Introduction

1. What are the Vedas? Why should we accept them?

The Sanskrit verbal root of veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is finally one.
Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is veda, for the teachings of the Vedas
are the original knowledge.
With all these deficiencies, in conditioned life we cannot give perfect knowledge to anyone.
Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore we accept the Vedas as they are.

2. What are the four defects of a conditioned soul? Give an example for each.
Imperfect senses [example]
Getting illusioned [example]
Committing mistakes [example]
Cheating tendency [example]

3. Why do we consider the Vedic truths axiomatic? Give an example.

Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic truth, for there cannot be any mistake. That is
acceptance. Example: Cow dung being pure.

4. Why are Vedic scriptures known as shrutis?

Vedic knowledge is called çabda-pramäëa. Another name is çruti. Çruti means that this
knowledge has to be received simply by aural reception. The Vedas instruct that 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.

5. What are the three kinds of pramanas, or evidences? Briefly explain each of them.
There are three kinds of evidence: pratyakña, anumänaandçabda.
Pratyakña means "direct evidence."
Anumäna means inductive knowledge: "It may be like this"—hypothesis.
Çabda: Hearing from authority

6. What are the two methods of receiving knowledge? Which method is better, and why?
There are two systems of knowledge in the material world: inductive and deductive.
Inductive means you conduct research and find out if a statement is true or not.
Deductive means accepting knowledge as presented by the right authorities.

7. What are the two qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master?

He is one who has rightly heard the Vedic message from the right source. And he must
practically be firmly established in Brahman.

8. How did Vyasadeva divide the entire Vedic literature?

 [Last paragraph of Ishopanishad Introduction]
Vyasadev first divided the Vedas into four, then wrote Upanishads and Puranas, then histories
like Mahabharata, then Vedanta-sutra, then Çrémad-Bhägavatam.

9. Who are the dvija-bandhus? How did Vyasadeva benefit them?

Dvija-bandhu refers to those who are born in a high family but who are not properly qualified.
A man who is born in the family of a brähmaëa but is not qualified as a brähmaëa is called
dvija-bandhu.

10. What does Vedanta mean?

The end of knowledge.
Invocation and Mantra 1

11. What is the ishavasya principle?

Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the
Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set
aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they
belong.

12. What makes the Supreme Personality of Godhead complete?

He has a form and at the same time He is 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.

13. Why is the material life of sense enjoyment considered misleading and incomplete?
Because we do not know that there is a complete arrangement in nature for our maintenance,
we make efforts to utilize the resources of nature to create a so-called complete life of sense
enjoyment. Because the living entity cannot enjoy the life of the senses without being
dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the misleading life of sense enjoyment is illusion.

14. Explain the terms para prakriti and aparaprakriti.

The elements of nature—earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego—all belong to
the Lord's inferior, material energy (aparäprakåti),whereas the living being, the organic
energy, is His superior energy (paräprakåti). Both of these prakåtis, or energies, are
emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything that exists.

15. Explain why being a vegetarian is not enough.

It is wrong, however, to think that simply by becoming a vegetarian one can avoid
transgressing the laws of nature. 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.
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 enable him to discharge his duty properly.

16. How can the instructions of Ishopanishad help in bringing peace in the world?
The root of sin is deliberate disobedience of 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.
Mantra 2 and 3

17. Define karma, vikarma and akarma. What is work in the isavasyam conception?
Actions that are performed in terms of one's prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed
scriptures, are called karma. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called
akarma. And actions that are performed through the misuse of one's freedom and that direct
one to the lower life forms are called vikarma.
Intelligent men well know that both good and bad work equally bind one to the material
miseries. Consequently they seek that work which will free them from the reactions of both
good and bad work. Such liberating work is described here in the pages of Çré Éçopaniñad.

18. Explain the difference between altruistic work and karma-yoga.

A conditioned soul is accustomed to working for sense gratification—for his own selfish
interest, immediate or extended. 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.
When altruistic activities are executed in the spirit of Çré Éçopaniñad, they become a form of
karma-yoga. Such activities are recommended in the Bhagavad-gétä (18.5-9), for they
guarantee their executor protection from the danger of sliding down into the evolutionary
process of birth and death.

19. Distinguish between suras and asuras.

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. In the Åg Veda it is stated that the suras always aim at the lotus feet of the Supreme
Lord Viñëu and act accordingly. Their ways are as illuminated as the path of the sun.

20. Explain the analogy of human life with a boat.

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 äcäryas, 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.

21. What is the fate of a person who started the process of spiritual life but failed to finish
it?
In the Bhagavad-gétä (6.41-43) it is stated that a man who enters upon the path of self-
realization but does not complete the process, despite having sincerely tried to realize his
relationship with God, is given a chance to appear in a family of çuci or çrémat. The word çuci
indicates a spiritually advanced brähmaëa, and çrémat indicates a vaiçya, a member of the
mercantile community. So the person who fails to achieve self-realization is given a better
chance in his next life due to his sincere efforts in this life. If even a fallen candidate is given a
chance to take birth in a respectable and noble family, one can hardly imagine the status of
one who has achieved success. By simply attempting to realize God, one is guaranteed birth
in a wealthy or aristocratic family.
Mantra 4

22. “The Absolute Truth is situated in one place but is also simultaneously present
everywhere through His energies.” Explain this statement with a scriptural quote or an
example.
Scriptural quote: The Brahma-saàhitä (5.37) . . . 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.
Scriptural example: In the Viñëu Puräëa His potencies are compared to the heat and light that
emanate from a fire. 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.

23. Why does ÇrélaPrabhupäda say that the attempt to establish the identity of the Lord
through mental speculation is going to be futile?
Although the individual parts and parcels of the Lord's marginal potency have all the
symptoms of the Lord Himself, they have limited spheres of activity and are therefore all
limited. The parts and parcels are never equal to the whole; therefore they cannot appreciate
the Lord's full potency. Under the influence of material nature, foolish and ignorant living
beings who are but parts and parcels of the Lord try to conjecture about the Lord's
transcendental position. Çré Éçopaniñad warns of the futility of trying to establish the identity
of the Lord through mental speculation. One should try to learn of the Transcendence from the
Lord Himself, the supreme source of the Vedas, for the Lord alone has full knowledge of the
Transcendence.

24. Describe the three divisions of the Lord’s energies. Give an example for each.
The Lord’s energies can be divided into three principal categories: the internal potency, the
marginal potency and the external potency. . . . The dominating demigods who are
empowered to control and administer such natural phenomena as air, light and rain are all
classified within the marginal potency of the Absolute Person. Lesser living beings, including
humans, also belong to the Lord's marginal potency. The material world is the creation of the
Lord's external potency. And the spiritual sky, where the kingdom of God is situated, is the
manifestation of His internal potency.
Mantra 5

25. How do the members of the Mäyävädaschool and Bhägavata school view the
contradictions mentioned in verse 5 of Ishopanishad?
The contradictions given here prove the inconceivable potencies of the Lord. "He walks, and
He does not walk." Ordinarily, if someone can walk, it is illogical to say he cannot walk. But in
reference to God, such a contradiction simply serves 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, the impersonalist philosophers of the Mäyävädaschool accept only the Lord's
impersonal activities and reject His personal feature. But the members of the
Bhägavataschool, adopting the perfect conception of the Lord, accept His inconceivable
potencies and thus understand that He is both personal and impersonal. The bhägavatas
know that without inconceivable potencies there can be no meaning to the words "Supreme
Lord."

26. What is the difference between an idol and the arcä-vigraha Deity form of the Lord?
Because He is full of inconceivable potencies, God can accept our service through any sort of
medium, and He can convert His different potencies according to His own will. Nonbelievers
argue either that the Lord cannot incarnate Himself at all, or that if He does He descends in a
form of material energy. These arguments are nullified if we accept the existence of the Lord's
inconceivable potencies. Then we will understand that even if the Lord appears before us in
the form of material energy, it is quite possible for Him to convert this energy into spiritual
energy. Since the source of the energies is one and the same, the energies can be utilized
according to the will of their source. For example, the Lord can appear in the form of the arcä-
vigraha, a Deity supposedly made of earth, stone or wood. Deity forms, although engraved
from wood, stone or other matter, are not idols, as the iconoclasts contend.

27. How are the terms saguna and nirguna commonly misunderstood?
The word saguëa does not imply that when the Lord appears with perceivable qualities He
must take on a material form and be subject to the laws of material nature. . . . Nor does the
Lord become a formless entity at any time, for ultimately He is the eternal form, the primeval
Lord.
Mantra 6

28. List the characteristics of kanistha, madhyama, and uttamabhaktas.

 The kaniñöha-adhikäré is in the lowest stage of realization. He 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. Devotees in this stage consider the
Lord to be present at the place of worship and nowhere else. They cannot ascertain
who is in what position in devotional service, nor can they tell who has realized the
Supreme Lord. Such devotees follow the routine formulas and sometimes quarrel
among themselves, considering one type of devotion better than another. These
kaniñöha-adhikärés are actually materialistic devotees who are simply trying to
transcend the material boundary to reach the spiritual plane.
 Madhyama-adhikari devotees observe the distinctions between four categories of
beings: (1) the Supreme Lord, (2) the devotees of the Lord, (3) the innocent, who have
no knowledge of the Lord, and (4) the atheists, who have no faith in the Lord and hate
those in devotional service. The madhyama-adhikäré 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.
 The uttama-adhikäré 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. He knows that there is no essential difference between a vastly learned
brähmaëa and a dog in the street. Such a learned devotee is not misled by material
bodies but is attracted by the spiritual spark within them. Not considering the
respective actions of the brähmaëa and the dog, the uttama-adhikäré tries to do good
to both.

29. Explain the meaning of the term anupashyati.

Anu means "to follow," and paçyati means "to observe." Thus the word anupaçyati means that
one should not see things as he does with the naked eye but should follow the previous
äcäryas. 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.
Mantra 7

30. Explain with an example how we are qualitatively one but quantitatively different from
the Lord.
The individual sparks of the supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost eighty percent of the
known qualities of the whole, but they are not quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These
qualities are present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of
the Supreme Whole. To use another example, the quantity of salt present in a drop of
seawater is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete ocean, but the
salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition to all the salt present in
the ocean.

31. What are the characteristics of a godless civilization?

A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a civilization is lamentation. A
godless civilization, such as that sponsored by the modern politicians, is always full of
anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is the law of nature. As stated in
the Bhagavad-gétä (7.14), none but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord
can surpass the stringent laws of nature.
Mantra 8-9

32. Explain how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unembodied (does not possess a
material body).
The Supreme Lord is not formless. He 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. It is clearly stated here that
He is unembodied, which means that there is no difference between His body and His soul.
Nor is He forced to accept a body according to the laws of nature, as we are. In materially
conditioned life, the soul is different from the gross embodiment and subtle mind. For the
Supreme Lord, however, there is never any such difference between Him and His body and
mind. He is the Complete Whole, and His mind, body and He Himself are all one and the
same.

33. What are the two factors essential for a living entity to fulfill his or her desires?
The Lord has been supplying goods to the living entities from time immemorial. A living being
desires something, and the Lord supplies the object of that desire in proportion to one's
qualification. 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.

34. What are the two types of intelligence?

Living beings under the influence of material nature ask for many other things, and they are
described in the Bhagavad-gétä (2.41) as having divided, or splayed, intelligence. Spiritual
intelligence is one, but mundane intelligence is diverse.

35. Explain how the Lord is antiseptic and prophylactic in nature.

To confirm that the Lord is always pure and uncontaminated, Çré Éçopaniñad describes Him
as çuddham (antiseptic) and apäpa-viddham (prophylactic). He is antiseptic in the sense that
even an impure thing can become purified just by touching Him. The word "prophylactic"
refers to the power of His association. As mentioned in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.30-31), a
devotee may appear to be su-duräcära, not well behaved, in the beginning, but he should be
accepted as pure because he is on the right path. This is due to the prophylactic nature of the
Lord's association.

36. Why does the Ishopanishad condemn those who are vidyaya-rata or veda-vada-rata?
The veda-väda-rata 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 Puräëas, which are authentic Vedic explanations for laymen. The veda-väda-ratas give
their own explanations of the Vedas, neglecting the authority of great teachers (äcäryas).
They also tend to raise some unscrupulous person from among themselves and present him
as the leading exponent of Vedic knowledge. Such veda-väda-ratas are especially
condemned in this mantra by the very appropriate Sanskrit words vidyäyäàratäù. Vidyäyäm
refers to the study of the Vedas because the Vedas are the origin of all knowledge (vidyä),
and ratäù means "those engaged." Vidyäyäàratäù thus means "those engaged in the study of
the Vedas." 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 äcäryas. Such
veda-väda-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.
Mantra 10

37. Mention any five items out of the eighteen items of knowledge. Of the eighteen, which
one is considered the most important?
The most important item is becoming a devotee of Krishna.

38. Briefly explain the term dhira.

A dhira 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
dhira 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.
One can become a dhira only by submissively hearing from a bona fide spiritual master.
Mantra 11

39. What does the story of Hiranyakashipu illustrate?

Hiranyakashipu, the most powerful of materialists, could not become deathless by his various
plans. What, then, can be accomplished by the tiny Hiranyakashipus of today, whose plans
are thwarted from moment to moment?
Sri Ishopanishad instructs us not to make one-sided attempts to win the struggle for existence.
Everyone is struggling hard for existence, but the laws of material nature are so hard and fast
that they do not allow anyone to surpass them. In order to attain a permanent life, one must
be prepared to go back to Godhead.

40. Explain the fever analogy for material advancement.

In his diseased condition, the spirit soul engages in material activities under the material
covering. Real sense enjoyment is possible only when the disease of materialism is removed.
In our pure spiritual form, free from all material contamination, real enjoyment of the senses is
possible. A patient must regain his health before he can truly enjoy sense pleasure again.
Thus the aim of human life should not be to enjoy perverted sense enjoyment but to cure the
material disease. . . . 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. That should be
the aim of human life. The modern trend of material civilization is to increase the temperature
of the feverish material condition, which has reached the point of 107 degrees in the form of
atomic energy.
Mantra 12

41. Why can't the demigods or the great sages understand the Supreme Personality of
Godhead?

na me viduùsura-gaëä
prabhavaànamaharñayaù
ahamädir hi devänäà
maharñéëäà ca sarvaçaù

"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for in every
respect I am the source of the demigods and sages." Thus Kåñëa is the origin of the powers
delegated to demigods, great sages and mystics. Although they are endowed with great
powers, these powers are limited, and thus it is very difficult for them to know how Kåñëa
Himself appears by His own internal potency in the form of a man.
Many philosophers and great åñis, or mystics, try to distinguish the Absolute from the relative
by their tiny brain power. This can only help them reach the negative conception of the
Absolute without realizing any positive trace of the Absolute. 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 Bhagavän,
the Personality of Godhead.

42. What are the problems with demigod worship?

Sri Ishopanishad points out that one who worships the demigods and attains to their material
planets still remains in the darkest region of the universe.

The problems of life cannot be solved simply by going to the moon planet or to some other
planet above or below it. Therefore Sri Ishopanishad advises us not to bother with any
destination within this dark material universe, but to try to get out of it and reach the effulgent
kingdom of God.

43. Which kind of people are the most dangerous elements in society?

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. These impersonalists generally pose themselves as
incarnations of God to foolish persons who have no knowledge of Vedic wisdom. If such
foolish men have any knowledge at all, it is more dangerous in their hands than ignorance
itself. Such impersonalists do not even worship the demigods according to the scriptural
recommendations.

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
äcäryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession.

To mislead the people in general they themselves become so-called äcäryas, but they do not
even follow the principles of the äcäryas.
Mantra 13

44. How can we prove by simple logic that all paths do not lead to the same goal? Quote a
verse from the Gita that proves this point.

A person who has purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not Bombay.

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.

45. Give five scriptural references that prove Krishna is sambhuti, or the Supreme
Persoanlity of Godhead.

The words sarvasyapra-bhavaùindicate 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-täpanéUpaniñad 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 NäräyaëaUpaniñad (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 NäräyaëaUpaniñad (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
ÇrépädaÇaìkaräcärya, even though Çaìkara does not belong to the Vaiñëava, or personalist,
cult. The Atharva Veda (MahäUpaniñad 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
VarähaPuräëa: "Näräyaëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him the four-
headed Brahmä was manifested, as well as Rudra, who later became omniscient." 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.
Mantra 14

46. Explain how advancement of material knowledge has failed to improve the condition of
humanity.

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.

Mantra 15

47. Briefly explain the three vishnu-tattvas.

48. Compare the three types of transcendentalists mentioned in Bhagavad-gétä 6.46 – 47.

Mantra 16

49. Explain with an analogy how the living entities are similar and different from the Supreme
Lord.
50. Of all the qualities of the Lord mentioned in mantra 16, which one is the most significant?
Mantra 15 

1.    Briefly explain the three vishnu‐tattvas.  

Käraëodakaçäyé Viñëu: also known as Maha Visnu; from His body millions of universes come out 

Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu: within each universe there is one Garbhodakaçäyé Viñëu; from His navel Brahma is 
born 

Kñérodakaçäyé Viñëu: He is the Viñëu among the three principal deities—Brahmä, Viñëu and Çiva—and He is 
the all‐pervading Paramätmä in each and every individual living entity. 

  

2.    Compare the three types of transcendentalists mentioned in Bhagavad‐gétä 6.46 – 47. 

Jïänés: the worshipers of the impersonal Brahman 

Yogés: the worshipers of the Paramätmä feature 

Bhaktas: the devotees of Lord Çré Kåñëa 

Jïänés are better than ordinary fruitive workers, the yogés are still greater than the jïänés, and among all 
yogés, those who constantly serve the Lord with all their energies, the bhaktas, are the topmost. 

  

 
Mantra 16 

3.    Explain with an analogy how the living entities are similar and different from the Supreme Lord.  

The sun and its rays are one and the same qualitatively. Similarly, the Lord and the living entities are one and 
the same in quality. The sun is one, but the molecules of the sun's rays are innumerable. Similarly, 
quantitatively the living entities are infinitesimal, but the Lord is infinite. The Lord is the controller and the 
living entities are controlled. 

  

4.    Of all the qualities of the Lord mentioned in mantra 16, which one is the most significant? 

Püñan, maintainer. The Lord maintains all beings, and He specifically maintains His devotees. 
MANTRA 17 

1  What  is  the  wonderful  workmanship  on  material  nature  in  creating  bodies?(  p  124  creates  varieties  of 
bodies for living beings according to their propensity for sense gratification : to eat stool to eat flesh) 

2 In the cycle of evolution what is the highest development of one's spiritual sense? ( p 124/125) 

3 Why does living entity pray to Supreme Lord to remember what he has done? What is devotee's 
advantage in this? ( p 127/128 dying human being can remember activities of his life like dreams at night, therefore mind remains 
surcharged with material desires : devotee even if at the time of death does not remember his service to Lord, the Lord does not forget 
him) 

4 How did different devotees perfect themselves even by practising one of items of navadha bhakti? ( 
p  130  hearing  Parikshit,  KirtanSukdev,  praying  Akrura,  remembering  Prahlad,  worship  Prithu,  serving  Lakhsmi,  personal  service 
Hanuman, friendship Arjuna, surrendering Bali) 

 
MANTRA 18 

1 How is that a devotee is protected in all aspects of life?( p 137  a conditioned soul is often to commit mistakes and 
the only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide 
to avoid such pitfalls)//  Why is there no chance for a devotee to again fall into illusion ?  ( p 137) 

2  Why is Lord addressed as fire?  How can He make anyone pure? ( p 134/136)