Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 19 Verse 14

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 19: The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.19.14

navaikādaśa pañca trīn

bhāvān bhūteṣu yena vai

īkṣetāthāikam apy eṣu

taj jñānaḿ mama niścitam

SYNONYMS

nava — nine; ekādaśa — eleven; pañca — five; trīn — and three; bhāvān — elements; bhūteṣu — in all living beings (from Lord Brahmā down to the immovable living entities); yena — by which knowledge; vai — certainly; īkṣeta — one may see; atha — thus; ekam — one element; api — indeed; eṣu — within these twenty-eight elements; tat — that; jñānam — knowledge; mama — by Me; niścitam — is authorized.

TRANSLATION

I personally approve of that knowledge by which one sees the combination of nine, eleven, five and three elements in all living entities, and ultimately one element within those twenty-eight.

PURPORT

The nine elements are material nature, the living entity, the mahat-tattva, false ego, and the five objects of sense perception, namely sound, touch, form, taste and aroma. The eleven elements are the five working senses (the voice, hands, legs, anus and genital) plus the five knowledge-acquiring senses (the ears, touch, eyes, tongue and nostrils), along with the coordinative sense, the mind. The five elements are the five physical elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, and the three elements are the three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. All living entities, from mighty Lord Brahmā down to an insignificant weed, manifest material bodies composed of these twenty-eight elements. The one element within all twenty-eight is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul, who is all-pervading within the material and spiritual worlds.

One can easily understand that the material universe is composed of innumerable causes and effects. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes, all secondary causes and their effects are ultimately nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead. This understanding constitutes real knowledge, or jñāna, which is essential for perfecting one's life.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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