138 THE PATH OF PERFECTION The Path of Perfection 139
universe and which survives all the heavenly planets in the upper when day appears, gradually the waters disappear. For instance, on
strata of the planetary system, but in due course Brahma and all this one planet, the surface is three-fourths covered with water.
inhabitants of Brahmaloka are subject to death, according to the Gradually, land is emerging, and the day will come when there
law of material nature. So even if we live millions and trillions of will no longer be water but simply land. That is nature’s process.
years, we have to die. Death cannot be avoided. Throughout the
entire universe the process of creation and annihilation is taking paras tasmat tu bhavo ‘nyo
place, as described in the next verse: ’vyakto ’vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarvesu bhitesu
avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah nasyatsu na vinasyati
prabhavanty ahar-agame
ratry-agame praliyante ‘*Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcenden-
tatraivavyakta-samjnake tal to this manifested and nonmanifested matter. It is supreme and
. is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that
‘*When Brahma’s day is manifest, this multitude of living entities part remains as it is.’ (Bg. 8.20)
comes into being, and at the arrival of Brahma’s night they are all We cannot calculate the length and breadth of this universe.
annihilated.’ (Bg. 8.18) There are millions and millions of universes like this within this
Unless we go to the spiritual sky, there is no escaping this pro- material world, and above this material world is the spiritual sky,
cess of birth and death, creation and annihilation. When Brahma’s where the planets are all eternal. Life on those planets is also eter-
days are finished, all these planetary systems are covered by water, nal. This material manifestation comprises only one fourth of the
and when Brahmi rises again, creation takes place. The word ahar entire creation. Ekamsena sthito jagat. Ekadmsena means ‘‘one
means ‘‘in the daytime,” which is twelve hours of Brahma’s life. fourth.”’ Three fourths of the creation is beyond this material sky,
During this time this material manifestation—all these planets— which is covered like a ball. This covering extends millions and
are seen, but when night comes they are all merged in water. That millions of miles, and only after penetrating that covering can one
is, they are annihilated. The word rdtry-agame means ‘‘at the fall enter the spiritual sky. That is open sky, eternal sky. In this verse
of night.’’ During this time, all these planets are invisible because it is stated, paras tasmat tu bhdvo ’nyah: ‘‘Yet there is another
they are inundated with water. This flux is the nature of the ma- nature.” The-word bhdva means another ‘‘nature.’” We have ex-
terial world. perience only with this material nature, but from Bhagavad-gita
we understand that there is a spiritual nature that is transcendental
bhita-gramah sa evayam and eternal. We actually belong to that spiritual nature, because
bhiutva bhitva praliyate we are spirit, but presently we are covered by this material body,
ratry-agame ’vasah partha . and therefore we are a combination of the material and spiritual.
prabhavaty ahar-agame Just as we can understand that we are a combination of both
natures, we should understand also that there is a spiritual world
** Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; beyond this material universe. Spiritual nature is called superior,
and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly and material nature is called inferior, because without spirit, mat-
dissolved.”? (Bg. 8.19) Although we do not want devastation, ter cannot move.
devastation is inevitable. At night, everything is flooded, and This cannot be understood by experimental knowledge. We
