998
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 23]
soul gets the facility to lord it over material nature in various types of bodies, which are known as  yantra , or the moving vehicle offered by the total material energy,  māyā . Although the individual living entity ( jīva ) and the Lord are both situated within the material energy, the Lord is directing the movements of the  jīva  soul by offering him different types of bodies through the material energy, and thus the living entity is wandering throughout the universes in various forms of body and becomes implicated in different situations, partaking of the reactions of fruitive activities.
When Pṛthu Mahārāja became spiritually powerful by the enhancement of his spiritual knowledge,  jñāna  and renunciation of material desires, he became a  prabhu , or master of his senses (sometimes called  gosvāmī  or  svāmī ). This means that he was no longer controlled by the influence of material energy. When one is strong enough to give up the influence of material energy, he is called  prabhu . In this verse the word  svarūpasthaḥ  is also very significant. The real identity of the individual soul lies in understanding or attaining the knowledge that he is eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa. This understanding is called  svarūpopalabdhi . By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one's pure spiritual position is called  svarūpopalabdhi , and when one attains that stage he can understand how he is related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a servant or friend, or as a parent or conjugal lover. This stage of understanding is called  svarūpasthaḥ . Pṛthu Mahārāja realized this  svarūpa  completely, and it will be clear in the later chapters that he personally left this world, or this body, by riding on a chariot sent from Vaikuṇṭha.
In this verse the word  prabhu  is also significant. As stated before, when one is completely self-realized and acts according to that position, he can be called  prabhu . The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupāda" because he is a completely self-realized soul. The word  pāda  means "position," and Prabhupāda indicates that he is given the position of  prabhu , or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for he acts on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is a  prabhu , or controller of the senses, he cannot act as spiritual master. He is authorized by the Supreme Prabhu, or Lord Kṛṣṇa. In his verses praising the spiritual master, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura writes:
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
"The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he