Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.4.15-19
Nirodha· Winding upMaterial Elements Return to Unmanifest Nature
“The element fire then seizes the taste from the element water, which, deprived of its unique quality, taste, merges into fire. Air seizes the form inherent in fire, and then fire, deprived of form, merges into air. The element ether seizes the quality of air, namely touch, and that air enters into ether. Then, O King, false ego in ignorance seizes sound, the quality of ether, after which ether merges into false ego. False ego in the mode of passion takes hold of the senses, and false ego in the mode of goodness absorbs the demigods. Then the total mahat-tattva seizes false ego along with its various functions, and that mahat is seized by the three basic modes of nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. My dear King Parīkṣit, these modes are further overtaken by the original unmanifest form of nature, impelled by time. That unmanifest nature is not subject to the six kinds of transformation caused by the influence of time. Rather, it has no beginning and no end. It is the unmanifest, eternal and infallible cause of creation.”
What the purport teaches
- Water loses taste and merges into fire; fire loses form and merges into air. Air loses touch and enters ether, and ether loses sound and merges into false ego in ignorance.
- False ego in passion absorbs the senses, while false ego in goodness absorbs the demigods. The mahat-tattva absorbs false ego and its functions, and is itself absorbed by the three modes of nature.
- Impelled by time, the modes are overtaken by original unmanifest nature. This beginningless and endless cause of creation is not subject to the six transformations caused by time.
Try this today
Trace the sequence from water to unmanifest nature on a small piece of paper.
Ask yourself
What does this sequence show me about the dependence of each manifested element?
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.