Hare Krishna to all
Pranams
Glories to Srila Prabhupada
Recently I have been studying Jaiva-Dharma written by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur – this is a most excellent book on the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. Below I have copied a couple paragraphs from this book which nicely explain the tiny souls position as “marginal energy” of God.
Hari bol
Damaghosa das
The following is a short excerpt from Jaiva Dharma, a book written by Srila Bhaktivindode Thakur.
He gives a very nice water example to explain the constitutional position of the Jivatma – the soul and how it is the marginal energy of God. Included is my photo to visually explain this concept.
The following is a conversation between the great Vaishnava Raghunatha dasa Babaji and his new disciple, Vrajanatha.
Raghunatha das Babaji – “The borderline between water and land is called tata. Yet the water is contiguous to the land – where then is the tata, the margin? The tata is merely the demarcation that separates the water from land. This tata is a very subtle state – it cannot be perceived through mundane vision.
From this allegory, we take the water as the spiritual world and the land as the material world, thus the fine line that divides the two worlds is the tata, the subtle demarcation exactly whereupon the jiva soul is located.
“The countless atomic particles that float in the rays of the sun give an inkling of the real position of the jiva.
In one direction, the jiva sees the spiritual universe, and in the other, he sees the phenomenal world, created by Lord Brahma, the world of maya. The cit sakti of the Supreme Lord is unlimited, and the maya sakti is enormous. Positioned exactly between the two are the innumerable jivas. They are the products of Sri Krishna’s tatastha-sakti, and hence by nature the jiva is marginal.
Vrajanatha -“What is the tatastha-svabhava, marginal nature?
Raghunatha das Babaji – The jiva is situated in the middle with access to both worlds and he is constitutionally susceptible to come under the control of either of the saktis. This condition is symptomatic of the tatastha-svabhava. When the movement of river water shifts the bank of a river, this seizes the land and converts it into riverbed.
Alternatively, silt may deposit into embankments, which then gradually become land. Similarly, if the jiva looks towards Sri Krishna, his faith in Krishna increases, and he develops a stronger foothold in the spiritual realm. However, if he looks at maya and turns his back to Sri Krishna, he thereby becomes enmeshed in the network of maya. This choice is the natural characteristic of the tatastha-svabha.
Vrajanath – Is the maya-shakti in some way present in the constitutional structure of the jiva?
Raghunatha das Babaji – No the jiva is a product of spiritual nature. However, because he is infinitesimal in size, he lacks sufficient spiritual strength. Therefore he is vulnerable and can be easily defeated by maya, although maya is actually totally absent in the constitution of the jiva.”
Above is the secluded river where I swim , chant and meditate upon the words of the Acaryas.
In this picture , the dividing line between water and land is portrayed as the concept of the jivatma, the tiny soul, as the “marginal energy” of God.
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