Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.1-3
Sarga· CreationSeek Clarity From the Supreme Lord
“Uddhava inquired: My dear Lord, O master of the universe, how many different elements of creation have been enumerated by the great sages? I have heard You personally describe a total of twenty-eight — God, the jīva soul, the mahat-tattva, false ego, the five gross elements, the ten senses, the mind, the five subtle objects of perception and the three modes of nature. But some authorities say that there are twenty-six elements, while others cite twenty-five or else seven, nine, six, four or eleven, and even others say that there are seventeen, sixteen or thirteen. What did each of these sages have in mind when he calculated the creative elements in such different ways? O supreme eternal, kindly explain this to me.”
What the purport teaches
- Vedic knowledge is meant for liberation from material bondage, not for sense gratification. Uddhava asks his questions so that the path of liberation will be clear.
- The different counts of elements are not necessarily contradictory. They can be different methods of categorizing the same reality.
- Lord Kṛṣṇa stands above all elements and maintains them by His personal potency. Because He is eternal and knows past, present and future, He is the original and supreme philosopher.
Try this today
Write down one question you have about matter and the spirit soul, and reread Kṛṣṇa’s explanation with that question in mind.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking knowledge mainly for material enjoyment, or for freedom from material bondage?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.