Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare

And now, Mantra Thirteen anyad evahuh sambhavad

anyad ahur asambhavat iti susruma dhiranam

ye nas tad vicacaksire TRANSLATION

It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes

and that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from

the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.

PURPORT The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities

is approved in this mantra. Unless one hears from a bona fide acarya, who is never disturbed

by the changes of the material world, one cannot have the real key to transcendental

knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has also heard the sruti-mantras, or Vedic

knowledge, from his undisturbed acarya, never presents anything that is not mentioned in

the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.25) it is clearly said that those who worship

the pitrs, or forefathers, attain the planets of the forefathers, that the gross materialists

who make plans to remain here stay in this world, and that the devotees of the Lord who

worship none but Lord Krsna, the supreme cause of all causes, reach Him in His spiritual

sky. Here also in Sri Isopanisad it is verified that one achieves different results by different

modes of worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him in His eternal

abode, and if we worship demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their respective

planets without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this wretched planet with our planning

commissions and our stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.

Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal

by doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made

"spiritual masters" who have no connection with the parampara, the bona fide system of

disciplic succession. The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the

same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the demigods

or of the Supreme or whatever. Any common man can very easily understand that a person

can reach his destination only when he has purchased a ticket for that destination. A

person who has purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not Bombay. But the

so-called spiritual masters say that any and all paths will take one to the supreme goal.

Such mundane and compromising offers attract many foolish creatures, who become puffed

up with their manufactured methods of spiritual realization. The Vedic instructions, however,

do not uphold them. Unless one has received knowledge from the bona fide spiritual master

who is in the recognized line of disciplic succession, one cannot have the real thing

as it is. Krsna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2):

evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh

sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa

"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the

saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken,

and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."

When Lord Sri Krsna was present on this earth, the bhakti-yoga principles defined in the

Bhagavad-gita had become distorted; therefore the Lord had to reestablish the disciplic

system beginning with Arjuna, who was the most confidential friend and devotee of the

Lord. The Lord clearly told Arjuna (Bg. 4.3) that it was because Arjuna was His devotee

and friend that he could understand the principles of the Bhagavad-gita. In other words, only

the Lord's devotee and friend can understand the Gita. This also means that only one who

follows the path of Arjuna can understand the Bhagavad-gita.

At the present moment there are many interpreters and translators of this sublime dialogue who

care nothing for Lord Krsna or Arjuna. Such interpreters explain the verses of the Bhagavad-gita

in their own way and postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the Gita. Such interpreters

believe neither in Sri Krsna nor in His eternal abode. How, then, can they explain the Bhagavad-gita?

Krsna clearly says that only those who have lost their sense worship the demigods for

paltry rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23). Ultimately He advises that one give up all other ways

and modes of worship and fully surrender unto Him alone (Bg. 18.66). Only those who are

cleansed of all sinful reactions can have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord.

Others will continue hovering on the material platform with their paltry ways of worship

and thus will be misled from the real path under the false impression that all paths

lead to the same goal. In this mantra of Sri Isopanisad the word

sam-bhavat, "by worship of the supreme cause," is very significant. Lord Krsna is the original

Personality of Godhead, and everything that exists has emanated from Him. In the Bhagavad-gita

(10.8) the Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavo

mattah sarvam pravartate iti matva bhajante mam

budha bhava-samanvitah "I am the source of all spiritual and material

worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional

service and worship Me with all their hearts." Here is a correct description of the Supreme

Lord, given by the Lord Himself. The words sarvasya pra-bhavah indicate that Krsna is

the creator of everyone, including Brahma, Visnu and Siva. And because these three principal

deities of the material world are created by the Lord, the Lord is the creator of all

that exists in the material and spiritual worlds. In the Atharva Veda (Gopala-tapani

Upanisad 1.24) it is similarly said, "He who existed before the creation of Brahma and

who enlightened Brahma with Vedic knowledge is Lord Sri Krsna." Similarly, the Narayana

Upanisad (1) states, "Then the Supreme Person, Narayana, desired to create all living beings.

Thus from Narayana, Brahma was born. Narayana created all the Prajapatis. Narayana created

Indra. Narayana created the eight Vasus. Narayana created the eleven Rudras. Narayana created

the twelve Adityas." Since Narayana is a plenary manifestation of Lord Krsna, Narayana and

Krsna are one and the same. The Narayana Upanisad (4) also states, "Devaki's son [Krsna] is

the Supreme Lord." The identity of Narayana with the supreme cause has also been accepted

and confirmed by Sripada Sankaracarya, even though Sankara does not belong to the Vaisnava,

or personalist, cult. The Atharva Veda (Maha Upanisad 1) also states, "Only Narayana existed

in the beginning, when neither Brahma, nor Siva, nor fire, nor water, nor stars, nor

sun, nor moon existed. The Lord does not remain alone but creates as He desires." Krsna Himself

states in the Moksa-dharma, "I created the Prajapatis and the Rudras. They do not have

complete knowledge of Me because they are covered by My illusory energy." It is also

stated in the Varaha Purana: "Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from

Him the four-headed Brahma was manifested, as well as Rudra, who later became omniscient."

Thus all Vedic literature confirms that Narayana, or Krsna, is the cause of all causes. In the

Brahma-samhita (5.1) also it is said that the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, Govinda, the

delighter of every living being and the primeval cause of all causes. The really learned persons

know this from evidence given by the great sages and the Vedas, and thus they decide

to worship Lord Krsna as all in all. Such persons are called budha, or really learned,

because they worship only Krsna. The conviction that Krsna is all in all is

established when one hears the transcendental message from the undisturbed acarya with faith

and love. One who has no faith in or love for Lord Krsna cannot be convinced of this

simple truth. Those who are faithless are described in the Bhagavad-gita (9.11) as mudhas-fools

or asses. It is said that the mudhas deride the Personality of Godhead because they do

not have complete knowledge from the undisturbed acarya. One who is disturbed by the whirlpool

of material energy is not qualified to become an acarya.

Before hearing the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was disturbed by the material whirlpool, by his

affection for his family, society and community. Thus Arjuna wanted to become a philanthropic,

nonviolent man of the world. But when he became budha by hearing the Vedic knowledge of the

Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Person, he changed his decision and became a worshiper

of Lord Sri Krsna, who had Himself arranged the Battle of Kuruksetra. Arjuna worshiped

the Lord by fighting with his so-called relatives, and in this way he became a pure devotee of

the Lord. Such accomplishments are possible only when one worships the real Krsna and

not some fabricated "Krsna" invented by foolish men who are without knowledge of the intricacies

of the science of Krsna described in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

According to the Vedanta-sutra, sambhuta is the source of birth and sustenance, as well

as the reservoir that remains after annihilation (janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]). The Srimad-Bhagavatam,

the natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by the same author, maintains that the source

of all emanations is not like a dead stone but is abhijna, or fully conscious. The primeval

Lord, Sri Krsna, also says in the Bhagavad-gita (7.26) that He is fully conscious of past,

present and future and that no one, including demigods such as Siva and Brahma, knows Him

fully. Certainly half-educated "spiritual leaders" who are disturbed by the tides of

material existence cannot know Him fully. They try to make some compromise by making

the mass of humanity the object of worship, but they do not know that such worship is

only a myth because the masses are imperfect. The attempt by these so-called spiritual leaders

is something like pouring water on the leaves of a tree instead of the root. The natural

process is to pour water on the root, but such disturbed leaders are more attracted

to the leaves than the root. Despite their perpetually watering the leaves, however,

everything dries up for want of nourishment. Sri Isopanisad advises us to pour water on

the root, the source of all germination. Worship of the mass of humanity by rendering bodily

service, which can never be perfect, is less important than service to the soul. The soul

is the root that generates different types of bodies according to the law of karma. To

serve human beings by medical aid, social help and educational facilities while at the

same time cutting the throats of poor animals in slaughterhouses is no service at all to

the soul, the living being. The living being is perpetually suffering

in different types of bodies from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and death.

The human form of life offers one a chance to get out of this entanglement simply by

reestablishing the lost relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. The

Lord comes personally to teach this philosophy of surrender unto the Supreme, the sambhuta.

Real service to humanity is rendered when one teaches surrender to and worship of the

Supreme Lord with full love and energy. That is the instruction of Sri Isopanisad in this

mantra. The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord

in this age of disturbance is to hear and chant about His great activities. The mental

speculators, however, think that the activities of the Lord are imaginary; therefore they

refrain from hearing of them and invent some word jugglery without any substance to divert

the attention of the innocent masses of people. Instead of hearing of the activities of Lord

Krsna, such pseudo spiritual masters advertise themselves by inducing their followers to

sing about them. In modern times the number of such pretenders has increased considerably,

and it has become a problem for the pure devotees of the Lord to save the masses of people from

the unholy propaganda of these pretenders and pseudo incarnations.

The Upanisads indirectly draw our attention to the primeval Lord, Sri Krsna, but the Bhagavad-gita,

which is the summary of all the Upanisads, directly points to Sri Krsna. Therefore one

should hear about Krsna as He is by hearing from the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam,

and in this way one's mind will gradually be cleansed of all contaminated things. Srimad-Bhagavatam

(1.2.17) says, "By hearing of the activities of the Lord, the devotee draws the attention

of the Lord. Thus the Lord, being situated in the heart of every living being, helps

the devotee by giving him proper directions." The Bhagavad-gita (10.10) confirms this: dadami

buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te. The Lord's inner direction cleanses the devotee's

heart of all contamination produced by the material modes of passion and ignorance. Nondevotees

are under the sway of passion and ignorance. One who is in passion cannot become detached

from material hankering, and one who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the

Lord is. Thus when one is in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for self-realization, however

much one may play the part of a religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance

are removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the devotee becomes situated in the quality

of goodness, the sign of a perfect brahmana. Anyone can qualify as a brahmana if he follows

the path of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Srimad-Bhagavatam

(2.4.18) also says: kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa

abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah ye 'nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah

sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah Any lowborn person can be purified by the

guidance of a pure devotee of the Lord, for the Lord is extraordinarily powerful.

When one attains brahminical qualifications, he becomes happy and enthusiastic to render

devotional service to the Lord. Automatically the science of God is unveiled before him.

By knowing the science of God, one gradually becomes freed from material attachments, and

one's doubtful mind becomes crystal clear by the grace of the Lord. One who attains

this stage is a liberated soul and can see the Lord in every step of life. This is the

perfection of sambhava, as described in this mantra of Sri Isopanisad.