Text-53-54
SB 6.16.53-54
yatha susuptah puruso
visvam pasyati catmani
atmanam eka-desa-stham
manyate svapna utthitah
evam jagaranadini
jiva-sthanani catmanah
maya-matrani vijñaya
tad-drastaram param smaret
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
When a person is in deep sleep, he dreams and sees in himself many other objects, such as great mountains and rivers or perhaps even the entire universe, although they are far away. Sometimes when one awakens from a dream he sees that he is in a human form, lying in his bed in one place. Then he sees himself, in terms of various conditions, as belonging to a particular nationality, family and so on. All the conditions of deep sleep, dreaming and wakefulness are but energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should always remember the original creator of these conditions, the Supreme Lord, who is unaffected by them.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
None of these conditions of the living entities — namely, deep sleep, dreaming and wakefulness — is substantial. They are simply displays of various phases of conditional life. There may be many mountains, rivers, trees, bees, tigers and snakes that are situated far away, but in a dream one may imagine them to be nearby. Similarly, as one has subtle dreams at night, when the living entity is awake he lives in gross dreams of nation, community, society, possessions, skyscrapers, bank balance, position and honor. Under the circumstances, one should know that his position is due to his contact with the material world. One is situated in different positions in various forms of life that are all but creations of the illusory energy, which works under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the ultimate actor, and the conditioned living entity should simply remember this original actor, Sri Krsna. As living entities, we are being carried away by the waves of prakrti, or nature, which works under the Lord’s direction (mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram). Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings, (miche) mayara vase, yaccha bhese’, khaccha habudubu, bhai: “Why are you being carried away by the waves of the illusory energy in various phases of dreaming and wakefulness? These are all creations of maya.” Our only duty is to remember the supreme director of this illusory energy — Krsna. For us to do this, the sastra advises us, harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam: one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord — Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The Supreme Lord is realized in three different phases, as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan, but Bhagavan is the ultimate realization. One who realizes Bhagavan — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna — is the most perfect mahatma (vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah). In the human form of life, one should understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for then one will understand everything else. Yasmin vijñate sarvam evam vijñatam bhavati (Mundaka Upanisad 1.3). According to this Vedic injunction, simply by understanding Krsna one understands Brahman, Paramatma, prakrti, the illusory energy, the spiritual energy and everything else. Everything will be revealed. Prakrti, the material nature, is working under the direction of the Supreme Lord, and we living entities are being carried away by various phases of prakrti. For self-realization, one should always remember Krsna. As stated in Padma Purana, smartavyah satatam visnuh: we should always remember Lord Visnu. Vismartavyo na jatucit: we should never forget the Lord. This is the perfection of life.