FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.31.15

यथैव सूर्यात्प्रभवन्ति वार: पुनश्च तस्मिन्प्रविशन्ति काले । भूतानि भूमौ स्थिरजङ्गमानि तथा हरावेव गुणप्रवाह: ॥ १५ ॥
yathaiva sūryāt prabhavanti vāraḥ
[yathaiva sooryaat prabhavanti vaarah]
punaś ca tasmin praviśanti kāle
[punash cha tasmin pravishanti kaale]
bhūtāni bhūmau sthira-jaṅgamāni
[bhootaani bhoomau sthira-jangamaani]
tathā harāv eva guṇa-pravāhaḥ
[tathaa haraav eva guna-pravaahah]
yathā — as eva — certainly sūryāt — from the sun prabhavanti — is generated vāraḥ — water punaḥ — again ca — and tasmin — unto it praviśanti — enters kāle — in due course of time bhūtāni — all living entities bhūmau — to the earth sthira — not moving jaṅgamāni — and moving tathā — similarly harau — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead eva — certainly guṇa-pravāhaḥ — emanation of material nature.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yathaiva sūryāt prabhavanti vāraḥ
yathā
as
punaś ca tasmin praviśanti kāle
bhūtāni bhūmau sthira-jaṅgamāni
tathā harāv eva guṇa-pravāhaḥ
eva
certainly
sūryāt
from the sun
prabhavanti
is generated
vāraḥ
water
punaḥ
again
ca
and
tasmin
unto it
praviśanti
enters
kāle
in due course of time
bhūtāni
all living entities
bhūmau
to the earth
sthira
not moving
jaṅgamāni
and moving
tathā
similarly
harau
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
eva
certainly
guṇa-pravāhaḥ
emanation of material nature.
During the rainy season, water is generated from the sun, and in due course of time, during the summer season, the very same water is again absorbed by the sun. Similarly, all living entities, moving and inert, are generated from the earth, and again, after some time, they all return to the earth as dust. Similarly, everything emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in due course of time everything enters into Him again.

Because of their poor fund of knowledge, impersonalist philosophers cannot understand how everything comes out from the Supreme Person and then merges into Him again. As Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) confirms:

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi- koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

Transcendental rays emanate from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and within those rays, which are the Brahman effulgence, everything is existing. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) : mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni. Although Kṛṣṇa is not personally present everywhere, His energy is the cause of all creation. The entire cosmic manifestation is nothing but a display of Kṛṣṇa’s energy.

The two examples given in this verse are very vivid. During the rainy season, the rain, by rejuvenating the production of vegetables on earth, enables man and animals to obtain living energy. When there is no rain, food is scarce, and man and animal simply die. All vegetables, as well as moving living entities, are originally products of the earth. They come from the earth, and again they merge into the earth. Similarly, the total material energy is generated from the body of Kṛṣṇa, and at such a time the entire cosmic manifestation is visible. When Kṛṣṇa winds up His energy, everything vanishes. This is explained in a different way in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) :

yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

This entire material creation comes from the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and at the time of annihilation again enters into Him. This process of creation and dissolution is made possible by the breathing of the Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is only a plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Just as water arises from the sun and enters the sun, and just as animals and plants arise from the earth and enter the earth, the world made of guṇas arises from the Lord and enters him. Two examples are given to show that the Lord is root of everything. Just as water comes from the sun during the monsoon season and enters in the sun during the summer seasons, and just as the living beings arise from the earth and return to the earth, the world made of guṇas (guṇa-pravāhaḥ) arises and returns to the Lord.
Water comes from sun in rainy season, returns to sun in summer; living entities come from earth, return to earth. Source-and-return is the structural pattern; nothing originates and dissolves randomly.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I imagine I'm a random arrival rather than a source-derived one?
  • How does naming the source change my sense of where I'm going?
📝 My note

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