Hare Krishna,
Living entities are in the marginal energy, which is material energy. Matter is contaminating. Yet the marginal energy is still the energy of God. So how could being in God be contaminating?
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Hare Krsna
Living entities are in the marginal energy
The above statement is incorrect. Living entities are not in the marginal energy. Living entities are the marginal energy of the Supreme Personality of godhead Sri Krsna.
Living entities are in the marginal energy, which is material energy.
The above statement is incorrect because it equates marginal energy to material energy. Marginal energy is not same as material energy. They are two different energies of the Supreme Personality of godhead Sri Krsna.
Matter is contaminating.
The above statement is incomplete. contaminating to what entity or contaminating to whom ?
So how could being in God be contaminating?
It is not. Living entity is contaminated when living entity wants to enjoy separately from Krsna.
Hare Krsna
May be there is one type of energy only, but different senses in different stage of development are interpreting The Energy in different words. To make things worse, those are using different languages. As we know, there are some people who like to juggle with words and trying to weaken the faith of the infantile people. I grew up in communist country and I know them. I am not trying to offend anybody, just shearing a simple opinion on the simple Truth, who doesn't need too many words.
Hare Krsna
May be there is one type of energy only, but different senses in different stage of development are interpreting The Energy in different words.
The above is completely wrong and unacceptable.
I am not trying to offend anybody, just shearing a simple opinion on the simple Truth
It would be best if the simple opinions are in accordance with the scriptures of Bhagavad Gita & Srimad Bhagavatam. In case of any doubts the same can be clarified. But giving opinions which are against shastras can be misleading.
Hare Krsna
I'll let others more learned than me speak to whether there could be only one energy. We do know that there is only one God, Sri Krishna, and that everything is His emanation, ultimately.
Hello Doran Hunter,
Your question is very clever.
Indeed, if God is the all-pure and everything emanates from Him, how could anything be impure?
First, I want to clarify your question by restating it. Living entities, also known as jiva śakti, are marginal energy.
jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’ sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra ‘śakti’ haya
“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy." Caitanya Caritamrta 20.108-109
The three energies aforementioned are internal, external, and marginal energy, or potencies.
The jiva is the marginal energy, which, like Krishna, is sat-cit-ananda. Mamaivamso jiva-loke (Bg 15.7), we are Krishna's parts. A part of something spiritual is spiritual.
The external energy, bahiranga śakti is sometimes referred to as the material energy.
The jivas that are associating with that material energy develop bodies made out of that material due to their desires to enjoy it. karana guna sango 'sya (BG 13.22).
In his purport to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (4.21.34) Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is viśuddha-vijñāna-ghana, concentrated transcendental knowledge; therefore, even though He accepts karma-kāṇḍīya materialistic yajñas, He always remains in a transcendental position. Therefore, the mention of aneka-guṇa refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s many transcendental qualities, for He is not affected by the material qualities. The different kinds of material paraphernalia or physical elements are also gradually transformed into spiritual understanding because ultimately there is no difference between material and spiritual qualities, for everything emanates from the Supreme Spirit. This is realized by a gradual process of realization and purification."
There is no difference.
Notice in the very beginning of Bhāgavatam (1.1.1) how Vyasadeva says: ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ, directly and indirectly. Everything emanates from Krishna, but he is not personally present everywhere, He pervades through His energy as well.
The living entity that decides to avoid Krishna by engaging with His energy only and not Himself as He is, experiences what is called the conditioned material state of life.
It is like a light bulb that is designed to work perfectly well. The coils and filament are perfect and everything is nice but if the cord is not connected to light, the bulb, though it is a light machine, is dark. This energy is material inasmuch as we use it for ourselves, but the instant that we return it to Krishna, it, along with our consciousness, returns to its original, eternal, blissful, and cognizant spiritual nature.
Hope this answer is useful,
Best,
Diogo
Hare Krishna. That is a very helpful reply. Thank you.
So it is not like so-called Gnosticism where matter is considered evil. I would have thought that what "contaminates" is also, if not evil, then is at least not good. But from what you wrote here it sounds like "material contamination" is a state of consciousness or orientation of the will, not a state in which a foreign substance has polluted us. This discussion reminds me that Srila Prabhupada once spoke of the body in these terms: if we simply try to use the body to enjoy, selfishly, then the body is a hindrance. But if we use it in service, for Krishna's enjoyment, then it's not a hindrance at all. The first state would be a "contaminated" state, and the second is like the plugged-in light bulb.
I think. It's still strange to think that a living entity becomes bewildered by Maya by engaging with what is in reality Krishna's energy!
Thanks again for the excellent answer. I have copied and pasted to a document so that I can follow up. Any other insights would be greatly appreciated.
There is one thing which pollutes. In the third chapter, Arjuna asks Krishna: "by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?" And Krsna responds: "It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world."
Lust, or kama, essentially means "to satisfy my own senses" and prema means "to satisfy Krsna's senses." What has contaminated us is this fever to enjoy existence without Krishna.
You asked a very nice question. Just reading it got me thinking. It's a very subtle type of detail huh?
It's my pleasure, I liked the research and getting to write about this subject matter.
Take care Doran
There is a theoretical approach to an issue, and there is a practical approach to it. As we know there are a lot of theories which are often controversial to each other and can create kind of Labyrinth. So one can get lost easily. Fortunately there is a practical way for spiritual and body development: chanting mantras. I wish you success! Hare Krishna, Hare Rama
Hare Krsna
There are no controversial theories in Krsna consciousness.
Hare Krsna
Hare Krishna.
You're probably right. I do feel like I'm stuck in a labyrinth with certain questions. Will keep chanting.
Haribol,
Doran
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