(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.30-39)
30.In the Supreme Being, who is the pure and formless Spirit, His own power Maya fabricates all forms with her evolutes, like Mahattattva and the other categories.
31. Just like passing clouds against the sky and formations of dust against the wind, objectivity (of which one’s own gross body is a part) is attributed to the Pure Subject by the ignorant.
32. Distinct from the gross body, there is the Jiva (the transmigrating spirit) whose form is made of the subtle essence of matter and is therefore imperceptible to the senses, yet which has to be accepted as transmigrating from life to life (providing a form to the pure spirit).
33. When both these bodies, the gross and the subtle, fabricated on the Atman by Ignorance, are sublated through the awareness of their Base—that is the realisation of Brahman.
34. It is when Maya, the power of the Lord, (which functions as both Avidya and Vidya for binding and liberating) is pleased to function as Vidya that the Jiva attains to Supreme Enrichment, which is nothing but abiding in his own glory as the Spirit, the Pure Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
35. In Him who is the resident in the hearts of all beings, who is birthless and actionless, these births and activities as Incarnations are described by the wise as a mystery which only revelation can explain.
36. Without getting in the least attached or involved, He creates, sustains, and withdraws this universe in sheer play as far as He is concerned, but not without a cosmic purpose. Being the master of all the six senses and possessed of unrestrained freedom, He permeates all beings and enjoys all objects through them without involvement.
37. Just as an ignorant spectator is not able to recognize the actor behind his make-up, so also no one, having a limited and perverted intelligence depending on his skill in logic, can understand the mystery of the creator’s manifestations into countless names and forms.
38. It is only the man who is without duplicity and who serves the Lord of limitless might continuously in love and submission, that comes to realise Him in truth and in reality.
39. You noble sages! You are indeed blessed; for you are whole-heartedly devoted to the Lord, the master of all that exists, attaining whom man is freed from the fear of the recurring cycle of birth and death.
Related Articles: