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In this second part of the course on the teachings of Lord Kapila, we will study the nature of this material world and our relationship with it. The soul is transcendental, just like the Lord is, but because the soul is very small, it can fall under the control of material energy, while the Lord never falls into illusion. Even though it may be dificult to understand how the transcendental soul falls into illusion, and how the spiritual soul can become related to matter, it is still a fact that we are here. By understanding the nature of this world, we can see the light behind the illusion and find our way back.

Understanding Material nature and how it imprisons us

In the previous chapter, Lord Kapila offered a summary of his teachings, explaining the supreme goal and how the process of devotional service allows one to achieve it. This chapter, the 25th chapter of the 3rd canto, is also explained by Srila Prabhupada in his book Teachings of Lord Kapila, which offers a very concise explanation of the Sankhya philosophy and how it elevates us to the platform of pure devotional service to the Lord.

Now, starting from chapter 3.26, Lord Kapila offers a more detailed explanation of the Sankhya philosophy, an explanation that goes all the way up to chapter 3.32. This is a school of knowledge that has existed for billions of years, since the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu. This is knowledge that can liberate us by helping us to understand both the nature of this material world and the process of devotional service that makes us free from it. These chapters include some of the deepest purports Prabhupada wrote in the whole Srimad Bhagavatam. In this work I will try to explain these purports, so you can easily grasp the details of the topics he discuss and thus be able to go deeper in his purports.

Like in other passages of the Srimad Bhagavatam, a blessing is offered to those who study this section of the teachings of Lord Kapila with faith and attention. The blessing, offered by Maitreya is that by studying this section one becomes fixed in meditation into the Supreme Lord, and at the time of death goes to the Supreme abode, where he attains the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

In this part:

Perfect Family Life (chapters 3.23 and 3.24)
Lessons about family life in Krsna Consciousness (3.23)
Begetting a ray of Vishnu
Creating the necessary facilities
The mystic powers of Kardama Muni
Traveling through the universe
Details about the structure of the Vedic Universe
Dividing into nine forms
Kardama Muni prepares to take Sannyasa
The birth of Kapila Muni
Kardama Muni is blessed by the Lord

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Perfect Family Life (chapters 3.23 and 3.24)

Before narrating the explanation given by Lord Kapila in the Sankhya philosophy, Maitreya described the family life of Kardama Muni and Devahuti in chapters 3.23 and 3.24. One may question why Srimad Bhagavatam describes their family life, instead of focusing on the teachings of Lord Kapila, but the obvious answer is that Bhagavatam describes it because that’s not less important. The family life of Kardama Muni is not only pure, conducted with the purpose of bringing a ray of Vishnu, an incarnation of the Lord who could benefit the entire universe, but is also a great example for us, illustrating values that are essential for a spiritually conducive family life. It is not possible for us to imitate the austerities of Kardama Muni and Devahuti, nor is it recommended, but we can learn from their example.

Lessons about family life in Krsna Consciousness (3.23)

Pārvatī and Lord Shiva are the most exalted examples of husband and wife in our universe. Lord Shiva is the perfect Vaishnava, and Pārvatī is the most dedicated wife. Lord Shiva lives under a tree and is completely renounced, while Pārvatī is a princess, the daughter of the king of the Himalayas. She could have selected anyone as her husband. but she chose Lord Shiva, not because he is a rich man, but because of his spiritual position. Similarly, although a princess, Devahuti chose Kardama Muni as her husband, even though he was a renounced sage, due to his spiritual advancement. She valued his sanctity and spiritual realization much more than power or money. Therefore, after the marriage, she was happy to serve him while he was practicing his austerities, as described in the first verses of chapter 3.23:

In this part:

The story of Kardama Muni and Devahuti (chapter 3.21)
The Lord appears to Kardama Muni
Prayers of Kardama Muni
The Lord answers Kardama’s prayers
The Lord arranged everything
Manu offers his daughter in marriage (chapter 3.22)
The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti

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The story of Kardama Muni and Devahuti (chapter 3.21)

After hearing about the creation of Brahma in the previous chapter, culminating with the creation of the Manus, Vidura asks to hear more about the descendants of Svāyambhuva Manu.

Most of the narrations of the Srimad Bhagavatam revolve around the genealogical tree that started with Brahma and his sons. This succession started at the beginning of the current day, with the creation of the universe, and continues up to now. The genealogical tree of every human being, as well as every demigod or demon, can be traced back to these original personalities who have existed since the beginning of the universe.

We can see that although it is declared right in the first verses that the Srimad Bhagavatam deals only with pure topics connected with devotional service to the Lord and all forms of fruitive activities and materialistic religion are rejected (dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra), there is a lot of discussion about family life. In chapter 21 we will study the conversation between Manu and Kardama Muni, where Manu convinces him to accept his daughter Devahuti in marriage, in chapter 22 we hear about their marriage, in chapter 23 about their honeymoon, including details about their sexual life, and so on.

In this part:

Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.20)
Questions of Śaunaka Ṛṣi and Vidhura
A new description of creation
Back to the current day of Brahma
The creation of Manu
The laws of Manu
How was the universe populated?

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Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.20)

At the end of the previous chapter, the narration returned to Suta Goswami speaking to Śaunaka Ṛṣi and the other sages in Naimiṣāraṇya. Actually, the whole Bhagavatam is spoken by him, it is just that during the narration the focus changes to Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit, Maitreya and Vidura, or other speakers in different parts of the text.

It’s also important to remember that a few chapters ago when Maitreya described the appearance of Lord Varaha, he amalgamated the two pastimes, describing both the appearance of the white Varaha during the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu (the 1st) and the appearance of the red Varaha during the reign of Cākṣuṣa Manu (the 6th). The first appearance of Lord Varaha, in the 1st Manvantara was described in the 13th chapter. After that, the narration jumps in time to the 6th manvantara, with the description of Jaya and Vijaya being cursed and taking birth as two demons, and Lord Varaha, in His second appearance, fighting Hiranyaksa.

In this part:

The birth of two great demons (chapter 3.17)
Problems and what we can learn from them
Hiranyaksa conquers all directions
The earth falls into the ocean
Hiranyaksa fights the Lord (chapter 3.18)
Hiranyaksa indirectly glorifies the Lord
The Lord plays with the snake
Hiranyaksa is killed (chapter 3.19)

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The birth of two great demons (chapter 3.17)

Before, it was mentioned that “Hearing that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her sons would be killed by Kṛṣṇa, Diti was highly pleased in mind.” At the same time, however, Diti was afraid of the disturbances her sons would cause, and thus she delayed their delivery as long as possible, keeping them for 100 years inside her womb.

One reason for that was selfless: she wanted to spare the inhabitants of the universe from the suffering they would cause for as long as possible. Another reason however was selfish: she wanted to keep her sons inside her womb to prevent them from being killed.

However, despite Diti’s best efforts, Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakashipu started causing disturbances even from inside the womb. Even as small embryos, they were extremely powerful and started blocking the light of the sun and the moon, leaving the planets of the universe in darkness.

In this part:

Jaya and Vijaya are cursed by the Kumaras (chapter 3.16)
Lord Vishnu protects His associates
Jaya and Vijaya come to the material world
The “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya
Questions about this mysterious pastime
Some conclusions

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Jaya and Vijaya cursed by the Kumaras (chapter 3.16)

At the end of chapter 15, the four Kumaras offered prayers to the Lord when He appeared at the gate. Now, in chapter 16 the Lord answers to them and offers a solution for the situation.

Jaya and Vijaya are eternal servitors of the Lord, but at the same time, they committed a mistake in stopping the sages. The Lord understood that the essence of the problem was that the Kumaras were anxious to see Him, and therefore he went personally there, accompanied by Lakshmi Devi to give them an audience. In his purport, Prabhupada mentions the case of Haridasa Thakura, who was also not allowed to enter the temple to see Lord Jagannatha in Puri. Just like the Lord came to see the Kumaras, He was also coming personally to see Haridasa Thakura as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As Prabhupada says, “The Lord is so merciful that even if there is some impediment for the devotee, He Himself manages matters in such a way that the devotee is not bereft of having audience at His lotus feet.”

In this part:

Vidhura enquires further about Lord Varaha (chapter 3.14)
Diti becomes pregnant and the whole universe suffers
Diti approaches her husband at the prohibited time
Begetting a saintly child (the process of Garbadhana sanskara)
Two great demons are conceived
The demigods ask Brahma for help (chapter 3.15)
Brahma explains the cause of the darkness
The Kumaras visit Vaikunta

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Vidhura enquires further about Lord Varaha (chapter 3.14)

In the previous chapter, Maitreya narrated the pastime of Lord Varaha, combining details of the two appearances of the Lord. He mentioned that the Lord fought with the demon while lifting the Earth (which happened at his second appearance), and Vidura became desirous of hearing more details about this pastime:

“Śrī Vidura said: O chief amongst the great sages, I have heard by disciplic succession that Hiraṇyākṣa, the original demon, was slain by the same form of sacrifices, the Personality of Godhead. What was the reason, O brāhmaṇa, for the fight between the demon king and Lord Boar while the Lord was lifting the earth as His pastime?
My mind has become very inquisitive, and therefore I am not satisfied with hearing the narration of the Lord’s appearance. Please, therefore, speak more and more to a devotee who is faithful.” (SB 3.14.3-4)

In this part:

The cycles of the Manus (chapter 3.13)
Svāyambhuva Manu starts his reign
The earth and the extended earth
The two appearances of Lord Varahadeva
The prayers of the sages
Jumping forward in time

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Errata: Daksa took his second birth from the Pracetas in the first Manvantara and then practiced austerities until the 6th manvantara when he got married and repopulated the universe after the devastation at the end of the 5th Manu. In the video, I inverted it.

The cycles of the Manus (chapter 3.13)

The 13th chapter starts with Vidura inquiring about the activities of Svāyambhuva Manu and Śatarūpā. In the last verses of the previous chapters, their activities were described in summary, and now Vidura wants to know in detail.

The appearance of Svāyambhuva Manu is an important event in the creation of the universe because it marks the start of the first manvantara.

There are 14 manus in a day of Brahma, in a sequence that repeats in each of his days. At the end of each manvantara, a great process of extinction occurs, with the previous Manu and all demigods leaving their posts. After a long period of managing the universe (a Manvantara lasts for 306.72 million years), these demigods receive the opportunity of being promoted to Maharloka, from where they continue gradually progressing.

In this part:

Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.12)
The creation of the four Kumaras
The appearance of Lord Shiva, and how the universe was almost
destroyed
Brahma creates 10 great sons
Brahma continues the process of creation
Brahma becomes attracted to his daughter and abandons his body
The creation of the Vedas
The creation of the first Manu

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Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.12)

In the previous part, we studied the detailed description of the universal time Maitreya gives in chapter 3.11. Now, after describing the effects of kāla, Maitreya continues his description, narrating the creation of Brahma in more detail.

“Śrī Maitreya said: O learned Vidura, so far I have explained to you the glories of the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His feature of kāla. Now you can hear from me about the creation of Brahmā, the reservoir of all Vedic knowledge.” (SB 3.12.1)

It’s mentioned that Brahma started the creation by creating illusory engagements, such as self-deception, the sense of death, anger after being frustrated, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception (that makes one forget his real identity as a soul). It’s easy to understand why such influences were created first since they constitute the basis of conditioned life in this material world. If one does not identify with the body and believes he possesses things in this material world, what is the possibility of remaining conditioned here? These are influences that affect all conditioned living beings.

In this part:

Divisions of the creation and the Universal Time (chapter 3.10)
The planetary systems
Parallels with modern science
The nature of material time
The effects of time
Units of Time, starting from the Atom (chapter 3.11)
The cosmic units of time
The Divya-yuga
The manvantara cycles
Cosmic time
What happens At the end of each day of Brahma?
The life of Brahma
The size of the universe

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The divisions of the creation of Brahma

After hearing about the prayers of Brahma and the blessings he received from the Lord, Vidhura wanted to know about the subsequent creations of Brahma:

“Śrī Vidura said: O great sage, please let me know how Brahmā, the grandfather of the planetary inhabitants, created the bodies of the living entities from his own body and mind after the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 3.10.1)

Maitreya starts his answer by describing how after meeting the Lord, Brahma engaged in penances for 100 celestial years more before starting the creation. In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that he was not engaged in meditation, like in the period of 1000 celestial years before meeting the Lord, but in direct devotional service to the Lord.

After this period, his concentration was broken by strong cosmic winds that made both the Garbhodaka Ocean and the universal lotus tremble. The lower part of the universe, where the lower planets as well as Bhu-mandala were supposed to be was thus completely flooded. Being put in such an awkward situation, Brahma’s attention returned to his service of creating the universe.