top of page

Spiritual World

Goloka Vrindavana - "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency [hladini]. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa." (Brahma-samhita 5.37, as quoted in CC Adi 4.72 and CC Madhya 8.163)

Navadvipa - "In that place [where Sri Caitanya appears] is a wonderful city like an eight-petal lotus flower. In the middle of that lotus-city is a place called Mayapura, and in the middle of Mayapura is a place called Antardvipa. That place is the home of Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (commentary of Bhaktivinoda Thakura on Chandogya Upanisad 8.1.1-2)

"That original Lord Krsna appeared in Navadvipa as Lord Caitanya, and Balarama appeared with Him as Lord Nityananda." (Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 5.6)

"In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of sankirtana-yajna [congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord]." (SB 11.5.32)

Mathura - "Sri Uddhava said: Thereafter Lord Krsna went to Mathura City with Sri Baladeva, and to please Their parents They dragged Kamsa, the leader of public enemies, down from his throne and killed him, pulling him along the ground with great strength." (SB 3.3.1)

"Since that time, the city of Mathura had been the capital of all the kings of the Yadu dynasty. The city and district of Mathura are very intimately connected with Krsna, for Lord Krsna lives there eternally." (SB 10.1.28)

Dvaraka - "Undoubtedly it is wonderful that Dvaraka has defeated the glories of the heavenly planets and has enhanced the celebrity of the earth. The inhabitants of Dvaraka are always seeing the soul of all living beings [Krsna] in His loving feature. He glances at them and favors them with sweet smiles." (SB 1.10.27)

Ayodhya - "Lord Ramacandra returned to His abode, to which bhakti-yogis are promoted. This is the place to which all the inhabitants of Ayodhya went after they served the Lord in His manifest pastimes by offering Him obeisances, touching His lotus feet, fully observing Him as a fatherlike King, sitting or lying down with Him like equals, or even just accompanying Him." (SB 9.11.22)

Vaikuntha - "Therefore, O Lord, feeling weary of material life and tormented by its distresses, I now surrender unto You because You are the perfect master. You are the unlimited, all-knowing Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose spiritual abode in Vaikuntha is free from all disturbances. In fact, You are known as Narayana, the true friend of all living beings." (SB 11.7.18)

Creation of the material world: In a corner of the spiritual sky of brahmajyoti a spiritual cloud sometimes appears, and the covered portion is called the mahat-tattva. The Lord then, by His plenary portion as Maha-Visnu, lies down within the water of the mahat-tattva, and the water is called the Causal Ocean (Karana-jala). While Maha-Visnu sleeps within the Causal Ocean, innumerable universes are generated along with His breathing. These universes are floating, and they are scattered all over the Causal Ocean. They stay only during the breathing period of Maha-Visnu. In each and every universal globe, the same Maha-Visnu enters again as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and lies there on the serpentlike Sesa incarnation. From His navel sprouts a lotus stem, and on the lotus, Brahma, the lord of the universe, is born. Brahma creates all forms of living beings of different shapes in terms of different desires within the universe. He also creates the sun, moon and other demigods. (SB 2.5.33 p.)

The pradhana energy that manifests from Vishnu is primordial matter. When Mahavisnu breathes out, it is manifested and transforms gradually into the prakriti, matter, the building block of the material world. When He breathes in, it is withdrawn into His body together with the jivas absorbed in it. By the look of Mahavisnu the jiva soul is transferred into the womb of Durga, the material world.

 

 "In the unmanifest stage of material nature, called pradhana, there is no expression of words, no mind and no manifestation of the subtle elements beginning from the mahat, nor are there the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. There is no life air or intelligence, nor any senses or demigods. There is no definite arrangement of planetary systems, nor are there present the different stages of consciousness - sleep, wakefulness and deep sleep. There is no ether, water, earth, air, fire or sun. The situation is just like that of complete sleep, or of voidness. Indeed, it is indescribable. Authorities in spiritual science explain, however, that since pradhana is the original substance, it is the actual basis of material creation." (SB 12.4.20-21)

 

 

 This material world is the realm of Durga who is the basis of material energy in her personal form.

 

The goddess Durga was decorated with flower garlands, smeared with sandalwood pulp and dressed with excellent garments and ornaments made of valuable jewels. Holding in her hands a bow, a trident, arrows, a shield, a sword, a conchshell, a disc and a club, and being praised by celestial beings like Apsaras, Kinnaras, Uragas, Siddhas, Caranas and Gandharvas, who worshiped her with all kinds of presentations, she spoke as follows." (SB 10.4.10-11)material creation." (SB 12.4.20-21)

 

The Search For Sri Krishna by Srila Sridhar Maharaja
Page 66

 

Generally, souls emanate from the brahmajyoti which is living and growing. Within the brahmajyoti, their equilibrium is somehow disturbed and movement begins. From nondifferentiation, differentiation begins. From a plain sheet of uniform consciousness, individual conscious units grow. And because the jiva is conscious, it is endowed with free will. So, from the marginal position they choose either the side of exploitation or the side of dedication. Anadi means that which has no beginning. When we enter the land of exploitation, we come within the factor of time, space, and thought. And when we come to exploit, action and reaction begins in the negative land of loan. Although we strive to become masters, really we become losers. Goloka and Vaikuntha servitors are also seen to be within the jurisdiction of the brahmanda, the material universe, but that is only a play, lila. They come from that higher plane only to take part in the Lord’s pas times and then return. The fallen souls come from the marginal position within the brahmajyoti, and not from Vaikuntha.

material creation." (SB 12.4.20-21)

Both the Lord and the living entity, being qualitatively spirit soul, have the tendency for peaceful enjoyment, but when the part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead unfortunately wants to enjoy independently, without Krsna, he is put into the material world, where he begins his life as Brahma and is gradually degraded to the status of an ant or a worm in stool." (SB 9.24.58 p.)-21)

 

 

 

 

Material World

Brahmajyoti

 

The soul travels through many lifetimes in different bodies and at last gets a chance at the rare human birth, which is auspicious in every respect. The soul has rotated through 8,400,000 different species. It is by ajnatasukriti or unintentional pious activities that the soul finally attains a human body. A birth in the human form is most uncommon, because only in that body are spiritual activities possible to perform, unlike any other species." (Harinama Cintamani 6)

bottom of page