H.W.

ISOPANISAD INTRODUCTION

1. List and define the three main types of evidences by which one can
ascertain the truth? How are they related to the two processes for acquiring
knowledge?

Three main types of evidences are-

i) pratyakṣa - means “direct evidence.” i.e. that which you directly perceive
through your senses.

ii) anumāna - inductive knowledge. “It may be like this” – hypothesis. For
instance, Darwin’s theory says it may be like this, it may be like that.

iii) śabda- Receiving the knowledge from the authoritative sources by hearing.

Now the processes for acquiring knowledge are-

i) Descending process or knowledge coming down by disciplic succession – This
process uses the śabda pramaana or evidence.

ii) Ascending process or knowledge acquired by experimental endeavour – This

process uses the pratyakṣa and anumāna 

2. Four defects of a conditioned soul, each illustrated by relevant examples or

explanations

i) Commits mistakes – Srila Prabhupada gives the example of Mahatma Gandhi

considered to be a very great personality, but he committed many mistakes.
Even at the last stage of his life, his assistant warned him not to go for a
meeting because they had got warnings about danger to his life. But he did
not hear. He persisted in going and was killed. Same happened with
President Kennedy. And there are so many others, they make mistakes. To
err is human.
ii) To be illusioned - Illusion means to accept something which is not i.e.
maya. Māyā means “what is not.”

For example, everyone is accepting the body as the self. If someone is asked
what he is, he will say “I am Mr. John, American, I am rich man, I am a
doctor, I am this and that etc.” All these are bodily identifications. But you
are not this body. And this is the illusion.

iii) Cheating propensity - Everyone has the propensity to cheat others.

Although a person is fool number one, he poses himself as very intelligent.
Although it is already pointed out that he is in illusion and makes mistakes,
he will theorize by saying: “I think this is this, this is this.” But he does not
even know his own position. He writes books of philosophy, although he is
defective. That is his disease. That is cheating.

iv) Our senses are imperfect - We are very proud of our eyes. Often,
someone will challenge, “Can you show me God?” But do you have the eyes
to see God? You will never see if you haven’t the eyes. If immediately the
room becomes dark, you cannot even see your hands. So what power does
one have to see?

3) Advantages of receiving knowledge through parampara

i) Don’t have to make an experiment, because knowledge is received from

the authoritative sources. We just have to accept as it is told to us.

ii) Knowledge received through parampara gives us transcendental

knowledge about things that are beyond our sense perception or abilities
and also beyond this universe about the spiritual world. Our senses are
anyways defective and limited. And if it was not for the knowledge through
parampara system, we would not have had a clue about these things. Thus
to acquire full knowledge would have been impossible.

iii) Saves us the time and effort of having to find the answers to many things.
We just accept what we receive through parampara
iv) Bound to be success because comes from Krishna who is free from all the
4 defects.

4) The reasons we know that the vedas are actually authoritative are-

i) The Vedas have come through disciplic succession. It was first spoken to
Brahma by the Supreme Lord Krishna. And then Brahma imparted the
knowledge to his son and disciple Narada, who then imparted the same to
his disciple and so on. In this way, the Vedic knowledge comes down by
disciplic succession and hence is authoritative. The following example is
given to make this clearer.
If you want to know who your father is and if you accept your mother as the
authority, then whatever she says can be accepted without argument.
Similarly, if you want to know something beyond your
experience, beyond your experimental knowledge, beyond the
activities of the senses, then you have to accept the Vedas. There
is no question of experimenting. It has already been
experimented. It is already settled. The version of the mother, for
instance, has to be accepted as truth. There is no other way.

ii) Vedic knowledge is called śabda-pramāṇa. Another name is śruti.

Śruti means that this knowledge has to be received simply by aural
reception. In order to understand transcendental knowledge, we have to
hear from the authority. Transcendental knowledge is knowledge from
beyond this universe. Within this universe is material knowledge, and
beyond this universe is transcendental knowledge. We cannot even go to
the end of the universe, so how can we go to the spiritual world? Thus to
acquire full knowledge is impossible except from the vedas.

iii) It is well understood that science is not able to provide answers to many
questions about nature and existence. And also scientific theories and
interpretations keep changing with advancements in technology. Hence
science cannot be accepted as complete authority.
However, Vedas have never changed. And they provide complete answers
to all questions related to nature and existence.

So we accept Vedas as authoritative.

iv) Many things given in the vedas are now being proved as correct by
science. For example, vedas say that cow dung and Ganges water are always
pure. And science has now proven that cow dung has indeed got so many
antiseptic and medicinal properties. And that Ganga water never ecomes
stale and always stays pure.
 H.W. ISOPANISAD INVOCATION

5. Thoroughly explain in what ways the Absolute Truth, the material world
and the living entity are complete. What is the complete facility given to
living entities to regain their completeness?

Absolute Truth is complete.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Realization

of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat feature, or His aspect of
eternity, and Paramātmā realization is realization of His sat and cit features,
His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But realization of the Personality of
Godhead is realization of all the transcendental features – sat,
cit and ānanda, bliss. When one realizes the Supreme Person, he realizes
these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their completeness. Vigraha means
“form.” Thus the Complete Whole is not formless. If He were formless, or if
He were less than His creation in any other way, He could not be complete.
The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and beyond our
experience; otherwise He cannot be complete.

Immense potencies.

Material world is complete

The twenty-four elements of which this material universe is a temporary

manifestation are arranged to produce everything necessary for the
maintenance and subsistence of this universe. No other unit in the universe
need make an extraneous effort to try to maintain the universe. In other
words, the universe or material world is self-sustaining and complete.
Living entities are complete

There is complete arrangement in nature for maintenance of the living

entities. Everyone from the ant to the elephant (which eats tonnes of food
each day) has enough to eat and live. However they are not able to realize
the Complete Whole and hence are not complete.

Especially the human form of life is a complete manifestation of the

consciousness of the living being, and it is obtained after evolving through
8,400,000 species of life in the cycle of birth and death. But the
completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages in the
service of the Complete Whole.

However due to ignorance, human beings make efforts to utilize the

resources of nature to create a so-called complete life of sense enjoyment.
The living entity cannot enjoy the life of the senses without being dovetailed
with the Complete Whole.

Facilities given to living entity to regain their completeness

All facilities are given to the small complete units (namely the living beings)
to enable them to realize the Complete Whole. All forms of incompleteness
are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole and
also because of the desire to enjoy the senses.

Hence the living entity is given a chance to enjoy the senses in a variety of
8,400,000 species of life in the cycle of birth and death. And finally it evolves
and gets a human body in which it is given the intelligence and the facility to
engage in the service of the Complete Whole. The living entity is given a
chance to associate with scriptures on the Complete Whole, and also with
the devotees of the Lord. In spite of all this, if in this human life of full
consciousness the living entity does not realize his completeness in relation
to the Complete Whole, he loses the chance to realize his completeness and
is again put into the evolutionary cycle by the law of material nature.
6. Analogy of the hand cut off from the body

The hand of a body is a complete unit only as long as it is attached to the

complete body. When the hand is severed from the body, it may appear like
a hand, but it actually has none of the potencies of a hand. Similarly, living
beings are part and parcel of the Complete Whole, and if they are severed
from the Complete Whole, the illusory representation of completeness
cannot fully satisfy them. Hand corresponds to living entity and body
corresponds to Supreme Lord.

The completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages in
the service of the Complete Whole. All services in this world – whether
social, political, communal, international or even interplanetary – will
remain incomplete until they are dovetailed with the Complete Whole.
When everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the attached parts
and parcels also become complete in themselves.

7. How does the invocation to Sri Isopanisad defeat impersonalism?

Following reasons defeat impersonalism-

i) The invocation says that “The Personality of Godhead is perfect and
complete”.

And we know that the creation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead i.e.
this material world has form. So if the creator is formless that would imply
that He is less than His creation and hence that would not make Him
complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and
beyond our experience; otherwise He cannot be complete. Hence
conclusion is that the Personality of Godhead has form.

ii) One impersonalist theory is that the Material world is false. Jagat Mithya.
However, the invocation mantra whatever is produced from the Complete
Whole is also complete in itself. Complete indicates that it is truth and not
false, thus defeating this theory of impersonalism.
iii) Impersonalistic Theory is that we are also Brahman, same as the
Supreme. However, the mantra clearly states that complete units emanate
from the Complete Whole. This indicates that the emanations are
dependent on the Supreme Whole and thus not the same as or independent
of the Complete Whole.

iv) The mantra contains Om and Om is the personal sound representation of

Krishna as per the BG. Om also means the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization
of His sat feature, or His aspect of eternity, and Paramātmā realization is
realization of His sat and cit features, His aspects of eternity and knowledge.
But realization of the Personality of Godhead is realization of all the
transcendental features – sat, cit and ānanda, bliss. Whaen one realizes the
Supreme Person, he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their
completeness. Vigraha means “form.” Thus the Complete Whole is not
formless.

v) One impersonalistic theory is that the Supreme Whole is like a big sheetof
paper and when the pieces or parts are torn from this sheet, ultimately the
original sheet loses its existence and lives in the smaller parts.

This is defeated in the mantra’s statement that “even though so many

complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete
balance.”
 H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 1

8. What principle is presented in Mantra 1? Explain

The principle is popularly known as the “īśāvāsyam ” principle. Basically the

principle is that “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the
universe is controlled and owned by the Lord.” i.e. Lord is the proprietor.

The Lord’s proprietorship over everything within the universe is confirmed

in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4–5), where parā and aparā
prakṛti are discussed. The elements of nature – earth, water, fire, air, ether,
mind, intelligence and ego – all belong to the Lord’s inferior, material energy
(aparā prakṛti), whereas the living being, the organic energy, is His superior
energy (parā prakṛti). Both of these prakṛtis, or energies, are emanations
from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything that exists.
There is nothing in the universe that does not belong to either the parā or
the aparā prakṛti; therefore everything is the property of the Supreme
Being.

One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that except for the Lord
no one is a proprietor of anything. One should accept only those things that
are set aside by the Lord as his quota. The cow, for instance, gives milk, but
she does not drink that milk: she eats grass and straw, and her milk is
designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement of the Lord.
Thus we should be satisfied with those things He has kindly set aside for us,
and we should always consider to whom those things we possess actually
belong.

9. Answer the following inquiry based upon Mantra 1: “If everything belongs
to Krishna, can I take your laundry soap without asking?”
Even though everything ultimately belongs to Krishna, when we buy a
laundry soap with our quota of money, we become the caretaker or
interim/short-term owner of that laundry soap.

Hence if someone else wants to use the soap, he has to take the permission
from us else it becomes equivalent to stealing.

10. What is the root of sin?

The root of sin is deliberate disobedience to the laws of nature through

disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord. Disobeying the laws of nature or
the order of the Lord brings ruin to a human being. Conversely, one who is
sober, who knows the laws of nature, and who is not influenced by
unnecessary attachment or aversion is sure to be recognized by the Lord
and thus become eligible to go back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.

11. Is vegetarianism akarma? Why or why not?

No. Vegetarianism is not akarma.

Vegetables also have life, and while it is nature’s law that one living being is
meant to feed on another, for human beings the point is to recognize the
Supreme Lord. Thus one should not be proud of being a strict vegetarian.
Animals do not have developed consciousness by which to recognize the
Lord, but a human being is sufficiently intelligent to take lessons from the
Vedic literature and thereby know how the laws of nature are working and
derive profit out of such knowledge. If a man neglects the instructions of the
Vedic literature, his life becomes very risky. A human being is therefore
required to recognize the authority of the Supreme Lord and become His
devotee. He must offer everything for the Lord’s service and partake only of
the remnants of food offered to the Lord. This will then make it akarma. This
will enable him to discharge his duty properly.

12. Explain why both communism and capitalism are failures as political
systems to bring about peace in the world.
Both communism and capitalism are failures as political systems to bring
about peace in the world because both of them claim proprietorship over
the resources of nature, which are entirely the property of the Lord.

The capitalists cannot curb the communists simply by political maneuvering,

nor can the communists defeat the capitalists simply by fighting for stolen
bread. Since they both have not recognized the proprietorship of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim to be their own
is stolen. Consequently they have been liable to punishment by the laws of
nature. Punishment has come in the form of frequent wars between the
nations due to the same selfish reason i.e. fighting for proprietorship over
the property which actually belongs to the Lord.

13. Why is Vedic knowledge accepted as infallible?

Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect

disciplic succession of spiritual masters, beginning with the Lord Himself.
Since He spoke the first word of Vedic knowledge, the source of this
knowledge is transcendental. The words spoken by the Lord are
called apauruṣeya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any
mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four
defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3)
he has a propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No
one with these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge.
The Vedas are not produced by such an imperfect creature. Vedic
knowledge was originally imparted by the Lord into the heart of Brahmā,
the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated this
knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have handed it down through
history.

14. What is the quota of human beings?

Material necessities as well as spiritual without over endeavouring. E.g.

house for
One should be intelligent enough to know that except for the Lord no one is
a proprietor of anything. One should therefore accept only those things that
are set aside by the Lord as his quota. The cow, for instance, gives milk, but
she does not drink that milk: she eats grass and straw, and her milk is
designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement of the Lord.
Thus we should be satisfied with those things He has kindly set aside for us,
and we should always consider to whom those things we possess actually
belong.

In other words, whatever comes without much endeavour should be

understood as one’s quota.

Because the real quota of human beings is to understand the Supreme Lord
i.e. self-realization and god-realization.

Scriptures, acaryas, prasadam, (veg food offered to the Lord), devotional

service. Inherited wealth, doing prescrived duties.

15. What differentiates human life from animal life? Use an analogy in
your answer

Human beings are not meant to quarrel like cats and dogs. They must be
intelligent enough to realize the importance and aim of human life. The
Vedic literature is meant for humanity and not for cats and dogs. Cats and
dogs can kill other animals for food without incurring sin, but if a man kills
an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds, he is
responsible for breaking the laws of nature. Consequently he must be
punished.

The standard of life for human beings cannot be applied to animals. The
tiger does not eat rice and wheat or drink cow’s milk, because he has been
given food in the shape of animal flesh. Among the many animals and birds,
some are vegetarian and others are carnivorous, but none of them
transgress the laws of nature, which have been ordained by the will of the
Lord. Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower life forms strictly adhere to
the laws of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are
the Vedic instructions meant for them. Human life alone is a life of
responsibility.

16. Explain the term apauruseya used by Srila Prabhupada at the

beginning of this purport.

The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruṣeya, which indicates that

they are not delivered by any mundane person. A living being who lives in
the mundane world has four defects: (i) he is certain to commit mistakes; (ii)
he is subject to illusion; (iii) he has a propensity to cheat others; and (iv) his
senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can deliver
perfect knowledge.

Since the Lord is pūrṇam, all-perfect, there is no possibility of His being

subjected to the laws of material nature, which He controls. However, both
the living entities and inanimate objects are controlled by the laws of nature
and ultimately by the Lord’s potency. Therefore he cannot be compared
with a mundane person who is subjected to the laws of material nature.
 H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 2-3

17. What is the destiny of one who follows the principle given in Mantra
One?

One who follows the “īśāvāsyam ” principle of mantra 1 accepting the Lord
as the proprietor of everything and accepting only that which is set aside as
his quota, the destiny is that one may live for hundreds of years if he
continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind
him to the law of karma.

He is also sure to be recognized by the Lord and thus become eligible to go

back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.

18. What is the destiny of one who does not follow the principle given in
Mantra One?

Destiny of one who does not follow the principle is that he transgresses the
law of nature and binds himself more and more to the cycle of birth and
death in the many species of life. He will be in danger of gliding down again
into the evolutionary cycle of birth and death among the 8,400,000 species. 

19. What does Srila Prabhupada mean by “polished animal?”

By polished animal Srila Prabhupada is referring to the modern civilized

man. The reason he calls the modern civilized man this way is that if you ask
him to take interest in self-realization, he will say that he simply wants to
work to satisfy his stomach and that there is no need of self-realization for a
hungry man.

Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy responsibilities.
There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc., whose economic necessities are
just as important to them as ours are to us, but the economic problems of
these animals are solved only under nasty and unpleasant conditions. The
human being is given all facilities for a comfortable life by the laws of nature
because the human form of life is more important and valuable than animal
life. Why is man given a better life than that of the swine and other animals?
Why is a highly placed government servant given better facilities than those
of an ordinary clerk? The answer is that a highly placed officer has to
discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly, the duties human beings have
to perform are higher than those of animals, who are always engaged in
simply feeding their hungry stomachs.

Aahaar, nidram bhaya, maithunam or eating, sleeping, defending and

mating, these activities are common to man and animal. But humans are
given higher intelligence and facilities so that they can use it for self-
realization and god-realization instead of simply behaving like a polished
animal.

We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and
dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for self-
realization, the laws of nature force us to work very hard, even though we
may not want to do so. Human beings in this age have been forced to work
hard like the asses and bullocks that pull carts.

20. What type of activities are altruism and humanitarianism?

Altruism and humanitarianism are very attractive forms of karma-

bandhana (karmic bondage). An ordinary man works for his own sense
enjoyment, and when this principle of sense enjoyment is extended to
include his society, nation or humanity in general, it assumes various
attractive names such as altruism, socialism, communism, nationalism and
humanitarianism.

Further Prabhupada adds that there is no harm in becoming a family man,

or an altruist, a socialist, a communist, a nationalist or a humanitarian,
provided that one executes his activities in relation with īśāvāsya, the God-
centered conception.

21. Explain the meaning of “atma-ha”.

Atma-ha means a killer of the soul. i.e. one not interested in self-reaiztion

Intelligent human beings must always remember that the soul obtains a
human form after an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of
transmigration. The material world is sometimes compared to an ocean, and
the human body is compared to a solid boat designed especially to cross this
ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the ācāryas, or saintly teachers, are
compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are
compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its
desired destination. If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully
utilize his life for self-realization, he must be considered ātma-hā. Śrī
Īśopaniṣad warns in clear terms that the killer of the soul is destined to
enter into the darkest region of ignorance to suffer perpetually.

22. Explain the analogy of a “highly placed government servant.”

The analogy of highly placed government servant is used to answer why a

man is given better life and facilities than the swine and other animals.

So why is a highly placed government servant given better facilities than

those of an ordinary clerk? The answer is that a highly placed officer has to
discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly, the duties human beings have
to perform are higher than those of animals, who are always engaged in
simply feeding their hungry stomachs.

Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy responsibilities.
There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc., whose economic necessities are
just as important to them as ours are to us, but the economic problems of
these animals are solved only under nasty and unpleasant conditions. The
human being is given all facilities for a comfortable life by the laws of nature
because the human form of life is more important and valuable than animal
life.

We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and
dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life through self-realization.

23. How can one work for some “ism,” and yet at the same time progress
spiritually?

The Vedic instruction of Śrī Īśopaniṣad is that if one actually wants to live for
any of the “isms,” he should make them God-centered. There is no harm in
altruism, socialism, communism, nationalism or humanitarianism provided
that one executes his activities in relation with īśāvāsya, the God-centered
conception.

When the above mentioned “ism” activities are executed in the spirit of Śrī
Īśopaniṣad, they become a form of karma-yoga. Such activities are
recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.5–9), for they guarantee their
executor protection from the danger of sliding down into the evolutionary
process of birth and death. Even though such God-centered activities may
be half-finished, they are still good for the executor because they will
guarantee him a human form in his next birth. In this way one can have
another chance to improve his position on the path of liberation.

24. In terms of this Mantra, briefly distinguish between the two kinds of
human beings, between the suras and the asuras. What is their main
distinguishing characteristic?

Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy responsibilities.
Those who are cognizant of these responsibilities and who work in that
spirit are called suras (godly persons), and those who are neglectful of these
responsibilities or who have no information of them are
called asuras (demons). Throughout the universe there are only these two
types of human being. 
Their main distinguishing factor is that in the Ṛg Veda it is stated that
the suras always aim at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu and act
accordingly. Their ways are as illuminated as the path of the sun.

On the other hand, the asuras aim is always sense gratification, and their
path is full of darkness.

25. Write a summary overview of section one, Invocation to mantra 3,

including the logical development of the mantras.

Summary - The perfect relationship between the Lord, the living entities and His creation

Summary and logical development

The Invocation
The Invocation describes the objective of the book: the Absolute Truth, the Personality of
Godhead. By repeated recognition of His various types of completeness, the Isopanisad
establishes the supreme position of the Personality of Godhead.

The Invocation further explained that the Personality of Godhead is perfectly complete, as are His
energies. Srila Prabhupada comments that, “all forms of incompleteness are due to
incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole.” Prabhupada further describes how the living entities can
again regain their sense of completeness by engaging in the service of the Lord.

The main points covered here about the Absolute Truth or Supreme Lord
are that He is-

i) Perfect and Complete Whole

ii) All emanations from Him are Complete Whole
iii) Implies that He has form else He would be less than His emanations
iv) Thus defeats impersonalism
v) Mentions that living entities traverse through 8.4 million species of life
giving a chance for them to do varieties of sense gratification
vi) Finally gets human form which is complete manifestation of
consciousness and in which it is given all facilities to realize the Complete
Whole

Mantra 1
Continuing from the Invocation mantra, this mantra further establishes the undisputed position of the
Supreme Lord as the Supreme controller of everything in the universe (which is called the Isavasya
principle). And how the human beings should always be in this Isavasya consciousness, and should always
be satisfied with their quota.

Human beings should carry on their activities in the following manner-

i) with full consciousness that everything within the universe is actually
owned and controlled by the Lord.
ii) thus accepting only those things necessary for himself, which are set
aside as his quota
iii) by not transgressing the laws of nature, by not killing animals for the
satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds.
iv) by becoming a devotee of the Lord,  doing devotional service, offering
the Lord all his food and then partaking of such prasādam, or the mercy of
God.

Mantra 2
Mantra 2 explains the benefit of working in the isävasya conception of mantra 1: one becomes free from
karmic reaction and acts on the liberated platform. Such activities are the only method
for freedom. Some of the main points here are-

i) The living being is eternal by nature, but due to his

bondage in material existence he has to change his body
over and over. This process is called transmigration of
the soul or karma-bandhana
ii) when the living entity attains a human life, he gets a
chance to get free from the chains of karma
iii) Describes karma (actions as per prescribed duties), vikarma (actions performed by misusing
one’s freedom) and akarma (actions that free one from the cycle of
birth and death)
iv) Factually, no one has to do anything more than render
devotional service to the Lord, which is akarma.

Mantra 3
Mantra 3 explains the fate of those who fail to recognise the Lord’s proprietorship and
therefore act in a vikarmic way. The killer of the soul, whoever he may be,
must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the
faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.
The main points here are-
i) Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy
responsibilities.

ii) this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and
dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life.

iii)  If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature force
us to work very hard

iv) If a man fails to discharge his duties as a human being, he is

forced to transmigrate to the asurya planets and take birth in
degraded species of life to work hard in ignorance and darkness.
 H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 4-5

26. How is the Lord faster than all others?

Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the
mind and can overcome all others running. 

As an example, when you walk, you see the Sun is fixed up in one place, but
still it is running with you because you see it wherever you go. And you can
increase your speed—still you cannot overcome. This is practical experience.

So this is a material thing, this sun, and what to speak of the

Supreme Spirit? Speed of the mind is greater than the speed of
this body, or matter. Mind is subtler. Mind, ego, intelligence, they
are also matter, but very subtle, and the spirit soul is still subtler.
So the speed of spirit is the greatest. And the Lord being the
Supreme Soul is subtler and faster than anything else.

In BG 7.7 Lord Krishna says

mattah parataram nanyat

kincid asti dhananjaya

Krishna says that no one is equal or superior to Him. That is the position
of God. If somebody becomes superior than God, then that is not
God. Nobody can be equal or superior to God; therefore God is
great.

Also in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.34) it is stated that even if a nondevotee

philosopher travels through space at the speed of the wind or the mind for
hundreds of millions of years, he will still find that the Absolute Truth is far,
far away from him. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) further describes that the
Absolute Personality of Godhead has His transcendental abode, known as
Goloka, where He remains and engages in His pastimes, yet by His
inconceivable potencies He can simultaneously reach every part of His
creative energy instantly.

27. How does the Lord surpass all in excellence (superiority, outstanding
feature)?

Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He
surpasses all in excellence. The powerful demigods cannot
approach Him.

Runs faster than anyone etc.

In BG 7.7 Lord Krishna says

mattah parataram nanyat

kincid asti dhananjaya

Krishna says that no one is equal or superior to Him. That is the position
of God. If somebody becomes superior than God, then that is not
God. Nobody can be equal or superior to God; therefore God is
great.

28. Explain how the Lord is simultaneously inside and outside; near and
far; walking and not walking.

i) Inside

In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35) it is said that Govinda, the primeval

Lord, enters everything by His plenary portion. He enters the
universe as well as all the atoms of the universe and also inside
every living entity as Paramatma or SuperSoul. As antaryāmī He
witnesses everything that is going on, and He awards us the
results of our actions as karma-phala.
ii) Outside

At the same time He is outside in His virāṭ form and in His personal

inconceivably beautiful form in His abode Goloka Vrindavan enjoying His
pastimes. This is the inconceivable potency of the Lord.

iii) Far away

The abode of the Lord is beyond the material sky, and we have
no means to measure even this material sky. If the material sky
extends so far, then what to speak of the spiritual sky, which is
altogether beyond it? That the spiritual sky is situated far, far
away from the material universe is confirmed in the Bhagavad-
gītā (15.6).

For the atheists He is far beyond the range of the mind and
senses. He is unapproachable and very far.

iv) Near

But despite the Lord’s being so far away, He can at once, within
less than a second, descend before us with a speed swifter than
that of the mind or wind. So He is very near as well.

For a devotee the Lord is always very near. For e.g. the Lord
appeared from a pillar instantly to satisfy His devotee Prahlad.

The Lord is also very near to the devotees in the following ways-
-As Archa vigrahas, so that one can touch His feet, offer Him
food, decorate Him etc.
- In the form of scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad
Gita etc
- In the form of the Holy Name of the Lord
- In the form of the Spiritual Master
- Chaitya Guru directing the devotee from inside the heart

v) Not walking

Krishna does not go from His abode Golok Vrindavan. He is fixed

there and eternally enjoying pastimes with His associates there.
This represents not walking i.e. fixed in His abode.

vi) Walking

While Krishna is always in His abode, at the same time, He is

everywhere. Everywhere He's walking. Just like when we offer
foodstuff, He immediately accepts it.

Prabhupada gives example of the Sun or moon. When we walk,

the Sun though seemingly fixed on top of our head, is travelling
with us and is present wherever we go.

Similarly Krishna though fixed in His abode is present

everywhere.

29. What does contradictory qualities of the Lord prove?

In reference to the Lord, these contradictory qualities simply

serve to indicate His inconceivable power. With our limited fund
of knowledge we cannot accommodate such contradictions, and
therefore we conceive of the Lord in terms of our limited powers
of understanding.

For example, Prabhupada in his lecture says that when we speak

of seeing, we think of material vision. Due to material conception
we think that the eyes of the Lord must be like ours. But God’s
vision is infinite, He can see in darkness, and He can see
everywhere at once. Therefore His eyes are different from ours.

Similarly, God has ears and can hear. He may be in His kingdom,
millions and millions of miles away in Goloka, but He can hear
us whispering, because He is sitting within.

So when the vedas says that God has no ears, eyes etc and yet He
sees and hears everything, it means that He does not have
material ears and eyes with all its limitations like ours.

30. Mantra four describes the Personality of Godhead. According to Srila

Prabhupada how does this verse suggest that the Absolute Truth is
ultimately a Person?

According to Srila Prabhupada, this fourth mantra of Śrī

Īśopaniṣad very clearly suggests that the Absolute Truth is
ultimately the Absolute Person; otherwise there would have
been no need to mention so many details in support of His
personal features.

i) The mantra says that “Although fixed in His abode, the

Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and
can overcome all others running.”
So the very fact that the mantra is saying “The Lord is
swifter than the mind and can overcome all others
running.” Indicates that He can run but with a speed
inconceivable for our materially conditioned brain. And
running indicates legs and form and personality.
ii) Further the mantra says that “The powerful demigods
cannot approach Him.”
 So the Supreme Lord is being compared to the demigods
and says that even they with their powers cannot
approach Him because He is much faster. So if the
demigods are persons, then the Supreme Lord who is
faster, definitely has form and is a person.
iii) The mantra further says that “Although in one place,
He controls those who supply the air and rain. He
surpasses all in excellence.”

This indicates a controller with supreme intelligence and

capabilities. And intelligence and capabilities indicates a
personality.

31. On the one hand, we “should play the part designated for us
by the Lord,” At the same time, “This does not mean that the
individual soul has no initiative of his own.” How does Srila
Prabhupada reconcile these two points?

Every part and parcel of the Complete Whole is endowed with

some particular energy to act according to the Lord’s will. When
the part-and-parcel living entity forgets his particular activities
under the Lord’s will, he is considered to be in māyā, illusion.
Thus from the very beginning Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns us to be very
careful to play the part designated for us by the Lord. This does
not mean that the individual soul has no initiative of his own.
Because he is part and parcel of the Lord, he must partake of the
initiative of the Lord as well. When a person properly utilizes his
initiative, or active nature, with intelligence, understanding that
everything is the Lord’s potency, he can revive his original
consciousness, which was lost due to association with māyā, the
external energy.

All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each particular

power must be utilized to execute the will of the Lord and not
otherwise. The Lord can be known by one who has adopted such
a submissive service attitude. Perfect knowledge means knowing
the Lord in all His features, knowing His potencies and knowing
how these potencies work by His will. 

For example, it was the Lord’s will that Arjun fight in the
Mahabharata and he was as such endowed with the energy and
strength to do as per the Lord’s will. So Arjun’s duty was to take
initiative and use all his skill and strength to fight as per the
Lord’s will. When Arjun temporarily forgot his activities in
connection to the Lord’s will, then it can be said that he was in
illusion (or at least acted so.)

32. Explain the analogy of fire, heat and light.

Although situated in one place, a fire can distribute its light and
heat for some distance; similarly, the Absolute Personality of
Godhead, although fixed in His transcendental abode, can diffuse
His different energies everywhere.
 H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 6-7

33. Explain two ways the living entity is one with the Lord in
the Vaisnava perspective. (Include one analogy for each way in
your explanation.)

The two ways in which the living entity is one with the Lord are-

i. The living entities are qualitatively one with the Supreme

Lord. Everything is the energy of the Supreme Lord. Since
there is no difference between the energy and the energetic,
there is the sense of oneness. 

The analogy of fire and its sparks are used to illustrate this.
Just as the sparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the
fire. Although from the analytical point of view heat and
light are different from fire, there is no meaning to the
word “fire” without heat and light. In synthesis, therefore,
heat, light and fire are the same.

ii. The Living entities and the Supreme Lord have the same
one interest. Since the living entities are all members of the
same supreme family, their interest and that of the
Supreme Being are not different. Every living being is the
son of the Supreme Being. As stated in the Bhagavad-
gītā (7.5), all living creatures throughout the universe –
including birds, reptiles, ants, aquatics, trees and so on –
are emanations of the marginal potency of the Supreme
Lord. Therefore all of them belong to the family of the
 Supreme Being. There is no clash of interest.

By nature and constitution, the spiritual entities and the

Supreme Lord are meant for eternal enjoyment, as stated in
the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.12): ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. When we
feel that “Eternally I am the servant of Krishna, you are the
servant of Krishna” that is ekatvam. So everyone should
become one in the service of Krishna instead of working for
his personal sense gratification. That is oneness.

Just as in a family in the material world, the interest of all

members is one i.e. enjoying their senses together. So all of
the members of the family take initiative to work together
to fulfil the interest of the family so as to enjoy together.

34. Give the meaning and briefly explain the term anupasyati.

Anu means “to follow,” and paśyati means “to observe.” Thus the

word anupaśyati means that one should not see things as he does
with the naked eye but should follow the previous ācāryas. Due
to material defects, the naked eye cannot see anything properly.
One cannot see properly unless one has heard from a superior
source, and the highest source is the Vedic wisdom, which is
spoken by the Lord Himself. Vedic truths are coming in disciplic
succession from the Lord.

35. How do the following devotees perceive the presence of the

Lord—Kanistha adhikari, Madhyama adhikari, Uttama Adhikari
Kanishtha adhikari -
i) Devotees in this stage consider the Lord to be present at the
place of worship and nowhere else.
ii) Goes to a place of worship, such as a temple, church or
mosque, according to his religious faith, and worships there
according to scriptural injunctions.
iii) They cannot ascertain who is in what position in devotional
service.
iv) They cannot identify those who have realized the Supreme
Lord.
v) They are actually materialistic devotees who are simply trying
to transcend the material boundary to reach the spiritual plane.
vi) Hence they are in the lowest stage of realization.

Madhyama adhikari
i) Those who have attained the second stage of realization are
called madhyama-adhikārīs. 
ii) These devotees observe the distinctions between four
categories of being:

(a)the Supreme Lord; (b) the devotees of the Lord; (c) the
innocent, who have no knowledge of the Lord; and (d)
the atheists, who have no faith in the Lord and hate
those in devotional service.

iii) The madhyama-adhikārī behaves differently toward these

four classes of person. He adores the Lord, considering Him the
object of love; he makes friends with those who are in devotional
service; he tries to awaken the dormant love of God in the hearts
of the innocent; and he avoids the atheists, who deride the very
name of the Lord.
Uttama Adhikari
i) Above the madhyama-adhikārī is the uttama-adhikār

ii) He sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. Such a

devotee does not discriminate between an atheist and a theist
but sees everyone as part and parcel of God.
iii) He knows that there is no essential difference between a
vastly learned brāhmaṇa and a dog in the street, because both of
them are part and parcel of the Lord, although they are encaged
in different bodies on account of the different qualities of their
activities in their previous lives. He sees that
the brāhmaṇa particle of the Supreme Lord has not misused his
little independence given him by the Lord and that the dog
particle has misused his independence and is therefore being
punished by the laws of nature by being encaged in the form of a
dog. Not considering the respective actions of the brāhmaṇa and
the dog, the uttama-adhikārī tries to do good to both.

iv) Such a learned devotee is not misled by material bodies but is

attracted by the spiritual spark within them.

36. What are the characteristics of those who imitate uttama-

adhikaris?

i) Those who imitate an uttama-adhikārī often flaunt a

sense of oneness or fellowship but behave on the bodily
platform. They are actually false philanthropists.
ii) They do not properly understand the individual soul or
the Supreme Lord’s Supersoul expansion, who dwells
everywhere.
iii) They are always after some material gain.
 iv) They may serve another’s outward body for the purpose
of fame or material reward, but he does not serve the
spirit soul.
v) Such an imitator can have no information of the spiritual
world.
vi) They generally do not belong to the disciplic succession.
vii) He just considers humans and not other species

37. What is the essential difference between the vision of

“universal brotherhood” of the mundane welfare worker as
compared with the vision of the uttama-adhikari devotee?

The essential difference is that an uttama-adhikārī devotee sees

every living being as his own brother with the understanding
that everyone is part and parcel of God. He is not misled by
material bodies but is attracted by the spiritual spark within
them.

A mundane welfare worker may serve another’s outward body

for the purpose of fame or material reward, but he does not
serve the spirit soul. Such an imitator can have no information of
the spiritual world.
 H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 8

38. How does the Lord supply the objects of a conditioned

living entity’s desires? (Include an analogy in your explanation)

The Lord supplies the objects of a conditioned living entity’s

desires in proportion to one’s qualifications.

The analogy-
If a man wants to be a high-court judge, he must acquire not only
the necessary qualifications but also the consent of the authority
who can award the title of high-court judge. The qualifications in
themselves are insufficient for one to occupy the post: it must be
awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord awards
enjoyment to living entities in proportion to their qualifications,
but good qualifications in themselves are not sufficient to enable
one to receive awards. The mercy of the Lord is also required.

39. Why is the Deity form of the Lord not material?

The arcā-vigraha worshiped in temples is also an expanded form

of the Lord and hence is not material. By worshiping the arcā-
vigraha, one can at once approach the Lord, who accepts the
service of a devotee by His omnipotent energy. The arcā-
vigraha of the Lord descends at the request of the ācāryas, the
holy teachers, and works exactly in the original way of the Lord
by virtue of the Lord’s omnipotence.
Foolish people who have no knowledge of Śrī Īśopaniṣad or any
of the other śruti-mantras consider the arcā-vigraha, which is
worshiped by pure devotees, to be made of material elements.
This form may be seen as material by the imperfect eyes of
foolish people or kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs, but such people do not
know that the Lord, being omnipotent and omniscient, can
transform matter into spirit and spirit into matter, as He desires.

40. Drawing from Mantra eight, list in Sanskrt and describe any
4 characteristics of the Lord’s transcendental form (other than
sac-cit-ananda).

i) Unembodied - The Lord’s transcendental body is completely

different from ours; thus He is sometimes described as
unembodied or formless. This means that He has no material
form like ours and that He is devoid of a form we can conceive
of. The Lord’s body, mind and soul are all one. The Lord does not
require a separate body or mind, as we do in material existence.

Nor is He forced to accept a body according to the laws of nature,

as we are.

ii) With each and every part of His body He can do the work of
the other senses. This means that the Lord can walk with His
hands, accept things with His legs, see with His hands and feet,
eat with His eyes, etc. 

iii) asnaviram – Without veins. The Lord’s body does not have
blood and veins like our material body. It has got a completely
different composition which is inconceivable.

iv) suddham – The Lord’s body is pure without any

contamination and also it is purifying to anyone that the Lord
touches.

v) sukram – the Lord’s body is omnipotent.

41. What is the value of understanding that the Lord has no

veins?

The Lord has His own transcendental form, which is not at all
similar to the forms of the mundane world. The forms of the
living entities in this world are embodied in material nature, and
they work like any material machine.

The anatomy of a material body must have a mechanical

construction with veins and so forth, but the transcendental
body of the Supreme Lord has nothing like veins. 

The Lord’s body does not have blood and veins like our material
body. It has got a completely different composition which is
inconceivable.

42. Write a summary overview of section two, mantra 4 to

mantra 8.

Mantras 4-8
The inconceivable Lord can only be known by the maha-
bhagavata

Mantra 4
Mantra 4 explains why such people are unable to understand the
Lord’s position: He is beyond material calculations and is thus
known only when he reveals Himself to the sincere.

Mantra 5 continues this discussion describing that the Lord has

inconceivable potencies which render Him unknowable to those
whom He does not favour.

Mantra 6 describes the vision of one who can see Krsna

everywhere, the mahäbhägavata.

Mantra 7

Mantra 7 continues describing the consciousness of the mahä-

bhägavata, which was

introduced Mantra 6.

Mantra 8

Mantra 8 describes some qualities of the Lord as he is known by

the mahä-bhägavata

described in mantras 6 and 7.

43. What is real knowledge and what is ignorance? 43. Mantra

9 should be enough. But if detailed answer then take from
mantra 10.

Spiritual knowledge i.e. knowledge about the self, the Supreme

Lord and their relationship is real knowledge.

As stated in Mantra One, we should know that the Personality of

Godhead is the proprietor of everything and that we must be
satisfied with our allotted portions of the necessities of life. The
purpose of all Vedic literature is to awaken this God
consciousness in the forgetful living being, and this same
purpose is presented in various ways in the different scriptures
of the world for the understanding of a foolish mankind. Thus
the ultimate purpose of all religions is to bring one back to
Godhead.

Any education which does not lead to such realization must be

considered avidyā, or nescience or ignorance.

44. Describe any 5 of the 20 items of the process of knowledge

i) Humility - One should become a perfect gentleman and

learn to give proper respect to others without being anxious
to have the satisfaction of being honoured by others.
ii) Pridelessness - One should not pose himself as a religionist
simply for name and fame. Pride results in the loss of good
intelligence and results in the fall down of even great
scholars.
iii) Surrender to Spiritual Master - One should search out
a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him gradually to
the stage of spiritual realization, and one must submit
himself to such a spiritual master, render him service and
ask relevant questions.
iv) Unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord -
One should become an unalloyed devotee of the Personality
of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and serve Him with rapt attention.
This is the most important process in the cultivation of
knowledge.
 v) Tolerance - One should learn forbearance even in the face
of provocation from others. O  one should be practiced to bear insult and
dishonor from others.

45. What are the different killers of the soul?

i) The Materialistic sense gratifiers or karmis - The karmīs are

those who are engaged in the activities of sense gratification. In
the language of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), people who are engaged
in gross sense gratification are mūḍhas – asses. The ass is a
symbol of stupidity. Similarly these karmis are simply engaged in
the profitless pursuit of sense gratification. They are not at all
interested in the vedic scriptures and act whimsically.

ii) The mistaken mundane educators or the veda-vāda-ratas–

These type of people may also be atheistic demons, the lowest of
men. Those who are veda-vāda-rata pose themselves as very
learned in the Vedic literature, but unfortunately they are
completely diverted from the purpose of the Vedas. In
the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) it is said that the purpose of
the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead, but these veda-
vāda-rata men are not at all interested in the Personality of
Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by such fruitive
results as the attainment of heaven.

These people instead of realizing that the purpose of the Vedas is

to revive the forgetful soul’s lost relationship with the
Personality of Godhead, take it for granted that such side issues
as the attainment of heavenly pleasure for sense gratification –
the lust for which causes their material bondage in the first
place – are the ultimate end of the Vedas. Such people misguide
others by misinterpreting the Vedic literature. Sometimes they
even condemn the Purāṇas, which are authentic Vedic
explanations for laymen. The veda-vāda-ratas give their own
explanations of the Vedas, neglecting the authority of great
teachers (ācāryas). They also tend to raise some unscrupulous
person from among themselves and present him as the leading
exponent of Vedic knowledge.

The so-called students of the Vedas are condemned herein

because they are ignorant of the actual purpose of the Vedas on
account of their disobeying the ācāryas. Such veda-vāda-
ratas search out meanings in every word of the Vedas to suit
their own purposes. They do not know that the Vedic literature is
a collection of extraordinary books that can be understood only
through the chain of disciplic succession.

iii) māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men  - These class of men are

self-made Gods. Such men think that they themselves are God
and that there is no need of worshiping any other God. They will
agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but
they will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men,
unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it
is that God can be entrapped by māyā, His own illusory energy. If
God were ever entrapped by māyā, māyā would be more
powerful than God. Such men say that God is all-powerful, but
they do not consider that if He is all-powerful there is no
possibility of His being overpowered by māyā. These self-made
“Gods” cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are
simply satisfied to have become “God” themselves.
46. What should be the aim of education?

The aim of education should be self-realization, realization of the

spiritual values of the soul. Understanding who I am actually and
what is the real purpose and goal of my life. Any education
which does not lead to such realization must be considered
avidya, or nescience.
Modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual
miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense
gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the mind is the
intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul. So education for the
upliftment of the soul (which is higher than body, mind and intelligence) should
be the aim of education.

47. What is the outcome of mundane education devoid of God

consciousness?

Mundane education devoid of God consciousness will take one

down to the darkest region of ignorance.

48. Explain the analogy of the decorations on a dead body.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12), the advancement of

education by a godless people is compared to decorations on a
dead body i.e. it is actually of no use but is just a show. In India,
as in many other countries, some people follow the custom of
leading a procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure
of the lamenting relatives. In the same way, modern civilization
is a patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual miseries
of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense
gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the
mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul.
Thus the aim of real education should be self-realization,
realization of the spiritual values of the soul. Any education
which does not lead to such realization must be
considered avidyā, or nescience which is useless. And to culture
such nescience means to go down to the darkest region of
ignorance

49. What are some of the qualifications of a dhira?

A dhīra is one who is not disturbed by material illusion. No one

can be undisturbed unless he is perfectly spiritually realized, at
which time one neither hankers nor laments for anything.
A dhīra realizes that the material body and mind he has acquired
by chance through material association are but foreign elements;
therefore he simply makes the best use of a bad bargain.

50. What is the root cause of universities’ being “centers of

nescience?”

Universities are the centres of nescience because they do not

culture knowledge as advised in the 20 points of B.G 13.8-13.12-

These eighteen items combine to form a gradual process by

which real knowledge can be developed. Except for these, all
other methods are considered to be in the category of nescience.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a great ācārya, maintained that all
forms of material knowledge are merely external features of the
illusory energy and that by culturing them one becomes no
better than an ass. 

51. How can knowledge be considered worse than ignorance?

Of the different classes of men – karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs –
the karmīs are those who are engaged in the activities of sense
gratification.

And since they do not have any interest in the scriptures and
spiritual education, they are said to be in ignorance.

But the so called jnanis, according to the Bhagavad-gītā (2.42,

7.15), they are the mistaken mundane educators and are known
as veda-vāda-rata and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. The veda-vāda-rata 
pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but
unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose of
the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) it is said that the purpose
of the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead, but
these veda-vāda-rata men are not at all interested in the
Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by
such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.

The māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men are self-made “Gods.” Such

men think that they themselves are God and that there is no
need of worshiping any other God. They will agree to worship an
ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they will never
worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men, unable to
recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it is that
God can be entrapped by māyā, His own illusory energy. If God
were ever entrapped by māyā, māyā would be more powerful
than God. Such men say that God is all-powerful, but they do not
consider that if He is all-powerful there is no possibility of His
being overpowered by māyā. These self-made “Gods” cannot
answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied
to have become “God” themselves.
It is this type of knowledge cultivated by the veda-vāda-
rata and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna that is considered worst than
ignorance because not only do they themselves go to hell but by
teaching the same to others, they pull the others also to hell.

52. At the end of the purport of mantra 9, Srila Prabhupada

refers to the ideas of the impersonalists, especially the
mayavadis’ assumption that God and the living entity are one
and the same. How does Srila Prabhupada defeat this?

Mayavadis say that God and the living entity are one and the
same.

But such men, unable to recognize their own foolishness, never

consider how it is that God can be entrapped by māyā, His own
illusory energy. If God were ever entrapped by māyā,
māyā would be more powerful than God. Such men say that God
is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful
there is no possibility of His being overpowered by māyā. These
self-made “Gods” cannot answer all these questions very clearly;
they are simply satisfied to have become “God” themselves.

53. Explain the analogy of the cobra.

Prabhupad says that the advancement of learning by godless

people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a
cobra. A cobra decorated with a valuable jewel is more
dangerous than one not decorated.
So here, the karmis I.e. those materialists who are engaged in the
activities of sense gratification are compared to the cobra
without any jewel on its hood.

And since they do not have any interest in the scriptures and
spiritual education, they are said to be in ignorance and hence
their association is dangerous.

However, the veda-vāda-rata  and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna who

pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but
unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose of
the Vedas, are compared to the cobra with jewel on its hood
because their association is very dangerous.

These people who play the role of helping the others in the name
of educational advancement actually do more harm than those
who are on the platform of gross sense gratification. Not only do
these people go to hell but they pull others whom they convince
to follow their teachings also towards hell.

54. What is the materialists’ real purpose behind their creation of

nations? How has this adventure back-fired?

Befooled materialistic men have created their own nations

within these planets in order to grasp sense enjoyment more
effectively for these few years. However, this idea of theirs has
back-fired.

Such foolish people draw up various plans to render national

demarcations perfectly, a task that is totally impossible. Yet for
this purpose each and every nation has become a source of
anxiety for others. More than fifty percent of a nation’s energy is
devoted to defense measures in order to defecnd or protect these
boundaries and thus money is unnecessary spoiled.

No one cares for the cultivation of real knowledge, yet people

are falsely proud of being advanced in both material and
spiritual knowledge.

55. Explain the meaning of sambhuti and asambhuti.

asambhūti refers to those who have no independent

existence. Sambhūti is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, who
is absolutely independent of everything. 

asambhūti upasate in this mantra is referring to the demigod

worship. The demigods are completely dependent on the
Supreme Lord Krishna for their powers. And they have only
been given limited powers as required for their position. And
those who worship the demigods for obtaining better facilities
for sense gratification which are temporary in nature only enter
the darkest regions of ignorance after their brief period of sense
gratification.

In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20, 23) it is said that only unintelligent,

bewildered persons driven by a strong desire for sense
gratification worship the demigods for the temporary relief of
temporary problems. Since the living being is materially
entangled, he has to be relieved from material bondage entirely
to attain permanent relief on the spiritual plane, where eternal
bliss, life and knowledge exist. Śrī Īśopaniṣad therefore instructs
that we should not seek temporary relief of our difficulties by
worshiping the dependent demigods, who can bestow only
temporary benefit. Rather, we must worship the Absolute
Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is all-attractive and who can
bestow upon us complete freedom from material bondage by
taking us back home, back to Godhead.

Also in this verse Sambhuti upasate is referring to those who

worship the impersonal feature of the Absolute, the brahman
effulgence, by which one goes even further down into darkness
of nescience. This is because these type of people who are
generally envious of the Supreme Lord, completely deny the
personal form of the Lord. And

The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment

from material affairs, for most of them want to live in the golden
shackles of material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic
activities disguised as religious principles. By a false display of
religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service
while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they
pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. Such violators of
religious principles have no respect for the
authoritative ācāryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic
succession. They ignore the Vedic injunction ācāryopāsana –
“One must worship the ācārya” – and Kṛṣṇa’s statement in
the Bhagavad-gītā (4.2) evaṁ paramparā-prāptam, “This supreme
science of God is received through the disciplic succession.”
Instead, to mislead the people in general they themselves
become so-called ācāryas, but they do not even follow the
principles of the ācāryas.

These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society.

Because there is no religious government, they escape
punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however,
escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in
the Bhagavad-gītā that envious demons in the garb of religious
propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of
hell (Bhagavad-gītā 16.19–20). Śrī Īśopaniṣad confirms that these
pseudo religionists are heading toward the most obnoxious place
in the universe after the completion of their spiritual master
business, which they conduct simply for sense gratification.

56. What is the benefit, so to speak, of the miseries of this material

world?

The miseries of this material world serve to indirectly remind us

of our incompatibility with dead matter. Intelligent living entities
generally take note of these reminders and engage themselves in
the culture of vidyā, or transcendental knowledge. Human life is
the best opportunity for the culture of spiritual knowledge, and a
human being who does not take advantage of this opportunity is
called a narādhama, the lowest of human beings.

Only foolish human beings who are grossly absorbed in the

culture of avidyā, nescience, do not mind this cruel process of
repeated birth and death and a sea of miseries in between.
Enamored with the beauty of the illusory energy, they undergo
the same miseries repeatedly and do not learn any lessons from
the laws of nature.

57. Explain the statement: “One should learn the process of knowledge
and that of nescience side by side.” (Include the analogy Srila Prabhupada
uses in this connection in your explanation.)

The meaning of this statement is that-

The culture of spiritual knowledge (which is the process of real
knowledge) necessitates the help of the body and mind (which is
material and thus nescience). Therefore maintenance of the body
and mind is required if we are to reach our goal.

“To make the best use of a bad bargain” is the appropriate

expression for this. I.e. the bad bargain that we have is this
material body and mind and we have to make the best use of it
by using it for cultivating the ultimate goodness i.e. reviving our
lost relationship with the Supreme Lord which is spiritual
knowledge.

The analogy used for this is –

For good health, a person should not increase his fever from 105
degrees to 107 degrees but should reduce his temperature to the
normal 98.6.

At the same time there is no question of wiping out one’s

temperature altogether when trying to recover from a disease. 

In other words this is saying that we should not use our body
and mind to increase the sense gratification. At the same time ti
does not mean that all activities for the maintenance of the body
should be stopped. Human activities diseased by a tendency
toward sense gratification have been regulated in
the Vedas under the principles of salvation. This system employs
religion, economic development, sense gratification and
salvation.
58. Explain the example of 105° fever in terms of (a) lowering it, and (b)
not eradicating it altogether, but keeping it at 98.6°.

Answered in prev question

59. Briefly explain why one cannot understand the Absolute Truth by
negation.

Definition of the Absolute by negation is not complete. Such

negative definitions lead one to create a concept of one’s own;
thus one imagines that the Absolute must be formless and
without qualities. Such negative qualities are simply the
reversals of relative, material qualities and are therefore also
relative. By conceiving of the Absolute in this way, one can at the
utmost reach the impersonal effulgence of God, known as
Brahman, but one cannot make further progress to Bhagavān,
the Personality of Godhead.

For example,

 the impersonalists think that all kinds of forms in this

creation are temporary and material. So conclude that the
Absolute has no form.
 Activity or karma is the root cause of bondage. So cut off all
activities.

Thus by negation they end up with incorrect conclusions of the

Absolute Truth

60. What is the status of religion, economic development and

sense gratification not aimed toward the devotional service of
the Lord?
The status of religion, economic development and sense
gratification not aimed toward the devotional service of the Lord
is that the people will become more and more entabgled in the
cycle of repeated birth and death and end up in the darkest
regions of ignorance.

For instance, at the present moment people have no interest in

religion or salvation which are required to gradually lead the
people to devotional service of Lord.

Currently people have only one aim in life – sense gratification –

and in order to achieve this end they make plans for economic
development. Misguided men think that religion should be
maintained because it contributes to economic development,
which is required for sense gratification. Thus in order to
guarantee further sense gratification after death, in heaven,
there is some system of religious observance. But this is not the
purpose of religion. The path of religion is actually meant for
self-realization, and economic development is required just to
maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition. A man should
lead a healthy life with a sound mind just to realize vidyā, true
knowledge, which is the aim of human life. This life is not meant
for working like an ass or for culturing avidyā for sense
gratification.

61. What two vital assets are lacking in the pseudo-religionists?

Why can’t they acquire these? And, for the lack of these, what do
they fail to achieve?

The pseudo religionists have neither -

i) knowledge
ii) detachment from material affairs
because most of them want to live in the golden shackles of
material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic activities
disguised as religious principles.

The pseudo-religionists can’t acquire these because these are

gained only by serving the Lord in pure devotional service which
the pseudo-religionists do not perform.

Thus they fail to transcend the influence of repeated birth and

death and hence can’t enjoy the full blessings of immortality i.e.
blissful eternal life after death.

H.W. ISOPANISAD MANTRA 13

62. How would you counter someone who preached that “all paths lead
to the same goal”?

This mantra 13 clearly says that one achieves different results by

different modes of worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, we
will certainly reach Him in His eternal abode, and if we worship
demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their
respective planets without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on
this wretched planet with our planning commissions and our
stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.

The Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) also clearly says that those who

worship the pitṛs, or forefathers, attain the planets of the
forefathers, that the gross materialists who make plans to
remain here stay in this world, and that the devotees of the Lord
who worship none but Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme cause of all
causes, reach Him in His spiritual sky.

63. To really serve humanity, one must do something “with full

love and energy.” What is it that one must do?

Real service to humanity is rendered when one teaches

surrender to and worship of the Supreme Lord with full love and
energy. That is the instruction of Śrī Īśopaniṣad in this mantra.

Worship of the mass of humanity by rendering bodily service,

which can never be perfect, is less important than service to the
soul. The soul is the root that generates different types of bodies
according to the law of karma. To serve human beings by
medical aid, social help and educational facilities while at the
same time cutting the throats of poor animals in slaughterhouses
is no service at all to the soul, the living being.

The living being is perpetually suffering in different types of

bodies from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and
death. The human form of life offers one a chance to get out of
this entanglement simply by reestablishing the lost relationship
between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. The Lord comes
personally to teach this philosophy of surrender unto the
Supreme, the sambhūta
64. How is it possible for “any lowborn person” to become
purified of the lower modes? How can he become “happy and
enthusiastic”?

Any lowborn person can be purified by the guidance of a pure

devotee of the Lord, for the Lord is extraordinarily powerful.

When one attains brahminical qualifications, he becomes happy

and enthusiastic to render devotional service to the Lord.
Automatically the science of God is unveiled before him. By
knowing the science of God, one gradually becomes freed from
material attachments, and one’s doubtful mind becomes crystal
clear by the grace of the Lord. One who attains this stage is a
liberated soul and can see the Lord in every step of life. This is
the perfection of sambhava, as described in this mantra of Śrī
Īśopaniṣad.

65. Why is the scientists’ program doomed to failure?

In material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of

matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth,
growth, maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration
and finally death. No one in contact with material nature can be
beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one –
whether demigod, man, animal or plant – can survive forever in
the material world.

The duration of life varies according to species. Lord Brahmā,

the chief living being within this material universe, lives for
millions and millions of years, while a minute germ lives for
some hours only. But no one in the material world can survive
eternally. Things are born or created under certain conditions,
they stay for some time, and, if they continue to live, they grow,
procreate, gradually dwindle and finally vanish. According to
these laws, even the Brahmās, of which there are millions in
different universes, are all liable to death either today or
tomorrow. Therefore the entire material universe is called
Martyaloka, the place of death. Hence the scientists’ program is
doomed for failure.

66. Why are material scientists and politicians so anxious to try

to make this place deathless?

Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place

deathless because they have no information of the deathless
spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the Vedic
literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by mature
transcendental experience.

By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization

has created many material things, including spaceships and
atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in which
people need not die, take birth again, become old or suffer from
disease. Whenever an intelligent man raises the question of
these miseries before a so-called scientist, the scientist very
cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that
ultimately it will be possible to render man deathless, ageless
and diseaseless. Such answers prove the scientists’ gross
ignorance of material nature. In material nature, everyone is
under the stringent laws of matter and must pass through six
stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of
by-products, deterioration and finally death. No one in contact
with material nature can be beyond these six laws of
transformation; therefore no one – whether demigod, man,
animal or plant – can survive forever in the material world.

67. People have been taught to concentrate only on temporary relief

work, to “start varieties of public. . . institutions to tackle the devastating
power of nature, but they don’t know how to pacify insurmountable
nature.” And they ignore the real message of Bhagavad-gita. In this regard,
what is the truly effective method for pacifying powerful nature?

Many men are advertised as great scholars of the Bhagavad-

gītā, but they overlook the Gītā’s message, by which material
nature can be pacified. Powerful nature can be pacified only by
the awakening of God consciousness, as clearly pointed out in
the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14).

In this mantra, Śrī Īśopaniṣad teaches that one must perfectly

know both sambhūti (the Personality of Godhead) and vināśa (the
temporary material manifestation), side by side. By knowing the
material manifestation alone, one cannot be saved, for in the
course of nature there is devastation at every moment (ahany
ahani bhūtāni gacchantīha yamā-layam). Nor can one be saved
from these devastations by the opening of hospitals. One can be
saved only by complete knowledge of the eternal life of bliss and
awareness. The whole Vedic scheme is meant to educate men in
this art of attaining eternal life. People are often misguided by
temporary attractive things based on sense gratification, but
service rendered to the sense objects is both misleading and
degrading.

We must therefore save ourselves and our fellow man in the

right way. There is no question of liking or disliking the truth. It
is there. If we want to be saved from repeated birth and death,
we must take to the devotional service of the Lord. There can be
no compromise, for this is a matter of necessity.

68. Write a summary overview of section three, mantra 9 to mantra 14.

Mantras 9-14
9-11 - Compares the cultivation of knowledge and nescience including the difference in their goals
and destinations
12-14 – Compares the worship of the Absolute to worship of the relative including the difference in
their goals and destinations

Mantra 9
The previous three mantras have described the mahä-bhägavata, and his vision of
Kåñëa Mantra 9 discusses two kinds of people who lack knowledge of Kåñëa those who
are simply ignorant and those who are followers of material scholarship, thinking it the endall
of knowledge. Both kinds of people disregard the Lord’s proprietorship and consequently
are degraded into the “darkest regions of ignorance.”
The main points here are-
i) Avidyā, orignorance, is undoubtedly dangerous, but vidyā, or
knowledge, is even more dangerous when mistaken or
misguided.
ii) The karmis, who are the ignorant class, are those who are
engaged in the activities of sense gratification and they are called
mudhas-asses.
iii) The jnanis consist of the veda-vada rata and mayayapahrta
jnana
iv) veda-vada rata - pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic
literature, but unfortunately are not at all interested in the
Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by
such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.
v) The māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men are self-made “Gods.”
Such men think that they themselves are God and that there is no
need of worshiping any other God. 
vi) The ones mentioned in iv and v fall further down into
ignorance than the karmis because they mislead others as well.

Mantra 10
Mantra 9 described the results of cultivating ignorance and false knowledge. Mantra 10
explains that true knowledge brings a different result than either of these. It also
emphasises the need to take guidance from a dhira in the act of discriminating between
real and illusory knowledge.

The main points are-

i) The eighteen items that combine to form a gradual process by
which real knowledge can be developed
ii) faulty type of education and development of culture of
nescience has resulted in various issues like Nationalism, total
lack of values like respect etc for the teachers and elders in the
character of children, focus on creating lethal weapons etc.
iii) vidyā (knowledge) must be acquired from a dhīra. A dhīra is
one who is not disturbed by material illusion.
Mantra 11
The previous two mantras have explained that ignorance and false knowledge bind one
and are in contrast to true knowledge. Mantra 11 describes how one must know the relative
positions of material and spiritual knowledge to transcend the material energy and attain
deathlessness.

i) No one wants to die, or become old or diseased. The law

of nature, however, does not allow anyone immunity
from old age, disease or death. Advancement of material
knowledge can’t solve these issues.
ii) In order to attain a permanent life, one must be prepared
to go back to Godhead.
iii) To achieve this one has to learn from the revealed
scriptures and revive his eternal relationship with the
Lord, which he has forgotten
iv) However, a balanced life of regulated material life along with
actively cultivating spiritual life is required i.e. maintenance of
the body and mind is required if we are to reach our goal
of spiritual perfection.

Mantra 12
Just as verses 9–11 compared knowledge and nescience, and the respective destinations
for the followers of each, verses 12–14 explain the worship of the relative and the Absolute.
Just as cultivation of the wrong knowledge can be binding, so too can improper
 conceptions of the Absolute Truth like demigod worship and impersonal brahman.

i) Definition of the Absolute by negation is not complete.

Such negative definitions lead one to create a concept of
one’s own
ii) Such mental speculators do not know that the Absolute
Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa, that the impersonal
Brahman is the glaring effulgence of His transcendental
body, or that the Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is His all-
pervading plenary representation.
iii) Only unintelligent, bewildered persons driven by a
strong desire for sense gratification worship the
demigods for the temporary relief of temporary
problems.
iv) The ignorant pseudo religionists and the manufacturers
of so-called incarnations who directly violate the Vedic
injunctions are liable to enter into the darkest region of
the universe because they mislead those who follow
them.
v) the path of salvation from the material clutches fully
depends on the principles of knowledge and detachment
gained from serving the Lord. 

Mantra 13
Mantra 12 explained that both worship of the dependent (the demigods) and the Absolute
(impersonal Brahman) can lead to bondage. Mantra 13 explains that one achieves a
different result when his understanding of the absolute is guided by a dhira.

i)  it is verified that one achieves different results by

different modes of worship.
ii) The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths
lead to the same goal and that anyone can attain this goal
 by his own mode of worship of the demigods or of the
Supreme or whatever.
iii) Kṛṣṇa is the creator of everyone, including Brahmā,
Viṣṇu and Śiva. And because these three principal deities
of the material world are created by the Lord, the Lord is
the creator of all that exists in the material and spiritual
worlds.
all Vedic literature confirms that Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa, is
the cause of all causes.
iv) Worship of the mass of humanity by rendering bodily
service, which can never be perfect, is less important
than service to the soul.
v) The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord in this age
of disturbance is to hear and chant about His great
activities.
vi) Any lowborn person can be purified by the guidance of a
pure devotee of the Lord, who is the Spiritual Master

Mantra 14
Mantras 12 and 13 explained that one who conducts worship of the improper object or with
the improper conception will not achieve spiritual emancipation. Mantra 14 states that one
must know the spiritual and material energies properly, in their respective positions, to
achieve liberation.

The main points are-

i) Modern so called advanced civilization has failed to create a situation
in which people need not die, take birth again, become old or
suffer from disease.

ii) Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place
deathless because they have no information of the deathless
spiritual nature.
iii) On the material planets, everyone from Brahmā down to the
ant is trying to lord it over material nature, and this is the
material disease. As long as this material disease continues, the
living entity has to undergo the process of bodily change.
iv) In this mantra, Śrī Īśopaniṣad teaches that one must perfectly
know both sambhūti (the Personality of Godhead) and vināśa (the
temporary material manifestation), side by side.

v) If we want to be saved from repeated birth and death, we

must take to the devotional service of the Lord. There can be no
compromise, for this is a matter of necessity.
 ISOPANISHAD HW Mantra 15

69. How does impersonalism encourage or provide support for

atheism?

i) Impersonalism denies the presence of a Supreme Personality

who is the Supreme Authority or Supreme Lord. Thus this is
very close to the concept of atheism which also denies the
existence of God.

ii) Impersonalism believes that we are all one and the same i.e. we are all
God. This gives the feeling that whatever we are doing is fine since we are
God. It is just an extended form of sense gratification and gives support to
the aeists who are sense gratifiers and who just believe in so called enjoying
in this life.

iii) Impersonalism says that all paths lead to the same destination ultimately.
This lends support to the whimsical acts of the atheist.

iv) Impersonalists say that this world is false, jagat mithya. This gives an
impetus to the atheists to believe that the sense gratification that is done
here doesn’t matter after all.

v) The path of self-realization followed by the impersonalists can be quite

extreme with unrealistically severe austerities. They follow sense control by
denying the basic requirements for the senses. This is a major
discouragement for the people to take it up for long term and as a result
they partake in sense gratification and drift towards atheism.

vi) Impersonalists say that ultimately when they merge into Brahman they
will not have any gross body or senses. So this gives an impetus to many
followers to enjoy as much as they can while they have this body in this life.
Hence they end up in sense gratification same as atheists.
70. Since Lord Krsna never actually leaves Sri Vrndavana-dhama, how
does He manage the affairs of the creation?

This is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā (13.14–18): The Lord

pervades the entire material creation by His plenary part known
as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul. Although the Lord personally
has nothing to do with material creation, maintenance and
destruction, He causes all these things to be done by His plenary
expansion, the Paramātmā. Every living entity is known
as ātmā, soul, and the principal ātmā who controls them all is
Paramātmā, the Supersoul.

The Paramātmā feature of the Personality of Godhead is one of

three plenary expansions, or viṣṇu-tattvas, collectively known as
the puruṣa-avatāras. One of these viṣṇu-tattvas who is within the
universe is known as Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. He is the Viṣṇu
among the three principal deities – Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva – and
He is the all-pervading Paramātmā in each and every individual
living entity. The second viṣṇu-tattva within the universe is
Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, the collective Supersoul of all living
entities. Beyond these two is Kāraṇodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in
the Causal Ocean. He is the creator of all universes.

71. Why, according to this Mantra (& purport), can the jiva never be
considered to be the Supreme Lord?

By this mantra it is clear that Śrīla Vyāsadeva never states that

the Supreme Truth is a jīva, an ordinary living entity. The living
entity should never be considered the all-powerful Supreme
Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would not need to pray to the
Lord to remove His dazzling cover so that the living entity could
see His real face.

72. How does Mantra 15 prove the supremacy of the personal feature of
the Godhead?

The Lord is referred to as Pusan (meaning sustainer of all that lives). In other
words everyone else is dependent on the Lord for his sustenance. This
proves the supremacy of the personal feature of the Lord.

The Lord’s face is covered by the dazzling effulgence. This effulgence is the
Brahman effulgence and this proves that the Lord is the source of the
Brahman which the impersoanlists worship

In the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), the Lord explains His personal rays

(brahma-jyotir), the dazzling effulgence of His personal form, “I
am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal,
imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of
ultimate happiness.” Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are
three aspects of the same Absolute Truth.

ṛṣṇa is the source of the brahma-jyotir as well as the all-

pervading Paramātmā

But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge?
With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this
entire universe.” Thus by His one plenary expansion, the all-
pervading Paramātmā, the Lord maintains the complete material
cosmic creation. He also maintains all manifestations in the
spiritual world. Therefore in this śruti-mantra of Śrī
Īśopaniṣad, the Lord is addressed as pūṣan, the ultimate
maintainer.
 ISOPANISHAD HW Mantra 16

73. According to Srila Jiva Goswami, what is the meaning of the three
syllables of the word bhagavan? How does Srila Prabhupada further explain
the meaning of each of the syllables in his purport?

the first syllable of the word bhagavān (bha) has two meanings:

the first is ‘one who fully maintains,’ and the second is
‘guardian.’ The second syllable (ga) means ‘guide,’ ‘leader’ or
‘creator.’ The syllable vān indicates that every being lives in Him
and that He also lives in every being. In other words, the
transcendental sound bhagavān represents infinite knowledge,
potency, energy, opulence, strength and influence – all without a
tinge of material inebriety.”

The Lord fully maintains His unalloyed devotees, and He guides

them progressively on the path toward devotional perfection. As
the leader of His devotees, He ultimately awards the desired
results of devotional service by giving Himself to them. The
devotees of the Lord see the Lord eye to eye by His causeless
mercy; thus the Lord helps His devotees reach the supermost
spiritual planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Being the creator, He can
bestow all necessary qualifications upon His devotees so that
they can ultimately reach Him. The Lord is the cause of all
causes. In other words, since there is nothing that caused Him,
He is the original cause. Consequently He enjoys His own Self by
manifesting His own internal potency. The external potency is
not exactly manifested by Him, for He expands Himself as
the puruṣas, and it is in these forms that He maintains the
features of the material manifestation. By such expansions, He
creates, maintains and annihilates the cosmic manifestation.

74. In this purport, how are the living entities defined?

The living entities are also differentiated expansions of the

Lord’s Self, and because some of them desire to be lords and
imitate the Supreme Lord, He allows them to enter into the
cosmic creation with the option to fully utilize their propensity to
lord it over nature. Because of the presence of His parts and
parcels, the living entities, the entire phenomenal world is
stirred into action and reaction. Thus the living entities are given
full facilities to lord it over material nature, but the ultimate
controller is the Lord Himself in His plenary feature as
Paramātmā, the Supersoul, who is one of the puruṣas.

Paramātmā is the controller, and the ātmā is the controlled;

therefore they are in different categories.
 ISOPANISHAD HW Mantra 16

75. For each of the nine processes of devotional service, give an example
of a devotee who attained perfection by that process.

 (1) By hearing of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the hero

of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attained the desired result. (2) Just by
glorifying the Lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam, attained his perfection. (3) By praying to the Lord,
Akrūra attained the desired result. (4) By remembering the Lord,
Prahlāda Mahārāja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping
the Lord, Pṛthu Mahārāja attained perfection. (6) By serving the
lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, attained
perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the Lord,
Hanumān attained the desired result. (8) Through his friendship
with the Lord, Arjuna attained the desired result. (9) By
surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahārāja Bali
attained the desired result.

76. How is “sacrifice” defined here? And how can one “learn this art”?

Sacrifice means denying the interest of the senses. One has to

learn this art by employing the senses in the service of the Lord
during one’s lifetime. One can utilize the results of such practice
at the time of death.
 ISOPANISHAD HW Mantra 16

77. Why is the Lord addressed as “powerful as fire”?

The Lord is addressed as fire because He can burn anything into

ashes, including the sins of the surrendered soul.

78. “Human life qualified by brahminical culture presents the only chance
to obtain knowledge of transcendence.” Srila Prabhupada then lists six
aspects of this (brahminical) culture. Name three.

rahminical culture includes truthfulness, sense control,

forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full faith in God.

79. Is birthright a qualification for knowing Krishna?