Deliverance of Lord Siva 307

Siva are able to obtain many material acquisitions, we should know that
they are simply collecting products manufactured by the three qualities.
The three qualities are again subdivided into sixteen, namely the ten senses
(five working senses and the five knowledge-acquiring senses), the mind,
and the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and sky). These sixteen items
are further extensions of the three qualities. Material happiness or opu-
lence means gratification of the senses, specifically the genitals, the tongue
and the mind. By exercising our minds we create many pleasurable things
just for enjoyment by the genitals and the tongue. The opulence of a
person within this material world is estimated in terms of his exercise of
the genitals and the tongue, or in other words, how well he is able to
utilize his sexual capacities and how well he is able to satisfy his fastidious
taste by eating palatable dishes. Material advancement of civilization
necessitates creating objects of enjoyment by mental concoction just to
become happy on the basis of these two principles: pleasures for the
genitals and pleasures for the tongue. Herein lies the answer to King
Pariksit’s question to Sukadeva Gosvami as to why the worshipers of Lord
Siva are so opulent.

The devotees of Lord Siva are only opulent in terms of the material
qualities. Factually, such so-called advancement of civilization is the cause
of entanglement in material existence. It is actually not advancement, but
degradation. The conclusion is that because Lord Siva is the master of the
three qualities, his devotees are given things manufactured by the inter-
action of these qualities for satisfaction of the senses. In the Bhagavad-gita,
however, we get instruction from Lord Krsna that one has to transcend the
qualitative existence. Nistraigunyo bhavarjuna: the mission of human life
is to become transcendental to the three qualities. Unless one is nistraigunya,
he cannot get free from material entanglement. In other words, favors
received from Lord Siva are not actually beneficial to the conditioned
souls, although apparently such facilities seem to be opulent.

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Hari is transcendental to the three qualities of material nature.” It is
stated in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who surrenders unto Him surpasses
the control of the three qualities of material nature. Therefore, since
Hari’s devotees are transcendental to the control of the three material
qualities, certainly He Himself is transcendental. It is stated, therefore, in
the Srimad-Bhagavatam that Hari, or Krsna, is the original Supreme
Personality. There are two kinds of prakrtis, or potencies, namely the
internal potency and the external potency, and Krsna is the overlord of
both these prakrtis or potencies. He is sarva-drk, or the overseer of all the
