5.17 · The Descent of the River Ganges

In this verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the glories of the Ganges River. The water of the Ganges is called patita-pāvanī, the deliverer of all sinful living beings. It is a proven fact that a person who regularly bathes in the Ganges is purified both externally and internally. Externally his body becomes immune to all kinds of disease, and internally he gradually develops a devotional attitude toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout India, many thousands of people live on the banks of the Ganges, and by regularly bathing in her waters, they are undoubtedly being purified both spiritually and materially. Many sages, including Śaṅkarācārya, have composed prayers in praise of the Ganges, and the land of India itself has become glorious because such rivers as the Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Kāverī, Kṛṣṇā and Narmadā flow there. Anyone living on the land adjacent to these rivers is naturally advanced in spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Madhvācārya says:

vārāhe vāma-pādaṁ tu tad-anyeṣu tu dakṣiṇam pādaṁ kalpeṣu bhagavān ujjahāra trivikramaḥ

Standing on His right foot and extending His left to the edge of the universe, Lord Vāmana became known as Trivikrama, the incarnation who performed three heroic deeds.

When a person is firmly fixed in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is described as vīra-vrata, fully determined. Such a devotee increases his ecstasy in devotional service more and more. Thus as soon as he remembers Lord Viṣṇu, his eyes fill with tears. This is a symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata. Dhruva Mahārāja maintained himself in that devotional ecstasy, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also gave us a practical example of transcendental ecstasy when He lived at Jagannātha Purī. His pastimes there are fully narrated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Transcendentalists are divided into two primary groups: the nirviśeṣa-vādīs, or impersonalists, and the bhaktas, or devotees. The impersonalists do not accept spiritual varieties of life. They want to merge into the existence of the Supreme Lord in His Brahman feature (the brahmajyoti ). The devotees, however, desire to take part in the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord. In the upper planetary system, the topmost planet is Dhruvaloka, and beneath Dhruvaloka are the seven planets occupied by the great sages, beginning with Marīci, Vasiṣṭha and Atri. All these sages regard devotional service as the highest perfection of life. Therefore they all carry the holy water of the Ganges on their heads. This verse proves that for one who has achieved the platform of pure devotional service, nothing else is important, even so-called liberation ( kaivalya ). Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī states that only by achieving pure devotional service of the Lord can one give up all other engagements as insignificant. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī confirms his statement as follows:

kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate yat kāruṇya-kaṭākṣa-vaibhavavatāṁ taṁ gauram eva stumaḥ

( Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5 )

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has perfectly enunciated and broadcast the process of bhakti-yoga. Consequently, for one who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the highest perfection of the Māyāvādīs, kaivalya, or becoming one with the Supreme, is considered hellish, to say nothing of the karmīs’ aspiration to be promoted to the heavenly planets. Devotees consider such goals to be worthless phantasmagoria. There are also yogīs, who try to control their senses, but they can never succeed without coming to the stage of devotional service. The senses are compared to poisonous snakes, but the senses of a bhakta engaged in the service of the Lord are like snakes with their poisonous fangs removed. The yogī tries to suppress his senses, but even great mystics like Viśvāmitra fail in the attempt. Viśvāmitra was conquered by his senses when he was captivated by Menakā during his meditation. She later gave birth to Śakuntalā. The wisest persons in the world, therefore, are the bhakti-yogīs, as Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (6.47) :

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ

“Of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.”

We should always remember that the Ganges River comes from the Causal Ocean, beyond the covering of the universe. After the water of the Causal Ocean leaks through the hole created by Lord Vāmanadeva, it flows down to Dhruvaloka (the polestar) and then to the seven planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Then it is carried to the moon by innumerable celestial airplanes, and then it falls to the top of Mount Meru, which is known as Sumeru-parvata. In this way, the water of the Ganges finally reaches the lower planets and the peaks of the Himālayas, and from there it flows through Hardwar and throughout the plains of India, purifying the entire land. How the Ganges water reaches the various planets from the top of the universe is explained herein. Celestial airplanes carry the water from the planets of the sages to other planets. So-called advanced scientists of the modern age are trying to go to the higher planets, but at the same time they are experiencing a power shortage on earth. If they were actually capable scientists, they could personally go by airplane to other planets, but this they are unable to do. Having now given up their moon excursions, they are attempting to go to other planets, but without success.

The place where the Ganges flows into the salt water of the Bay of Bengal is still known as Gaṅgā-sāgara, or the meeting place of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. On Makara-saṅkrānti, in the month of January—February, thousands of people still go there to bathe, hoping to be liberated. That they can actually be liberated in this way is confirmed herein. For those who bathe in the Ganges at any time, the results of great sacrifices like the Aśvamedha and Rājasūya yajṣa are not at all difficult to achieve. Most people in India are still inclined to bathe in the Ganges, and there are many places where they can do so. At Prayāga (Allahabad), many thousands of people gather during the month of January to bathe in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā. Afterward, many of them go to the confluence of the Bay of Bengal and the Ganges to take bath there. Thus it is a special facility for all the people of India that they can bathe in the water of the Ganges at so many places of pilgrimage.

The heavenly places of enjoyment are divided into three groups: the celestial heavenly planets, the heavenly places on earth, and the bila heavenly places, which are found in the lower regions. Among these three classes of heavenly places ( bhauma-svarga-pada-ni ), the heavenly places on earth are the eight varṣas other than Bhārata-varṣa. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) Kṛṣṇa says, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: when the persons living in the heavenly planets exhaust the results of their pious activities, they return to this earth. In this way, they are elevated to the heavenly planets, and then they again fall to the earthly planets. This process is known as brahmāṇḍa bhramaṇa, wandering up and down throughout the universes. Those who are intelligent — in other words, those who have not lost their intelligence — do not involve themselves in this process of wandering up and down. They take to the devotional service of the Lord so that they can ultimately penetrate the covering of this universe and enter the spiritual kingdom. Then they are situated on one of the planets known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka or, still higher, Kṛṣṇaloka (Goloka Vṛndāvana). A devotee is never caught in the process of being promoted to the heavenly planets and again coming down. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:

ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

Among all the living entities wandering throughout the universe, one who is most fortunate comes in contact with a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus gets the opportunity to execute devotional service.

Those who are sincerely seeking the favor of Kṛṣṇa come in contact with a guru, a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādīs indulging in mental speculation and the karmīs desiring the results of their actions cannot become gurus. A guru must be a direct representative of Kṛṣṇa who distributes the instructions of Kṛṣṇa without any change. Thus only the most fortunate persons come in contact with the guru. As confirmed in the Vedic literatures, tad-vijṣānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: one has to search out a guru to understand the affairs of the spiritual world. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also confirms this point. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijṣāsuḥ śreya uttamam: one who is very interested in understanding the activities in the spiritual world must search out a guru — a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. From all angles of vision, therefore, the word guru is especially meant for the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa and no one else. Padma Purāṇa states, avaiṣṇavo gurur na syāt: one who is not a Vaiṣṇava, or who is not a representative of Kṛṣṇa, cannot be a guru. Even the most qualified brāhmaṇa cannot become a guru if he is not a representative of Kṛṣṇa. Brāhmaṇas are supposed to acquire six kinds of auspicious qualifications: they become very learned scholars ( paṭhana ) and very qualified teachers ( pāṭhana ); they become expert in worshiping the Lord or the demigods ( yajana ), and they teach others how to execute this worship ( yājana ); they qualify themselves as bona fide persons to receive alms from others ( pratigraha ), and they distribute the wealth in charity ( dāna ). Yet even a brāhmaṇa possessing these qualifications cannot become a guru unless he is the representative of Kṛṣṇa ( gurur na syāt ). Vaiṣṇavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ: but a Vaiṣṇava, a bona fide representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, can become a guru even if he is śva-paca, a member of a family of dog-eaters. Of the three divisions of heavenly planets ( svarga-loka ), bhauma-svarga is sometimes accepted as the tract of land in Bhārata-varṣa known as Kashmir. In this region there are certainly good facilities for material sense enjoyment, but this is not the business of a pure transcendentalist. Rūpa Gosvāmī describes the engagement of a pure transcendentalist as follows:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jṣāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” Those who fully engage in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa just to please Him are not interested in the three divisions of heavenly places, namely, divya-svarga, bhauma-svarga and bila-svarga.

There are four yugas: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga and Kali-yuga. During the first yuga, Satya-yuga, people were very pious. Everyone practiced the mystic yoga system for spiritual understanding and realization of God. Because everyone was always absorbed in samādhi, no one was interested in material sense enjoyment. During Tretā-yuga, people enjoyed sense pleasure without tribulations. Material miseries began in Dvāpara-yuga, but they were not very stringent. Stringent material miseries really began from the advent of Kali-yuga.

Another point in this verse is that in all eight of these heavenly varṣas, although men and women enjoy sex pleasure, there is no pregnancy. Pregnancy takes place only in lower-grade life. For example, animals like dogs and hogs become pregnant twice a year, and each time they beget at least half a dozen offspring. Even lower species of life such as snakes give birth to hundreds of young at one time. This verse informs us that in grades of life higher than ours, pregnancy occurs once in a lifetime. People still have sex life, but there is no pregnancy. In the spiritual world, people are not very attracted to sex life, due to their exalted devotional attitude. Practically speaking, there is no sex life in the spiritual world, but even if sometimes it does occur, there is no pregnancy at all. On the planet earth, however, human beings do become pregnant, although the tendency is to avoid having children. In this sinful Age of Kali, people have even taken to the process of killing the child in the womb. This is the most degraded practice; it can only perpetuate the miserable material conditions of those who perform it.

Here is a description of the lower heavenly planets. The inhabitants of those planets enjoy life in a pleasing atmosphere of clear lakes filled with newly grown lotus flowers and gardens filled with fruits, flowers, various kinds of birds and humming bees. In that atmosphere they enjoy life with their very beautiful wives, who are always sexually stimulated. Nonetheless, they are all devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as will be explained in subsequent verses. The inhabitants of this earth also desire such heavenly enjoyment, but when they somehow or other achieve imitation pleasures like sex and intoxication, they completely forget the service of the Supreme Lord. In the heavenly planets, however, although the residents enjoy superior sense gratification, they never forget their positions as eternal servants of the Supreme Being.

In this connection, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura informs us that the demigods worship the Supreme Lord in His various Deity forms ( arcā-vigraha ) because except in the spiritual world, the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be directly worshiped in person. In the material world, the Lord is always worshiped as the arcā-vigraha, or Deity in the temple. There is no difference between the arcā-vigraha and the original person, and therefore those who are engaged in worshiping the Deity in the temple in full opulence, even on this planet, should be understood to be directly in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead without a doubt. As enjoined in the śāstras, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matiḥ: “No one should treat the Deity in the temple as stone or metal, nor should one think that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being.” One should strictly follow this śāstric injunction and worship the Deity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without offenses. The spiritual master is the direct representative of the Lord, and no one should consider him an ordinary human being. By avoiding offenses against the Deity and the spiritual master, one can advance in spiritual life, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In this regard, the following quotation appears in the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta:

pādme tu parama-vyomnaḥ pūrvādye dik-catuṣṭaye vāsudevādayo vyūhaś catvāraḥ kathitāḥ kramāt

tathā pāda-vibhūtau ca nivasanti kramādi me jalāvṛti-stha-vaikuṇṭha- sthita vedavatī-pure

satyordhve vaiṣṇave loke nityākhye dvārakā-pure śuddhodād uttare śveta- dvīpe cairāvatī-pure kṣīrāmbudhi-sthitānte kroḍa-paryaṅka-dhāmani

sātvatīye kvacit tantre nava vyūhāḥ prakīrtitāḥ catvāro vāsudevādyā nārāyaṇa-nṛsiṁhakau

hayagrīvo mahā-kroḍo brahmā ceti navoditāḥ tatra brahmā tu vijṣeyaḥ pūrvokta-vidhayā hariḥ

“In the Padma Purāṇa it is said that in the spiritual world the Lord personally expands in all directions and is worshiped as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The same God is represented by the Deity in this material world, which is only one quarter of His creation. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are also present in the four directions of this material world. There is a Vaikuṇṭhaloka covered with water in this material world, and on that planet is a place called Vedavatī, where Vāsudeva is located. Another planet known as Viṣṇuloka is situated above Satyaloka, and there Saṅkarṣaṇa is present. Similarly, in Dvārakā-purī, Pradyumna is the predominator. On the island known as Śvetadvīpa, there is an ocean of milk, and in the midst of that ocean is a place called Airāvatī-pura, where Aniruddha lies on Ananta. In some of the sātvata-tantras, there is a description of the nine varṣas and the predominating Deity worshiped in each: (1) Vāsudeva, (2) Saṅkarṣaṇa, (3) Pradyumna, (4) Aniruddha, (5) Nārāyaṇa, (6) Nṛsiṁha, (7) Hayagrīva, (8) Mahāvarāha, and (9) Brahmā.” The Lord Brahmā mentioned in this connection is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When there is no fit human being to empower as Lord Brahmā, the Lord Himself takes the position of Lord Brahmā. Tatra brahmā tu vijṣeyaḥ pūrvokta-vidhayā hariḥ. That Brahmā mentioned here is Hari Himself.

Sometimes we see a picture of Lord Śiva engaged in meditation. This verse explains that Lord Śiva is always meditating upon Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa in trance. Lord Śiva is in charge of the destruction of the material world. Lord Brahmā creates the material world, Lord Viṣṇu maintains it, and Lord Śiva destroys it. Because destruction is in the mode of ignorance, Lord Śiva and his worshipable Deity, Saṅkarṣaṇa, are technically called tāmasī. Lord Śiva is the incarnation of tamo-guṇa. Since both Lord Śiva and Saṅkarṣaṇa are always enlightened and situated in the transcendental position, they have nothing to do with the modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance — but because their activities involve them with the mode of ignorance, they are sometimes called tāmasī.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always equipped with inconceivable potencies. Although creation takes place by His glancing over the material energy, He is not affected by the modes of material nature. Because of His eternally transcendental position, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in this material world, the modes of material nature cannot affect Him. Therefore the Supreme Lord is called Transcendence, and anyone who wants to be secure from the influence of the modes of material nature must take shelter of Him.

Anyone who remains unagitated, even in the presence of cause for agitation, is called dhīra, or equipoised. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being always in a transcendental position, is never agitated by anything. Therefore someone who wants to become dhīra must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.13) Kṛṣṇa says, dhīras tatra na muhyati: a person who is equipoised in all circumstances is never bewildered. Prahlāda Mahārāja is a perfect example of a dhīra. When the fierce form of Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared in order to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu, Prahlāda was unagitated. He remained calm and quiet, whereas others, including even Lord Brahmā, were frightened by the features of the Lord.

The incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead known as Śeṣa or Ananta has unlimited strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation. As described in this verse, Ananta’s strength is so great that the innumerable universes rest on His hoods. He has the bodily features of a snake with thousands of hoods, and since His strength is unlimited, all the universes resting on His hoods feel no heavier than mustard seeds. We can just imagine how insignificant a mustard seed is on the hood of a serpent. In this connection, the reader is referred to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter Five, verses 117-125. There it is stated that Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnation as the serpentine Ananta Śeṣa Nāga supports all the universes on His hoods. By our calculation, a universe may be very, very heavy, but because the Lord is ananta (unlimited), He feels the weight to be no heavier than a mustard seed.

A summary of creation is given in this verse. From Saṅkarṣaṇa, Mahā-Viṣṇu expands, and from Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu expands. Lord Brahmā, who was born of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, fathers Lord Śiva, from whom all the other demigods gradually evolve. Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu are incarnations of the different material qualities. Lord Viṣṇu is actually above all material qualities, but He accepts control of sattva-guṇa (the mode of goodness) to maintain the universe. Lord Brahmā is born from the mahat-tattva. Brahmā creates the entire universe, Lord Viṣṇu maintains it, and Lord Śiva annihilates it. The Supreme Personality of Godhead controls all the most important demigods — especially Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva — exactly as the owner of a bird controls it by binding it with a rope. Sometimes vultures are controlled in this way.

Kṛṣṇa clearly states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) :

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” All conditioned souls working within the illusory energy of the Lord consider the body to be the self, and thus they continuously wander throughout the universe, taking birth in different species of life and creating more and more problems. Sometimes they become disgusted with the problems and seek out a process by which they can get out of this entanglement. Unfortunately, such so-called research workers are unaware of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His illusory energy, and thus all of them work only in darkness, never finding a way out. So-called scientists and advanced research scholars are ludicrously trying to find the cause of life. They take no notice of the fact that life is already being produced. What will be their credit if they find out the chemical composition of life? All their chemicals are nothing but different transformations of the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20) , the living entity is never created ( na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin ). There are five gross material elements and three minor material elements (mind, intelligence and ego), and there are eternal living entities. The living entity desires a certain type of body, and by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that body is created from material nature, which is nothing but a kind of machine handled by the Supreme Lord. The Lord gives the living entity a particular type of mechanical body, and the living entity must work with it according to the law of fruitive activities. Fruitive activities are described in this verse: karma-parvaṇīṁ māyām . The living entity is seated on a machine (the body), and according to the order of the Supreme Lord, he operates the machine. This is the secret of transmigration of the soul from one body to another. The living entity thus becomes entangled in fruitive activities in this material world. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7) , manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati: the living entity is struggling very hard against the six senses, which include the mind.

In all the activities of creation and annihilation, the living entity is entangled in fruitive activities, which are executed by the illusory energy, māyā. He is exactly like a computer handled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The so-called scientists say that nature acts independently, but they cannot explain what nature is. Nature is nothing but a machine operated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one understands the operator, his problems of life are solved. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19) :

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” A sane man, therefore, surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus gets out of the clutches of the illusory energy, māyā.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Seventeenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Descent of the River Ganges.”