TEXT

anyad evähuù sambhaväd

anyad ähur asambhavät
iti çuçruma dhéräëäà
ye nas tad vicacakñire
SYNONYMS
anyat—different; eva—certainly; ähuù—it is said; sambhavät—by worshiping the Supreme
Lord, the cause of all causes; anyat—different; ähuù—it is said; asambhavät—by worshiping
what is not the Supreme; iti—thus; çuçruma—I heard it; dhéräëäm—from the undisturbed
authorities; ye—who; naù—unto us; tat—about that subject matter; vicacakñire—perfectly
explained.
TRANSLATION
It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes and that
another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from the
undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.
PURPORT

The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities is approved in this mantra. Unless one
hears from a bona fide äcärya, who is never disturbed by the changes of the material world, one
cannot have the real key to transcendental knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has
also heard the çruti-mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his undisturbed äcärya, never presents
anything that is not mentioned in the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gétä (9.25) it is clearly
said that those who worship the pitås, 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 Kåñëa, the supreme cause of all causes, reach Him in
His spiritual sky. Here also in Çré Éçopaniñad it is verified 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.
Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal by doing
anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made "spiritual
masters" who have no connection with the paramparä, the bonafide system of disciplic
succession. 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. Any common man can very easily understand that a person can reach his destination
only when he has purchased a ticket for that destination. A person who has purchased a ticket for
Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not Bombay. But the so-called spiritual masters say that any and
all paths will take one to the supreme goal. Such mundane and compromising offers attract many
foolish creatures, who become puffed up with their manufactured methods of spiritual
realization. The Vedic instructions, however, do not uphold them.

Unless one has received knowledge from the bonafide spiritual master who is in the recognized
line of disciplic succession, one cannot have the real thing as it is. Kåñëa tells Arjuna in the
Bhagavad-gétä (4.2):
evaà paramparä-präptam
imaà räjarñayo viduù
sa käleneha mahatä
yogo nañöaù parantapa
"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the
saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and
therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."
When Lord Çré Kåñëa was present on this earth, the bhakti-yoga principles defined in the
Bhagavad-gétä had become distorted; therefore the Lord had to reestablish the disciplic system
beginning with Arjuna, who was the most confidential friend and devotee of the Lord. The
Lord clearly told Arjuna (Bg. 4.3) that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and friend that
he could understand the principles of the Bhagavad-gétä. In other words, only the Lord's
devotee and friend can understand the Gétä. This also means that only one who follows the
path of Arjuna can understand the Bhagavad-gétä.
At the present moment there are many interpreters and translators of this sublime dialogue
who care nothing for Lord Kåñëa or Arjuna. Such interpreters explain the verses of the
Bhagavad-gétä in their own way and postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the Gétä. Such
interpreters believe neither in Çré Kåñëa nor in His eternal abode. How, then, can they explain
the Bhagavad-gétä?
Kåñëa clearly says that only those who have lost their sense worship the demigods for paltry
rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23). Ultimately He advises that one give up all other ways and modes of
worship and fully surrender unto Him alone (Bg. 18.66). Only those who are cleansed of all
sinful reactions can have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord. Others will continue
hovering on the material platform with their paltry ways of worship and thus will be misled
from the real path under the false impression that all paths lead to the same goal.

In this mantra of Çré Éçopaniñad the word sam-bhavät, "by worship of the supreme cause," is
very significant. Lord Kåñëa is the original Personality of Godhead, and everything that exists
has emanated from Him. In the Bhagavad-gétä (10.8) the Lord says,
ahaà sarvasya prabhavo
mattaù sarvaà pravartate
iti matvä bhajante mäà
budhä bhäva-samanvitäù
"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise
who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts."
Here is a correct description of the Supreme Lord, given by the Lord Himself. The words
sarvasya pra-bhavaù indicate that Kåñëa is the creator of everyone, including Brahmä, Viñëu
and Çiva. 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. In the Atharva
Veda (Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad 1.24) it is similarly said, "He who existed before the creation of
Brahmä and who enlightened Brahmä with Vedic knowledge is Lord Çré Kåñëa." Similarly, the
Näräyaëa Upaniñad (1) states, "Then the Supreme Person, Näräyaëa, desired to create all living
beings. Thus from Näräyaëa, Brahmä was born. Näräyaëa created all the Prajäpatis. Näräyaëa
created Indra. Näräyaëa created the eight Vasus. Näräyaëa created the eleven Rudras. Näräyaëa
created the twelve Ädityas." Since Näräyaëa is a plenary manifestation of Lord Kåñëa, Näräyaëa
and Kåñëa are one and the same. The Näräyaëa Upaniñad (4) also states, "Devaké's son [Kåñëa]
is the Supreme Lord." The identity of Näräyaëa with the supreme cause has also been accepted
and confirmed by Çrépäda Çaìkaräcärya, even though Çaìkara does not belong to the Vaiñëava,
or personalist, cult. The Atharva Veda (Mahä Upaniñad 1) also states, "Only Näräyaëa existed
in the beginning, when neither Brahmä, nor Çiva, nor fire, nor water, nor stars, nor sun, nor
moon existed. The Lord does not remain alone but creates as He desires." Kåñëa Himself states
in the Mokña-dharma, "I created the Prajäpatis and the Rudras. They do not have complete
knowledge of Me because they are covered by My illusory energy." It is also stated in the Varäha
Puräëa: "Näräyaëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him the four-headed
Brahmä was manifested, as well as Rudra, who later became omniscient."
Thus all Vedic literature confirms that Näräyaëa, or Kåñëa, is the cause of all causes. In the
Brahma-saàhitä (5.1) also it is said that the Supreme Lord is Çré Kåñëa, Govinda, the delighter
of every living being and the primeval cause of all causes. The really learned persons know this
from evidence given by the great sages and the Vedas, and thus they decide to worship Lord
Kåñëa as all in all. Such persons are called budha, or really learned, because they worship only
Kåñëa.
The conviction that Kåñëa is all in all is established when one hears the transcendental message
from the undisturbed äcärya with faith and love. One who has no faith in or love for Lord Kåñëa
cannot be convinced of this simple truth. Those who are faithless are described in the
Bhagavad-gétä (9.11) as müòhas—fools or asses. It is said that the müòhas deride the
Personality of Godhead because they do not have complete knowledge from the undisturbed
äcärya. One who is disturbed by the whirlpool of material energy is not qualified to become an
äcärya.
Before hearing the Bhagavad-gétä, Arjuna was disturbed by the material whirlpool, by his
affection for his family, society and community. Thus Arjuna wanted to become a
philanthropic, nonviolent man of the world. But when he became budha by hearing the Vedic
knowledge of the Bhagavad-gétä from the Supreme Person, he changed his decision and became
a worshiper of Lord Çré Kåñëa, who had Himself arranged the Battle of Kurukñetra. Arjuna
worshiped the Lord by fighting with his so-called relatives, and in this way he became a pure
devotee of the Lord. Such accomplishments are possible only when one worships the real Kåñëa
and not some fabricated "Kåñëa" invented by foolish men who are without knowledge of the
intricacies of the science of Kåñëa described in the Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

According to the Vedänta-sütra, sambhüta is the source of birth and sustenance, as well as the
reservoir that remains after annihilation (janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]). The Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, the natural commentary on the Vedänta-sütra by the same author, maintains that
the source of all emanations is not like a dead stone but is abhijïa, or fully conscious. The
primeval Lord, Çré Kåñëa, also says in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.26) that He is fully conscious of
past, present and future and that no one, including demigods such as Çiva and Brahmä, knows
Him fully. Certainly half-educated "spiritual leaders" who are disturbed by the tides of material
existence cannot know Him fully. They try to make some compromise by making the mass of
humanity the object of worship, but they do not know that such worship is only a myth because the
masses are imperfect. The attempt by these so-called spiritual leaders is something like pouring
water on the leaves of a tree instead of the root. The natural process is to pour water on the root, but
such disturbed leaders are more attracted to the leaves than the root. Despite their perpetually
watering the leaves, however, everything dries up for want of nourishment.

Çré Éçopaniñad advises us to pour water on the root, the source of all germination. 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 sambhüta. 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 Çré
Éçopaniñad in this mantra.
The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord in this age of disturbance is to hear and chant
about His great activities. The mental speculators, however, think that the activities of the Lord
are imaginary; therefore they refrain from hearing of them and invent some word jugglery
without any substance to divert the attention of the innocent masses of people. Instead of
hearing of the activities of Lord Kåñëa, such pseudo spiritual masters advertise themselves by
inducing their followers to sing about them. In modern times the number of such pretenders
has increased considerably, and it has become a problem for the pure devotees of the Lord to
save the masses of people from the unholy propaganda of these pretenders and pseudo
incarnations.

The Upaniñads indirectly draw our attention to the primeval Lord, Çré Kåñëa, but the Bhagavad-
gétä, which is the summary of all the Upaniñads, directly points to Çré Kåñëa. Therefore one
should hear about Kåñëa as He is by hearing from the Bhagavad-gétä or Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
and in this way one's mind will gradually be cleansed of all contaminated things. Çrémad-
Bhägavatam (1.2.17) says, "By hearing of the activities of the Lord, the devotee draws the
attention of the Lord. Thus the Lord, being situated in the heart of every living being, helps the
devotee by giving him proper directions." The Bhagavad-gétä (10.10) confirms this: dadämi
buddhi-yogaà taà yena mäm upayänti te.

The Lord's inner direction cleanses the devotee's heart of all contamination produced by the
material modes of passion and ignorance. Nondevotees are under the sway of passion and
ignorance. One who is in passion cannot become detached from material hankering, and one
who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is. Thus when one is in passion
or ignorance, there is no chance for self-realization, however much one may play the part of a
religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance are removed by the grace of the
Lord. In this way the devotee becomes situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect
brähmaëa.Anyone can qualify as a brähmaëa if he follows the path of devotional service under
the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Çrémad-Bhägavatam (2.4.18) also says:
kiräta-hüëändhra-pulinda-pulkaçä
äbhéra-çumbhä yavanäù khasädayaù
ye 'nye ca päpä yad-apäçrayäçrayäù
çudhyanti tasmai prabhaviñëave namaù
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 Çré Éçopaniñad.