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2024-04-18, 7:16 AM |
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 Chapter
6: Manifestation
of
the
Universal
Form
(1) The wise [Maitreya] said: 'Thus the Lord was
faced with the fact that the progress of what was created in the
universe
was suspended because of a lack of coherence between His potencies [see
3.5: 48]. (2) At
that time He simultaneously with His supremely powerful potency that is
known as Kâlî, the goddess of the power to destroy, entered
all the twenty-three elements [the five elements and their qualities,
the five organs of action and the senses and the three forms of
individual consciousness: mind, intelligence and ego; compare 2.4:
23]. (3)
That entering later on of the Supreme Lord in the form of the force of
matter, Kâlî, separately engaged all the living beings in
labor by awakening them from their unconscious state to their karma. (4) When
the twenty-three principal
ingredients thus by the will of
God were roused to [coherent] action, their combination led to
the manifestation of His plenary
expansion of the Original Person [in the appearance of the Universal
Form]. (5) The moment He
thus entered there with His plenary expansion [of the material power],
all the elements of creation
that thus found each other therein transformed into the worlds of
organic and anorganic existence.
(6) He,
the Original Person, this
[Garbhodakas'âyî] Vishnu called Hiranmaya, for a thousand
celestial
years [one such year is a 360 years to man] resided together with
all that belonged to his goodness within
the egg-shaped universe
supported by the [causal] waters.
(7) With the content of that egg, the
complete of the gigantic person being put to work by His divine Self
filled with His [female] power, He thus divided Himself into one
[consciousness], three [identifications of the self] and
ten [activities]. (8) This
unlimited expanse is the self of the living entities, the first
incarnation and plenary portion
of the
Supersoul, whereupon the
aggregate of all of them flourishes. (9) The
threefold of the gigantic form pertains to the three aspects of âdhyâtmika [the self with its senses and mind], âdhidaivika [nature and all her gods] and âdhibhautika [the others and what more appears to the
senses], the tenfold relates to the [organs of the] life force [or prâna:
hands, feet, anus, the genitals, eyes, nose, ears, tongue, skin and
mouth; see brahma sûtra 2.4: 5-6] and the oneness refers to
the heart. (10) The
Lord beyond the senses recalling
the prayer of the deities of the universe by His own radiance
[thus] illumined the gigantic form for their understanding. (11)
Now listen to my
description of the many different ways of the demigods who then
manifested as a consequence of
His consideration.
 (12) A mouth
manifested
and
with
that
happening
it
was
the god of
fire who among the directors of
the material world took his
position along with his power, the organ of speech with which one
utters words. (13) A
palate appeared. It was the abode of Varuna [the god presiding over the waters] who in [the body of] the Lord among the directors of the material world took his position along with his power: the
organ of the tongue with which one tastes. (14) Next the nostrils appeared where the two As'vinî
Kumâras have their position with the sense of smell with which
one perceives odors [see
also 2.1:
29 and 2.5:
30]. (15)
Eyes appeared
in the gigantic body which offered a position to Tvashthâ, the
director
of light
and the power of sight by which forms can be seen. (16)
Then the skin of the gigantic form manifested, a position taken by Anila, the director of the air with the power of breath which
enables the experience of touch. (17)
With
the manifestation
of the ears of the gigantic form that position was occupied by the
deities of the directions [the Digdevatâs] with the power of
hearing by
which sounds are perceived.
(18) Thereafter
the
[hair
of
the]
skin
of
the
gigantic
body
manifested
for
the
divinity
of
the
[herbs
and
plants
with]
the power to feel by means of the hairs with which itching
feelings are experienced. (19) When
the genitals
of the gigantic form appeared the first one [Brahmâ,
the Prajâpati] took his position with the function of
semen with which the pleasure [of sex] is experienced. (20)
An anus
formed
in the original embodiment offering a position taken by the god Mitra
with
the function of evacuation with which one defecates. (21)
With
the
manifestation of the hands of the Universal Form the king of heaven
Indra took his position with the ability to handle matters with which
one makes one's living. (22)
The legs of
the Universal Form that manifested were occupied by Vishnu, the godhead of the power of locomotion by
which one reaches one's destination.
(23) When the intelligence of the
Universal
Form manifested de ruling godhead Brahmâ, the Lord of the spoken word, found his position with
the
power of insight with which one arrives at understanding. (24) Next the heart of the
Universal Being manifested in which Candra, the god of the
moon took
his
position with the function of mental activity because of which one is
lost in thoughts. (25) What next came
about in the Universal Form was the I-awareness in which the
identification with the body [the 'false ego'] took its position [under the rule
of Lord Rudra] with the function of karma by which one
engages in concrete activities. (26)
What
followed was the
manifestation of the spiritual essence of goodness in the gigantic
body in which the complete[ness, of the mahat-tattva] found its place with the power of consciousness by means of
which one cultivates wisdom.
(27) From the head of
the Universal Form the heavenly worlds manifested, the earthly places
originated from His legs and the sky rose from His abdomen. In those
areas the enlightened souls and other living beings are found who
evolved as a result
of the operation of the three modes of nature. (28)
By the infinite mode of
goodness [of sattva] the gods found their place in the heavens
whereas all the human beings who on earth live by the nature of their
passion [rajas] are subordinate to them. (29)
Those of the third kind
are as the
associates of Rudra because
of
their
nature [of tamas] found in the
region of the ether - the navel of the Lord - situated in between the
other two.
(30) Spiritual wisdom,
generated from the mouth of the Universal Form, oh chief of the
Kuru dynasty. Those who are inclined to this wisdom became the leading
order [the chief varna] of society. They, the brahmins, are the
recognized teachers and
spiritual spokesmen [the gurus]. (31) The power to protect the citizens manifested
from the arms [of the gigantic body]. They who exercise that power
[the kshatriyas
or rulers] are the followers [of the brahmins] and deliver, as
representatives
of the Supreme Personality, the other classes from the vice of
disturbing societal elements. (32) For the production and
distribution of the means of livelihood the
mercantile community [the vais'yas], whose
occupation
it
is
to take charge of provisioning all
man, generated from the thighs
of the Almighty.
(33) From
the legs of the Supreme Lord the service manifested which is of prime
importance to the fulfillment of all sacred duties. It is
traditionally the profession of the laborer [the s'ûdra]
by
which the Lord is satisfied [*].
(34) In order to purify their soul all the classes
in society under the lead of their
spiritual teachers with faith and devotion by means of their
occupational duties worship the Lord from whom they generated along
with
their
duties.
(35) Who can estimate, oh Vidura, the totality of
this form of the divine operating Self of the Supreme Lord that
manifested by the strength of the deluding material oneness [of His
internal potency, yogamâyâ]? (36) Oh
brother,
nevertheless
I
will
give
a description as far as my intelligence permits and my
knowledge allows of what I heard about the glories of the Lord that purify, for without speaking up [about Him] we
wander off in untruth. (37) One says that the One
Beyond Compare is attained by discussions about the Supreme Personality
that were piously handed down through history for the glorification of
His activities. Also the ear is served best by the nectar of the
transcendental message as prepared [in writing] by the learned.
(38) My dear son, were the Glories of the Supreme Soul
known by the original poet [Brahmâ]
after his intelligence for a thousand celestial years had matured in
meditation? (39) Therefore,
when
even
those
skilled
in
creating
illusions
have
no
knowledge
because
they
-
as
also
the
one self-satisfied [Creator] personally - are under the spell of
the
bewildering
potencies of the Supreme Lord,
then what may one expect from others? (40) Him out
of our reach intangible for our ego, mind and words as also for
the respective gods, we offer our obeisances.'
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