Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana mentions that during the past Dwapara Yuga, the Vedas were destroyed. At the time, many foolish philosophers propounded different incorrect interpretations of the Vedas, and the real spirit of the scriptures was almost lost. Some were teaching that the ultimate goal of life was to act piously in order to enjoy the results of good karma. Some sustained that the fruits of good karma, such as elevation to the high planets are eternal, with some having the audacity of saying that Lord Vishnu Himself is bound by the laws of karma.
Others were saying that there is no God and the jivas (the individual souls) and prakrti (the material energy) act independently, without any superior control. Some were propounding that in reality all sous are God, and we become free from the cycle of birth and death when we understand our real identity as part of the Supreme Brahman. Others were saying that the souls are a reflection of God, or separated fragments of God, and so on.
Answering the prayers of Lord Brahma and other demigods to come as an incarnation and dispel all these speculations, restoring the actual meaning of the Vedas, the Lord appeared as Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa. He divided the Vedas and wrote the Vedanta Sutra in order to explain the real meaning of the scriptures.
The Vedanta Sutra refutes all these different misconceptions and establishes Lord Vishnu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, being:
a) Supremely independent.
b) The original creator.
c) The cause of all causes.
d) Omniscient.
e) The ultimate goal of life for all living entities.
f) The Supreme religious principle.
g) The supreme goal of all transcendental knowledge.
To establish the proper understanding of the scriptures, the Vedanta Sutra describes five tattvas, or truths:
- Isvara (The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Controller).
- Jiva (the individual souls, who are controlled by Him).
- Prakrti (the material nature).
- Kala (time, which governs the duration of the existence of the whole material manifestation).
- Karma (material activity).
These five points and the interactions between them are very important topics, because when they are not properly understood, all kinds of philosophical misconceptions may appear.
Srila Prabhupada explains these five truths in his introduction to the Bhagavad-Gita as it is, but many of us do not go deep enough to grasp the true depth of this presentation. Here are some of the main points he makes:
a) The Supreme Controller.
The Lord is the controller, and there are jīvas are controlled by Him. If a living entity says that he is not controlled but completely free, he is insane.
b) Simultaneously equal and different.
The living beings are like the supreme controller in quality, but they are much less powerful, just like a particle of gold compared with a gold mine, or a drop of water compared with the whole ocean.
c) Subordinate controller.
Due to this simultaneous oneness and difference, the soul has the qualities of the Supreme Lord in minute quantity, being a minute īśvara, subordinate to the Lord. One may control a small family, trying to be supreme in his small apartment, but the Lord controls the whole cosmic manifestation. Our tendency to control exists because it is originally present in Krsna, but we must accept we are subordinate to Him.
d) Dependent material nature.
Material nature is not independent. She acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord.
e) Inferior and superior energies.
Both the material nature and the living entities are described as Prakṛti, the energy of the Lord. The material nature is the inferior prakṛti, the external energy of the Lord, while the jivas are part of the superior prakṛti or spiritual energy. However, both are under the control of the Lord.
f) The three modes, time, and activities.
Material nature has three qualities, the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Above these three modes, there is eternal time, and under this combination of the three modes acting under the control of time, there are activities, which are called Karma.
g) Who is eternal?
The Lord, the living entities, material nature, and material time are eternal. Both material nature and time are manifestations of eternal potencies of the Lord.
h) What is temporary?
Different from the other four items, Karma is not eternal. It’s going on for such a long time that it’s not possible to trace its beginning. However, it can be changed when one comes in contact with the mode of goodness, and it ends when the soul is freed from all material contamination.
i) The cosmic manifestation is not false.
Both the material nature and time are described as eternal, being energies of the Lord. However, the cosmic manifestation created from the molding of the material energy is temporary, with the material universes being repeatedly created and destroyed, in an unlimited sequence of universal cycles. We can say that the energy is eternal, but the cosmic manifestation is temporary, passing through cycles of creation and destruction.
However, although the cosmic manifestation is temporary, it is not false, as propagated by the Mayavadis. It exists and we are here.
j) How it can be real if it is temporary?
The reality and temporarily of the cosmic manifestation are compared to a cloud moving on the sky. It appears, stays for some time, and then disappears. Later, another cloud comes, and so on. These cycles go on eternally. The cloud is thus not false, it exists, but it exists for just a short period, while the sky is permanent.
In the same way, the material energy (being one of the potencies of the Lord) is eternal, but the cosmic manifestation is temporary, going eternally through cycles of creation and destruction.
k) Who is conscious?
Both the Lord and the jivas are conscious. The Lord is supreme conscious, and the jivas, being parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are also conscious.
l) Spirit and matter.
Both the living entity and material nature are explained as prakṛti, the energy of the Supreme Lord, but material nature is not conscious. Amongst the two, only the jīva, is conscious.
m) Superior nature
Because the jiva is conscious, the jīva-prakṛti (the energy of the Lord which includes all the souls) is called superior compared to material nature, because the jīva has consciousness which is similar to the Lord’s, although minute.
n) Eternally different
The living being can’t be supremely conscious like the Lord at any stage of perfection. There is always an intrinsic difference between the two at every stage. The Lord and the jivas are eternally different individuals. The jiva is conscious of his own body, while the Lord, being present everywhere, is conscious of all bodies.
o) Eternally conscious
The theory that consciousness develops under certain circumstances of material combination is not accepted. Both the Lord and the jiva are eternally conscious.
p) Perverted by material association
Although the consciousness of the jiva is originally transcendental, it becomes perverted when reflected in matter, just as light reflected through colored glass may appear to be a certain color. The consciousness of the Lord, however, is never materially affected. That’s why He is qualified to speak the Bhagavad-Gita and other transcendental texts.
q) Ultimate happiness
At the present moment, our consciousness is materially contaminated and the goal is to purify it. When our consciousness is finally purified, our activities can be dovetailed, or connected, with the will of the Lord. This will bring us ultimate happiness. Purified consciousness means acting in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. The Supreme Lord is the enjoyer and the creator, and we, as subordinate living beings, are meant to cooperate to satisfy Him.
r) The cooperator
The living entity is neither the creator nor the enjoyer, but a cooperator. We don’t have to cease all activities. Rather, our activities are to be purified, and purified activities are called bhakti. Activities in bhakti appear to be like ordinary activities, but they are not contaminated.
s) Supreme Absolute Truth
The complete whole is comprised of the Lord (the supreme controller), the jivas (controlled living entities), the cosmic manifestation, eternal time, and karma, or activities. All of these taken together form the complete whole, and the complete whole is called the Supreme Absolute Truth. The complete whole and the complete Absolute Truth are the complete Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. All manifestations are due to His different energies. He is the complete whole.