Devanagari
यदा क्षितावेव चराचरस्य
विदाम निष्ठां प्रभवं च नित्यम् ।
तन्नामतोऽन्यद् व्यवहारमूलं
निरूप्यतां सत् क्रिययानुमेयम् ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
yadā kṣitāv eva carācarasya
vidāma niṣṭhāṁ prabhavaṁ ca nityam
tan nāmato ’nyad vyavahāra-mūlaṁ
nirūpyatāṁ sat-kriyayānumeyam
Synonyms
yadā
—
therefore
;
kṣitau
—
in the earth
;
eva
—
certainly
;
cara
—
acarasya — of different bodies, some moving and some not moving
;
vidāma
—
we know
;
niṣṭhām
—
annihilation
;
prabhavam
—
appearance
;
ca
—
and
;
nityam
—
regularly by the principles of nature
;
tat
—
that
;
nāmataḥ
—
than simply by name
;
anyat
—
other
;
vyavahāra
—
mūlam — cause of material activities
;
nirūpyatām
—
let it be ascertained
;
sat
—
kriyayā — by actual employment
;
anumeyam
—
to be inferred .
Translation
All of us on the surface of the globe are living entities in different forms. Some of us are moving and some not moving. All of us come into existence, remain for some time and are annihilated when the body is again mingled with the earth. We are all simply different transformations of the earth. Different bodies and capacities are simply transformations of the earth that exist in name only, for everything grows out of the earth and when everything is annihilated it again mingles with the earth. In other words, we are but dust, and we shall but be dust. Everyone can consider this point.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Since we see the constant appearance and disappearance of moving and non-moving beings on the earth, it should be concluded that the cause of the conventional world, inferred by your reference to action, is earth alone and anything else appears distinct because of name only.
“Your statement that the practical, conventional world is insubstantial is not true since one see that even the liberated souls without false identity experience happiness and distress from prārabdha-karma, and since you cannot deny that you experience fatigue from carrying the load.” True, there remains a trace of happiness and distress for the liberated souls like me by destruction of the causes of illusion. When a person awakens, though conscious that his dream of a snake is unreal, for a short time he still shakes in fear, though it is insignificant. However, one who has not awoken sees the dream snake as real. This is like your experience of conventional reality. By logic I will now show the illusory nature of the conventional world. That is explained in this verse.
We know that the living beings arise from earth and disappear (niṣṭhām) into the earth. Therefore, the cause of the conventional world, inferred from actions (such as carrying water), should be discerned as transformations of the earth only, being differences in name only. You can understand this if your sense of logic is functioning. The śruti says vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam: the transformations of earth are simply words or names; earth alone is true. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14)
Purport
In the
Brahma-sūtra
it is said:
tad-ananyatvam ārabhambhaṇa-śabdādibhyaḥ
(2.1.14). This cosmic manifestation is a mixture of matter and spirit, but the cause is the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(1.5.20)
it is said:
idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ.
The entire cosmic manifestation is but a transformation of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because of illusion, no one can appreciate that God is nondifferent from the material world. Actually He is not different, but this material world is simply a transformation of His different energies;
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate.
There are also other versions of this in the
Vedas:
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma.
Matter and spirit are all nondifferent from the Supreme Brahman, Bhagavān. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this statement in the
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.4)
:
me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā.
The material energy is Kṛṣṇa’s energy, but it is separated from Him. The spiritual energy is also His energy, but it is not separated from Him. When the material energy is engaged in the service of the Supreme Spirit, so-called material energy is also transformed into spiritual energy, just as an iron rod becomes fire when placed in contact with fire. When we can understand by an analytical study that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, our knowledge is perfect. Simply understanding the transformations of different energies is partial knowledge. We must come to the ultimate cause.
Na te viduḥ svārtha gatiṁ hi viṣṇum.
The knowledge of those who are not interested in knowing the original cause of all emanations is never perfect knowledge. There is nothing in the phenomenal world that is not produced by the supreme energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aromas from the earth are different scents manufactured and used for different purposes, but the original cause is the earth, nothing else. A waterpot made of earth can be used to carry water for some time, but ultimately the pot is nothing but earth. Therefore there is no difference between the pot and its original ingredient, earth. It is simply a different transformation of the energy. Originally the cause or primary ingredient is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the varieties are only by-products. In the
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
it is stated:
yathā saumy ekena mṛt-piṇḍena sarvaṁ mṛnmayaṁ vijṣātaṁ syād vācārambhaṇaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam.
If one studies the earth, he naturally understands the by-products of the earth. The
Vedas
therefore enjoin,
yasmin vijṣāte sarvam evaṁ vijṣātaṁ bhavati
(
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
1.3)
:
if one simply understands the original cause, Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes, then naturally everything else is understood, although it may be presented in different varieties. By understanding the original cause of different varieties, one can understand everything. If we understand Kṛṣṇa, the original cause of everything, we do not need to separately study the subsidiary varieties. Therefore from the very beginning it is said:
satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi.
One has to concentrate one’s understanding on the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa or Vāsudeva. The word Vāsudeva indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all causes.
Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ.
This is a summary of phenomenal and noumenal philosophy. The phenomenal world depends on the noumenal existence; similarly, everything exists by virtue of the potency of the Supreme Lord, although due to our ignorance the Supreme Lord is not perceived in everything.