God Is Lord Kapiladeva - The Propounder of Sāṅkhya Philosophy
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Kapiladeva is an authorized incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He appeared as the divine son of Kardama Muni and Devahūti to teach the original, theistic sāṅkhya philosophy, which is the ultimate science of pure devotional service.
The Incarnation of Godhead
Vedic history records the appearance of many divine forms. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that Lord Kapiladeva is a direct plenary expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa who purposefully descended into the family of a great yogī to reestablish forgotten spiritual truths.
- Kapila Muni is accepted as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.
- Kapila Muni is the direct expansion of Krsna, who is the sun of spiritual knowledge.
- There are innumerable forms of God - Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, Krsna, Kapiladeva, Balarama and so on. Sometimes foolish people ask, - You are worshiping Krsna. Why don't you worship Rama.
- The Lord then appeared as the Kapila incarnation, being the son of the prajapati brahmana Kardama and his wife, Devahuti, along with nine other women (sisters).
The True Sāṅkhya Philosophy
The analytical study of material elements is not meant for dry speculation. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the real sāṅkhya philosophy taught by Lord Kapiladeva is synonymous with bhakti-yoga, guiding the soul to complete detachment from matter and attachment to the Supreme Lord.
- The real Sankhya philosophy, propounded by Kapiladeva, is transcendental to the twenty-four elements and material activity. Thus in this Sankhya philosophy, which is actually bhakti-yoga, there is no desire for material benefits.
- My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sankhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires.
- The purpose of Kapiladeva's Sankhya philosophy is to propagate pure, uncontaminated devotional service, and therefore He is addressed as the most important personality amongst those who know the transcendental occupation of the living entity.
- If anyone wants to understand Krsna and wants relationship with Krsna, then one must take to this process of bhakti-yoga. That is sankhya-yoga. That will be explained by Kapiladeva. Bhakti-yoga means sankhya-yoga.
Distinguishing the Two Kapilas
A great philosophical misconception exists in the academic world regarding Sāṅkhya. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that there was a later, atheistic philosopher who adopted the name Kapila and taught a voidist system, but he must never be confused with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- There are actually two Kapilas: one Kapila, the son of Kardama Muni, is an incarnation of God, and the other is an atheist of the modern age. The atheistic Kapila is often misrepresented to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Later, another Kapiladeva appeared who expounded atheistic Sankhya philosophy, which dealt with the twenty-four elements but gave no information about God. The original Kapila is called the Devahuti-putra Kapila, and the other is called the atheist Kapila.
- Sankhya philosophy is the philosophical system enunciated by Kapila, the son of Devahuti. The other Kapila, who is not the son of Devahuti, is an imitation. This is the statement of Brahma.
- The philosophy propounded by the atheist Kapila is an analysis of the material elements and is very much appreciated by Western philosophers. The sankhya-yoga explained by Lord Kapiladeva, the son of Devahuti, is practically unknown in the West.
Devahūti Accepts Her Son as Guru
To transcend material existence, one must be willing to learn from the proper authority. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that Devahūti perfectly demonstrated this principle; recognizing her son's divine identity, she submissively accepted Him as her guru.
- Although Kapiladeva is her son, Devahuti does not hesitate to take instructions from Him. She does not say, "Oh, He is my son. What can He tell me? I am His mother, and I shall instruct Him." Instruction has to be taken from one who is in knowledge.
- She (Devahuti) said, - My dear Kapila, You have come as my son, but You are my guru because You can inform me how I can cross the ocean of nescience, which is the material world.
- Devahuti has submissively accepted her son as her guru. She wants to understand Krsna perfectly, by the grace of Kapiladeva.
- If we want to approach God, we have to take shelter of the guru in the beginning. Devahuti is begging the mercy of Kapiladeva in order to understand the way to approach Krsna.
The Lord Instructs His Mother
When a sincere disciple approaches with submission, the Supreme Lord becomes greatly pleased. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Kapila gladly imparted the complete science of devotional service to Devahūti, cutting away her material attachments.
- Everyone should know what is Bhagavan and take lessons from Bhagavan. Lord Kapila is Bhagavan, and He personally instructed His mother in Sankhya philosophy.
- For the propagation of this transcendental knowledge, Kapiladeva, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, gave instructions in Sankhya philosophy to His mother, Devahuti.
- Kapiladeva became very happy by seeing His mother so eager to understand about the spiritual subject matter. Therefore, thanked her, "O My dear mother, thank you very much. You are so interested in the subject matter." Because people are not interested.
- On the bank of the Bindu-sarovara Lake, Kapiladeva personally expounded Sankhya philosophy to His mother, Devahuti, just as Krsna personally expounded the knowledge of Bhagavad-gita to His friend Arjuna.
The Ultimate Authority
Because Lord Kapila is the Absolute Truth Himself, His words are flawless. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that Kapiladeva is accepted throughout the Vedic texts as a mahājana, one of the twelve supreme authorities on the principles of religion.
- Mahajana means authority. There are twelve authorities according to Vedic sastra. One of them is this Kapila.
- Twelve personalities - Brahma, Narada, Lord Siva, Kumara, Kapila, Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Bhisma, Bali, Sukadeva Gosvami and Yamaraja - are agents of the Lord authorized to speak and propagate the principles of religion.
- Concerning Kapiladeva, Saunaka Rsi says, kapilas tattva-sankhyata. Kapila is the Supreme Person; therefore He can explain the Absolute Truth. Actually only Bhagavan can know the true position of the ultimate truth. No one else can know it.
- It is noteworthy that Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam never states that krsna uvaca ("Krsna says") or kapiladeva uvaca ("Kapiladeva says"). Rather, it states bhagavan uvaca ("the Supreme Personality of Godhead says"). This means that the version is perfect.
Conclusion
To properly understand the entanglement of the material energy and how to escape it, one must hear from the highest spiritual authority. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that Lord Kapiladeva, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, descended solely to illuminate the path of self-realization through His original sāṅkhya philosophy. By following the humble example of Devahūti and submissively accepting the instructions of Lord Kapila, any sincere soul can transcend material existence and attain the supreme perfection of pure devotional service.
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