Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 16, Verse 8

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manikantan

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Jan 20, 2011, 12:29:52 PM1/20/11
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Chapter 16: The Divine And Demoniac Natures
Verse: 8
asatyam apratishtham te
jagad ahur anisvaram
aparaspara-sambhutam
kim anyat kama-haitukam

Translation:
They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust.

Explanation:
In this verse Krishna talks about three types of demoniac philosophies that reject the Vedas and God for various reasons.

First, He talks about the impersonalists. They say that the world is false with no factual basis. Srila Prabhupada talks about them. "The demonic conclude that the world is phantasmagoria. There is no cause and effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. They do not think that the world was created by God for a certain purpose. They have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that there is no reason to believe that there is a God behind it. For them there is no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme Spirit. "

Second are the shunyavadis (the voidist philosophy propagated by Buddhists). As per them the creation takes place spontaneously, by its own nature, by nature's inherent properties. Just like a man and woman unite to produce a chile, even though they are not aware of the process of creation. Srila Prabhupada explains, "They conclude that as a child is simply the result of sexual intercourse between man and woman, this world is born without any soul. For them it is only a combination of matter that has produced the living entities, and there is no question of the existence of the soul. As many living creatures come out from perspiration and from a dead body without any cause, the whole living world has come out of the material combinations of the cosmic manifestation. Therefore material nature is the cause of this manifestation, and there is no other cause."

Third, the Lord then describes the theory of the Lokayatas. According to them the world has no purpose other than to satisfy one's lust. This lust between men and women is the only cause of the world and the motive for all actions. The Vedas are subject to personal interpretations, since any one is as good as the other. Srila Prabhupada explains, "In other words, among the demons there is no perfect knowledge of the creation of the world; every one of them has some particular theory of his own. According to them, one interpretation of the scriptures is as good as another, for they do not believe in a standard understanding of the scriptural injunctions."

Please read the Sanskrit Verse and the Prabhupada's Purport.


You can view the previous verses at the following address:http://groups.google.com/group/sloka-a-day

One's memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one's ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord.

Chant:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

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