Introduction a Introduction

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

By forgetting Kĺńëa, the living entity has become materialistic since time

immemorial. Therefore, the illusory energy of Kĺńëa is giving him different types

of miseries in material existence.
Conditional and liberated—both these states are adjectives. These two natures,

when seen from two different angles, are known by two different names. According

to the difference in the propensity of service the conditioned and liberated states are

ascertained., When one is manifested, the other disappears.

Thus ends the translation of the fourth chapter of the Uddhava-géta entitled “The

Nature of Fruitive Activity” with the commentaries of Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté

Öhäkura and chapter summary and purports by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté

Öhäkura.

CHAPTER 5
THE SYMPTOMS OF CONDITIONED AND LIBERATED LIVING ENTITIES

CHAPTER SUMMARY
In this chapter, Lord Çré Kĺńëa describes to Uddhava the difference between

conditioned and liberated living entities, the characteristics of a saintly person, and the

various limbs of devotional service.

In the previous chapter, Uddhava had inquired about the difference between

conditioned and liberated souls. In His reply, the supremely cognizant Çré Kĺńëa states

that although the spirit soul is His part and parcel, on account of his infinitesimal nature,

he comes in contact with the material energy, which causes him to accept covering

designations of the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Thus, he has been bound

up since time immemorial. But, when the spirit soul cultivates spiritual knowledge and

achieves the shelter of devotional service, he becomes designated as eternally liberated.

Therefore, transcendental knowledge is the cause of the living entity’s liberation, and

ignorance is the cause of his bondage. Both knowledge and ignorance are products of

the illusory energy of Lord Çré Kĺńëa and thus are His eternal potencies. The living

entities who are captivated by the three modes of material nature are bewildered by false

ego, which causes them to see themselves as the enjoyer of miseries, illusion, happiness,

distress, danger, and so on. They thus remain absorbed in thoughts of such things,

although they have no existence in the spiritual world.

Both the individual spirit soul and the Supersoul reside within the same body.

The difference between the two is that the Supersoul, being fully cognizant, does not

indulge in enjoying the fruits of actions but rather remains as a witness, whereas the

infinitesimal conditioned soul, being ignorant, suffers the consequences of his own

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148

UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

actions. The liberated soul, in spite of being within a material body because of the

remaining reactions of his past activities, does not become disturbed by the happiness

and suffering of the body. He sees such bodily experiences in the same way that a person

who has just awakened from a dream sees his dream experiences. On the other hand,

a conditioned soul, who actually has nothing to do with bodily happiness and distress,

nevertheless imagines himself the enjoyer of his bodily experiences, just as a dreaming

person imagines his dream experiences to be real.

Just as the sun reflected in water is not bound up by the water, and just as the

air is not confined to some particular segment of the sky, a detached person takes

advantage of his broad vision of the world to cut off all his doubts with the sword

of proper renunciation. Since his life force, senses, mind, and intelligence have no

tendency to become fixed on sense objects, he remains liberated even while situated

within the material body. Regardless of whether he is harassed or worshiped, he remains

equipoised. He is therefore considered liberated even in this life. A liberated person has

nothing to do with the piety and sin of this world, but rather sees everything equally.

A self-satisfied sage does not praise or condemn anyone. He does not speak uselessly to

anyone and does not fix his mind on material things. Rather, he is always absorbed in

meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so that in the eyes of fools, he

seems to be a speechless, crazy person.

Even if one has studied and has been taught all the Vedic literatures, if he has not

developed a taste for the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, he has accomplished

nothing more than his own labor. One should study only those scriptures that glorify

the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His transcendental pastimes, and that contain

narrations of His various incarnations. By doing so, one gains the highest good fortune

whereas by studying scriptures other than these, one simply acquires misfortune.

With firm determination, one should understand the true identity of the spirit soul

and then give up his false identification with the material body. Thereafter, he should

offer himself at the lotus feet of Lord Çré Kĺńëa, who is the reservoir of all love and thus

attain actual peace. The mind that is under the sway of the three modes of material

nature is unable to concentrate upon the Absolute Truth. After many lifetimes, faithful

persons who have performed sacrifices for the attainment of religiosity, economic

development, and sense gratification can begin the process of hearing and chanting of

the Supreme Lord’s transcendental pastimes. Such persons then achieve the association

of a bona-fide spiritual master and saintly devotees. Thereafter, by the mercy of the

spiritual master, they begin following the path of the mahäjanas and thus attain self-

realization.

Having heard these instructions from Lord Çré Kĺńëa, Uddhava further desired to

hear about the characteristics of a saintly person, and about various aspects of devotional

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

149

service. Lord Kĺńëa replied that one who possesses these twenty-six qualities is actually a

sadhu or Vaińëava. He is merciful, nonenvious, always truthful, self-controlled, faultless,

magnanimous, gentle, clean, nonpossessive, helpful to all, peaceful, dependent on Kĺńëa

alone, free from lust, devoid of material endeavor, steady, in control of the six enemies

of the mind, moderate in eating, never bewildered, always respectful to others, never

desirous of respect for himself, sober, compassionate, friendly, poetic, expert and silent.

The principal characteristic of a sädhu is that he takes shelter of Kĺńëa alone. One who

knows that Çré Kĺńëa is the unlimited, indwelling Lord who possesses a form that is

eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, and thus engage in His service without deviation, is

a topmost devotee.

Lord Çré Kĺńëa next described to Uddhava the sixty-four limbs of devotional service.

Amongtheseare: seeing,touching,worshiping,serving, glorifying andoffering obeisances

to the Deity of the Lord and His pure devotees; developing attachment for hearing the

chanting of the Lord’s qualities, pastimes, and so on; remaining always in meditation

upon the Lord; offering everything one acquires to the Lord; accepting oneself to be the

Lord’s servant; offering the Lord one’s heart and soul; engaging in glorification of the

Lord’s birth and activities; observing holidays related to the Lord; performing festivals

in the Lord’s temple in the company of other devotees, with music, singing and dancing;

celebrating all varieties of yearly functions; offering food to the Lord; taking initiation

according to the Vedas and tantras; taking vows related to the Lord; being eager to

establish Deities of the Lord; endeavoring either alone or in association with others in

constructing, for the service of the Lord, vegetable and flower gardens, temples, cities,

and so on; humbly cleansing the temple of the Lord; and rendering service to the Lord’s

house by painting it, washing it with water and decorating it with auspicious designs.

After this, the process of worshiping the Deity of the Supreme Lord is briefly

described.

TEXT 1

é[q>aGavaNauvac

bÖaeMau˘-EiTaVYaa:YaaGau )

Gau

çré-bhagavän uväca

baddho mukta iti vyäkhyä guëato me na vastutaů

guëasya mäyä-mülatvänna me mokńo na bandhanam

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

The Supreme Lord said: My dear Uddhava, the three modes of material nature work

under My control, sometimes designating the living entities as conditioned and sometimes

granting them liberation. Truthfully, the living entities are never really conditioned or

liberated, just as I remain unchanged as the Supreme Absolute Truth, the master of all

potencies.

COMMENTARY

In this chapter, the Lord describes to Uddhava characteristics of conditioned and

liberated souls, the symptoms by which one can recognize saintly persons, and the limbs

of devotional service.

The Lord tells Uddhava that his question is unnecessary because the soul is never

really bound by the material nature. It is simply an illusion to think that the materal

body, which is created by the influence of the three modes of material nature, is the self.

Only due to such illusion does the living entity suffer, just as one experiences distress

in a dream. Of course, materal nature is not an illusion—it actually exists, just as the

living entities also exist, both being potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is the dream that he is a part of the material nature that constitutes the illusion of

the living entity. Thus, the soul is never actually bound because his existence is always

superior to that of matter.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master of all potencies. It is only by

speculation that the ignorant conditioned souls imagine that the Lord is devoid of

variegatedness. Although the living entity is part and parcel of the Lord’s superior

potency, he now identifies with the inferior potency of the Lord and thus experiences

conditional life. The living entity is liberated when contacts the superior potency of

the Lord, which has three divisions— hlädiné, or spiritual pleasure; sandhiné, or eternal

existence; and saŕvit, or all-pervading knowledge. The Lord’s existence is sac-cid-

änanda and He never becomes forgetful. The living entities, however being minute in

quantity, are sometimes conditioned and sometimes liberated.

The neutral state of the three modes of material nature is called pradhäna. When

the three modes of material nature interact, they compete for control over the tiny living

entities, thus creating a variety of manifestations. When the conditioned soul desires to

free himself from the entanglements caused by the modes of material nature, he must

take to the devotional service of the Lord, which can elevate him to the spiritual world.

In the spiritual sky, everyone possesses spiritual bodies that are not subject to change.

In such a liberated state of existence, there is no possibility of being influenced by the

three modes of material nature.

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

151

After understanding one’s eternal nature, one can see that he was never really a part

of this material world. On the spiritual platform, there is no existence of the conception

of liberation and bondage. Being the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord, one should

use his minute independence to engage in the Lord’s devotional service and thus revive

his original consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. In such

a state, there is no chance of once again falling into illusion.
TEXT 2

Xaaek-MaaehaESau%&du>%&dehaPaitaęMaaYaYaa )

SvPanaeYaQaaTMaNa>:YaaiTa>Sa&Sa*iTaNaRTauvaSTavq ))2))

çoka-mohau sukhaŕ duůkhaŕ dehäpattiç ca mäyayä

svapno yathätmanaů khyätiů saŕsĺtir na tu västavé
Just as a dream is an illusory creation of the mind, so lamentation, illusion, happiness,

distress, and the bodily concept of life are simply creations of My illusory energy. That is

to say, materal existence is essentially illusory.

COMMENTARY

The nature of material bondage is being described in this verse. Lamentation, illusion,

happiness, and distress, are all related to the material body. Gross bodily designations

are accepted by the subtle body and thus a living entity falsely identifies himself as the

enjoyer of material nature. Material existence, which is full of lamentation and illusion

Is not factual reality because it is a temporary display of the Lord’s external energy, just

like a dream, and thus has no relation with the eternal spirit soul.

PURPORT

The illusioned soul forgets his eternal existence and imagines that there is no

Supreme Truth. Even in its most advanced stages, material life is simply ignorance. Just

as when one dreams, there is no question of a pleasant dream being more real than a

nightmare, so heavenly and hellish material existences are equally illusory. This material

world is a manifestation of the Lord’s external energy, just as the eternal spiritual sky is

a manifestation of His internal energy. Although material nature is infinitely mutable

and thus has no stable condition, it is real and not simply an illusion, like a mirage in the

desert, because it is an emanation from the Supreme Reality. It is only our mistaking the

material body as the self that constitutes illusion. One should therefore wake up from

the dream of bodily identification and see the reality of the eternal Supreme Personality

of Godhead.

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

TEXT 3

ivŰaivŰeMaMaTaNaUivÖyuÖvXarqir

Maae+abNDak-rq AaŰeMaaYaYaaMaeiviNaiMaRTae ))3))

vidyävidye mama tanü viddhy uddhava çarériëäm

mokńa-bandha-karé ädye mäyayä me vinirmite

O Uddhava, you should understand that both ignorance and knowledge are creations

of My Maya. Being expansions of My potency, they are beginningless, and are the cause

of the living entities’ bondage and liberation.
COMMENTARY

It may be questioned how Maya, being illusion, can influence the eternal spirit soul.

The answer is that both knowledge and ignorance are two manifestations of the Lord’s

powerful energy, and which are the causes of liberation and bondage. Knowledge awards

liberation and ignorance causes bondage. Being creations of the eternal energy of the

Lord, knowledge and ignorance are beginningless, unlimited, and inexhaustible. In the

Vedic literature, it is described that the Supreme Lord has an eternal energy known

as Maya, which manifests in three features— vidyä, avidyä, and pradhäna. Pradhäna

creates the material world, avidyä creates the conditioned souls’ misconceptions, and

vidyä removes those misconception and awards enlightenment.

PURPORT

The living entity, being the marginal energy of the Lord, can exist under the shelter

of either knowledge or ignorance. When the living entity takes shelter of vidyä, he

remains in the liberated condition and when he takes shelter of avidyä, he remains in

bondage. Vidyä and avidyä are the two eternal energies of the Supreme Lord. Followers

of the viçińöädvaita philosophy address the living entities as cit and the material world

as acit. According to the Vedic statement, yathäbhäso yathä tamaů, Çré Jéva Gosvämé

has described the living entities as jévamäyä and matter as guëamäyä. It is the mistaken

identification of the living entities with matter that causes illusory material existence,

or ignorance. When the living entities can see himself as the superior potency of the

Lord, giving up his misidentification with the inferior potency of matter, he can return

to his blissful condition in the spiritual sky.

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities


TEXT 4

Wk-SYaEvMaMaa&XaSYaJaqvSYaEvMahaMaTae )

bNDaae_SYaaivŰYaaNaaidivRŰYaacTaQaeTar> ))4))

ekasyaiva mamäŕçasya jévasyaiva mahä-mate

bandho ‘syävidyayänädir vidyayä ca tathetaraů

153

O intelligent Uddhava, the eternal living entities are My parts and parcels, for I

am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ignorance is the cause of the living entities’

bondage, and knowledge is the cause of their liberation.
COMMENTARY

The two energies of the Lord, vidyä and avidyä, influence the marginal potency,

or living entities. When they are under the influence of avidyä, the living entities are

conditioned and when they are under the influence of vidyä, they are liberated. As

stated in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.5):

apareyam itas tv anyäŕ prakĺtiŕ viddhi me paräm

jéva-bhütäŕ mahä-bäho yayedaŕ dhäryate jagat
Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another,

superior energy of Mine, consisting of all living entities who are struggling with

material nature and are sustaining the universe.
There are many statements in the Vedic literature indicating that the Absolute

Truth is one. Here the living entities are described as innumerable, being fragmental

parts and parcels of the Lord. How can this apparent contradiction be reconciled? Lord

Caitanya has informed us that the living entities are inconceivably simultaneously one

with and different from the Absolute Truth. The external energy of the Lord has two

features—avidyä and vidyä. Under the influence of these potencies the propensities

of the jévaçakti and mäyäçakti are eternally manifest. It is stated in the Vedas (Kaöha

Upanińad 2.2.13),:

nityo nityänäŕ cetanaç cetanänäm

eko bahünäŕ yo vidadhäti kämän
The Lord is the prime eternal among all eternals. He is the supreme living

entity of all living entities, and He alone is maintaining all life.

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

When the living entities are freed from the influence of avidyä they attain liberation.

However, the liberation of merging into the existence of Brahman is condemned. A

devotee, although united with the Lord, keeps his individuality intact.

As stated in the Vińëu Puräëa (6.7.61):
vińëu-çaktiů parä proktä kńetra-jďäkhyä tathä parä

avidyä-karma-saŕjďänyä tĺtéyä çaktir ińyate
The potency of Lord Vińëu is summarized in three categories—namely, the

spiritual potency, the living entities and ignorance. The spiritual potency is full

of knowledge; the living entities, although belonging to the spiritual potency,

are subject to bewilderment; and the third energy, which is full of ignorance, is

always visible in fruitive activities.

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord is one without a second and the innumerable living entities, both

conditioned and liberated, are His eternal fragmental parts and parcels. The conditioned

souls have been under the influence of avidyä since time immemorial. However, with

the help of vidyä, they can attain liberation. Although the parts and parcels of the Lord

are sometimes liberated and sometimes conditioned, there is no question of conditioning

or liberation for the Lord Himself. Avidyä and vidyä can exert their supremacy over the

parts and parcels of the Lord, but not the Lord Himself.

TEXT 5

AQabÖSYaMau˘-SYavEl/+a

ivĺÖDaiMaRatha baddhasya muktasya vailakńaëyaŕ vadämi te

viruddha-dharmiëos täta sthitayor eka-dharmiëi
O Uddhava, I shall now describe the difference between the embodied spirit soul,

who possesses the two contradictory natures of misery and happiness, and the eternally

liberated Supreme Personality of Godhead.
COMMENTARY

In the previous chapter, Uddhava inquired from the Lord about the symptoms by

which one can understand who is a conditioned soul and who is a liberated soul. In reply,

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

155

the Lord explained that the characteristics of bondage and liberation may be understood

in two divisions—as the difference between the ordinary conditioned soul and the

eternally liberated Personality of Godhead, or as the difference between conditioned

and liberated living entities in the jéva category. The Vedas confirm that the Supersoul

is untouched by material contamination. The difference between the spirit soul and

the Supersoul will be described in the following verses. The conditioned soul is full of

lamentation whereas the Supersoul is full of bliss. They are both situated in the same

body, but one of them is fully independent and the other is completely dependent on

the independent Lord.

PURPORT

When the respective symptoms of the conditioned and liberated souls are carefully

considered, there appears to be two contradictory natures. The conditional state is full

of lamentation, and liberated state is the platform of boundless happiness. The Supersoul

is the controller of all energies and the spirit soul, being the marginal energy, is always

controlled.