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Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare
And now, Mantra Seven
yasmin sarvani bhutany atmaivabhud vijanatah
tatra ko mohah kah soka ekatvam anupasyatah
TRANSLATION One who always sees all living entities as
spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What,
then, can be illusion or anxiety for him? PURPORT
Except for the madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari discussed above, no one can correctly see
the spiritual position of a living being. The living entities are qualitatively one
with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the fire.
Yet sparks are not fire as far as quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and
light present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire. The maha-bhagavata, the great
devotee, sees oneness in the sense that he sees everything as the energy of the Supreme
Lord. Since there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, there is the
sense of oneness. Although from the analytical point of view heat and light are different
from fire, there is no meaning to the word "fire" without heat and light. In synthesis,
therefore, heat, light and fire are the same. In this mantra the words ekatvam anupasyatah
indicate that one should see the unity of all living entities from the viewpoint of
the revealed scriptures. The individual sparks of the supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost
eighty percent of the known qualities of the whole, but they are not quantitatively equal
to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are present in minute quantity, for the living entity
is but a minute part and parcel of the supreme whole. To use another analogy, the quantity
of salt present in a drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete
ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition
to all the salt present in the ocean. If the individual living being were equal to the
Supreme Lord both qualitatively and quantitatively, there would be no question of his being under
the influence of the material energy. In the previous mantras it has already been discussed
that no living being-not even the powerful demigods-can surpass the Supreme Being in
any respect. Therefore ekatvam does not mean that a living being is equal in all respects
to the Supreme Lord. It does, however, indicate that in a broader sense there is one interest,
just as in a family the interest of all members is one, or in a nation the national interest
is one, although there are many different individual citizens. Since the living entities
are all members of the same supreme family, their interest and that of the Supreme Being
are not different. Every living being is the son of the Supreme Being. As stated in the
Bhagavad-gita (7.5), all living creatures throughout the universe-including birds, reptiles,
ants, aquatics, trees and so on-are emanations of the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore all of them belong to the family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of
interest. The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment,
as stated in the Vedanta-sutra (1.1.12): ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. By nature and constitution, every
living being-including the Supreme Lord and each of His parts and parcels-is meant for
eternal enjoyment. The living beings who are encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly
seeking enjoyment, but they are seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from the material
platform is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being enjoys Himself with His
innumerable associates. On that platform there is no trace of material qualities, and therefore
that platform is called nirguna. On the nirguna platform there is never a clash over the object
of enjoyment. Here in the material world there is always a clash between different individual
beings because here the proper center of enjoyment is missed. The real center of enjoyment is
the Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and spiritual rasa dance. We are all
meant to join Him and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without any clash.
That is the highest platform of spiritual interest, and as soon as one realizes this
perfect form of oneness, there can be no question of illusion (moha) or lamentation (soka).
A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a civilization is lamentation.
A godless civilization, such as that sponsored by the modern politicians, is always full
of anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is the law of nature. As
stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.14), no one but those who surrender at the lotus feet
of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish to get rid
of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we must
bring God into all our activities. The results of our activities must be used
to serve the interest of the Lord, and not for any other purpose. Only by serving the
Lord's interest can we perceive the atma-bhuta interest mentioned herein. The atma-bhuta
interest mentioned in this mantra and the brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20] interest mentioned
in the Bhagavad-gita (18.54) are one and the same. The supreme atma, or soul, is the Lord
Himself, and the minute atma is the living entity. The supreme atma, or Paramatma, alone
maintains all the individual minute beings, for the Supreme Lord wants to derive pleasure
out of their affection. The father extends himself through his children and maintains
them in order to derive pleasure. If the children obey the father's will, family affairs will
run smoothly, with one interest and a pleasing atmosphere. The same situation is transcendentally
arranged in the absolute family of the Parabrahman, the Supreme Spirit.
The Parabrahman is as much a person as the individual entities. Neither the Lord nor
the living entities are impersonal. Such transcendental personalities are full of transcendental bliss,
knowledge and life eternal. That is the real position of spiritual existence, and as soon
as one is fully cognizant of this transcendental position, he at once surrenders unto the lotus
feet of the Supreme Being, Sri Krsna. But such a mahatma, or great soul, is very rarely
seen because such transcendental realization is achieved only after many, many births.
Once it is attained, however, there is no longer any illusion or lamentation or the
miseries of material existence or birth and death, which are all experienced in our present
life. That is the information we get from this mantra of Sri Isopanisad.