266 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 7
desatah kdlato yo ’ sav
avasthatah svato ’nyatah
aviluptavabodhatma
sa yujyetajaya katham
desatah—circumstantial; kalatah—by the influence of time; yah—one -
who; asau—the living entity; avasthatah—by situation; svatah—by dream;
anyatah—by others; avilupta—extinct; avabodha—consciousness; atma—
pure self; sah—he; yujyeta—engaged; ajaya—with nescience; katham—how
is it so.
TRANSLATION
The pure soul is pure consciousness and is never out of consciousness,
either due to circumstances, time, situations, dreams or other causes. How
then does he become engaged in nescience?
PURPORT
The consciousness of the living being is always present and never changes
under any circumstances, as above mentioned. When a living man moves
from one place to another, he is conscious that he has changed his position.
He is always present in the past, present and future, like electricity. One
can remember incidents from his past and can conjecture about his future
also on the basis of past experience. He never forgets his personal identity,
even though he is placed in awkward circumstances. How then can the
living entity become forgetful of his real identity as pure spirit soul and
identify with matter unless influenced by something beyond himself? The
conclusion is that the living entity is influenced by the avidyd potency, as
confirmed in both the Visnu Purana and the beginning of Srimad-
Bhagavatam. The living entity is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita as para-
prakrti (Bg. 7.5), and in the Visnu Purana he is mentioned as the para-sak ti.
He is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord as potency and not as the
potent. The potent can exhibit many potencies, but the potency cannot
equal the potent at any stage. One potency may be overcome by another
potency, but to the potent, all potencies are under control. The jiva
potency or the ksetrajiia-sakti of the Lord has the tendency to be
overpowered by the external potency, avidyad karma-samjiia, and in this
way he is placed in the awkward circumstances of material existence. The
living entity cannot be forgetful of his real identity unless influenced by the
avidya potency. Because the living entity is prone to the influence of the
avidya potency, he can never equal the supreme potent.
