Srimad Bhagavatam 11.03.05 - Gundica Cleaning (download mp3)
by Braja Candra Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.com
SB 11.3.5
gunair gunan sa bhuñjana
atma-pradyotitaih prabhuh
manyamana idam srstam
atmanam iha sajjate
Translation:
The individual living being, the master of the material body, uses his material senses, which have been activated by the Supersoul, to try to enjoy sense objects composed of the three modes of nature. Thus he misidentifies the created material body with the unborn eternal self and becomes entangled in the illusory energy of the Lord.
Purport:
In this verse the living entity is called prabhuh, or “master,” because he is a minute part and parcel of the supreme master, Krsna. Similarly, in Bhagavad-gita (15.8) the Lord has described the living entity as isvarah, “the controller.”
sariram yad avapnoti
yac capy utkramatisvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat
“The living entity in the material world carries his various conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” Srila Prabhupada has commented in his purport, “Here the living entity is described as isvarah, the controller of his own body. If he likes, he can change his body to a higher grade, and if he likes he can move to a lower class. Minute independence is there. The change his body undergoes depends upon him.” This statement confirms the words sva-matra and atma-prasiddhaye in text 3 of this chapter. If the Supreme Lord were to interfere with the minute independence of the living entity, there would be no question of the living entity’s engaging in the loving service of the Lord, since love implies a spontaneous free choice by the lover. Here the word prabhuh indicates that just as a child, having received a toy car from his father, pedals on the sidewalk, imitating the father, who drives an actual car, the living entity pedals around the material universe in the innumerable material bodies selected for him by the Supreme Lord from an assortment of 8,400,000 species. Thus the living entity, infatuated with the false ego of the material body, creates a fearful situation in which he undergoes repeated birth and death, as described in the statement bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat (Bhag. 11.2.37).
Srila Jiva Gosvami has given another explanation for this verse. If the word prabhuh is taken to mean the Supreme Lord, the word gunaih can be understood to mean “good qualities,” since guna can refer to the material modes of nature or to admirable qualities (as in the verse yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah). This verse would then mean that the Lord, by His transcendental qualities (gunaih), such as mercy, is able to relish the transcendental qualities (gunan) of His pure devotees. Atma-pratyoditaih would then indicate that by surrendering unto the Lord, who is the reservoir of all good qualities, the pure devotees become similarly endowed with godly qualities. The words manyamana idam srstam atmanam would indicate that the Lord accepts the body of His pure devotee to be on the same spiritual level as He Himself, as indicated in the verse acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit. The Lord is attracted by the loving devotional service of His pure devotees and thus becomes entangled in the network of their loving relationship with Him. For example, after the Battle of Kuruksetra, when Krsna was leaving for His own city, Dvaraka, the loving appeal of Maharaja Yudhisthira forced the Lord to remain for several more weeks in Hastinapura. Similarly, when the elderly gopis of Vrndavana clapped their hands, Krsna would dance like a puppet, keeping time to their rhythm. In relation to this subject matter, Srila Jiva Gosvami has quoted a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.68):
sadhavo hrdayam mahyam
sadhunam hrdayam tv aham
mad-anyat te na jananti
naham tebhyo manag api
“The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything but Me, and I do not know anyone but them.”
According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura the word prabhuh may also be understood as follows. The word pra indicates prakarsena, or “excessively,” and bhu indicates bhavati, or “taking birth.” Thus prabhuh indicates prakarsena deva-tiryag-adisu bhavatiti sah, or repeatedly taking birth among the demigods, animals, human beings and other forms of life.
Confirming the statement by Srila Jiva Gosvami concerning the Lord’s attachment to the spiritualized body of a pure devotee, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has quoted the following verses from Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 4.192-93):
diksa-kale bhakta kare atma-samarpana
sei-kale krsna tare kare atma-sama
“At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Krsna accepts him to be as good as Himself.”
sei deha kare tara cid-ananda-maya
aprakrta-dehe tanra carana bhajaya
“When the devotee’s body is thus transformed into spiritual existence, the devotee, in that transcendental body, renders service to the lotus feet of the Lord.”
