Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 28 Verse 21

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 28: Jñāna-yoga

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.28.21

na yat purastād uta yan na paścān

madhye ca tan na vyapadeśa-mātram

bhūtaḿ prasiddhaḿ ca pareṇa yad yat

tad eva tat syād iti me manīṣā

SYNONYMS

na — does not exist; yat — that which; purastāt — previously; uta — nor; yat — which; na — not; paścāt — afterward; madhye — in between; ca — and; tat — that; na — does not exist; vyapadeśa-mātram — merely a designation; bhūtam — created; prasiddham — made known; ca — and; pareṇa — by another; yat yat — whatever; tat — that; eva — only; tat — that other; syāt — actually is; iti — thus; me — My; manīṣā — idea.

TRANSLATION

That which did not exist in the past and will not exist in the future also has no existence of its own for the period of its duration, but is only a superficial designation. In My opinion, whatever is created and revealed by something else is ultimately only that other thing.

PURPORT

Although all material products, such as our own bodies, are temporary and thus ultimately false, the material world is a real manifestation of the Lord's potency. The basic substance, or reality, of this world is the Personality of Godhead Himself, whereas the temporary designations imposed by the conditioned souls are illusion. Thus we consider ourselves American, Russian, British, German, Indian, black, white, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and so forth. In fact, we are the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord, but by attempting to exploit the Lord's inferior material potency we have become entangled in illusion. Everything should be properly defined in terms of the Personality of Godhead, who is the essential reality of this and all other worlds.

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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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