Satisfying the Universe

2017 / Back to Godhead Magazine #51-02, 2017

In the form of a calf, Mother Earth mystically fulfills the desires of beings from all over the universe.

daiteyā dānavā vatsaṁ prahlādam asurarṣabham vidhāyādūduhan kṣīram ayaḥ-pātre surāsavam

daiteyāḥ—the sons of Diti; dānavāḥ—demons; vatsam—the calf; prahlādam—Prahlāda Mahārāja; asura—demon; ṛṣabham—the chief; vidhāya—making; adūduhan—they milked out; kṣīram—milk; ayaḥ—iron; pātre—in a pot; surā—liquor; āsavam—fermented liquids like beer.

The sons of Diti and the demons transformed Prahlada Maharaja, who was born in an asura family, into a calf, and they extracted various kinds of liquor and beer, which they put into a pot made of iron.

PURPORT: (1) The demons also have their own types of beverages in the form of liquors and beers, just as the demigods use soma-rasa for their drinking purposes [previous verse]. The demons born of Diti take great pleasure in drinking wine and beer. Even today people of demoniac nature are very much addicted to liquor and beer. The name of Prahlada Maharaja is very significant in this connection. Because Prahlada Maharaja was born in a family of demons, as the son of Hirayakasipu, by his mercy the demons were and still are able to have their drinks in the form of wine and beer. The word aya (iron) is very significant. (2) Whereas the nectarean soma was put in a golden pot, the liquors and beers were put in an iron pot. Because the liquor and beer are inferior, they are placed in an iron pot, and because soma-rasa is superior, it is placed in a golden pot.

gandharvāpsaraso 'dhukṣan pātre padmamaye payaḥ vatsaṁ viśvāvasuṁ kṛtvā gāndharvaṁ madhu saubhagam

gandharva—inhabitants of the Gandharva planet; apsarasaḥ—the inhabitants of the Apsarā planet; adhukṣan—milked out; pātre—in a pot; padma-maye—made of a lotus; payaḥ—milk; vatsam—calf; viśvāvasum—of the name Viśvāvasu; kṛtvā—making; gāndharvam—songs; madhu—sweet; saubhagam—beauty.

The inhabitants of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka made Visvavasu into a calf, and they drew the milk into a lotus-flower pot. (3) The milk took the shape of sweet musical art and beauty.

vatsena pitaro 'ryamṅā kavyaṁ kṣīram adhukṣata āma-pātre mahā-bhāgāḥ śraddhayā śrāddha-devatāḥ

The fortunate inhabitants of Pitṛloka, who preside over the funeral ceremonies, made Aryama into a calf. With great faith they milked kavya, food offered to the ancestors, into an unbaked earthen pot.

PURPORT: In Bhagavad-gita (9.25) it is said, pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ. Those who are interested in family welfare are called pitṛ-vratāḥ. (4) There is a planet called Pitṛloka, and the predominating deity of that planet is called Aryama. He is somewhat of a demigod, and by satisfying him one can help ghostly family members develop a gross body. Those who are very sinful and attached to their family, house, village, or country do not receive a gross body made of material elements but remain in a subtle body, composed of mind, ego, and intelligence. Those who live in such subtle bodies are called ghosts. (5) This ghostly position is very painful because a ghost has intelligence, mind, and ego and wants to enjoy material life, but because he doesn't have a gross material body, he can only create disturbances for want of material satisfaction.

It is the duty of family members, especially the son, to offer oblations to the demigod Aryama or to Lord Vishnu. From time immemorial in India the son of a dead man goes to Gaya and, at a Vishnu temple there, offers oblations for the benefit of his ghostly father. It is not that everyone's father becomes a ghost, but the oblations of pia are offered to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu so that if a family member happens to become a ghost, he will be favored with a gross body. (6) However, if one is habituated to taking the prasada of Lord Vishnu, there is no chance of his becoming a ghost or anything lower than a human being. In Vedic civilization there is a performance called sraddha by which food is offered with faith and devotion. If one offers oblations with faith and devotion–either to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu or to His representative in Pitṛloka, Aryama–one's forefathers will attain material bodies to enjoy whatever material enjoyment is due them. In other words, they do not have to become ghosts.

prakalpya vatsaṁ kapilaṁ siddhāḥ saṅkalpanāmayīm siddhiṁ nabhasi vidyāṁ ca ye ca vidyādharādayaḥ

prakalpya—appointing; vatsam—calf; kapilam—the great sage Kapila; siddhāḥ—the inhabitants of Siddhaloka; saṅkalpanā-mayīm—proceeding from will; siddhim—yogic perfection; nabhasi—in the sky; vidyām—knowledge; ca—also; ye—those who; ca—also; vidyādhara-ādayaḥ—the inhabitants of Vidyādhara-loka, and so on.

After this, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, as well as the inhabitants of Vidyadhara-loka, transformed the great sage Kapila into a calf, and making the whole sky into a pot, (7) they milked out specific yogic mystic powers, beginning with aima. Indeed, the inhabitants of Vidyadhara-loka acquired the art of flying in the sky.

PURPORT: The inhabitants of both Siddhaloka and Vidyādhara-loka are naturally endowed with mystic yogic powers by which they not only can fly in outer space without a vehicle but can also fly from one planet to another simply by exerting their will. Just as fish can swim within water, the residents of Vidyādhara-loka can swim in the ocean of air. As far as the inhabitants of Siddhaloka are concerned, they are endowed with all mystic powers. The yogīs in this planet practice the eightfold yogic mysticism—namely yama, niyama, āsana, prāṅāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṅā, dhyāna and samādhi. By regularly practicing the yogic processes one after another, the yogīs attain various perfections; they can become smaller than the smallest, heavier than the heaviest, etc. They can even manufacture a planet, get whatever they like and control whatever man they want. All the residents of Siddhaloka are naturally endowed with these mystic yogic powers. It is certainly a very wonderful thing if we see a person on this planet flying in the sky without a vehicle, but in Vidyādhara-loka such flying is as commonplace as a bird's flying in the sky. Similarly, in Siddhaloka all the inhabitants are great yogīs, perfect in mystic powers.

The name of Kapila Muni is significant in this verse because He was the expounder of the Sāṅkhya philosophical system, and His father, Kardama Muni, was a great yogī and mystic. Indeed, Kardama Muni prepared a great airplane, which was as large as a small town and had various gardens, palatial buildings, servants and maidservants. With all this paraphernalia, Kapiladeva's mother, Devahūti, and His father, Kardama Muni, traveled all over the universes and visited different planets.

anye ca māyino māyām antardhānādbhutātmanām mayaṁ prakalpya vatsaṁ te duduhur dhāraṅāmayīm

ātmanām—of the body; mayam—the demon named Maya; prakalpya—making; vatsam—the calf; te—they; duduhuḥ—milked out; dhāraṅāmayīm—proceeding from will.

Others also, the inhabitants of planets known as Kimpurua-loka, made the demon Maya into a calf, and they milked out mystic powers by which one can disappear immediately from another's vision and appear again in a different form.

PURPORT: It is said that the inhabitants of Kimpurua-loka can perform many wonderful mystic demonstrations. In other words, they can exhibit as many wonderful things as one can imagine. The inhabitants of this planet can do whatever they like, or whatever they imagine. Such powers are also mystic powers. (9) The possession of such mystic power is called īśitā.

The demons generally learn such mystic powers by the practice of yoga. In the Dasama-skandha, the Tenth Canto, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is a vivid description of how the demons appear before Krsna in various wonderful forms. For instance, Bakasura appeared before Krsna and His cowherd boyfriends as a gigantic crane. While present on this planet, Lord Krsna had to fight with many demons who could exhibit the wonderful mystic powers of Kimpurua-loka. Although the inhabitants of Kimpurua-loka are naturally endowed with such powers, one can attain these powers on this planet by performing different yogic practices.

yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi bhūtāni piśācāḥ piśitāśanāḥ bhūteśa-vatsā duduhuḥ kapāle kṣatajāsavam

yakṣa—the Yakṣas (the descendants of Kuvera); rakṣāṁsi—the Rākṣasas (meat-eaters); bhūtāni—ghosts; piśācāḥ—witches; piśita-aśanāḥ—who are all habituated to eating flesh; bhūteśa—Lord Śiva's incarnation Rudra; vatsāḥ—whose calf; duduhuḥ—milked out; kapāle—in a pot of skulls; kṣata-ja—blood; āsavam—a fermented beverage.

Then the Yakas, Rakasas, ghosts, and witches, who are habituated to eating flesh, transformed Lord Siva's incarnation Rudra [Bhutanatha] into a calf and milked out beverages made of blood and put them in a pot made of skulls.

PURPORT: There are some types of living entities in the form of human beings whose living conditions and eatables are most abominable. Generally they eat flesh and fermented blood, which is mentioned in this verse as katajasavam. The leaders of such degraded men known as Yakas, Rakasas, bhutas, and pisacas, are all in the mode of ignorance. They have been placed under the control of Rudra. (10) Rudra is the incarnation of Lord Siva and is in charge of the mode of ignorance in material nature. Another name of Lord Siva is Bhutanatha, meaning "master of ghosts." Rudra was born from between Brahma's eyes when Brahma was very angry at the four Kumaras.

tathāhayo dandaśūkāḥ sarpā nāgāś ca takṣakam vidhāya vatsaṁ duduhur bila-pātre viṣaṁ payaḥ

tathā—similarly; ahayaḥ—snakes without hoods; dandaśūkāḥ—scorpions; sarpāḥ—cobras; nāgāḥ—big snakes; ca—and; takṣakam—Takṣaka, chief of the snakes; vidhāya—making; vatsam—calf; duduhuḥ—milked out; bila-pātre—in the pot of snake holes; viṣam—poison; payaḥ—as milk.

Thereafter cobras and snakes without hoods, large snakes, scorpions, and many other poisonous animals took poison out of the planet earth as their milk and kept this poison in snake holes. They made a calf out of Takaka.

PURPORT: Within this material world there are various types of living entities, and the different types of reptiles and scorpions mentioned in this verse are also provided with their sustenance by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The point is that everyone is taking his eatables from the planet earth. According to one's association with the material qualities, one develops a certain type of character. Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānām: if one feeds a serpent milk, the snake will simply increase his venom. However, if one supplies milk to a talented sage or saint, the sage will develop finer brain tissues by which he can contemplate higher, spiritual life. Thus the Lord is supplying everyone food, but according to the living entity's association with the modes of material nature, the living entity develops his specific character.

paśavo yavasaṁ kṣīraṁ vatsaṁ kṛtvā ca go-vṛṣam araṅya-pātre cādhukṣan mṛgendreṅa ca daṁṣṭriṅaḥ

kravyādāḥ prāṅinaḥ kravyaṁ duduhuḥ sve kalevare suparṅa-vatsā vihagāś caraṁ cācaram eva ca

paśavaḥ—cattle; yavasam—green grasses; kṣīram—milk; vatsam—the calf; kṛtvā—making; ca—also; go-vṛṣam—the bull carrier of Lord Śiva; araṅya-pātre—in the pot of the forest; ca—also; adhukṣan—milked out; mṛga-indreṅa—by the lion; ca—and; daṁṣṭriṅaḥ—animals with sharp teeth; kravya-adāḥ—animals who eat raw flesh; prāṅinaḥ—living entities; kravyam—flesh; duduhuḥ—took out; sve—own; kalevare—in the pot of their body; suparṅa—Garuḍa; vatsāḥ—whose calf; vihagāḥ—the birds; caram—moving living entities; ca—also; acaram—nonmoving living entities; eva—certainly; ca—also.

The four-legged animals like the cows made a calf out of the bull who carries Lord Siva and made a milking pot out of the forest. Thus they got fresh green grasses to eat. Ferocious animals like tigers transformed a lion into a calf, and thus they were able to get flesh for milk. The birds made a calf out of Garua and took milk from the planet earth in the form of moving insects and nonmoving plants and grasses.

PURPORT: There are many carnivorous birds descended from Garua, the winged carrier of Lord Vishnu. Indeed, there is a particular type of bird that is very fond of eating monkeys. Eagles are fond of eating goats, and of course many birds eat only fruits and berries. Therefore the words caram, referring to moving animals, and acaram, referring to grasses, fruits, and vegetables, are mentioned in this verse.

vaṭa-vatsā vanaspatayaḥ pṛthag rasamayaṁ payaḥ girayo himavad-vatsā nānā-dhātūn sva-sānuṣu

aṭa-vatsāḥ—making the banyan tree a calf; vanaḥ-patayaḥ—the trees; pṛthak—different; rasa-mayam—in the form of juices; payaḥ—milk; girayaḥ—the hills and mountains; himavat-vatsāḥ—making the Himalayas the calf; nānā—various; dhātūn—minerals; sva—own; sānuṣu—on their peaks.

The trees made a calf out of the banyan tree, and thus they derived milk in the form of many delicious juices. The mountains transformed the Himalayas into a calf, and they milked a variety of minerals into a pot made of the peaks of hills.

sarve sva-mukhya-vatsena sve sve pātre pṛthak payaḥ sarva-kāma-dughāṁ pṛthvīṁ duduhuḥ pṛthu-bhāvitām

sarve—all; sva-mukhya—by their own chiefs; vatsena—as the calf; sve sve—in their own; pātre—pots; pṛthak—different; payaḥ—milk; sarva-kāma—all desirables; dughām—supplying as milk; pṛthvīm—the planet earth; duduhuḥ—milked out; pṛthu-bhāvitām—controlled by King Pṛthu.

The planet earth supplied everyone his respective food. During the time of King Prthu, the earth was fully under the control of the King. Thus all the inhabitants of the earth could get their food supply by creating various types of calves and putting their particular types of milk in various pots.

PURPORT: This is evidence that the Lord supplies food to everyone. As confirmed in the Vedas: eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Although the Lord is one, He is supplying all necessities to everyone through the medium of the planet earth. There are different varieties of living entities on different planets, and they all derive their eatables from their planets in different forms. On the basis of these descriptions, how can one assume that there is no living entity on the moon? Every moon is earthly, being composed of the five elements. Every planet produces different types of food according to the needs of its residents. According to the Vedic śāstras, it is not true that the moon does not produce food or that no living entity is living there.

evaṁ pṛthv-ādayaḥ pṛthvīm annādāḥ sv-annam ātmanaḥ doha-vatsādi-bhedena kṣīra-bhedaṁ kurūdvaha

evam—thus; pṛthu-ādayaḥ—King Pṛthu and others; pṛthvīm—the earth; anna-adāḥ—all living entities desiring food; su-annam—their desired foodstuff; ātmanaḥ—for self-preservation; doha—for milking; vatsa-ādi—by calves, pots and milkers; bhedena—different; kṣīra—milk; bhedam—different; kuru-udvaha—O chief of the Kurus.

My dear Vidura, chief of the Kurus, in this way King Prthu and all the others who subsist on food created different types of calves and milked out their respective eatables. Thus they received their various foodstuffs, which were symbolized as milk.

tato mahīpatiḥ prītaḥ sarva-kāma-dughāṁ pṛthuḥ duhitṛtve cakāremāṁ premṅā duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ

tataḥ—thereafter; mahī-patiḥ—the King; prītaḥ—being pleased; sarva-kāma—all desirables; dughām—producing as milk; pṛthuḥ—King Pṛthu; duhitṛtve—treating as his daughter; cakāra—did; imām—unto the planet earth; premṅā—out of affection; duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ—affectionate to his daughter.

Thereafter King Prthu was very satisfied with the planet earth, for she sufficiently supplied all food to various living entities. Thus he developed affection for the planet earth, just as if she were his own daughter.

1. Which beverages, respectively, do the demons and the demigods favor?

2. Of what metals were their respective pots made?

3. What was the form of the milk the Gandharvas received?

4. Who is the predominating deity of Pitṛloka?

5. Why is being a ghost a position of suffering?

6. How can one be assured of not becoming a ghost?

7. What did the inhabitants of Siddhaloka and Vidyadhara-loka receive?

8. What did Kardama Muni create with his mystic power?

9. What is the mystic power called isita?

10. Who is Rudra?

The Personified Vedas Discuss Liberation

On the planet of Lord Brahma, Gopa-kumara, now himself in the post of Brahma, observes a debate among personalities who embody various Vedic scriptures.

TEXT 160

kaiścid uktaṁ sa-gāmbhīryaṁ purāṅair āgamair api janyate bhagavad-bhaktyā sukhaṁ jñānaṁ su-durghaṭam

kaiścit—by some; uktam—said; sa-gāmbhīryam—with gravity; purāṅaiḥ—by Purāṅas; āgamaiḥ—and Āgamas; api—also; janyate—it is generated; bhagavat—to the Personality of Godhead; bhaktyā—by devotional service; sukham—easily; jñānam—knowledge; su-durghaṭam—difficult to obtain.

But some Puranas and Agamas said gravely that this knowledge, difficult to obtain, is easily acquired by devotional service to the Personality of Godhead.

Commentary: The Āgamas are tantras, textbooks on the methods of devotional worship. Prominent among them are the Pañcarātras. Some of the Āgamas and Purāṅas teach the methods of pure devotional service very effectively, and these are the scriptures who at this juncture spoke up with unshaking conviction.

TEXT 161

kiṁ vānuṣṭhitayā samyak tayaiva su-labho ’sti saḥ śruti-smṛtīnāṁ kāsāñcit sammatis tatra lakṣitā

kim vā—or else; anuṣṭhitayā—being executed; samyak—properly; tayā—by it (devotional service); eva—only; su-labhaḥ—easily achieved; asti—is; saḥ—it (liberation, and not merely knowledge); śruti-smṛtīnām—of the śrutis and smṛtis; kāsāñcit—some; sammatiḥ—agreement; tatra—with that idea; lakṣitā—indirectly indicated.

Some other srutis and smtis indirectly showed agreement among themselves that by devotional service alone, properly done, liberation is easy to attain.

Commentary: In the opinion of the Vaiṣṅava Purāṅas and Āgamas, liberation is attained with special ease by devotional service that is free from material desires and properly executed in all essential details. Such pure devotional service by itself (tayaiva) leads to liberation, without help from anything else. As stated in the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṅa (32.6, 4.30):

bhaktir dṛḍhā bhaved yasya deva-deve janārdane śreyāṁsi tasya sidhyanti bhakti-manto ’dhikās tataḥ

“By one whose devotion is steadfast in Janārdana, the Lord of lords, all superior benefits are gained. Such is the excellence of the Lord’s devotees.”

jīvanti jantavaḥ sarve yathā mātaram āśritāḥ tathā bhaktiṁ samāśritya sarvā jīvanti siddhayaḥ

“Just as all living beings live under the shelter of their mothers, all perfections live under the complete shelter of devotional service.” The “benefits” and “perfections” mentioned in these verses include liberation; though the verses do not specify this, it is implied.

Śrī Kṛṣṅa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā (11.54):

bhaktyā tv anyayā śakya aham evaṁ-vidho ’rjuna jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṁ ca parantapa

“My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into My existence.” “Entering into the existence” of the Personality of Godhead—that is, entering His association—by its very nature includes liberation.

The theistic śrutis and smṛtis (among them some of the Dharma-śāstras) are in agreement about this understanding, and they indicated this by movements of their heads and by other subtle signs. These scriptures do not promote pure devotional service explicitly, but one may discover the importance of bhakti in their purports.

Thus we read in the Padma Purāṅa (Pātāla-khaṅḍa 92.26):

apatyaṁ draviṅaṁ dārā hārā harmyaṁ hayā gajāḥ sukhāni svarga-mokṣau ca na dūre hari-bhaktitaḥ

“Wife, children, precious necklaces and wealth, home, horses, elephants—all happiness, and moreover the attainment of heaven and liberation—when devotional service to Lord Hari is present, none of these are difficult to obtain.”

TEXT 162

vyaktaṁ tāsāṁ vaco ’śrutvā kruddhāḥ svair āgamādibhiḥ mahopaniṣadaḥ kāścid anvamodanta tat sphuṭam

vyaktam—openly; tāsām—from those śrutis and smṛtis; vacaḥ—statements; aśrutvā—not hearing; kruddhāḥ—becoming angry; svaiḥ—that are related to them (the great Upaniṣads); āgama-ādibhiḥ—with the Pañcarātras and other scriptures; mahā-upaniṣadaḥ—great Upaniṣads; kāścit—some; anvamodanta—declared approval; tat—of that opinion; sphuṭam—openly.

Angry at not hearing those srutis and smtis speak up, some of the great Upaniads–and scriptures like the Agamas who follow in their footsteps–openly affirmed that devotional service is an independent cause of liberation.

Commentary: The more devotional of the Upaniṣads were angry at the other devotional scriptures who weren’t bold enough to say what they knew, and so were certain Vaiṣṅava Āgamas and Purāṅas who took shelter of those Upaniṣads. Together, therefore, these Upaniṣads, Āgamas, and Purāṅas declared in no uncertain terms that liberation is effortlessly achieved by unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord. As stated in the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṅa (1.79):

dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣākhyā puruṣārthā dvijottamāḥ hari-bhakti-parāṅāṁ vai sampadyante na saṁśayaḥ

“O best of brāhmaṅas, there is no doubt that those who are dedicated to Lord Hari’s devotional service achieve all the goals of life, known as religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation.” And in a prayer to the Personality of Godhead, we read in Śrī Viṣṅu Purāṅa (1.20.27):

dharmārtha-kāmaiḥ kiṁ tasya muktis tasya kare sthitā samasta-jagatāṁ mūle yasya bhaktiḥ sthirā tvayi

“What is the value of religiosity, economic development, and sense gratification to one who has firm devotion for You, the root of all the worlds? Liberation sits in the palm of his hand.”