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Radhanath Swami

“paras tasmät tu bhävo ‘nyo

‘vyakto ‘vyaktät sanätanah

yah sa sarvesu bhütesu

nasyatsu na vinasyati”

TRANSLATION

Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.

PURPORT

Krishna’s superior, spiritual energy is transcendental and eternal. It is beyond all the changes of material nature, which is manifest and annihilated during the days and nights of Brahma. Krishna’s superior energy is completely opposite in quality to material nature. Superior and inferior nature are explained in the Seventh Chapter.

Everything is being destroyed in the material world (Death is certain even for Brahma)

In this 8^th chapter of Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna is describing how this material world is being manifested by him and how it is constantly creating, maintaining, and destroying all matter. Everything in this material world is in a state of being destroyed. As soon as something comes into existence by the influence of time, it is in the process of annihilation. Just as we know when one child is born that one thing is certain, that, that child would die. If you read any horoscope or astrology chart of any child that is born, one of the most important of all messages that is told is the time the child will die. Because for one who is born, Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita “Birth and death are certain”.

It is an absolute fact of material existence. That everything and everyone is being consumed by the power of time. Now of course, our perception is very small. We are thinking that if someone lives ninety or hundred years, This is a very very grand and glorious accomplishment. But in due course we know that soon a person will have to meet his death. So in a very small level we are very much struggling and striving through so many processes of health, through so many medical arrangements, to try to prolong our life a few more years. within this insignificant framework of at the most hundred years. And we are thinking that is the great accomplishment. Just like sometime when a old person leaves his body, we think oh! Well, his life was full, because he lived a long life. There is one very famous entertainer in America and he is 93 years old and still he is writing books, he is having wide performances, and he is a comedian and his mind is sharper than ever through out his life. He is on a nationwide TV very often,and everyone turns on the TV just to see him. This person has been an entertainer since he is about 8 years old, and now he is 93 and any question you ask him, he has something that makes you laugh, very brilliant mind. And people are just astonished they are shock. How is it possible? This person is 93 and he is so incredibly brilliant and yet he is in such good health. and he talks about all of his colleagues, that were like 50-60-70-80 years ago, famous people. He knew them all. It is very interesting to the ordinary person.

He claims that on his 100^th birthday he is going to have a live performance in conwaky hall. It’s already booked up and all the tickets are already sold out. On that day, on his birthday, 7 years from now, conwaky hall is already booked. There is not a seat available; standing also you cannot not even get it because he is going to tell jokes on that night. And everyone wants to see him. So this is considered to be a great thing in this material world. What is 93 years? Here we are reading in Bhagavad-Gita where Krishna is describing “how lord Brahma is creating and destroying this entire cosmic manifestation. He is explaining by human calculation, a thousand ages is taken together is the duration of Brahma’s one day, and such also is the duration of his night. and then it is described that the four ages, Satya Yuga is one million seven hundred and 28 thousand years.

Tretaya Yuga is one million two hundred and 96 thousand yeas. Dwapara Yuga is 8 hundred and 64 thousands years and Kali-yuga is four hundred and 32 thousands years. And now if you take these four yugas together, and multiply them by one thousand that is one day of Lord Brahma and if you multiply all those four yugas combined and multiply by 1000 that is one night of Lord Brahma. And Lord Brahma lives a hundred years. Now of course I don’t think on his 100^th birth day Brahma is going to telling jokes on conwaky hall. Why? Because his 100 years are equal to our three hundred and eleven trillion forty million earth years. And Lord Brahma, it is described he is just living an insignificant life in relationship to Krishna, who is eternal, to Vishnu who is eternal. So you see life is very very temporary. And our conception, what is a long life is very relative.

Just like in the night, under the light, there are little insect these are flying about, some of these insects they are born at the time of the sunset and they have their infancy lila and they have their baby lila (bal lila), and they have their childhood pastimes and then they get little older and they began to search out female insects and they have amorous conjugal pastimes and then they start growing old and then starts slowing down and then all the other insects they go very respectable old insect. And then by sunrise they die. They go through an entire hundred years cycle within one of our twelve hour night. And they are thinking this is a long happy life. So we are thinking ours is a long happy life. but our whole life is hardly one second of Brahmas life. And Brahma thinks he has a long happy life. But a saintly person, one who is self realized, one who understands the eternal nature of the soul, Even Lord Brahma’s life is insignificant. That is why Lord Krishna says in Gita

“ä-brahma-bhuvanäl lokäù

punar ävartino ‘rjuna

mäm upetya tu kaunteya

punar janma na vidyate”

From the highest planet in this material world, where everyone lives as long as brahma, Down to the lowest planet, they are all places of misery. Because where ever you go, you have to re-born and you have to die. Whether you are Lord Brahma, or whether you are little insect flying about on the light bulb. You are in the process of annihilation as soon as you take birth, your physical body. So these are the laws of physical nature. just like law of gravity is “What goes up must come down”. There is no exception on this earth. What goes up most come down? So these laws are not the laws of the state, where the parliament members could come together and change the law from year to year and make amendments to the constitution and so on and so for. These are the laws of god which are unchangeable. Just like what goes up most come down, what is born must die. and what die must take re birth and one what takes rebirth must die. And that a living entity must take another birth, as long as we are attached to the misconception that we are of this physical energy.

There is another nature that is eternal and transcendental

So Krishna is here explaining that there is another nature which is eternal and transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and it is never annihilated. When all these worlds are annihilated that part remains as it is. Krishna is here speaking about the soul, the consciousness within you. You are not subject to birth or death.

“na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin

näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù

ajo nityaù çäçvato ‘yaà puräëo

na hanyate hanyamäne sarire”

Krishna says for the soul there is neither birth, nor death. “na hanyate hanyamäne sarire” When the body is slain, the soul is not slain.

“väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya

naväni gåhëäti naro ‘paräëi

tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny

anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé”

Lord Sri Krishna says just as you put on a new garment giving up an old one. The soul puts on new body, giving up the old one, when it becomes useless. This is the process of the transmigration, which is going on again, and again, and again for the living entity. But Krishna explains in Bhagavad-Gita, Self realization means that there is another energy besides this physical energy and you are part of that energy.