Living entities are minute spiritual particles within Krishna's brahma-jyoti, eternally real yet temporarily bewildered.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.26.3 — December 15, 1974, Bombay 741215SB-BOMBAY [39:55 Minutes] SB-03.26.03_741215SB-BOMBAY Devotee: [leads chanting] [devotees repeat] anādir ātmā puruṣo nirguṇaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ pratyag-dhāmā svayaṁ-jyotir viśvaṁ yena samanvitam [SB 3.26.3] Nitai: [break] [leads chanting of synonyms] [01:33] "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Soul, and He has no beginning. He is transcendental to the material modes of nature and beyond the existence of this material world. He is perceivable everywhere because He is self-effulgent, and by His self-effulgent luster the entire creation is maintained." Prabhupāda: anādir ātmā puruṣo nirguṇaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ pratyag-dhāmā svayaṁ-jyotir viśvaṁ yena samanvitam [SB 3.26.3] In the previous verse we had already discussed, jñānaṁ puruṣasya ātma-darśanam [SB 3.26.2]. Puruṣasya...
The living entity is also called puruṣa, and the Supreme Lord is also called puruṣa. So real puruṣa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We are not puruṣa; we are prakṛti, living entities. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām [Bg. 7.5].
After explaining this jaḍa-prakṛti, or the dull matter... That is called jaḍa-prakṛti—bhūmi, earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego. These are all jaḍa-prakṛti, material. Sometimes it is misunderstood, "Mind is spiritual." No, mind is material.
Intelligence, that is also material. And this false ego with designation, that is, "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya," so many designations, "I am cat," "I am dog," "I am human being," this is also material conception. I am neither dog, neither cat, neither demigod nor human being. I am ātmā.
Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. So there are two kinds of puruṣa: one puruṣa in the material world, as we are. We are artificially claiming to be puruṣa. Puruṣa means enjoyer. The karmīs, they are trying to enjoy this material world.
They are working day and night very hard to enjoy. That is..., means puruṣābhimāna. Actually, we are not puruṣa. We are prakṛti, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā that "Above this material prakṛti—earth, water, air, fire—there is another prakṛti," Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "which is parā-prakṛti." And what is that?
Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat [Bg. 7.5]. Jīva-bhūta, that living entity, that is superior prakṛti. This is inferior prakṛti, matter, and jīva is superior prakṛti. But the jīva, under false ego, he is trying to enjoy this material prakṛti.