with modes) seems measurable, hence we do perceive it. Modus also means a manner of activity. When creative nature acts, it assumes characteristic modes of behavior: creation, maintainance and destruction. Bhagavad-gita (14.3-5) presents a similar twofold description of material nature as mahat yoni, the source of birth, and as guna prakåti, that which acts wonderfully through modes. Material nature as the source of birth is also termed mahad-brahman, the great or immeasurable Brahman. Mahad-brahman is nature as the divine creative substance, which is the material cause of everything.
Material cause is a term common to both European philosophy (as causa materialis) and Vedanta philosophy (as upadana karana). It means the source of ingredients that make up creation. We get an example of a material cause from the Sanskrit word yoni, which literally means womb. The mother’s womb provides the ingredients for the formation of the embryo. Similarly, the immeasurable creative nature provides the ingredients for the formation of the material world in which we live, the seemingly measurable created nature. The clarity of this example forces a question: what about the father, who must impregnate the womb first before it can act as the material cause? This question is answered by Krishna, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gita, in verse 14.4: “I am the seed-giving father”. In Vedänta philosophy, this factor of causation is termed nimitta-matram (the remote cause).
It is important to note that by presenting creation as the result of the union of two causes (the material and the remote), the Bhagavad-gita rejects the philosophy of Deus sive natura, the identity of God and nature. In short, though creative nature may be accepted as the direct cause of creation, it is not the self-sufficient cause of creation. The seed with which Krishna impregnates the womb of creative nature is comprised of sarva-bhutänam, all living entities (Bhagavad-gita . 14.3). And Bhagavad-gita . 14.5 explains that when Krishna puts the souls into the womb of material nature, their consciousness is conditioned by three modes, or tri-guna. The modes are three measures of interaction between conscious spirit and unconscious matter. The modes may be compared to the three primary colors, yellow, red and blue, and consciousness may be compared to clear light.
The conditioning (nibhadnanti: they do condition) of consciousness upon its entry into the womb of material nature is comparable to the coloration of light upon its passing through a prism. The color yellow symbolizes sattva-guna, the mode of goodness. This mode is pure, illuminating, and sinless. Goodness conditions the soul with the sense of happiness and knowledge. The color red symbolizes the rajo-guna, the mode of passion, full of longings and desires. By the influence of passion the soul engages in works of material accomplishment. The color blue symbolizes tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance, which binds the soul to madness, indolence and sleep.
As the three primary colors combine to produce a vast spectrum of hues, so the three modes combine to produce the vast spectrum of states of conditioned consciousness that encompasses all living entities within the universe.
Hence, these three principles—Bhagavan, the jiva, and maya—are real and eternal. Of these three, Bhagavan is the supreme eternal principle, and is the foundation of the other principles. The following statement of Sri Katha Upanisad (2.2.13) confirms this,
“He is the supreme eternal amongst all eternals; and the fundamental sentient being among all sentient beings”.
The jiva is by nature both an eternal servant of Krishna, and a representation of His marginal potency. This demonstrates that the jiva is distinct from Bhagavan, yet at the same time is not separate from Him. The jiva is, therefore, a manifestation that is both different and non-different. The jiva is subject to domination by maya, whereas Bhagavan is the controller of maya. Herein lays an eternal distinction between the jiva and Bhagavan. On the other hand, the jiva is by its constitutional nature a transcendental entity, and Bhagavan is by nature a transcendental entity as well. Moreover, the jiva is a special potency (energy) of Bhagavan. Herein lays the eternal non-distinction between these two. Where eternal distinction and non-distinction are found at the same time, eternal distinction takes prominence.