Vrajanatha: If one can only prove the eternal difference between Isvara and the jiva, how can one accept the oneness? Another point is that, if there is oneness, do we have to accept a state of merging with Isvara (nirvana)?<o:p></o:p>
Babaji: No, not at all. The jiva is not one with Krsna at any stage.<o:p></o:p>
Vrajanatha: Then why have you spoken about acintya-bhedabheda (inconceivable oneness and difference)?<o:p></o:p>
Babaji: From the qualitative perspective of cid-dharma, there is oneness between Krsna and the jivas, but from the quantitative perspective of their essential nature and individual personalities (svarupa), there is eternal difference between them. Despite the eternal oneness, it is the perception of difference that is eternally prominent. Though the abheda-svarupa is an accomplished fact, there is no indication that any such state has independent existence. Rather, it is the manifestation of nitya-bheda (eternal difference) that is always prominent. In other words, where eternal difference and eternal oneness are present simultaneously, the perception of bheda is stronger. For example, let us say the owner of a house is called Devadatta, his house is simultaneously a-devadatta (independent of Devadatta) and sa-devadatta (identified with Devadatta). Even though from some points of view it may be considered independent of Devadatta, still its specific characteristic of being identified with Devadatta eternally exists. Similarly, in the case of Isvara and the jivas, non-difference, or oneness, is not part of the essential identity, even at the stage of svarupa-siddhi, just as the house can be called both a-devadatta and sa-devadatta.From one perspective it may be viewed as a-devadatta, but still, the real identity is sa-devadatta.<o:p></o:p>
Let me give you another example from the material world. Sky is a material element, and there is also a basis for its existence, but even though the basis is present, only the sky is actually visible. Similarly, even within the abheda existence, the distinctive nityabheda, which is real, is found, and that is why nitya-bheda is the only definitive characteristic of the essential reality (vastu). <o:p></o:p>
Vrajanatha: Please explain the eternal nature of the jiva even more clearly.<o:p></o:p>
Babaji: The jiva is atomic consciousness and is endowed with the quality of knowledge and is described by the word aham (‘I’). Heis the enjoyer, the thinker, and the one who comprehends. The jiva has an eternal form which is very subtle. Just as the different parts of the gross body, the hands, legs, nose, eyes and so on combine to manifest a beautiful form when established in their respective places, similarly a very beautiful atomic spiritual body is manifest, which is composed of different spiritual parts. However, when the jiva is entangled in maya, that spiritual form is covered by two material bodies. One of these is called the subtle body (linga-sarira) and the other is called the gross body (sthulasarira). The subtle body, which is the first to cover the atomic spiritual body, is unavoidable (apariharya) from the beginning of the jiva’s conditioned state until his liberation. When the jiva transmigrates from one body to the next, the gross body changes, but the subtle body does not. Rather, as the jiva leaves the gross body, the subtle body carries all its karmas and desires to the next body. The jiva’s change of body and transmigration are carried out through the science of pancagni (the five fires) which is delineated in the Vedas. The system of pancagni, such as the funeral fire, the fire of digestion and rain, has been described in the Chandogya Upanisad and Brahma-sutra. The jiva’s conditioned nature in the new body is the result of the influences from his previous births, and this nature determines the varna in which he takes birth. After entering varnasrama, he begins to perform karma again, and when he dies, he repeats the same process. The first covering of the eternal spiritual form is the subtle body, and the second is the gross body.<o:p></o:p>
Vrajanatha: What is the difference between the eternal spiritual body and the subtle body?<o:p></o:p>
Babaji: The eternal body is the actual, original body, and it is atomic, spiritual, and faultless. This is the real object of the ego – the real ‘I’. The subtle body arises from contact with matter, and it consists of three vitiated transformations, namely, of the mind, intelligence and ego.<o:p></o:p>
Vrajanatha: Are mind, intelligence, and ego material entities? If they are, how do they have the qualities of knowledge and activity?<o:p></o:p>
Babaji:<o:p></o:p>
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My separated eight-fold apara or maya-prakrti consists of the five gross elements – earth, water, fire, air and space – and the three subtle elements – mind, intelligence and false ego. Besides this, O mighty-armed Arjuna, I have a tatastha-prakrti, which can also be called para-prakrti (superior nature). That prakrti is in the form of consciousness, and the jivas. All the jivas who have manifested from this para-prakrti make the inert world full of consciousness. The jiva-sakti is called tatastha because it is eligible for both worlds; the spiritual world, which is manifest from My antaranga-sakti; and the material world, which is manifest from My bahriranga-sakti. <o:p></o:p>
Since all created entities are manifested from these two types of prakrti, you should know that I, Bhagavan, am the sole original cause of creation and destruction of all the worlds of the moving and non-moving beings.<o:p></o:p>
These slokas of Gita Upanisad describe the two types of prakrti of sarva-saktiman Bhagavan. One is called para-prakrti (the superior energy) and the other is called apara-prakrti (the inferior energy). They are also known as jiva-sakti and maya-sakti respectively. The jiva-sakti is called para-sakti, or srestha-sakti (the superior sakti), because it is full of spiritual atomic particles. The maya-sakti is called apara (inferior) because it is material and inert (jada).<o:p></o:p>
The jiva is a completely separate entity from the apara-sakti, which contains eight elements: the five gross elements – earth, water, fire, air, and space – and the three subtle elements mind, intelligence and ego. These last three material elements are special. The aspect of knowledge that is visible in them is material, and not spiritual. The mind creates a false world by basing its knowledge of sensual objects on the images and influences that it absorbs from gross subjects in the mundane realm. This process has its root in mundane matter, not in spirit. The faculty that relies on that knowledge to discriminate between real and unreal is called buddhi, which also has its root in mundane matter. The ego, or sense of ‘I-ness’ that is produced by accepting the above knowledge is also material, and not spiritual.<o:p></o:p>
These three faculties together manifest the jiva’s second form, which acts as the connection between the jiva and matter, and is called ‘the subtle body’ (linga-sarira). As the ego of the conditioned jiva’s subtle body becomes stronger, it covers the ego of his eternal form. The ego in the eternal nature in relationship to the spiritual sun, Krsna, is the eternal and pure ego, and this same ego manifests again in the liberated state. However, as long as the eternal body remains covered by the subtle body, the material self-conception (jada-abhimana) arising from the gross and subtle body remains strong, and consequently the abhimana of relation with spirit is almost absent. The linga-sarira is very fine, so that the function of the gross body covers it. Thus, identification with the caste and so on of the gross body arises in the subtle body because it is covered by the gross body. Although the three elements –mind, intelligence and ego – are material, the abhimana of knowledge is inherent in them because they are vitiated transformations of the function of the soul (atma-vrtti).<o:p></o:p>
Vrajanatha: I understand the eternal svarupa of the jiva to be spiritual and atomic in nature, and within that svarupa is a beautiful body composed of spiritual limbs. In the conditioned state, thatbeautiful spiritual body remains covered by the subtle body, and the material covering of the jiva-svarupa in the form of the jadasarira causes its material transformation (jada-vikara). Now, I want to know whether the jiva is completely faultless in the liberated state.<o:p></o:p>
Babaji: The atomic spiritual form is free from defect, but because of its minute nature, it is inherently weak and therefore incomplete. The only defect in that state is that the jiva’s spiritual form may be covered through association with the powerful maya-sakti.<o:p></o:p>
It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.32),<o:p></o:p>
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O lotus-eyed Lord, non-devotees, such as the jnanis, yogis and renunciants, falsely consider themselves to be liberated, but their intelligence is not really pure because they lack devotion. They perform severe austerities and penances, and achieve what they imagine to be the liberated position, but they still fall from there into a very low condition due to neglecting Your lotus feet.<o:p></o:p>
This shows that the constitution of the jiva will always remain incomplete, no matter how elevated a stage the liberated jiva may achieve. That is the inherent nature of jiva-tattva, and that is why it is said in the Vedas that Isvara is the controller of maya, whereas the jiva remains eligable to be controlled of maya in all circumstances.<o:p></o:p>
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THUS ENDS THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF JAIVA-DHARMA,<o:p></o:p>

“PRAMEYA: JIVA-TATTVA”