2009-09-06Srimad Bhagavatam 08.03.13 - The Lord Is A Witness To Everything (download mp3)
by Rohini Priya Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net
SB 8.3.13
ksetra-jñaya namas tubhyam
sarvadhyaksaya saksine
purusayatma-mulaya
mula-prakrtaye namah
I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the Supersoul, the superintendent of everything, and the witness of all that occurs. You are the Supreme Person, the origin of material nature and of the total material energy. You are also the owner of the material body. Therefore, You are the supreme complete. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
In Bhagavad-gita (13.3) the Lord says, ksetra-jñam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata: "O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies." Every one of us is thinking, "I am this body" or "This is my body," but actually the truth is different. Our bodies are given to us by the supreme proprietor. The living entity, who is also ksetra jña, or the knower of the body, is not the body's only proprietor; the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme ksetra jña. For example, we may rent and occupy a house, but actually the owner of the house is the landlord. Similarly, we may be allotted a certain type of body as a facility with which to enjoy this material world, but the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is called sarvadhyaksa because everything in the material world works under His supervision. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.10), wherein the Lord says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sacaracaram: "This material nature, working under My direction, O son of Kunti, is producing all moving and unmoving beings." From prakrti, or material nature, come so many varieties of living entities, including aquatics, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, human beings and demigods. prakrti is the mother, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the father (aham bija-pradah pita [Bg. 14.4]).
Prakrti can give us material bodies, but as spirit souls we are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (15.7): mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah. The living entity, being part and parcel of God, is not a product of this material world. Therefore the Lord is described in this verse as atma-mula, the original source of everything. He is the seed of all existences (bijam mam sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 7.10]). In Bhagavad-gita (14.4) the Lord says:
sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita
"It should be understood that all living entities, in all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father." Plants, trees, insects, aquatics, demigods, beasts, birds and all other living entities are sons or parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, but because they are struggling with different mentalities, they have been given different types of bodies (manah sasthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karsati [Bg. 15.7]). Thus they have become sons of prakrti, or material nature, which is impregnated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every living entity in this material world is struggling for existence, and the only salvation or relief from the cycle of birth and death in the evolutionary process is full surrender. This is indicated by the word namah, "I offer my respectful obeisances unto You."
