The Jiva From Tatastha-Sakti
Krishna Dasi (engl)
june 18, 2002 – n.1574
My son and I had this conversation
Krsna dasi (Not my real name, they might kick my son out of school)
Son: Mom in school today we were learning a new verse.
Mom: Which one:
Son: jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa. Tatastha-sakti jata acintya bhedabheda-prakasa
Mom: I remember memorizing that back in 1972, isn’t that from Caitanya Caritamrita?
Son: Yea, Madhya 20-108. I have a question though.
Mom: Ah, my little “brainiac” What’s your question today.
Son: Don’t get mad at me. I have heard you and dad arguing about this.
Mom: Hey, we don’t argue we discuss.
Son: Yea, whatever.
Mom: Go on anyway.
Son: So in this verse, it says “Tatastha-sakti jata acintya bhedabheda-prakasa”
Mom: The jiva is “Tatastha-sakti” and the eternal servant of Krsna. But sometimes because of our marginal nature we forget.
Son: That’s the point dad says we fell from the spiritual world.
Mom: That’s what the GBC says.
Son: But our teacher says that in the Brahma Samhita the tatastha is the line between the ocean and the shore. I don’t understand.
“Hence the jiva potency, though very small in magnitude, is still superior to acit potency or Maya. This potency has another name, viz., tatastha or marginal potency being located on the line demarcating the spheres of the spiritual and mundane potencies.” – Brahma Samhita
Mom: Let’s get the book and read that verse.
Verse 5 TEXT 21
sa nityo nitya-sambandhah
prakrtis ca paraiva sa
TRANSLATION
The same jiva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency.
PURPORT
Just as the sun is eternally associated with his rays so the transcendental Supreme Lord is eternally joined with the jivas. The jivas are the infinitesimal particles of His spiritual effulgence and are, therefore, not perishable like mundane things. Jivas, being particles of Godhead’s effulgent rays, exhibit on a minute scale the qualities of the Divinity. Hence jivas are identical with the principles of knowledge, knower, egoism, enjoyer, meditator and doer. Krsna is the all-pervading, all-extending Supreme Lord; while jivas have a different nature from His, being His atomic particles. That eternal relationship consists in this that the Supreme Lord is the eternal master and jivas are His eternal servants. Jivas have also sufficient eligibility in respect of the mellow quality of the Divinity. Apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param. By this verse of the Gita it is made known that jivas are His transcendental potency. All the qualities of the unalloyed soul are above the eightfold qualities such as egotism, etc., pertaining to His acit potency. Hence the jiva potency. though very small in magnitude, is still superior to acit potency or Maya. This potency has another name, viz., tatastha or marginal potency. Being located on the line demarcating the spheres of the spiritual and mundane potencies. He is susceptible to the influence of the material energy owing to his small magnitude. But so long as he remains submissive to Krsna, the Lord of Maya, he is not liable to the influence of Maya. The worldly afflictions, births and rebirths are the concomitants of the fettered condition of souls fallen into the clutches of the deluding potency from a time that has no beginning.
Son: So who is right? Dad says Srila Prabhupada said “Back to Godhead.” Does that mean we came from Krsna loka?
Mom: Go get the Veda base CD and see what Srila Prabhupada says about tatastha.
Son: Well He explains there are three principal potencies, cit-sakti, maya-sakti and tatastha-sakti.
Mom: The cit-sakti is the spiritual world and maya-sakti is the material world.
Son: Srila Prabhupada says “in the Bhagavad-Gita and all other Vedic literatures, the living entities are generated from the tatastha energy of the Lord.”
Mom: Where did you find that?
Son: SB 3.7.9 Purport in the chapter “Further Inquires by Vidura”
Mom: So, like I have said all along the jiva is from the spiritual world!
Son: But mom, it says the jiva is from the tatastha.
Mom: Is the tatastha in the material world?
Son: Well, no. It’s on the edge according to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s explanation in the Brahma Samhita.
Mom: Is everything coming from Krsna?
Son: Yes.
Mom: So the jiva has always had a relationship with Krsna!
Son: Well, I want a relationship with Krsna in Vrindavan not in the tatastha.
Mom: What do you mean?
Son: I heard in a lecture dad was playing the other night that only in Vaikuntha and Vrindavan can we have a personal relationship with Krsna.
Mom: You’re right, Srila Prabhupada always condemned the Mayavadi idea of merging into the Brahman effulgence.
Son: Just like in that purport we read “The jivas are the infinitesimal particles of His spiritual effulgence and are, therefore, not perishable like mundane things.”
Mom: Ok, you got me, in the tatastha we are with Krsna’s energy, which is the same as Him but different. And when we develop our Krsna consciousness we can go back to Him eternally and have a personal relationship.
Son: So who is right you or dad? Did we fall from Krsna’s Vrindavan or come from the tatastha.
Mom: I’ll read these quotes you found to your dad tonight. I think he, well both of us just needed to understand the idea of relationship and the nature and position of tatastha shakti.
Mom: Ok, you little spark of tatastha go outside and play.
Son: Will you make pizza for dinner?
Mom: Ok, but you must have salad with sprouts.
Son: Just make what you want, without sprouts.
Quotes from the Folio:
SB 3.2.21 P Remembrance of Lord Krsna
… is the Lord of the three principal potencies, namely cit-sakti, maya-sakti and tatastha-sakti,
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
SB 3.7.9 P Further Inquires by Vidura
… Bhagavad-Gita and all other Vedic literatures, the living entities are generated from the tatastha energy of the Lord
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
NoI 2
… The first is called antaranga-sakti, or the internal potency. The second is called tatastha-sakti, or the marginal potency. The third is called bahiranga-sakti, or the external potency.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bs 5.21
… is still superior to acit potency or Maya. This potency has another name, viz., tatastha or marginal potency. being located on the line demarcating the spheres of the spiritual and .
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
710330BG.BOM Lectures … is apt to fall down sometimes under the clutches of maya, it is called tatastha-sakti. Tatastha-sakti. Just like in the seaside the shore, the beach, sometimes you see it is .
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Maya can cover the individual soul. Therefore because the individual soul is apt to fall down sometimes under the clutches of maya, it is called tatastha-sakti. Tatastha-sakti. Just like in the seaside the shore, the beach, sometimes you see it is covered by water and sometimes it is land; similarly, when we are covered by maya, that is our jiva-bhuta stage, and when there is no more covering, that is brahma-bhuta stage. When we are Krsna conscious, then we are brahma-bhuta, and when we are not Krsna conscious, we are materially conscious, that is maya.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
So therefore jiva-sakti is called tatastha. Tatastha. Antaranga, bahiranga, tatastha. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate, the Absolute Truth has got multi-potencies. They have been summarized into three. First is para-prakrti, spiritual nature, and then the material nature, and another nature, prakrti–we are also prakrti–between the two, tatastha. Just like the beach is between the land and water. Beach is sometimes covered with water, and sometimes it is uncovered; the water is far away. When it is not covered, we call it beach, and it is covered, we call it sea. So similarly, our position is like that, living entities. Although by nature we are para-prakrti, spirit, spirit, but because we have got the tendency to enjoy material nature, therefore we come to this material nature. Therefore our position is in between the spiritual nature and the material nature, tatastha. Tatastha means in between.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
741219SB.BOM Lectures
… nature, and para-prakrti is the spiritual nature. So therefore jiva-sakti is called tatastha. Tatastha. Antaranga, bahiranga, tatastha. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate, the Absolute Truth has got multi-potencies. They have been summarized … then the material nature, and another nature, prakrti–we are also prakrti–between the two, tatastha. Just like the beach is between the land and water. Beach is sometimes covered with … material nature. Therefore our position is in between the spiritual nature and the material nature, tatastha. Tatastha means in between.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
701216SB.SUR Lectures
… immediately says, gives to you the highest philosophy, jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa. Tatastha-sakti jata acintya bhedabheda-prakasa. In two lines He has given the whole idea
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Prabhupada: Jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa, tatastha-sakti acintya bhedabheda, tatastha-sakti prakasa. The jiva is the manifestation of the marginal potency of Krsna. Krsna has many potencies. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate–in the Vedic injunction. The Absolute Truth has many varieties of energy. Those energies are consolidated into three divisions: spiritual energy, material energy and marginal energy. So these jivas are products of this marginal energy.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
710214CC.GOR Lectures
… Narayana,” or Narayana position, that is falldown. There are innumerable examples. So we are tatastha-sakti. The idea is… Tatastha means marginal. We can fall down in the material world, and we can raise ourself
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
700510IP.LA Lectures
… multi-energies. All the multi-energies grouped in three headings: antaranga-zakti, bahiranga-sakti, tatastha-sakti. Antaranga-sakti means internal energy, bahiranga sakti means external energy, and tatastha-sakti means these living entities
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
770204AR.CAL Lectures
So the living entities, they are called tatastha-sakta. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. God has many potencies. They have been divided into three primarily: external, internal, and marginal; bahiranga-sakti, antaranga-sakti, and tatastha-sakti. So we jivas, living entities, we are also another energy of Krsna, in between
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
681002LE.SEA Lectures
… here is one word used, marginal potency. Marginal potency, the exact Sanskrit word is tatastha. Just like at the end of the land, the sea begins. So there is a
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Prabhupada: Now here is one word used, marginal potency. Marginal potency, the exact Sanskrit word is tatastha. Just like at the end of the land, the sea begins. So there is a marginal land. Just you go on the coast of the Pacific beach, you’ll find some land. Sometimes it is covered by water and sometimes it is open land. This is marginal. Similarly, we spirit souls, although we are constitutionally one with God, but sometimes we are covered by maya and sometimes we are free. Therefore our position is marginal. When we understand our real position, then… The same… Just like the same example. Try to understand. On the beach you’ll find a certain portion of land which is sometimes covered by water, and again it is land. Similarly we are sometimes covered by maya, the inferior energy, and sometimes we are free. So we have to maintain that free state. Just like in open land, there is no more water. If you come little far away from the sea water, then there is no more water; it is all land. Similarly, if you keep yourself from the material consciousness, come to the land of spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, then you keep your freedom. But if you keep yourself on the marginal position, then sometimes you’ll be covered by maya and sometimes you’ll be free. So that is our position.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
BS TEXT 21
TEXT
sa nityo nitya-sambandhah
prakrtis ca paraiva sa
SYNONYMS
sah–that (jiva); nityah–eternal; nitya-sambandhah–possessing an eternal relationship; prakrtih–potency; ca–and; para–spiritual; eva–certainly; sa–that.
TRANSLATION
The same jiva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency.
PURPORT
Just as the sun is eternally associated with his rays so the transcendental Supreme Lord is eternally joined with the jivas. The jivas are the infinitesimal particles of His spiritual effulgence and are, therefore, not perishable like mundane things. Jivas, being particles of Godhead’s effulgent rays, exhibit on a minute scale the qualities of the Divinity. Hence jivas are identical with the principles of knowledge, knower, egoism, enjoyer, meditator and doer. Krsna is the all-pervading, all-extending Supreme Lord; while jivas have a different nature from His, being His atomic particles. That eternal relationship consists in this that the Supreme Lord is the eternal master and jivas are His eternal servants. Jivas have also sufficient eligibility in respect of the mellow quality of the Divinity. Apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param. By this verse of the Gita it is made known that jivas are His transcendental potency. All the qualities of the unalloyed soul are above the eightfold qualities such as egotism, etc., pertaining to His acit potency. Hence the jiva potency. though very small in magnitude, is still superior to acit potency or Maya. This potency has another name, viz., tatastha or marginal potency. being located on the line demarcating the spheres of the spiritual and mundane potencies. He is susceptible to the influence of the material energy owing to his small magnitude. But so long as he remains submissive to Krsna, the Lord of Maya, he is not liable to the influence of Maya. The worldly afflictions, births and rebirths are the concomitants of the fettered condition of souls fallen into the clutches of the deluding potency from a time that has no beginning.
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
#Jivatattva
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