Srimad Bhagavatam #20: The blueprint of the Universe
Srimad Bhagavatam #20: The blueprint of the Universe
The material elements and even their predominating deities have no power to create for themselves, just like factory workers have no ability to produce a new car alone. The Lord has to get involved.
In this part:
The blueprint of the Universe (chapter 3.6)
The Lord enters the material elements
The process of creation starts
The three sets of components of material creation
The virat-rupa as an incarnation of the Lord
The creation of the demigods
The creation of the planetary systems
The four social classes
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The blueprint of the Universe (chapter 3.6)
Chapter 3.5 narrates how Lord Maha-Vishnu created the five basic material elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth), as well as their properties (sound, touch, form, taste, and smell) and the predominating deities of these elements.
The function of these deities is to assist the Lord in the creation of the universe, and they were eager to do so, however, seeing themselves incapable of creating the material manifestation by themselves, they prayed to the Lord.
It happens that the material elements and even their predominating deities have no power to create for themselves, just like factory workers have no ability to produce a new car alone. Unless there is a project and a manager to guide them, nothing will be done. Similarly, the predominating deities of the material elements can only offer their work in manipulating the building blocks of the material manifestation. For the cosmos to manifest, a project is necessary, as well as competent managers who can oversee the construction. Both things have to be provided by the Lord. In this sixth chapter, we will see how the Supreme Lord provided these two components, so the process of creation could be completed.
This 6th chapter describes the creation of the universal form. At first, it may appear that it is describing the same process of primary creation that we already studied in the second canto, but it is not like that. What is described here is the process of secondary creation, or in other words, the creation of the physical universe with all planets and different beings that is done by Lord Brahma, resulting in the universe we can see. However, this chapter describes it from the point of view of the Lord, describing the Lord’s involvement in the process. Brahma is part of this process, but here he is taken as just part of the mechanism, and not directly mentioned in the description. In the following chapters, we will see this same process explained in more detail from the perspective of Brahma.
This may sound like a very complicated idea, but it is quite natural. Imagine the story of Henry Ford opening his car factory and producing the Ford Model T, at the beginning of the past century. If we tell the story from the point of view of Mr. Ford, it may appear that the factory appeared more or less automatically, he had an idea, created the project of a car, figured out how to mass produce it, got some money, hired few people, organized then and gradually the factory became a reality and started producing cars. We understand people were working there, but we don’t hear much about the individual workers, only the main managers are described. If we tell the story from the perspective of the manager of the fabric, the story will be very different. In this case, his struggles in understanding the project, organizing the workers, overseeing the production, correcting mistakes, and so on will become prominent, and the work of Mr. Ford will fall into the background. If we tell the same story from the point of view of an ordinary worker, the focus will be again different, centered on the view of someone who understands just a small part of the workings of the factory, who sees Mr. Ford as some kind of mythical figure who pays his salary, the factory as some magical concoction that he can’t fully understand and the manager as someone who creates rules he has to follow without argument.
In the same way, Srimad Bhagavatam tells the story of the creation of the universe from different perspectives. In this 6th chapter, we have the creation explained from the side of Lord Maha-Vishnu, later we will have the same process explained from the perspective of Lord Brahma, and also from the perspective of demigods and other participants, and their respective struggles to play their respective roles in the creation and maintenance of the universe. This process of studying the same story from different perspectives allows us to better understand it.
How does it go?
The Lord enters the material elements
Verse 3.6.2 describes how, after hearing the prayers of the predominating deities of the elements, the Lord entered the material elements:
“The Supreme Powerful Lord then simultaneously entered into the twenty-three elements with the goddess Kālī, His external energy, who alone amalgamates all the different elements.” (SB 3.6.2)
This verse contains a lot of information. First of all, from where did we get 23 elements if the last chapter describes the creation of just five? This is just a different way to count it. The list of the 23 elements includes the mahat-tattva, false ego, mind, the properties of the five elements, and the different senses. All of these were created in the previous process. Prabhupada lists these 23 elements as 1) the total material energy, 2) false ego, 3) sound, 4) touch, 5) form, 6) taste, 7) smell, 8) earth, 9) water, 10) fire, 11) air, 12) sky, 13) eye, 14) ear, 15) nose, 16) tongue, 17) skin, 18) hand, 19) leg, 20) evacuating organ, 21) genitals, 22) speech, 23) mind. All of these were created in the previous stage.
The second point is that the simple existence of the elements doesn’t make the cosmic creation viable, just like a mere pile of bricks is not sufficient for a house to be built. The Lord entered into the elements as Paramatma, and that’s what made the creation possible. As the Lord entered the elements, He brought with Him goddess Kālī, His external energy.
We tend to imagine Kali as the material energy itself, but this verse defines Kali as a superior energy that controls the elements, just like a soul that enters a body. As the verse mentions, she amalgamates, or in other words, merges combines, unites, and blends all the different elements, creating different combinations. In other words, although the Lord is the one who gives the energy, Kali is the one who makes things happen.
Who exactly is Kālī? Prabhupada mentions:
“Time, therefore, is the energy of the Lord and acts in her own way by the direction of the Lord. This energy is called Kālī and is represented by the dark destructive goddess generally worshiped by persons influenced by the mode of darkness or ignorance in material existence.”
This is confirmed in the verse itself: kāla-sañjñāṁ tadā devīṁ (the goddess named kāla, or time).
In other words, Kālī is the same as Kala, the eternal time. Before, time was present as an element, that was mixed with the mahat-tattva and the three material modes to create the other material elements, but at this stage, Kala becomes fully manifested as its personification, the goddess Kālī, who guides the permutation of the different elements into the material creation.
It’s also worth noting that The goddess Kālī is different from Kali (the predominating deity of Kali-yuga) who met Pariksit. Just the name is similar.
We can better capture the deepness of the philosophical points by reading again the text and the connected part of the purport:
“The Supreme Powerful Lord then simultaneously entered into the twenty-three elements with the goddess Kālī, His external energy, who alone amalgamates all the different elements.
Purport: The ingredients of matter are counted as twenty-three: the total material energy, false ego, sound, touch, form, taste, smell, earth, water, fire, air, sky, eye, ear, nose, tongue, skin, hand, leg, evacuating organ, genitals, speech and mind. All are combined together by the influence of time and are again dissolved in the course of time. Time, therefore, is the energy of the Lord and acts in her own way by the direction of the Lord. This energy is called Kālī and is represented by the dark destructive goddess generally worshiped by persons influenced by the mode of darkness or ignorance in material existence. In the Vedic hymn this process is described as mūla-prakṛtir avikṛtir mahadādyāḥ prakṛti-vikṛtayaḥ sapta ṣoḍaśakas tu vikāro na prakṛtir na vikṛtiḥ puruṣaḥ. The energy which acts as material nature in a combination of twenty-three ingredients is not the final source of creation. The Lord enters into the elements and applies His energy, called Kālī.”
The step mentioned here, the Lord entering into the elements together with His energy, includes the formation of the shells of the material universes and the Lord entering into each of them as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu. As Ksirodakasayi Visnu the Lord enters into everything, up to the individual atoms.
Then there is the next step which is the activation of all the souls who were previously sleeping inside the body of Maha-Vishnu and were injected into the material creation:
“Thus when the Personality of Godhead entered into the elements by His energy, all the living entities were enlivened into different activities, just as one is engaged in his work after awakening from sleep.” (SB 3.6.3)
Apart from the physical body, we have also our subtle body, which includes our material desires, remembrances from past lives stored in the unconscious mind, and so on. Apart from the subtle body, there are also the results of our Karma, that follow us from one body to another. However, when the universes are destroyed and the souls go to sleep inside the body of Maha-Vishnu, all these coverings are destroyed, and only the pure soul goes. The reason is that the subtle body is part of the material creation and thus is destroyed together with it.
However, although the subtle body, the material desires, the karma, and so on are destroyed, the Lord remembers all of these for each and every conditioned soul. Therefore, when the material manifestation is again activated, he restores the subtle body and the karma of each soul exactly as it was before, allowing the souls to continue their activities from the point they stopped in the last creation, just as someone awakening in the morning. The ones who were human beings take again birth as human beings, the ones who were animals or plants continue on the same path, and so on. At the same time, especially qualified souls are selected to occupy the posts of Brahma, Manu, Indra, and other high positions. In case there is no sufficient qualified soul for any of these positions, the Lord Himself comes as an incarnation to play the role.
As Prabhupada explains in his purport:
“The unconscious sleeping stage of the living entity just after the partial or total dissolution of the creation is wrongly accepted as the final stage of life by some less intelligent philosophers. After the dissolution of the partial material body, a living entity remains unconscious for only a few months, and after the total dissolution of the material creation, he remains unconscious for many millions of years. But when the creation is again revived, he is awakened to his work by the Lord. The living entity is eternal, and the wakeful state of his consciousness, manifested by activities, is his natural condition of life. He cannot stop acting while awake, and thus he acts according to his diverse desires. When his desires are trained in the transcendental service of the Lord, his life becomes perfect, and he is promoted to the spiritual sky to enjoy eternal awakened life.”
The process of creation starts
Up to this point, the shells of the material universes were created, the Lord entered them as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu, the material energy was activated, and the souls awakened after their long slumber. Now, the process of creation of the material manifestation starts.
The first step is the manifestation of the universal form, the blueprint of the universe that serves as a foundation for the creation of Brahma. This is described in verses 4 and 5:
“When the twenty-three principal elements were set in action by the will of the Supreme, the gigantic universal form, or the viśvarūpa body of the Lord, came into existence.
As the Lord, in His plenary portion, entered into the elements of the universal creation, they transformed into the gigantic form in which all the planetary systems and all movable and immovable creations rest.” (SB 3.6.4-5)
This subtle universal form was created long before, in the process we studied in the second canto. At this stage, this form just became manifested inside each material universe.
Brahma then appeared from the navel of Lord Vishnu, leading to the situation described in the 9th chapter of the second canto. Brahma awakened in complete darkness on top of the lotus flower and was not able to trace the source of it. He understood he was supposed to create the universe, but could not understand what to create or how to do it. Although the subtle universal form was already manifest, Brahma could not see it.
At this point, Brahma heard the syllables “ta” and “pa”, pronounced by the Lord, and engaged in meditation. Brahma then meditated for one thousand celestial years. At the end of this period, Brahma received the darshan of the Lord and finally started his process of creation. This description from the second canto describes the creation in the current day, it doesn’t necessarily happen the same way in all days of Brahma. This particular day, the Padma-kalpa, is special because it follows the total devastation that happens at the end of the first half of the life of Brahma. Normally, when Brahma awakens at the beginning of his day, the process is simpler, because the material elements, as well as the upper planets (Maharloka and upwards), survive the partial devastation.
Apart from being the current day, another reason for the Srimad Bhagavatam describing the Padma-kalpa instead of some other day of Brahma is because, on this particular day, Krsna appears in his original form to Lord Brahma after his meditation. As mentioned in the Gopala-Tapani Upanisad, Brahma practices devotional service for the first half of his life, and finally, on the first day of the second half, the Lord agrees to reveal Himself to him, and allows His to see the spiritual world.
In this way, from this description, we learn that Brahma meditated for one thousand celestial years at the beginning of the current day. What happened during this period? This is described in verse 6:
“The gigantic virāṭ-puruṣa, known as Hiraṇmaya, lived for one thousand celestial years on the water of the universe, and all the living entities lay with Him.” (SB 3.6.6)
While Brahma was meditating, the cosmic creation could not proceed, and thus the subtle universal form, with all the souls, just remained manifested inside the shell of the universe. It’s mentioned that the internal space of our universe is half-filled with water (on which Lord Garbhodakasayi Vishnu rests), and the other half is open space where the cosmic manifestation takes place. The universal form was present in this open space, where the cosmic manifestation was going to be later manifested, floating above the water.
In his purport for this verse, Prabhupada systematizes the following points:
a) After the Lord enters each universe as Garbhodakasayi Viṣṇu, he fills half of the universe with water. The other half is reserved for the creation of the universe.
b) After the entrance of Viṣṇu within the universe, but before the process of creation, there was a period of one thousand celestial years. This corresponds to the meditation of Brahma.
c) All the souls who joined the material creation were divided amongst the different universes and they had to wait until the respective Brahmā was born and performed his meditation.
d) Brahmā is the first living being within the universe, and from him, all other demigods and living creatures are born.
After the period of meditation of Brahma, the creation finally started. The beginning of the process is described in the 7th verse:
“The total energy of the mahat-tattva, in the form of the gigantic virāṭ-rūpa, divided Himself by Himself into the consciousness of the living entities, the life of activity, and self-identification, which are subdivided into one, ten and three respectively.” (SB 3.6.7)
The three sets of components of material creation
During the process of creation, three components are manifested from the virāṭ-rūpa: the consciousness of the living entities, their activities, and their self-identification. These three are subdivided into, respectively, one, ten, and three components. What are they?
a) The consciousness of the living entity (jñāna-śakti) has only one division, although it changes over time (according to one’s desires and activities, his association with the material modes, etc.)
As explained by Srila Prabhupada, originally, every soul is Krsna Conscious. When the soul enters the material manifestation, however, this original consciousness is covered by a material consciousness that allows the soul to forget his original identity and become absorbed in material activities. In other words, there are two jñāna-śaktis: the original jñāna-śakti, or original consciousness of the soul, which is spiritual and centered on the service of Krsna, and the material jñāna-śakti, or material consciousness that covers the original consciouses of the soul. The jñāna-śakti described in this verse is the material jñāna-śakti that is created and attributed to the soul as part of the material creation. The original spiritual consciousness is not mentioned because it is not material.
In his Paramatma Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami explains that: “Though it is established that the jīva is naturally a knower, his knowing that he is a body by ignorance is also the jīva’s knowledge, but because of its relation to ignorance, it is not natural to the jīva. Rather it is a distortion.”
In other words, this material consciousness is not natural to the jīva, who is by nature Krsna conscious. Rather, this material consciousness is received together with the package of mind, intelligence, and ego, that makes our existence in this material world possible. This leads to the terrifying realization that our current consciousness is not our real consciousness. What we are now is not what we are in reality. That’s precisely the point Prabhupada makes in his books when He describes Krsna Consciousness as the process of reestablishing the original consciousness of the soul. It is not that we are the material consciousness and need to somehow or other acquire spiritual consciousness, as believed in some Vaishnava groups, but rather that we are the spiritual consciousness and need to somehow or other get rid of the material consciousness that is covering it. Prabhupada explains it by describing material existence as a kind of dreaming state. The real consciousness of a person is exhibited in the awakened state, and not in the dreaming state, and the process to recover one’s real consciousness is to wake up.
Once we come in contact with the material energy and are covered by the material jñāna-śakti, the process of returning to our original consciousness is by practicing Krsna Consciousness starting from the consciousness we have now. By following the process of hearing and chanting, meditating on the pastimes of the Lord, serving, etc, this material consciousness can be purified and our original consciousness gradually wakened. The Lord creates this whole material manifestation just to give us an opportunity to do so.
In his purport, Prabhupada gives another meaning for the word “ekadhā” mentioned in this verse. Consciousness is also one in the sense that when the soul becomes connected with his original spiritual consciousness, his activity becomes just one: serving Krsna.
“The consciousness of the soul becomes polluted by the material atmosphere, and thus various activities are exhibited in the false ego of bodily identification. These various activities are described in Bhagavad-gītā (2.41) as bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām. The conditioned soul is bewildered into various activities for want of pure consciousness. In pure consciousness the activity is one. The consciousness of the individual soul becomes one with the supreme consciousness when there is complete synthesis between the two.”
b) The activities connected with the material consciousness are divided into ten because they are performed through the vital air, which has ten divisions. Prabhupada explains these ten divisions in his purport to SB 3.6.9:
“The ten kinds of air are described as follows: The main air passing through the nose in breathing is called prāṇa. The air which passes through the rectum as evacuated bodily air is called apāna. The air which adjusts the foodstuff within the stomach and which sometimes sounds as belching is called samāna. The air which passes through the throat and the stoppage of which constitutes suffocation is called the udāna air. And the total air which circulates throughout the entire body is called the vyāna air. Subtler than these five airs, there are others also. That which facilitates the opening of the eyes, mouth, etc., is called nāga air. The air which increases appetite is called kṛkara air. The air which helps contraction is called kūrma air. The air which helps relaxation by opening the mouth wide (in yawning) is called devadatta air, and the air which helps sustenance is called dhanañjaya air.”
The vital air is what factually maintains the material body and allows us to perform actions. In the Taittiriya Upanisad, it is mentioned that the prana-maya (the vital air) exists inside the anna-maya (the physical body) and sustains it. The vital air is also responsible for carrying the subtle body (together with the soul) from one physical body to the other, following the direction of Paramatma.
c) The self-identification is divided into three: ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika.
Adhyātmika means the material identification with the body and mind. Adhibhautika means identification with different material objects, situations, family members, and so on. From the idea that we are the body comes the idea that we are connected with people and objects connected with the body. One thus thinks he is a citizen of a certain nation, part of a certain family, a member of a certain social class, the owner of different material objects, the son or daughter of a certain person, the husband or wife of another, and so on. All these material identifications are part of the ādhibhautika identification. Finally, there is the ādhidaivika identification, which is identification with our original position as a servant of the Lord. By the process of Krsna consciousness, we can gradually transfer our consciousness from the ādhyātmika and ādhibhautika stages to the ādhidaivika stage.
In text nine, the universal form is also described as being the three, the ten, and the one in the sense of being the body, mind, and senses, the ten divisions of the vital air, and the heart, which is the seat of the soul and the center of the energies of the body. The virāṭ-rupa includes everything that exists in the material universe, therefore many similar analogies can be made.
The virat-rupa as an incarnation of the Lord
Text eight continues the description of the universal form:
“The gigantic universal form of the Supreme Lord is the first incarnation and plenary portion of the Supersoul. He is the Self of an unlimited number of living entities, and in Him rests the aggregate creation, which thus flourishes.” (SB 3.6.8)
As we studied in the 3rd chapter of the first canto, Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, or the Supersoul is the source of all the incarnations of the Lord who appear inside the universe, with the exception of Krsna and Balarama, who are the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and His first expansion. The Virat-rupa appears right after Paramatma enters the universe, before the creation of Brahma. The universal form is thus the first incarnation that appears from Paramatma, and as an incarnation, it is considered His plenary portion. Krsna refers to it in the Bhagavad-Gita when He mentions viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat, “With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” (BG 10.42)
There is however a difference between the universal form and the different incarnations of the Lord such as Varaha, Nrshinha, etc. which is the fact that in all these different incarnations the Lord appears in His original spiritual body, while the universal form is a material manifestation that is temporary and composed of material elements. The universal form is thus considered a form of the Lord because it is empowered by the Lord and made out of His energy, but it is different in nature from the transcendental forms the Lord exhibits in His incarnations. Materialists, as well as impersonalists, are captivated by the universal form (the material manifestation), while devotees are attracted to the spiritual form of the Lord.
Verse ten concludes this topic:
“The Supreme Lord is the Supersoul of all the demigods entrusted with the task of constructing the cosmic manifestation. Being thus prayed to [by the demigods], He thought to Himself and thus manifested the gigantic form for their understanding.”
This whole description explains how the Lord answered the prayers of the predominating deities of the elements from chapter five. The demigods manifested their incapacity in creating the universe, and thus the Lord entered the material universe as Garbhodakasayi and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, bringing with Him the external energy, manifested the Virat-rupa and created Brahma, who used the five material elements to create the universe.
The creation of the demigods
Maitreya then opens another topic, by explaining how the demigods were generated from the universal form. This description may at first sound very similar to what we studied in the 10th chapter of the second canto. For example, take verse 2.10.19, which describes the creation of Agni, the demigod of fire, together with the faculty of speech, controlled by him:
“When the Supreme desired to speak, speeches were vibrated from the mouth. Then the controlling deity Fire was generated from the mouth. But when He was lying in the water, all these functions remained suspended.” (SB 2.10.19)
The description is similar to what we learn in verse 3.6.12:
“Agni, or heat, separated from His mouth, and all the directors of material affairs entered into it in their respective positions. By that energy the living entity expresses himself in words.” (SB 3.6.12)
Similarly, there is the creation of Mitra, as well as the organ presided by him:
“Thereafter, when He desired to evacuate the refuse of eatables, the evacuating hole, anus, and the sensory organ thereof developed along with the controlling deity Mitra. The sensory organ and the evacuating substance are both under the shelter of the controlling deity.” (2.10.27)
“The evacuating channel separately became manifest, and the director named Mitra entered into it with partial organs of evacuation. Thus the living entities are able to pass stool and urine.” (3.6.20)
We can see that, at first, the explanation of the 10th chapter of the 2nd canto and the 6th chapter of the 3rd canto appear similar. However, these two chapters describe two different things.
The second canto describes the primary creation, when the Lord created the universal form as an idea, while the third canto describes the physical creation of Brahma. We can see that verse 2.10.19, for example, describes the creation of the demigod of fire and the faculty of speech, and then concludes with the words “caitasya suciraṁ nirodhaḥ samajāyata” (however, all these functions remained suspended for a long time). The Lord created the archetype of the demigod and the function of speech, but because there was no physical manifestation at that time, the functions remained suspended. In a gross example, it’s more or less like writing a constitution and other laws and treaties for governing a country, while the country is not yet established.
When the Lord enters into the universe as Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, this universal form created in the second canto manifests inside each universe, just like a project that is used for the construction of a building. Brahma receives information about the universal form from inside the heart and starts his process of creation, giving physical forms to all the different components of the form.
The individual forms of life are not exhaustively mentioned in this description, because it focuses on the components of these forms, which are considered a more important step of the creation. To understand how is it so, we can consider that once components like engines, tires, suspensions, electronics, and so on are available, it’s easy for a company to produce many different models of cars using these off-the-shelf components, while it would be practically impossible to create the same models individually from scratch. Similarly, the process of creating the different species is not considered as important as creating the individual components that form their bodies.
In this way, the idea created by the Lord in the second canto becomes the physical manifestation of the universe. The same process happens in all other material universes.
Here are the main points of the description:
a) From the mouth of the universal form comes Agni, who presides over the speech of all living beings in the universe.
b) From the palate came Varuna, who presides over the sense of taste. Under his supervision, the sense of taste for all beings is created.
c) From the nostrils came the Aśvinī-kumāras, who preside over the sense of smell.
d) From the eyes, Surya, the presiding deity of the sun was created. Thanks to him, vision is manifested and we can see forms.
e) From the skin of the universal form came the demigod Anila (which appears to be another name of Vayu), who controls the wind and touch.
f) From the ears came the predominating deities of the directions, who preside over the sense of hearing.
g) From the skin, the deities of sensations appeared. They are responsible for the sensations derived from the sense of touch, including itching.
h) From the genitalia of the universal form, Brahma manifested the genitals and faculties of reproduction of all living entities, and he himself presides over it as the Prajapati. Brahma is the original living entity, and from his potency, other living entities are generated through sexual intercourse.
i) Mitra and Indra were then manifested, controlling the function of evacuation and the hands. From the legs of the universal form, the demigod Viṣṇu was manifested, controlling the legs (the Viṣṇu mentioned here is an ordinary demigod, not the Supreme Lord).
j) The capacity of understanding is also presided over by Brahma. It’s thanks to him we can understand the reality around us and acquire knowledge.
k) From the heart of the universal form appeared Candra, the demigod of the moon, who presides over the mind.
l) From the false ego comes Rudra (an incarnation of Lord Shiva), who presides over the sense of material identity of the living beings that guides their actions. Because of this influence, the soul in the body of a horse identifies himself with this form and acts like a horse, a man acts like a man, a woman like a woman, and so on. When a soul becomes free from these material conceptions and is on the path to remembering his original identity, the last snare of material nature is the idea of becoming one with God.
m) From mahat-tattva, material consciousnesses and the capacity to realize acquired knowledge manifest.
The creation of the planetary systems
Next, Maitreya describes how the different planetary systems and their inhabitants were manifested from the blueprint of the universal form:
a) The heavenly planets were manifested from the head of the universal form, the Earth and other intermediate planets were manifested from the upper part of the legs, and Bhuvarloka (situated in the space in between) was generated from the abdomen. The lower planetary systems are not mentioned, but following the logic of this description they originate from the lower parts of the legs. There is a similar description of the different planetary systems in the 1st chapter of the second canto, but this description has a different purpose, serving as a guide for yogis meditating in the Virat-rupa. A more detailed description of the different planetary systems will be given in later cantos.
b) Demigods, being situated in the mode of Goodness, live in the higher planetary systems. This includes the demigods living in Swargaloka, as well as great sages living in the planetary systems of Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Brahmaloka.
c) Human beings, who are predominantly in the mode of passion live on Earth. As Prabhupada mentions in the purport, souls influenced by the mode of ignorance take birth in the animal kingdom or the lower planets.
d) Another class of beings in the mode of ignorance become ghosts and other types of followers of Lord Shiva. They live in Bhuvarloka, the subtle planetary system between Earth and the celestial planets.
The four social classes
Next, Maitreya describes how the four social classes were created. Just as the demigods, all human beings and other forms of life are parts of the universal form of the Lord, therefore we are supposed to serve the whole. Animals automatically execute their functions according to their natures, therefore there is no question of sin for them. Human beings however have free will. When this free will is properly applied, one becomes a pure devotee of the Lord, or at least performs his duties according to the Varnashrama system, playing his role as a teacher or intellectual dedicated to uplifting society, as an ethical politician, manager, or military man, organizing and protecting society, as an honest farmer or businessman, or simply as an honest worker. By accepting the supremacy of the Lord and executing our duties according to this divine system, we can gradually purify ourselves.
This is revealed in the last verse of this section. The four orders are born from the Supreme Lord, and the ultimate goal of the system is to worship the Lord under the guidance of the spiritual master.
“All these different social divisions are born, with their occupational duties and living conditions, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus for unconditional life and self-realization one has to worship the Supreme Lord under the direction of the spiritual master.” (3.6.34)
This division into four classes, with further ramifications, is a natural division that can be found in every society, from aboriginal tribes to modern countries. The reason is mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita 4.13: “According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.” These divisions are present everywhere because they were created by Krsna. Any functional society will naturally organize itself around these four basic divisions. Even communist countries (which are based on the idea of abolishing social classes) would develop this natural division over time. It is just not possible for a society to function without some form of it.
The point about the Varnashrama system is that it is based on the idea of training the members of society starting at an early age to properly perform their duties. Brahmanas are thus enlightened spiritual teachers (instead of drunkards passing as professors), Ksatriyas are saintly kings (instead of obnoxious politicians), the Vaisyas are honest businessmen who share their wealth with the other sectors of society through proper wages, charity, taxes, the Sudras are disciplined workers, and so on.
The soul of the Varnashrama system is the Brahmanas because these are the qualified educators who can train the other classes inside the Gurukula system. Without proper Gurukulas, maintained by qualified teachers, Varnashrama is just a pipe dream. We can see that at the beginning of our movement, Prabhupada emphasized that he was trying to train some qualified Brahmanas who would guide society. We can see it starts from there.
Traditionally, Gurukulas are small schools maintained by a Brahmana family, where the children of nearby houses are educated in a protected family environment. A Brahmana, together with his wife accepts the responsibility of educating a few children and teaches each one according to their natures. The main characteristic of this system is that there is an affective bond, the children are educated by the couple just like their own children.
The main reason Gurukulas have largely failed in our movement up to now is that we often lack qualified teachers, and that’s something that is not produced very easily. As we get more qualified Brahmanas in our movement, and more of them start to perform their natural role as teachers, the system may start working.
When somehow all the members of society are properly trained, the system can work properly, resulting in a prosperous and spiritually enlightened society.
Verses 3.6.30 to 3.6.34 explain the origin of the four social classes:
a) Vedic knowledge was manifested from the mouth of the Virat-rupa (just like the faculty of speech). This shows how the perfect use for speech is to recite Vedic knowledge. The ones who are inclined to study and practice this Vedic knowledge are the Brāhmaṇas. They are the natural teachers and spiritual masters of all other orders. The qualities of the Brahmanas are listed by the Lord (in the 17th chapter of the 11th canto) as peacefulness, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to the Lord, mercy, and truthfulness.
b) From the arms of the universal form is manifested the power of protection, which is embodied by the Ksatriyas. Often we relate being a Ksatriya with having power, influence, many wives, and so on, but this is not what means to be a Ksatriya. The main characteristic of Ksatriyas is their capacity and dedication to protect others, both in the material and spiritual sense. This characteristic, which comes from a positive influence of the mode of passion makes them fit to rule society. The qualities of the Ksatriyas are described as dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brāhmaṇas, and leadership.
c) The means of subsistence for all are generated from the thighs of the universal form. The real means of subsistence are grains and other types of food, which should be distributed to all members of society. This power of maintenance is embodied by the Vaisyas, who take charge of producing food and wealth to maintain the whole society. The natural qualities of the Vaisyas are listed as faith in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the Brāhmaṇas, and perpetual desire to accumulate more money.
d) From the legs of the purusha come the Sudras, who satisfy the Lord by menial service. The Sudras lack the special qualities and initiative of the other classes, but they support the whole society through their honest labor. Their qualities are listed as service without duplicity to the brāhmaṇas, cows, demigods, and other worshipable personalities, and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions that most of us didn’t receive training in any of the four classes, therefore we should at first try to develop the qualities of a Sudra, and from there see if we have the natural inclination for developing the higher qualifications of any of the other three classes.
The Lord lists the qualities of persons who are not trained in the Varnashrama system as dirtiness, dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger, and hankering, which are indeed very common nowadays.
In opposition, the basic qualities for all members of the Varnashrama system (including Sudras and Vaisyas) are nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all others, as well as freedom from lust, anger, and greed.
The idea is that we need to first develop this basic set of qualities, then the qualities of a Sudra, and from there see where we can go.
Maitreya finishes his explanation by hinting that the purpose of the Varnashrama system, and also the means for establishing this divine system in this day and age is by the process of hearing and glorifying the Lord:
“The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor. Such activities are so nicely arranged in writing by the greatly learned sages that the actual purpose of the ear is served just by being near them.” (SB 3.6.37)
It is not possible to establish Varnashrama as just a set of rules, it is necessary to somehow elevate the people to the necessary standard of consciousness. As long as we are dirty, dishonest, faithless, quarreling, lustful, angry, and so on, there is no question of developing a functional Varnashrama society. It becomes possible only when we become first purified by hearing about the Lord and singing His glories. As mentioned in SB 5.18.12, one who develops firm devotion to the Lord manifests the qualities of the demigods, such as religion, knowledge, and renunciation.
The process of hearing about Krsna and chanting His name can thus help us to develop basic human qualities, and from there establish a proper society based on spiritual values. The process of establishing Varnashrama thus passes through first becoming Krsna conscious. Once we, as devotees, develop the saintly qualities that are expected from our spiritual practice, our communities can gradually evolve into places where devotees behave honestly and cooperate. From this, we will have an opportunity to develop a functional Varnashrama system, based on qualified individuals.