Thus the ancient saints who travel in the upper heavens distilled this nectarean and confidential essence of all the Vedas and Purāṇas.

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TRANSLATION

Śrī Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, how can the Vedas directly describe the Supreme Absolute Truth, who cannot be described in words? The Vedas are limited to describing the qualities of material nature, but the Supreme is devoid of these qualities, being transcendental to all material manifestations and their causes.

COMMENTARY

All glories to Śrī Govinda! In this chapter the superiority of Kṛṣṇa’s form over all others is indicated by the Vedas personified. Nārada hears this from Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and then explains it to his disciple, Śrīla Vyāsadeva.

Let me offer the following invocation:        

mama ratna-vaṇig-bhāvaṁ ratnāny aparicinvataḥ |
hasantu santo jihremi na sva-svānta-vinoda-kṛt ||

“The saintly devotees may laugh at me for becoming a jewel merchant though I know nothing about precious jewels. But I feel no shame, for at least I may entertain them.”

na me ’sti vaiduṣy api nāpi bhaktir virakti-raktir na tathāpi laulyāt
su-durgamād eva bhavāmi veda-stuty-artha-cintāmaṇi-rāśi-gṛdhnuḥ

“Though I have no wisdom, devotion or detachment from material energy, I am still greedy to take the touchstone of the Vedas’ prayers from the fortress in which it is being kept.”

māṁ nīcatāyām aviveka-vāyuḥ

pravartate pātayituṁ balāc cet

likhāmy ataḥ svāmī-sanātana-śrī-

kṛṣṇāṅghri-bhā-stambha-kṛtāvalambaḥ

“If the wind of indiscretion—my failure to acknowledge my lowly position—threatens to knock me down, then while writing this commentary I must hold on to the effulgent pillars of the feet of Śrīdhara Svāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”

praṇamya śrī-guruṁ bhūyaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇaṁ karuṇārṇavam |
loka-nāthaṁ jagac-cakṣuḥ śrī-śukaṁ tam upāśraye ||

“Repeatedly bowing down to my divine spiritual master and to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of mercy, I take shelter of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the protector of the world and its universal eye.”

At the end of the preceding chapter, Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Parīkṣit Mahārāja, evaṁ sva-bhaktayo rājan bhagavān bhakta-bhaktimān uṣitvādiśya san-mārgaṁ punar dvāravatīm agāt, “Thus, O King, the Personality of Godhead, who is the devotee of His own devotees, stayed for some time with His two great devotees, teaching them how perfect saints behave. Then He returned to Dvārakā.”

In this verse the word san-mārgam can be understood in at least three ways. In the first, sat is taken to mean “devotee of the Supreme Lord,” and thus san-mārgam means “the path of bhakti-yoga, devotional service.” In the second, with sat meaning “a seeker of transcendental knowledge,” san-mārgam means “the path of jñāna-yoga,” which has impersonal Brahman as its object. And in the third, with sat referring to the transcendental sound of the Vedas, san-mārgam means “the process of following Vedic injunctions.” Both the second and the third of these interpretations of san-mārgam lead to Parīkṣit’s question of how the Vedas can describe the Absolute Truth.

“Brahman cannot be defined (anirdeśya) because it has no class, substance, quality or action (jāti, dravya, guṇa, kriyā) Therefore, how can the Vedas indicate Brahman by direct meaning (sākṣāt), rather than by indirect reference? Brahman is beyond qualities (nirguṇa); it is beyond substance (sat) such as earth, and beyond the action of an object, whose nature is incomplete (asat). It is also beyond class (jāti), since that inheres in substance, action and quality.”

Or the statement can mean “Brahman is beyond substance (sat) and everything else which is not substance (class and actions:asat). How can the Vedas, whose existence depends on class, substance and actions, or in other words the aspects of quality (guṇa-vṛttayaḥ), deal with this Brahman which is devoid of class, object, quality and action?”

In philosophy, padarthas or real things are enumerated: substance (dravya) such as earth. water, fire, time and space; quality (guṇa) such as color, taste and smell; action of objects (kriyā) and prototype or genus (jāti) such as human-ness, cow-ness and so on. Different philosophies will add or subtract items from this list. Impersonalists admit only one padartha, namely Brahman. Thus King Parīkṣit is puzzled as to how the words (supposedly material) of the Vedas can directly describe the Absolute Truth, the transcendental, Supreme Brahman.

|| 10.87.2 ||

śrī-śuka uvāca

buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān janānām asṛjat prabhuḥ

mātrārthaṁ ca bhavārthaṁ ca ātmane ’kalpanāya ca

TRANSLATION

Śukadeva Gosvamī said: The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind and vital air of the living entities so that they could indulge their desires for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in fruitive activities, become elevated in future lives and ultimately attain liberation.

COMMENTARY

This is the reply: “The Lord (prabhuḥ) created the intelligence, mind, senses and prāṇa of the jīvas (janānām) for their enjoyment (mātrārthaṁ) of perceivable objects arising from their karma, and for their causing actions leading to repeated births (bhavārthaṁ). He did this so that the jīvas would make an offering (kalpanāya) of their intelligence, mind, senses and prana to the Lord in the form of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān (ātmane)”

Or another meaning is: “The Lord did this in order to make the jīvas use their mind, intelligence, senses and prāṇas to worship Him.” The word ca “and” is repeated three times to show the importance of all of what the Lord provides—not only the path of liberation, but also the paths of gradual elevation through religious life and appropriate sense enjoyment.

The meaning is this: “In all their endeavors the living entities depend on Kṛṣṇa’s mercy for success. Without intelligence, senses, mind and vital air, the living entities cannot achieve anything—neither elevation to heaven, purification through jñāna (knowledge) with its limbs of mind control (sama) and sense control (dama), perfection of the eightfold meditational yoga system, nor pure devotion through following the process of bhakti-yoga beginning with hearing and chanting the names of God.”

But, it may be questioned, “Your answer is like saying, ‘Today I ate sweet rice’ when someone asks ‘Where are you going now?’ Similarly to the question, ‘How are the Vedas capable of describing Brahman?’ an irrelevant answer has been given: ‘The Lord created intelligence, senses, mind and prāṇas for the jivas’ enjoyment and liberation.’”

In answering this objection, we say, “No that is not the case. Answers to subtle questions must often be phrased indirectly. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself said to Uddhava: parokṣa-vādā ṛṣayaḥ parokṣaṁ mama ca priyam, ‘The Vedic seers and mantras deal in esoteric terms, and I also am pleased by such confidential descriptions.’ (SB 11.21.35) Therefore, it is quite appropriate that in replying to this direct question the answer has been given through hidden suggestion.”

The impersonalists cannot appreciate the direct answer, so instead Śukadeva Gosvāmī gives an indirect reply: “You impersonalists say that the transcendental Brahman is indescribable by words. But if Kṛṣṇa had not created the intelligence, mind and senses, then sound and the other objects of perception would all be just as indescribable as your Brahman. Henceforward, for a person like you, who has been blind and deaf since birth, all physical sounds and forms are inconceivable, what to speak of Brahman. Just as Kṛṣṇa has given us all faculties of perception for experiencing and describing to others the sensations of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, in the same way He may mercifully give someone the ability to realize Brahman. If Kṛṣṇa chooses, He may create some extraordinary way for words to function—apart from their ordinary references to material substances, qualities, categories and actions—that may make even Brahman expressible by words. After all, Kṛṣṇa is the almighty Lord (prabhuḥ), and He can easily make the indescribable describable.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (8.24.38), Lord Matsya assures King Satyavrata that the Absolute Truth can be known from the words of the Vedas:

madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca paraṁ brahmeti śabditam

vetsyasy anugrahītaṁ me sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi

“You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as paraṁ brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me.”

Someone may ask, “But how will I know it?”

Lord Matsya replies, “You will know Brahman directly, defined by sound (śabditam:sākśāt sabda-nirdiśṭī-kṛtam) manifesting as the statements of great sages recorded in the Vedic literatures which say ‘Brahman is like this,’ in answer to your question ‘What is Brahman like?’ Only by receiving My mercy (anugrahītaṁ:prasādī-kṛtam) is it possible to realize Brahman through the words of the Vedas.”

One should not interpret this verse spoken by Matsya to mean some indirect or metaphorical understanding of Brahman. Otherwise, the words “by My mercy” would be meaningless. If it were indirect understanding, then the word śabditam (expressed through sound) also becomes meaningless.

In the same way as Lord Matsya said, “By My grace you will directly realize that Brahman in your heart,” similarly, by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna was also able to directly perceive the impersonal Brahman. The Śrī Hari-vaṁsa narrates the story of the kidnapping of the learned brāhmaṇa’s sons wherein Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna: “O best of the Bhāratas! The brilliant, divine and vast Brahman which you have now seen is none other than Myself, because it is My eternal effulgence. It constitutes My everlasting spiritual energy, manifest and unmanifest. The most expert yogīs of this world become liberated on entering it. It is the supreme goal of those practicing Sāṅkhya, yoga and austerity. That supreme, transcendental Brahman has manifested all the differentiated varieties of this world. You should know it to be the total amalgamation of My power.”

Or another meaning of the answer is as follows. “O king! The Vedas never delineate the impersonal Brahman. Lord Brahmā says śabdo na yatra puru-kārakavān kriyārtho, ‘Brahman is beyond sound.’ (SB 2.7.47) Thus the Vedas cannot touch upon the Brahman in His personal sac-cid-ānanda form because He is transcendental to mundane terms like substance, class, quality and action. Furthermore, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.9.44) says: sattvādayo na santiśe yatra ca prākṛtā guṇāḥ, ‘The material modes of goodness and so on do not exist within the Supreme Lord.’ From this absence of mundane qualities, however, one can deduce that there must be transcendental qualities within Kṛṣṇa. And the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad’s (6.11) saying: sāksī cetāḥ kevalo nirguṇas ca, ‘He is the unique, fully aware witness without material qualities,’ indicates that nirguna must mean only without material qualities since being a witness is a quality. The smṛti Bhagavad-gītā says: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ, ‘I am known by the Vedas.’ (15.15)

“It can be understood from this statement that since the Lord possesses spiritual varieties, qualities, forms and actions, which can be expressed through the function of sound, the Vedas can directly describe that Lord who has infinite spiritual qualities.”

The word buddhi in the present verse indicates the mahat-tattva, from which evolve the various expansions of ether such as sound which are designated here as indriya. Mātrārtham then means “for the sake of using transcendental sound to describe Brahman,” since for that precise purpose Śrī Kṛṣṇa inspired prakṛti to evolve ether and sound.

Therefore the second meaning is as follows: “Śrī Kṛṣṇa creates the mahat-tattva, the senses, sense objects, elements, mind and prāṇa for their functioning in relation to the soul (ātmane) and for the welfare of the jīvas. Thus a person can engage the spiritual (in the case of the perfected devotee) and material (in the case of the practicing devotee), intelligence, mind, senses and vital energy (buddhi, mana, indriya, prāṇa) in the worship of the Lord.”

“Mātrā” can mean “function, division, place or ear ornament” according to the teachings. The word “bhava” can mean “auspiciousness, Śiva or attainment.” Because speaking is not possible without the prāṇa, mind and senses, they are created for the function of speaking.

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Pūrva 12) says:

sat-puṇḍarīka-nayanaṁ meghābhaṁ vaidyutāmbaram

dvi-bhujaṁ mauna-mudrāḍhyaṁ vana-mālinam īśvaram

“The Supreme Lord, appearing in His two-armed form, had divine lotus eyes, a complexion the color of a cloud, and garments that resembled lightning. He wore a garland of forest flowers, and His beauty was enhanced by His pose of meditative silence.”

In this context, the transcendental intelligence and senses of the siddha (perfected, devotee) can correctly perceive Kṛṣṇa’s purely spiritual beauty. It is his realizations that are echoed in the Gopāla-tāpanī’s comparison of Kṛṣṇa’s eyes, body and clothing to a lotus, a cloud and lightning. For the sādhaka (neophyte devotee), however, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual eyes, body and clothing are not actually perceivable to his intelligence and senses. Nevertheless, by reading verses such as this one from the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad, the sādhaka thinks of the wonderful beauty of Kṛṣṇa. Concentrating his mind in this way, he gradually becomes joyful under the impression that he is meditating on the Lord, though he is not fully realized and cannot even meditate steadily on the effulgence surrounding Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body.

But Śrī Kṛṣṇa on the other hand, being moved by the waves of His boundless mercy, thinks “Oh how wonderful that My devotee is meditating on Me.” Then when the sādhaka’s devotion matures Kṛṣṇa brings that beloved devotee to His feet and engages him in confidential service. Thus it is concluded that only by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa can the Vedas convey the transcendental form and identity of the Lord.

|| 10.87.3 ||

saiṣā hy upaniṣad brāhmī pūrveśāṁ pūrva-jair dhṛtā

śrraddhayā dhārayed yas tāṁ kṣemaṁ gacched akiñcanaḥ

TRANSLATION

Those who came before even our ancient predecessors meditated upon this same confidential knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Indeed, anyone who faithfully concentrates on this knowledge will become free from material attachments and attain the final goal of life.

COMMENTARY

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, “These two famous verses (1, 2) in the form of a question and answer can be considered an Upaniṣad on the topic of Brahman (Brahmopaniṣad). These verses were not created by us, but simply made their appearance, because this Upaniṣad was spoken previously by Nārada Muni, who himself heard it from Sanaka Kumāra.”

|| 10.87.4 ||

atra te varṇayiṣyāmi gāthāṁ nārāyaṇānvitām

nāradasya ca saṁvādam ṛṣer nārāyaṇasya ca

TRANSLATION

In this connection I will relate to you a narration concerning the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa. It is about a conversation that once occurred between Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi and Nārada Muni.

COMMENTARY

To reinforce Parīkṣit’s faith in his words, Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, “Concerning this subject, I will tell the history (gāthāṁ:itihāsam) in the form of a dialogue which shows Nārāyaṇa as supreme.”

|| 10.87.5 ||

ekadā nārado lokān paryaṭan bhagavat-priyaḥ

sanātanam ṛṣiṁ draṣṭuṁ yayau nārāyaṇāśramam

TRANSLATION

Once, while traveling among the various planets of the universe, the Lord’s beloved devotee Nārada went to visit the primeval sage Nārāyaṇa at His āśrama.

COMMENTARY

Nārada went to see the eternally (sanātanam) liberated Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, the son of Dharma.

|| 10.87.6 ||

yo vai bhārata-varṣe ’smin kṣemāya svastaye nṛṇām

dharma-jñāna-śamopetam ā-kalpād āsthitas tapaḥ

TRANSLATION

From the very beginning of Brahmā’s day Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi has been undergoing austere penances in this land of Bhārata while perfectly performing religious duties and exemplifying spiritual knowledge and self-control—all for the benefit of human beings in both this world and the next.

COMMENTARY

Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi has been performing austerities from the beginning of the first day of Brahmā (ākalpāt) for the welfare of men now (kṣemāya) and in the next life (svastaye).

|| 10.87.7 ||

tatropaviṣṭam ṛṣibhiḥ kalāpa-grāma-vāsibhiḥ

parītaṁ praṇato ’pṛcchad idam eva kurūdvaha

TRANSLATION

There Nārada approached Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, who was sitting amidst sages of the village of Kalāpa. After bowing down to the Lord, O hero of the Kurus, Nārada asked Him the very same question you have asked me.

COMMENTARY

Nārada offered his respects to Nārāyaṇa who was seated there, and asked about this topic: “O brāhmaṇa, how can the śrutis describe the indescribable Brahman?”

|| 10.87.8 ||

tasmai hy avocad bhagavān ṛṣīṇāṁ śṛṇvatām idam

yo brahma-vādaḥ pūrveṣāṁ jana-loka-nivāsinām

TRANSLATION

As the sages listened, Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi related to Nārada an ancient discussion about the Absolute Truth that took place among the residents of Janaloka.

COMMENTARY

The Supreme Lord, seated among sages, told Nārada about how the sages on Janaloka had previously discussed this topic of the Absolute Truth.

|| 10.87.9 ||

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

svāyambhuva brahma-satraṁ jana-loke ’bhavat purā

tatra-sthānāṁ mānasānāṁ munīnām ūrdhva-retasām

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead said: O son of self-born Brahmā, once long ago on Janaloka, wise sages who resided there performed a great sacrifice to the Absolute Truth by vibrating transcendental sounds. These sages, mental sons of Brahmā, were all perfect celibates.

COMMENTARY

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, “O son of Brahmā (svāyambhuva), the qualified inhabitants of Janaloka, the mental sons of Lord Brahmā, previously held a discussion on Brahman.” The word satraṁ here refers to a Vedic sacrifice in which all the participants are equally qualified to serve as priests. When all of them can speak equally well on the topic of Brahman it is called a brahma satra.

|| 10.87.10 ||

śvetadvīpaṁ gatavati tvayi draṣṭuṁ tad-īśvaram

brahma-vādaḥ su-saṁvṛttaḥ śrutayo yatra śerate

tatra hāyam abhūt praśnas tvaṁ māṁ yam anupṛcchasi

TRANSLATION

At that time you happened to be visiting the Lord on Śvetadvīpa—that Supreme Lord in whom the Vedas lie down to rest during the period of universal annihilation. A lively discussion arose among the sages on Janaloka as to the nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Indeed, the same question arose then that you are asking Me now.

COMMENTARY

Nārada asked, “Where did I go? Why I did not know about it?”

Lord Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi answered, “You went to Śvetadvīpa to see Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣnu. The same question arose then that you are asking Me now.”

|| 10.87.11 ||

tulya-śruta-tapaḥ-śīlās tulya-svīyāri-madhyamāḥ

api cakruḥ pravacanam ekaṁ śuśrūṣavo ’pare

TRANSLATION

Although these sages were all equally qualified in terms of Vedic study and austerity, and although they all saw friends, enemies and neutral parties equally, they chose one of their number to be the speaker, and the rest became eager listeners.

COMMENTARY

Nārada said, “But since all of them were filled with knowledge, who became the speaker and who asked the questions?” In this verse, Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi answers, “Since there was no difference in their learning, austerity and character, and although they all saw friends, enemies and neutral parties equally, they randomly chose one of their members to be the speaker and the rest asked questions.”

|| 10.87.12-13 ||

śrī-sanandana uvāca

sva-sṛṣṭam idam āpīya śayānaṁ saha śaktibhiḥ

tad-ante bodhayāṁ cakrus tal-liṅgaiḥ śrutayaḥ param

yathā śayānaṁ saṁrājaṁ vandinas tat-parākramaiḥ

pratyūṣe ’bhetya su-ślokair bodhayanty anujīvinaḥ

TRANSLATION

Śrī Sanandana replied: After the Supreme Lord withdrew the universe He had previously created, He lay for some time as if asleep, and all His energies rested dormant within Him. When the time came for the next creation, the personified Vedas awakened Him by chanting His glories, just as the poets serving a king approach him at dawn and awaken him by reciting his heroic deeds.

COMMENTARY

According to the words of Śukadeva, the question that Parīkṣit asked in verse one: “How can the Vedas directly describe the Supreme Absolute Truth, who cannot be described in words? (brahmaṇy anirdeśye)” was previously asked by Nārada to Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi (verse seven), and, according to the statement of Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, the same question was asked first on Janaloka by Sanaka and other sages to Sananda.

Then Sananda, speaking from the Uttara portion of the Brahmopaniṣad, replied with the second verse of this chapter (buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān). In relation to that, in the present verse, he then recited a history in order to establish that the śrutis are self proven, the original proof. After destroying the universe He Himself created (sva-sṛṣṭam idam), the Lord lay in yoga-nidra like a sleeping person. Then at the end of this period, at the time of creation, the Vedas woke Him up with words describing His characteristics (tal liṅgaiḥ). Even though the Vedas knew that the Lord, being omniscient, does not need to be informed of His glories, they enthusiastically took this opportunity to praise Him.

|| 10.87.14 ||

śrī-śrutaya ūcuḥ

jaya jaya jahy ajām ajita doṣa-gṛbhīta-guṇāṁ

tvam asi yad ātmanā samavaruddha-samasta-bhagaḥ

aga-jagad-okasām akhila-śakty-avabodhaka te

kvacid ajayātmanā ca carato ’nucaren nigamaḥ

TRANSLATION

The śrutis said: Victory, victory to You, O unconquerable one! By Your very nature You are perfectly full in all opulences; therefore please defeat the eternal power of illusion, who assumes control over the modes of nature to create difficulties for conditioned souls. O You who awaken all the energies of the moving and nonmoving embodied beings, sometimes the Vedas can recognize You as You sport with Your material and spiritual potencies.

COMMENTARY

The śrutis said, “O unconquerable Lord! May You remain in all Your glories (jaya jaya), and reveal all Your superexcellent qualities.” The word jaya is repeated out of either reverence or joy.

“How should I reveal My glories?” the Lord might ask.

Śrutis: “Be merciful to all the moving and non-moving living beings by destroying their ignorance and helping them to attain the sweetness of Your lotus feet.”

Lord Mahā-viṣṇu: “But Māyā, who imposes ignorance on the jīvas, is full of good qualities (gṛbhīta-guṇām), so how does she prevent the jīvas from attaining Me?

Śrutis: “With the three modes of nature she bewilders the conditioned souls and makes them falsely identify with their material bodies.” Another meaning: “Moreover, māyā’s modes of goodness, passion and ignorance produce anarthas (doṣa-gṛbhīta) which are not favorable for attainment of Your lotus feet.” In the word “gṛbhīta,” bh is substituted for h (gṛhita), as is permitted in prayers. “Only You cannot be conquered (ajita) by māyā, whereas others like Brahmā are vanquished by their own faults.”

Lord Mahā-viṣṇu: “But what proof do you have that she cannot conquer Me?”

Śrutis: “The proof lies in the fact that in Your original state (ātmanā:svarūpa) You have already realized the perfection of all opulences.”

Lord Mahā-viṣṇu: “But even if ignorance slackens, I am not attained without devotional service, as I Myself have stated: bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ, ‘I am obtained only by unalloyed devotion.’” (SB 11.14.21)

Śrutis: “My Lord, O You who awaken all energies, after creating the intelligence and senses of the living entities You inspire them to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labor. In addition, by Your mercy You awaken their ability to pursue the progressive paths of knowledge, mystic yoga and devotional service, which enable them to advance toward You in Your aspects of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān respectively. When jñāna, yoga and bhakti mature, You empower the living beings to directly realize You in each of Your three aspects.”

Mahā-viṣṇu: “What authoritative evidence do you have to support this statement?”

Śrutis: “We ourselves are the evidence. On some occasions—such as now, the time of creation—You consort with Your external, Māyā potency, whereas You are always present with Your internal energy. It is at times such as the present, when Your activity is outwardly manifest, that we, the Vedas, can recognize You in Your play. Therefore the statement of the Brahma Upaniṣad is correct in saying that You created the senses, mind and intelligence for the benefit of the jīvas.”

In many places the Vedas glorify the transcendental, personal qualities of the Supreme Lord: nityaṁ vijñānam ānandaṁ brahma, “The Absolute Truth is eternal knowledge and bliss.” (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.9.28) The following verse appears in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.11), the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Uttara 97), and the Brahma Upaniṣad (4.1):

eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā

karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ sākṣī cetāḥ kevalo nirguṇaś ca

“The one Supreme Lord lives hidden inside all created things. He pervades all matter and sits within the hearts of all living beings. As the indwelling Supersoul, He supervises their material activities. Thus, while having no material qualities Himself, He is the unique witness and giver of consciousness.”

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s personal qualities are further described in the following quotations from the Upaniṣads: Yaḥ sarva-jñaḥ sa sarva-vid yasya jñāna-mayaṁ tapaḥ. “He who is all-knowing, from whom the potency of all knowledge comes—He is the wisest of all” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.9); sarvasya vaśī sarvasyeśānaḥ: “He is the Lord and controller of everyone” (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.22); and yaḥ pṛthivyāṁ tiṣṭhan pṛthivyā āntaro yaṁ pṛthivī na veda: “He who resides within the earth and pervades it, whom the earth does not know.” (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.7.3)

Lord Viṣṇu’s role in creation is mentioned in many statements of the śruti. The Brhad-āranyaka Upaniṣad (1.2.4) states, so ’kāmayata

bahu syām: “He desired, I will become many.” The phrase so ’kāmayata (He desired) here implies that the Lord’s personality is eternal, for even prior to the creation the Absolute Truth experi-enced desire, and desire is an attribute unique to persons.

The Aitareya Upaniṣad (3.11) similarly states, sa aikṣata tat-tejo ’sṛjata: “He saw and His power sent forth the creation.” Here the word tat-tejaḥ refers to the Lord’s partial expansion Mahā-Viṣṇu, who glances upon Māyā and thus manifests the material creation. Or tat-tejaḥ may refer to the Lord’s impersonal Brahman feature, His potency of all-pervasive, eternal existence. As described in Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40):

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-

koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam

tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is endowed with great power. The glowing effulgence of His transcendental form is the impersonal Brahman, which is absolute, complete and unlimited and which displays the varieties of countless planets, with their different opulences, in millions and millions of universes.”

madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca paraṁ brahmeti śabditam

vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi

“You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as paraṁ brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me.” (SB 8.24.38)

satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ yad brahma-jyotiḥ sanātanam

yad dhi paśyanti munayo guṇāpāye samāhitāḥ

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa revealed the indestructible spiritual effulgence, which is unlimited, conscious and eternal. Sages see that spiritual existence in trance, when their consciousness is free of the modes of material nature.”(SB 10.28.15)

brahmano hi pratiṣṭāham, amṛtasyāvyayasya ca

śāśvatasya ca dharmasya, sukhasyaikāntikasya ca

“And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable, and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.” (Bg. 14.27) These statements show Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, and their relationship.

Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat

prayanty abhisaṁ-viśanti tad brahma tad vijijñāsasva

“He from whom this cosmic manifestation has emanated, and in whom everything will merge after annihilation.” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1) This verse shows Lord Visnu’s creative aspect.

Such statements as: akśayyaṁ ha vai cāturmasya-yājinaḥ sukrtam bhavati, “One who has worshiped by means of the vows of Cāturmāsya attains pious credits which never become depleted,” validate the process of karma. Such statements as brahma-vid āpnoti param iti, “Attaining knowledge of Brahman one attains the supreme” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.1.1), and tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti, “By realizing Him one transcends death” (Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8) validate the process of jñāna.

śataṁ caikā ca hṛdayasya nāḍyas, tāsāṁ mūrdhānam abhiniḥsṛtaikā, tayordhvam āyann amṛtatvam eti, viśvag anyā utkramaṇe bhavanti

“There are one hundred and one subtle nerve channels (nāḍīs) which emanate from the heart, by which the soul may quit the body. One of these, the suśumṇā, extends to the top of head. By passing up through it one transcends death. The others lead to a variety of destinations.” (Chāndyogya Upaniṣad 8.6.6) This verse shows the process of yoga.

bhaktir evainaṁ nayati, bhaktir evainam darśayati

bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo, bhaktir eva bhūyasī

“Bhakti, devotional service, alone leads the living entity to Lord Kṛṣṇa, and enables him to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is controlled by bhakti. Bhakti is best of all.” (Māṭhara Śruti)

sac-cid-ānandaika-rase bhakti-yoge tiṣṭhati, “My humanlike form, which is eternal and full of transcendental knowledge and blissful rasas, is revealed when My devotees serve Me with devotion.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 2.79) These two verses demonstrate the process of devotional service, bhakti.

|| 10.87.15 ||

bṛhad upalabdham etad avayanty avaśeṣatayā

yata udayāstam-ayau vikṛter mṛdi vāvikṛtāt

ata ṛṣayo dadhus tvayi mano-vacanācaritaṁ

katham ayathā bhavanti bhuvi datta-padāni nṛṇām

TRANSLATION

This perceivable world is identified with the Supreme because the Supreme Brahman is the ultimate foundation of all existence, remaining unchanged as all created things are generated from it and at last dissolved into it, just as clay remains unchanged by the products made from it and again merged with it. Thus it is toward You alone that the Vedic sages direct all their thoughts, words and acts. After all, how can the footsteps of men fail to touch the earth on which they live?

COMMENTARY

Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu said, “But you, the śrutis, call not only Me the Supreme Lord but you say that other demigods are the Supreme in verses like the following: indro yāto ’vasitasya rājā: ‘Indra is the supreme king of all moving and nonmoving beings’ (Ṛg Veda 1.32.15), and agnir mūrdhā divaḥ, ‘Agni is the chief of the heavens.’ These and other mantras point to different deities as the Absolute. It would seem, then, that the Vedas present a polytheistic world view.”

The śrutis replied, “Yes, this is true, but it is a logical necessity that there can be only one source of universal creation, called Brahman or Bṛhat, “the greatest,” which is the singular truth underlying and pervading all existence. No finite demigod like Indra or Agni can fulfill this unique role. Lord Viṣṇu alone is the Absolute Truth. Indra and other demigods may be glorified in various ways, but they possess only those powers Lord Śrī Viṣṇu has granted them.” With this intention the śrutis speak this verse.

The śrutis said, “This entire world—including Indra, Agni, and everything else perceivable by the eyes, ears and other senses—is identical with the one Supreme Truth, the Personality of Godhead, who is called Bṛhat, ‘the greatest,’ because He is avaśeṣa, ‘the ultimate substance that remains.’ There is a famous analogy regarding clay (mṛdi vā). A mass of clay is the ingredient cause of various pots, statues and so on, but the clay itself remains in its essence unchanged. Eventually, the pots and other objects will be destroyed and return to the clay from which they came. Similarly, as the Supreme Lord, You are the total ingredient cause, yet You remain eternally untouched by the generation and dissolution of the universe.”

Lord Viṣṇu: “Doesn’t that mean that I must be subject to transformation?”

Śrutis: “No. because you are devoid of transformation (avikṛtāt). Indeed, it is certainly astonishing that You are not transformed even though You are the ingredient cause of the universe. As the great devotee Gajendra prayed: namo namas te ’khila-kāraṇāya, niṣkāraṇāyādbhuta-kāraṇāya, ‘Obeisances again and again to You, the source of all creation. You are the inconceivable cause of all causes, and of You there is no other cause.’ (SB 8.3.15)

“Even the substance clay remains without change while serving as an ingredient cause, and therefore You are not at all transformed while creating, maintaining and destroying the universe. The demigods have confirmed this in such statements as sṛjasi pāsi harasi, ‘You create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation by Yourself.’ We also say the same thing. Although prakṛti, material nature, is often considered the ingredient cause of creation, this does not contradict the truth that You are the final cause, since prakṛti is Your energy and is herself subject to change. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.24.19) Śrī Kṛṣṇa says,

prakṛtir yasyopādānam ādhāraḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ

sato ’bhivyañjakaḥ kālo brahma tat tritayaṁ tv aham

‘The material universe is real, having prakṛti as its original ingredient and final state. Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu is the resting place of nature, which becomes manifest by the power of time. Thus nature, the almighty Viṣṇu and time are not different from Me, the Supreme Absolute Truth.’

“The material nature undergoes change because she is not Your internal (svarūpa-bhūta) energy, which like You is never subject to change. Therefore the sages have directed their minds, words and activities to serving You and meditating upon You alone, rather than to such separated transformations of nature as Indra and other empowered demigods. There is an example to illustrate this point. Just as a man’s footsteps, whether placed on mud, stone or bricks, cannot fail to touch the surface of the earth, so whatever the Vedas discuss within the realm of material generation, it is actually You alone, the cause of all and the supreme controller. As the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.4.1) affirms in its statements: vācāraṁbhanaṁ vikāro nāmadheyaṁ mṛttikety eva satyam , ‘The objects of the material world exist merely as names, transformations defined by language, whereas the ingredient cause, like the clay from which pots are made, is the actual reality,’ and sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma, ‘Reality is understood properly when everything is seen to be dependent on Brahman, the Absolute, for its existence.’

Thus the meaning of the verse cited above from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad beginning vācāraṁbhanaṁ is as follows: that which is initiated, a transformation or product (vikaraḥ: kāryam). Such a product is named by words (vācā) such “pot” or so on, while it is the clay which is the cause (satyam:kāraṇam) and reality.

|| 10.87.16 ||

iti tava sūrayas try-adhipate ’khila-loka-mala-

kṣapaṇa-kathāmṛtābdhim avagāhya tapāṁsi jahuḥ

kim uta punaḥ sva-dhāma-vidhutāśaya-kāla-guṇāḥ

parama bhajanti ye padam ajasra-sukhānubhavam

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O master of the three worlds, the wise get rid of all misery by diving deep into the nectarean ocean of topics about You, which washes away all the contamination of the universe. Then what to speak of those who, having by spiritual strength rid their minds of bad habits and freed themselves from time, are able to worship Your true nature, O supreme one, finding within it uninterrupted bliss?

COMMENTARY

By citing the behavior of saintly persons (sūrayas) in this verse, the śrutis confirm their assertion that Kṛṣṇa is worshipable because He is the Supreme Lord.

The śrutis prayed, “O Lord of all in the upper, middle and lower worlds! Because You are the supreme, those with discernment (surayah) dive in the nectarean ocean of Your pastimes which destroy the contamination of karma even in its subtlest forms (vāsanā-paryanta). They abandon the troublesome austerities (tapāṁsi) that are part of the process of jñāna, and transcend all the miseries of material life.” This refers to advancing devotees (sādhakās) practicing the rules and regulations of spiritual life.

“What to speak (kim uta:kiṁ punar vaktavyam) of the perfected devotees, who by spiritual strength (sva-dhāmnā:sva-prabhāvenaiva) have dispelled the bad qualities of their minds, such as attachment and all the effects of time such as old age (kāla-guṇāḥ). O supreme one (parama)! By immersing themselves fully within the nectarean ocean of Your glories, these mature devotees achieve unimaginable perfection and transcend all material miseries.”

In this regard the Ṛg Veda (1.154.1) says: viṣṇor nu kaṁ vīryāṇi pravocaṁ yaḥ pārthivāni vimame rajāṁsi, “Only he may fully enunciate the heroic deeds of Lord Viṣṇu who can count all the particles of dust in the world.” Many śruti-mantras glorify devotional service to the Lord, such as eko vaśī sarva-go ye ’nubhajanti dhīrās, teṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām: “He is the one omnipresent Lord and controller; only those wise souls who worship Him obtain eternal happiness, not anyone else.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad, Purva 2.1)

|| 10.87.17 ||

dṛtaya iva śvasanty asu-bhṛto yadi te ’nuvidhā

mahad-aham-ādayo ’ṇḍam asṛjan yad-anugrahataḥ

puruṣa-vidho ’nvayo ’tra caramo ’nna-mayādiṣu yaḥ

sad-asataḥ paraṁ tvam atha yad eṣv avaśeṣam ṛtam

TRANSLATION

Only if they become Your faithful followers are those who breathe actually alive, otherwise their breathing is like that of a bellows. It is by Your mercy alone that the elements, beginning with the mahat-tattva and false ego, created the egg of this universe. Among the manifestations known as anna-maya and so forth, You are the ultimate one, entering within the material coverings along with the living entity and assuming the same forms as those he takes. Distinct from the gross and subtle material manifestations, You are the reality underlying them all.

COMMENTARY

This verse answers the question: “What happens to people who fail to perform the worship mentioned in the previous verse?”

The śrutis said, “Those devoid of devotion to You resemble dead corpses, and though alive their breathing is no better than the breathing of a blacksmith’s bellows. But if they act favorably (anuvidhā:anukula) and become Your obedient devotees, then they can be called living (asu-bhṛto:prāṇa-dhāriṇaḥ).”

“But” one may object, “The bodies and minds of materialistic nondevotees seem to display the symptoms of life.”

The śrutis respond, “Through the mercy gained by worshiping the Lord, the mahat-tattva (consciousness), false ego, intelligence, mind and all the senses, which produce the gross and subtle bodies, create this universal body in totality and individuality. In other words, the demigods of the elements, such as consciousness and ahaṅkāra, worshiped the Lord and received His mercy, which empowered them to create. This is described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (3.5.39):

devā ūcuḥ

nanāma te deva padāravindaṁ prapanna-tāpopaśamātapatram

yan-mūla-ketā yatayo ’ñjasoru-saṁsāra-duḥkhaṁ bahir utkṣipanti

“The demigods said, ‘O Lord, Your lotus feet are like an umbrella for the surrendered souls, protecting them from all the miseries of material existence. All the sages under that shelter throw off all material miseries. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto Your lotus feet.’”

Śrutis: “The elements of consciousness and false ego are seen to be engaged in worshiping You, Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore the bodies of those whose consciousness, ears and senses are not worshiping You do not in truth possess consciousness, ahaṅkāra and senses. Thus they are like dead bodies.”

Lord Viṣṇu: “Then what form of Mine should they worship?”

Śrutis: “He whose form resembles that of a man (puruṣa). Therefore You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are also the Supersoul in all living beings and the great form of bliss called Brahman. But in relation to the anna-maya gross body, prāṇa-maya life air, mano-maya mind, vijñāna-maya jīva and ānanda-maya Paramātmā; (described in the Brahmānanda-vallī of the Taittirīya Upaniṣad as vasti-puccha, prthivī-puccha, atharvāgirā-puccha, mahah-puccha and brahma-puccha, or the five puruṣas); You are the ultimate person (puruṣa), the ānanda-maya brahma puccha.”

Lord Viṣṇu: “Why am I not all the other puruṣas such as the anna-maya purusa as well?”

Śrutis: “You are inherently connected with these other coverings like anna-maya in that You are the cause (avaśeṣam ṛtam), and anna-maya and the other puruṣas are effects. Thus as the cause of everything, You are in one sense identical with the manifest products of creation, but in Your original form (svarūpa) as the ānanda-maya puruśa (Supersoul) You remain distinct. Furthermore, among all these, You are the ultimate essence (avaśeṣam).”

“Thus Śrī Kṛṣṇa is distinct and transcendental to all the gross and subtle manifestations (sad-asataḥ paraṁ) of anna-maya and so on.” Or another meaning of sad-asataḥ paraṁ “distinct from gross and subtle matter” is: “You are separate (paraṁ:anyat) and superior even to the ānanda-maya purusa (sad) as well as the lower vijñāna, mana, prāṇa and anna-maya purusas (asataḥ).”

The last word of all authoritative scripture (sarvāntima-śruti) is contained in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.7.1) sutra: raso vai saḥ, which proclaims Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be the infinitely expanding embodiment of divine pleasure (sarva-bṛhattamānanda). The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.43.17) describes Kṛṣṇa as Cupid incarnate: strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān. The Gopāla-tāpanī śruti (Uttara 96) states, yo ’sau jāgrat-svapna-suṣuptim atītya turyātīto gopālaḥ, “The cowherd boy Gopāla transcends not only the material consciousness of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep, but also the fourth realm of pure, spiritual awareness.” By saying brahmano hi pratiṣṭhāham, “I am basis of Brahman,” the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27) clearly establishes that the personal form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the most exalted entity of all.

The śrutis continued, “We have definitively perceived this truth (ṛtam).” Or ṛtam “reality” can mean: “Having attained our forms as śrutis by austerity, we have realized this.” The verb ṛtam means “to go,” and “to go” can further refer to obtaining or knowing. Therefore, ṛtam means that which is perceived or obtained.

In this connection, the following statements of śruti describe the results of turning away from the Lord:

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ

tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ

‘The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.’ (Śrī Īśopaniṣad v.3)

According to the Agni Purāṇa and the Viṣṇu Dharmottara Upa-Purāṇa, the word asuryā means a person devoid of viṣṇu-bhakti. This definition is stated in the Agni Purāṇa:

dvau bhūta-sargau loke ’smin daiva āsura eva ca

viṣṇu-bhakti-paro daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ

“There are two kinds of created beings in this world, godly and demoniac. Those dedicated to the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu are godly, and those opposed to such service are demoniac.”

The positive value of viṣṇu-bhakti, devotion for Lord Viṣṇu, is expressed in the following śruti verses:

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān

taṁ pīṭha-gaṁ ye ’nupaśyanti dhīrās teṣāṁ śāntiḥ śāśvatī netareṣām

“Among all the eternal, conscious beings, there is one who supplies the needs of everyone else. The wise souls who worship Him in His abode attain everlasting peace. Others cannot.” (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)

The following verses from the Taittirīya Upaniṣad establish the nature of the soul, Supersoul and Brahman:

sa vā eśa puruṣo anna-rasa-mayas tasyedam eva siraḥ, ayaṁ dakṣiṇaḥ

pakṣaḥ ayam uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ, ayam ātmā idaṁ pucchaṁ pratiṣṭhā,

“After the purusa is ascertained to consist of the anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya coverings, then the fifth manifestation, ānanda-maya, is elucidated.” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.2.3)

tasmād vā etasmād vijñāna-mayād anyo ’ntara

ātmā ānanda-mayas tasya priyam eva siro

modo dakṣiṇaḥ pakśaḥ pramoda uttaraḥ pakśa

ānanda ātmā brahma-pucchaṁ pratiṣthā

“The Lord has assumed the form of a man. This is His head. That is His right side. That is His left side. That is His torso. This is His lower porton or feet, the shelter of all. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.1.3)

More specifically, the indwelling Supersoul of the living entity is referred to in the words: yo vijñāne tiṣṭhan vijṇānāntaro yasya vijñānaṁ sarīram, “Who, standing within the conscious entity, pervades him, and who assumes the conscious entity as His own body.” (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.7.22)

By the reference given in a different śruti, ātmani tiśṭhan, the term vijñāna-maya refers to the jīvātma. And ānanda-maya refers to the indwelling Supersoul of all beings, the Paramātmā, who is the supreme object of worship. This is the Vaiṣṇava conclusion.

The words priya, moda, pramoda and ānanda quoted above from the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.1.3) should not be explained in terms of the happiness generated from seeing a son. Rather, it is according to the progressive degrees of the manifestation of ecstasy in the Supersoul, the exclusive embodiment of all ecstasy, that the four terms priyam, modaḥ, pramodaḥ and ānanda are given as various names of Brahman, who is the underlying basis of all ecstasy because He possesses the most extensive (bṛhattama) ecstasy of all. Pratiṣthā means “shelter” in the sense that “it is established within it” as in the statement brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham.”

After the Taittirīya Upaniṣad makes the final Upaniṣadic statement “rasaḥ vai saḥ” establishing that rāsa is the highest, the Gopāl-tapani Upaniṣad declares that Kṛṣṇa, the highest form of bliss, is distinct even from the fourth level of consciousness (atītya turyātīto gopālaḥ), and states that His body, which is filled with prema rasa, is the topmost object of worship. The ānanda-maya Supersoul is simply one of Kṛṣṇa’s expansions as stated by Him, viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat; “With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” (Bg. 10.42)

Therefore the crest-jewels of the śrutis worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as shown in the Bṛhad-Vāmana Purāṇa, wherein it describes how the śrutis attained the service of Kṛṣṇa as gopīs. This will also be shown in verse twenty-three of this chapter recited by the śrutis: striya urugendra bhoga bhuja daṇḍa.

Thus the śrutis conclude that Kṛṣṇa is the most attractive among all the personal forms of Godhead. Understanding this, Nārada Muni will later offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa in the words namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyāmala-kīrtaye: “I offer My obeisances to Him of spotless fame, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa,” (Text 46) even though he is standing in front of Lord Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi.

|| 10.87.18 ||

udaram upāsate ya ṛṣi-vartmasu kūrpa-dṛśaḥ

parisara-paddhatiṁ hṛdayam āruṇayo daharam

tata udagād ananta tava dhāma śiraḥ paramaṁ

punar iha yat sametya na patanti kṛtānta-mukhe

TRANSLATION

Among the followers of the methods set forth by great sages, those with less refined vision worship the Supreme as present in the region of the abdomen, while the Āruṇis worship Him as present in the heart, in the subtle center from which all the prāṇic channels emanate. From there, O unlimited Lord, these worshipers raise their consciousness upward to the top of the head, where they can perceive You directly. Then, passing through the top of the head toward the supreme destination, they reach that place from which they will never again fall to this world, into the mouth of death.

COMMENTARY

Verses 16 and 17 spoke of bhakti with the object of worship being Bhagavān for the devotees. The present verse speaks about yoga with Paramātmā as the object of worship for the yogīs. The Bhagavad-gītā (Bg. 15.14) says:

ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇinaṁ deham āsthitaḥ

prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham

“I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of food.” The word udaram (abdomen) in this verse refers to the Paramātmā in the form of Lord Vaiṣvānara situated in the stomach region, who bestows kriyā-śakti, the energy for activity.

Those of the sampradāya of sages who limit their meditation to this form of the Lord are less intelligent, kūrpa-dṛśaḥ, meaning literally “having eyes clouded by dust.” This is because the abdomen is grosser than the heart. Kūrpa can also mean subtle or acute vision. Then the meaning would be: “Those sages worship the Lord in the abdomen with the vision of later approaching the more subtle heart region.”

“The superior yogīs known as āruṇis, on the other hand, worship the Supersoul in His form as the indwelling companion of the jīva in the heart, the Lord who bestows jñāna-śakti, the power of knowledge, and inspires one with all varieties of practical intelligence. This form of the Lord in the heart is very subtle and difficult to perceive (daharam). The heart is the place from which the nāḍīs (numerous channels of prāṇa) emanate and extend outward to all parts of the body.”

“O Ananta! The soul rises up toward the head, the effulgent location where You, the Paramātmā, are perceived.” In other words, beginning from the mūlādhāra cakra and passing through the heart, the soul rises up to the brahma-randhra (the topmost cakra at the roof of the brain). In actual fact, the dhāma or place of the Supersoul appears in all three of these locations. Having attained that topmost dhāma on the top of the head, they do not fall down again into the cycle of material existence (kṛtānta-mukhe:saṁsāre). This description is corroborated by several śruti-mantras: udaraṁ brahmeti śārkarākṣā upāsate hṛdayaṁ brahmeti āruṇayo brahma haivaitā ita ūrdhvaṁ tv evodasarpat tac-chiro ’śrayate, ‘Those whose vision is clouded identify Brahman with the abdomen, while the ārunis worship Brahman in the heart. One who is truly Brahman-realized travels upward from the heart to take shelter of the Lord who is manifested at the top of the head.’

The Upaniṣads refer repeatedly to the indwelling Paramātmā. Śrī Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.12-13) describes Him as follows:

mahān prabhur vai puruṣaḥ sattvasyaiṣa pravartakaḥ

su-nirmalāṁ imāṁ prāptim īśāno jyotir avyayaḥ

aṅguṣṭha-mātraḥ puruṣo ’ntar-ātmā sadā janānāṁ hṛdaye sanniviṣṭaḥ

hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikÿpto ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the Purusa to initiate the expansion of this cosmos. He is the perfectly pure goal that yogīs strive to reach, the effulgent and infallible ultimate controller. Measuring the size of a thumb, the Puruṣa is always present as the Supersoul within the hearts of all living beings. By exercising proper intelligence, one can realize Him within the heart. Those who learn this method will gain immortality.”

śataṁ caikā ca hṛdayasya nāḍyas tāsāṁ mūrdhānam abhiniḥsṛtaikā

tayordhvam āyann amṛtatvam eti viśvaṅṅ anyā utkramaṇe bhavanti

“There are one hundred and one subtle prānic channels emana-ting from the heart. One of these—the suṣumṇā—extends to the top of the head. By passing up through this channel, one transcends death. The other channels lead in all directions, to various kinds of rebirth.” (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.6.6)

|| 10.87.19 ||

sva-kṛta-vicitra-yoniṣu viśann iva hetutayā

taratamataś cakāssy anala-vat sva-kṛtānukṛtiḥ

atha vitathāsv amūṣv avitathāṁ tava dhāma samaṁ

viraja-dhiyo ’nuyanty abhivipaṇyava eka-rasam

TRANSLATION

Apparently entering among the variegated species of living beings You have created, You inspire them to act, manifesting Yourself according to their higher and lower positions, just as fire manifests differently according to the shape of what it burns. Therefore those of spotless intelligence, who are altogether free from material attachments, realize Your undifferentiated, unchanging Self to be the permanent reality among all these impermanent life forms.

COMMENTARY

Someone may object, “If the Supersoul enters countless varieties of material bodies, then He would seem to become limited according to the body, and thus be similar to the jīvas. Therefore, how can He be worthy of worship?” This verse answers.

The śrutis said, “After creating the many species of material life, You expand into Your own creation as the Supersoul in order to provide the intelligence and inspiration every living being needs for his day-to-day existence.”

“As stated in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.6.2). tat sṛṣṭvā tad evānu-prāviśat: ‘After creating this world, He then entered within it.’ The Lord enters the material world, however, without forming any binding connection to it; therefore, the word viśann iva is used to express “only seeming to enter.” Taratamataś cakāssi means that the Paramātmā enters the body of every living being, from the great demigod Brahmā down to the insignificant germ, and exhibits differing degrees of His potency according to each soul’s capacity for enlightenment. Analavat sva-kṛtānukṛtiḥ: Just as fire ignited in several objects burns according to the different forms of those objects, so the Supreme Soul, entering the bodies of all living creatures, illuminates the consciousness of each conditioned soul according to his individual capacity. Thus among these impermanent species, Your personal form, with its particular qualities (dhāma:svarūpam sa-viseśam), remains permanently as the supreme reality.”

“Therefore those of pure intelligence (viraja dhiyaḥ) know Your eternal (avitathāṁ), supreme and undifferentiated (samaṁ) svarūpa. Your personal form is the unchanging (eka-rasam) embodiment of pure ecstatic enjoyment (kevala-ānandā svāda-svarūpa) residing in all the temporary bodies (vitathāsv amūṣv).” In other words, Śrī Kṛṣṇa eternally maintains His personal form of immeasurable, unalloyed spiritual pleasure.

“Who are they who know? They are those who are completely free of material dealings, and devoid of karmic results in this life and the next. Because You are the source of everything; Your designations of being independent are not subject to any ranking of hierarchy. Since Your opulences never fail, You are worthy of worship.” The following śrutis illustrate this verse:

tat sṛṣṭvā tad evānuprāviśat, “Having created the universe, He then entered it.” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.6.1)

eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā

karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaś ca

“The one Supreme Lord lives hidden inside all created things. He pervades all matter and sits within the hearts of all living beings. As the indwelling Supersoul, He supervises their material activities. Thus, while having no material qualities Himself, He is the unique witness and giver of consciousness.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.11)

|| 10.87.20 ||

sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ

tava puruṣaṁ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto ’ṁśa-kṛtam

iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ

bhavata upāsate ’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ

TRANSLATION

The individual living entity, while inhabiting the material bodies he has created for himself by his karma, actually remains uncovered by either gross or subtle matter. This is so because, as the Vedas describe, he is part and parcel of You, the possessor of all potencies. Having determined this to be the status of the living entity, learned sages become imbued with faith and worship Your lotus feet, to which all Vedic sacrifices in this world are offered, and which are the source of liberation.

COMMENTARY

Having established the Supreme Soul (Paramātmā) as the proper object of all worship, this verse establishes the position of the subordinate jīva soul, a finite expansion of the Lord, as His worshiper. The enjoyer (purusam), the jīva, is in the singular form to express a class that exists in all bodies of men and other living beings created by their karma. The personified Vedas refer to the finite enjoyer of the material body (the jīva soul) as an expansion (aṁśa) of the transcendental reservoir of all potencies, the Supreme Lord. Actually the jīva is well known as the Lord’s tatastha-śakti, marginal potency situated between spirit and matter, but he is not an independent Viṣṇu expansion.

This is stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.7.61): viṣṇu-saktiḥ parā proktā, kṣetra-jñākhyā tathā parā, ‘The internal potency of Lord Viṣṇu is spiritual, as verified by the śāstras. There is another spiritual potency, known as kṣetra-jña, or the living entity.’ And the Bhagavad-gītā (7.5) states: prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtām, “Beyond this inferior energy, there is another superior energy known as the living entity, jīva-bhūtām.” The Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra says:

yat taṭa-sthaṁ tu cid-rūpaṁ sva-saṁvedyād vinirgatam

rañjitaṁ guṇa-rāgeṇa sa jīva iti kathyate

“The marginal potency, who is spiritual by nature, who emanates from the self-cognizant saṁvit energy, and who becomes tainted by his attachment to the modes of material nature, is called the jīva.” Although the jīva is thus the Lord’s marginal potency (taṭastha-śakti), he is sometimes referred to as an aṁśa, as stated by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁso jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ, “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.”

The Mahāvarāha Purāna explains how the soul is similar to an amsa:

svāṁśaś cātha vibhinnāṁśa iti dvidhā śa iṣyate

aṁśino yat tu sāmarthyaṁ yat-svarūpaṁ yathā sthitiḥ

tad eva nāṇu-mātro ’pi bhedaṁ svāṁśāṁśinoḥ kvacit

vibhinnāṁśo ’lpa-śaktiḥ syāt kiñcit sāmarthya-mātra-yuk

“The Supreme Lord is known in two ways: in terms of His plenary expansions and His separated expansions. Between the plenary expansions and Their source of expansion there is never any essential difference in terms of either Their capabilities, forms or situations. The separated expansions, on the other hand, possess only minute potency, being endowed only to a small extent with the Lord’s powers.”

What is the minute jīva soul like? The soul is never totally covered by either the external potency of māyā (bahiḥ:bahiraṇga-māyā-saktyā) or the internal spiritual potency (antarena:antaraṇga-cic-chaktyā). Or else, the soul is he who is covered both internally and externally by the subtle and gross coverings. Thus (iti), considering (vivicya:vicārya) the status (nṛ-gatim) of the jīva being bound up by māyā or his marginal position, the faithful (viśvasitāḥ) sages living on this earth worship the desire trees of Your feet (aṅghrim:bhavac-caraṇa-kalpa-tarum) growing in the field of the Vedas to destroy the bondage of material life (abhavam). Faithful (viśvasitāḥ) means those who have full belief in Kṛṣṇa’s own words: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, “He who surrenders to Me crosses the ocean of māyā.” (Bg 7.14) The following statements from the śrutis support this verse:

dvau suparṇau bhavato brahmano ’ṁśa-bhūtas tathetaro,

bhoktā bhavati anyo hi sākṣī bhavatīti

“On the tree of the body are two birds. One is an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the witness and the other is an enjoyer.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 2.23)

mathurā-maṇḍale yas tu jambūdvīpe sthito ’tha vā

yo ’rcayet pratimāṁ prati sa me priyataro bhuvi

“One who worships Me in My Deity form while living in the district of Mathurā or, indeed, anywhere in Jambūdvīpa, becomes most dear to Me in this world.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad , Uttara 47)

|| 10.87.21 ||

duravagamātma-tattva-nigamāya tavātta- tanoś

carita-mahāmṛtābdhi-parivarta-pariśramaṇāḥ

na parilaṣanti kecid apavargam apīśvara te

caraṇa-saroja-haṁsa-kula-saṅga-visṛṣṭa-gṛhāḥ

TRANSLATION

My Lord, some fortunate souls have gotten relief from the fatigue of material life by diving into the vast nectar ocean of Your pastimes, which You enact when You manifest Your personal forms to propagate the unfathomable science of the self. These rare souls, indifferent even to liberation, renounce the happiness of home and family because of their association with devotees who are like flocks of swans enjoying at the lotus of Your feet.

COMMENTARY

In order to indicate the superexcellence of bhakti-yoga, which has as its object the Personality of Godhead (bhagavān), and that such devotional service is what the personified Vedas themselves accept as the best process, they again glorify bhakti in four verses (21-24).

Śrutis: “O Lord, to distribute (nigamāya) ātma-tattva (the confidential mystery of Your personal forms, qualities, pastimes and sweetness), which is difficult for the jīvas to understand (duravagama), You compassionately appear in this world to display Your pastimes which are vast oceans of nectar.”

The word pariśramaṇāḥ (fatigue) refers to those rare (kecit) devotees who, although becoming fatigued after repeatedly diving (parivartāḥ:taraṇga-bhrami-puñjāḥ) into the endless waves and whirlpools in the ocean of Kṛṣṇa’s ecstatic pleasure pastimes, do not desire even the happiness of liberation (apavargam:mokṣa-sukham), what to speak then, of the material happiness of dharma, artha and kāma (piety, wealth, sense enjoyment). Rather, their very fatigue becomes pleasure for them, just as young materialistic persons, though incapable of tolerating hard work, consider the fatigue produced by sex indulgence to be the highest pleasure of all.

Similarly, the Lord’s pure devotees become enthused by relishing the sweet nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and feel impelled to dance, sing, kick their heels together, faint, shed tears, cry out in lamentation, and run about like madmen. Immersed in ecstasy, they are unaware of any bodily discomfort. Indeed, they think the happiness of Brahman to be like the pleasure animals derive from chewing grass.

This is also stated by Śrīdhara Swāmī:

tvat-kathāmṛta-pāthodhau viharanto mahā-mudaḥ

kurvanti kṛtinaḥ kecic catur-vargaṁ tṛṇopamam

“Those rare, fortunate souls who blissfully play in the nectar ocean of Your pastimes consider the four great goals (catur-vargaṁ) of life [piety, wealth, sense pleasures and liberation] to be no more important than a blade of grass.”

The śrutis more specifically describe the cause of attaining happiness from the Lord: “By the association of saintly, swanlike (haṁsa) Vaiṣṇavas, who forever relish the sweet nectar of serving Your lotus feet, a devotee becomes so absorbed in tasting that nectar that He loses all attraction for his wife and family (gṛhāḥ).”

There are many verses from the Upaniṣads and other śrutis proclaiming the superiority of bhakti over mukti. The Nṛsiṁha-pūrva-tāpanī Upaniṣad says, yaṁ sarve vedā namanti mumukṣavo brahma-vādinaś ca: “To Him all the Vedas, all seekers of liberation and all students of the Absolute Truth offer their obeisances.” Commenting on this mantra, Śrī Śaṅkarācārya admits, muktā api līlayā vigrahaṁ kṛtvā bhagavantaṁ bhajanti: “Even the liberated souls have form. They worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead and enjoy pastimes with Him.”

Śrīla Madhvācārya Ānandatīrtha, cites his own favorite śruti-mantras in this regard, such as muktā hy etam upāsate, muktānām api bhaktir hi paramānanda-rūpiṇī. “Even those who are liberated worship Him, and even for them devotional service is the embodiment of supreme bliss.” The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa (3.12.3) says, amṛtasya dhārā bahudhā dohamānaṁ/ caraṇaṁ no loke su-dhitāṁ dadhātu/ oṁ tat sat: “May the abundant streams of nectar flowing from His feet (caraṇāmṛta) flood the world with nectar.”

|| 10.87.22 ||

tvad-anupathaṁ kulāyam idam ātma-suhṛt-priya-vac

carati tathonmukhe tvayi hite priya ātmani ca

na bata ramanty aho asad-upāsanayātma-hano

yad-anuśayā bhramanty uru-bhaye ku-śarīra-bhṛtaḥ

TRANSLATION

When this human body is used for Your devotional service, it acts as one’s self, friend and beloved. But unfortunately, although You always show mercy to the conditioned souls and affectionately help them in every way, and although You are their true Self, people in general fail to delight in You. Instead they commit spiritual suicide by worshiping illusion. Alas, because they persistently hope for success in their devotion to the unreal, they continue to wander about this greatly fearful world, assuming various degraded bodies.

COMMENTARY

After describing the devotees who renounce the enjoyments of hearth and home, the śrutis lament for the jīvas who are attached to home and do not perform devotional service. This body (kulāyam), which is the nest of the jīvātmā bird, is the ideal facility (anupatham) for reviving one’s spiritual consciousness. The bodies’ organs—ears, tongue, eyes and hands—are quite suitable for hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa, worshiping Him, and practicing the limbs of devotional service.

One’s material body is destined to remain intact for only a short time, and so it is called kulāyam, subject to “dissolving into the earth” (kau līyate). This body appears as one’s self, friend and beloved. But such appearance is not found in a dead body.

“Ah! How sad it is that they do not find pleasure in humbly serving You, by whose connection the body seems to be one’s self. Nevertheless, due to Your compassionate nature You are favorably disposed toward them and always act as their benefactor. You ever remain their beloved, well-wishing friend.”

“In reality, as the ever-present, indwelling Supersoul (ātmani), You are a greater object of affection than even the body and the soul itself, and are thus very easily served. By worshiping illusion (asad-upāsanā) due to the bad training received from studying and teaching false materialistic scriptures or by having too much affection for sons, wife and family they maintain material desires (anusayaḥ:vāsanā) that carry them into more degraded bodies (ku-śarīra) like jackals and animals in each successive life. Such people commit spiritual suicide, and continually rotate in the terribly fearful cycle of material existence (uru-bhaye).”

The Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.3.15) states:

ārāmam asya paśyanti na taṁ paśyati kaścana. na tam

vidātha ya imā jajānānyad yuṣmākam antaram babhūva.

nīhāreṇa prāvṛtā jalpyā cāsu-tṛpa uktha-śāsaś caranti

“Everyone can see the place where the Lord manifested Himself in this world for His own pleasure, but still no one sees Him. None of you know Him who generated all these living beings, and thus there is a great difference between your vision and His. Covered by the fog of illusion, you performers of Vedic rituals indulge in useless talk and live only to gratify your senses.”

The Īśopaniṣad (3) declares:

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ

tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ

“The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.”

|| 10.87.23 ||

nibhṛta-marun-mano-’kṣa-dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan

munaya upāsate tad arayo ’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt

striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-daṇḍa-viṣakta-dhiyo

vayam api te samāḥ sama-dṛśo ’ṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ

TRANSLATION

Simply by constantly thinking of Him, the enemies of the Lord attained the same Supreme Truth whom sages fixed in yoga worship by controlling their breath, mind and senses. Similarly, we śrutis, who generally see You as all-pervading, will achieve the same nectar from Your lotus feet that Your consorts are able to relish because of their loving attraction to Your mighty, serpentine arms, for You look upon us and Your consorts in the same way.

COMMENTARY

In order to speak of the supreme position of bhakti-yoga directed only to Kṛṣṇa, and of the superexcellence of Kṛṣṇa among all the personal forms of God, the śrutis first denigrate jñāna-yoga which has impersonal Brahman as its goal.

The śrutis said, “The sages who engage in steadfast yoga with fully controlled (nibhṛtaiḥ:saṁyamitaiḥ) breathing, mind and senses, meditate in their purified hearts on that same Paramātmā, the personal form of Brahman, which the demons, who appeared when Kṛṣṇa descended, attained simply by remembrance of the Lord with animosity. Ah, such is the greatness of Kṛṣṇa that even demons like Kaṁsa and others, though they saw Kṛṣṇa briefly with mundane vision and impure hearts obsessed with enmity, and though they were devoid of any realization of the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s body, still they quickly obtained the perfection of liberation simply by remembering Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s personal form. We cannot even imagine how long it will take those meditative sages to attain that Brahman.”

Speaking for themselves, however, the personified Vedas here state that they wish to taste the sweet mellows of kṛṣṇa-prema that are relished by Kṛṣṇa’s intimate friends such as the young gopīs of Vraja. The śrutis said, “The minds of the damsels of Vraja (striyaḥ) were attracted with great love to the powerfully soft arms of Kṛṣṇa, which resemble the body of the king of snakes. They lovingly served and relished the sweet nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet (aṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ) by holding them on their breasts (hṛdi:vakṣaḥ-sthale).”

This is described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.31.19):

yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu

bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu

tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit

kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ

“O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path.”

In the second half of this verse the śrutis, hankering in ecstatic eagerness, imagine that they have attained Kṛṣṇa’s feet in the same way (vayam api) as the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. The śrutis said, “We will attain You by performing austerities to obtain forms just like (samāḥ) the Vraja-gopīs.”

“But” Kṛṣṇa might question, “How will you do this?”

Śrutis: “With undivided attention (sama-dṛśaḥ) we will faithfully follow in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja.”

In this verse four groups have been described. The sages and the demons mentioned in the first half attained impersonal realization of Kṛṣṇa. In the last part of the verse, the gopīs and śrutis both achieved Kṛṣṇa in the mood of conjugal love. This is understood from using the word api (also) twice.

In the supplement to the Bṛhad-vāmana Purāṇa, Lord Brahmā relates a history regarding this incident:

brahmānanda-mayo loko vyāpī vaikuṇṭha-saṁjñitaḥ

tal-loka-vāsī tatra-sthaiḥ stuto vedaiḥ parāt-paraḥ

“The infinite world of spiritual bliss is called Vaikuṇṭha. There the Supreme Truth lives, being glorified by the personified Vedas who reside there too.”

ciraṁ stutvā tatas tuṣṭaḥ parokṣaṁ prāha tān girā

tuṣṭo ’smi brūta bho prājñā varaṁ yaṁ manasepsitam

“Once, after the Vedas had elaborately praised Him, the Lord felt especially satisfied and spoke to them in a voice whose source remained invisible: ‘My dear sages, I am very satisfied with you. Please ask of Me some benediction that you secretly desire.”

śrutaya ūcuḥ

yathā tal-loka-vāsinyaḥ kāma-tattvena gopīkāḥ

bhajanti ramaṇaṁ matvā cikīrṣājani nas tathā

“The śrutis replied, ‘We have developed the desire to become like the Vraja-gopīs of the mortal world who, inspired by lust, worship You in the mood of a lover.’”

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

durlabho durghaṭaś caiva yuṣmākaṁ sa manorathaḥ

mayānumoditaḥ samyak satyo bhavitum arhati

“The Lord then said, ‘This desire of yours is difficult to fulfill. Indeed, it is almost impossible. But since I am sanctioning it, your wish must inevitably come true.’”

āgāmini viriñcau tu jāte sṛṣṭy-artham udite

kalpaṁ sāraśvataṁ prāpya vraje gopyo bhaviṣyatha

“When the next Brahmā takes birth to faithfully execute his duties of creation, and when the day of his life called the Sārasvata-kalpa arrives, you will all appear in Vraja as gopīs.”

pṛthivyāṁ bhārate kṣetre māthure mama maṇḍale

vṛndāvane bhaviṣyāmi preyān vo rāsa-maṇḍale

“On the earth, in the land of Bhārata, in My own district of Mathurā, in the forest of Vṛndāvana, I will become your beloved in the circle of the rāsa dance.’’

jāra-dharmeṇa su-snehaṁ su-dṛḍhaṁ sarvato ’dhikam

mayi samprāpya sarve ’pi kṛta-kṛtyā bhaviṣyatha

“Thus obtaining Me as your paramour, you will all gain the most exalted and steadfast pure love for Me, and in this way you will fulfill all your ambitions.”

brahmovāca

śrutvaitac cintayantyas tā rūpaṁ bhagavataś ciram

ukta-kālaṁ samāsādya gopyo bhūtvā hariṁ gatāḥ

Lord Brahmā said: “After hearing these words, the śrutis meditated on the Lord’s beautiful form for a long time. When the designated time ultimately arrived, they became gopīs and obtained the association of Lord Hari.’’

The following verse from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.5.6) supports the topic of this verse: ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyaḥ, “One must see the Lord, hear about Him, think about Him, and meditate upon with Him fixed concentration.”

The idea here is that one should directly see (draṣṭavyaḥ:sāksāt kartavyaḥ) the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The means for achieving this are then stated: First one must hear from a bonafide guru and take the words of such a spiritual master into one’s heart by offering him humble service and striving in all ways to please him. One should then continuously ponder the divine message of the spiritual master with the aim of dispelling all one’s doubts and misconceptions. Then one can proceed to meditate on the Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet with total conviction and determination.

The jñānīs conclude that impersonal realization (nirviśeṣa) of the Supreme is more complete and final than personal worship (sa-viśeṣa) of the Supreme Godhead. The Vaiṣṇavas, however, conclude that the essential meaning of the Vedas refers to the personal form of Godhead, who possesses wonderful spiritual variety and distinct transcendental qualities. The Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.23) explains this point:yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas/ tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām, “One cannot understand the supreme soul by studying the Vedas or by hearing many scriptures or by one’s mental energy. The Lord reveals His personal form to the person who accepts the Lord as his master. That person alone attains the Lord.”

A further understanding of the verse quoted above from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.5.6): ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyaḥ, is given as follows: One should realize and see (draṣṭavyaḥ) the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who possesses a body (tanūm) full of auspicious qualities. This can be achieved by hearing (śrotavyo) the kṛṣṇa-mantra from the mouth of the divine spiritual master. Śrutis such as the Krama-dīpikā state that the mantra and the svarūpa of the Lord are identical: mantra-maya-vapuśaḥ. The word mantavyaḥ refers to the process of remembering, which consists of paying careful attention to the sound and the meaning of the mantra. The word nididhyāsitavyaḥ can be understood according to the statement of the Amara-kosa dictionary: nirvarṇaṁ tu nirdhyānaṁ darśana ālokanekṣaṇam, the word nirdhyānaṁ means “seeing” (darsanam). The desire to see the Deity mentioned in the mantra is called nididhyāsanam.

In other words, by regularly chanting one’s dikṣa-mantra as japa while carefully thinking about its meaning, one should cultivate the desire to see one’s worshipable Lord. By cultivating the desire to see Him, then Śrī Kṛṣṇa, reality the beautiful, will manifest Himself one day before the eyes of the devotee. In regard to the personified Vedas’ desire to attain the Vraja-gopīs’ mood of conjugal desire, Kṛṣṇa says in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Uttara 4):

apūtaḥ pūto bhavati yaṁ māṁ smṛtvā,

avratī vratī bhavati yaṁ māṁ smṛtvā,

niṣkāmaḥ sa-kāmo bhavati yaṁ māṁ smṛtvā,

aśrotrī śrotrī bhavati yaṁ māṁ smṛtvā

“By remembering Me, one who is impure becomes pure. By remembering Me, one who follows no vows becomes a strict follower of vows. By remembering Me, one who is desireless develops desires to serve Me. By remembering Me, one who has studied no Vedic mantras becomes an expert knower of the Vedas.”

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (12) also states: vraja-strī-jana-sambhūtaḥ śrutibhyo brahma-saṅgataḥ, “The śrutis took birth among the women of Vraja.” Or it means that Śrī Kṛṣṇa achieved the association of all the divisions (brahma-saṅgataḥ:prāpta-vedāṇga-saṇgo ’bhūt) of the Vedas by meeting the śrutis when they appeared in Vṛndāvana as gopīs.

|| 10.87.24 ||

ka iha nu veda batāvara-janma-layo ’gra-saraṁ

yata udagād ṛṣir yam anu deva-gaṇā ubhaye

tarhi na san na cāsad ubhayaṁ na ca kāla-javaḥ

kim api na tatra śāstram avakṛṣya śayīta yadā

TRANSLATION

Everyone in this world has recently been born and will soon die. So how can anyone here know Him who existed prior to everything else and who gave rise to the first learned sage, Brahmā, and all subsequent demigods, both lesser and greater? When He lies down and withdraws everything within Himself, nothing else remains—no gross or subtle matter or bodies composed of these, no force of time or revealed scripture.

COMMENTARY

Here the śrutis express that devotional service, bhakti-yoga, as described in these prayers of the personified Vedas, is the surest and easiest path to knowledge of the Lord and to liberation. On the other hand, the path of jñāna-yoga, the philosophic search for knowledge, is very difficult to traverse.

The śrutis said, “O Lord! The men in this world are relatively recent productions, so how can they completely know You, who existed before all? Besides, from You first appeared the Veda, which is the source of what ever little knowledge can be had of You. According to the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, even the Vedas are searching after You, veda-guhyāni hṛt-pateḥ, “The Lord of the heart (Paramātmā) hides Himself deep within the confidential recesses of the Vedic sound.” (SB 1.3.35) Following the Veda, the presiding demigods of the senses like the demigods of the directions, wind and sun, and the planetary rulers like Lord Brahmā appeared from You. Certainly those who have appeared even more recently than them cannot easily know You.

“At the time of dissolution when You withdraw everything and lie down, then there is no means for the jīvas, who also lie down within You, to acquire knowledge, since at that time neither the gross elements like ether or the subtle elements like the mahat-tattva are manifest. Nor is there the material body or the movements and effects of time. Therefore, at that time there is nothing; no senses, life airs, and no revealed scriptures to give knowledge.”

The intended idea is as follows: “As long as the creation lasts, living beings face many obstacles created by the coverings of material bodies. Even though they have divine scriptures to guide them and the opportunity to execute various methods of sādhana, the conditioned souls have but little power for gaining knowledge of You. When the time of annihilation comes, even though there are no more obstructions, the Vedic scriptures and their regulative injunctions become unmanifest, leaving the dormant jīvas completely in ignorance of You. Therefore we should abandon our quest for knowledge of You and simply engage in Your devotional service.”

The śrutis speak on the same subject:

ko ’ddhā veda ka iha pravocat kuta āyātāḥ kuta iyaṁ visṛṣṭiḥ

arvāg devā visarjanenā-thā ko veda yata ā babhūva

“Who in this world actually knows, and who can explain whence this creation has come? The demigods, after all, are younger than the creation. Who, then, can tell whence this world has come into being?” (Rg Veda 3.54.5)

|| 10.87.25 ||

janim asataḥ sato mṛtim utātmani ye ca bhidāṁ

vipaṇam ṛtaṁ smaranty upadiśanti ta ārupitaiḥ

tri-guṇa-mayaḥ pumān iti bhidā yad abodha-kṛtā

tvayi na tataḥ paratra sa bhaved avabodha-rase

TRANSLATION

Supposed authorities who declare that matter is the origin of existence, that the permanent qualities of the soul can be destroyed, that the self is compounded of separate aspects of spirit and matter, or that material transactions constitute reality—all such authorities base their teachings on mistaken ideas that hide the truth. The dualistic conception that the living entity is produced from the three modes of nature is simply a product of ignorance. Such a conception has no real basis in You, for You are transcendental to all illusion and always enjoy perfect, total awareness.

COMMENTARY

The followers of Vaiśeṣika, Nyāya, Sāṅkhya, Yoga and Mīmāṁsā philosophies all have their own incorrect ideas, which the personified Vedas point out in this prayer.

The śrutis said, “Not only is the truth about You, the Personality of Godhead, difficult to understand, but because there is no unity of opinion among the learned, true knowledge about the supreme goal of life is also virtually impossible to acquire for the jīva souls.”

“Patañjali Ṛṣi’s yoga philosophy teaches one how to achieve Brahman liberation by a mechanical process (janim asataḥ) of exercise and meditation. The logicians (Naiyāyikas) following Gautama Ṛṣi speak of liberation as the destruction of the soul’s innate consciousness (sato mṛtim), with its twenty-one different causes of suffering: the six senses, the six sense objects, the six whirlpools (heat, cold, hunger, thirst, greed and illusion), happiness, distress and the body. Sāṅkhya philosophers say that the soul’s status of being free from qualities is his liberation. In truth, the soul is both conscious and active, but the Sāṅkhyites wrongly separate these two functions of the living force (ātmani ye ca bhidām), ascribing consciousness to the soul (puruṣa) and activity to material nature (prakṛti). The Mīmāṁsakas (proponents of Karma-mīmāṁsā) of Jaimini Ṛṣi say (smaranti:vadanti) that material work (karma) and it results are the only reality (ṛtam). The cycle of karma is perpetual, and the best one can aim for is higher birth among the demigods.”

All these philosophies teach by attribution, not by seeing the truth. If the living entity were in fact composed of the three modes of nature, then all these erroneous philosophies would be valid, but this is not the fact. Rather, the living entity is in truth devoid of material qualities. With this implication in mind the śrutis conclude this verse by saying, “The dualistic idea that the living entity is composed of the three material modes is a creation of Your ignorance potency (avidya-śakti:abodha-kṛtā) and thus is not a fact. Furthermore, that duality affects only the jīvātmā and not You, the Paramātmā.”

“The covering of ignorance of the jīva does not take place in You (tvayi na tataḥ) because You are completely transcendental (paratra). Ignorance is a function of māyā and māyā is under Your control. You are exclusively imbued with total consciousness (avabodha-rase:sampūrṇa-cid-eka-rase). Darkness cannot cover the unlimited light of the sun, but it can cover objects like gold or silver which have small portions of light. Similarly, ignorance cannot cover the Supersoul but it can cover the individual spirit soul. Thus the fallacious conclusions of these speculative philosophers prove that even great scholars and sages are often bewildered by ignorance.”

As the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.5) says,

avidyāyām antare vartamānāḥ

svayaṁ dhīrāḥ paṇḍitam-manyamānāḥ

jaṅghanyamānāḥ pariyanti mūḍhā

andhenaiva nīyamānā yathāndhāḥ

“Caught in the grip of ignorance, self-proclaimed experts consi-der themselves learned authorities. Befooled, they wander about this world engaging in arguments and counterarguments, like the blind leading the blind.”

|| 10.87.26 ||

sad iva manas tri-vṛt tvayi vibhāty asad ā-manujāt

sad abhimṛśanty aśeṣam idam ātmatayātma-vidaḥ

na hi vikṛtiṁ tyajanti kanakasya tad-ātmatayā

sva-kṛtam anupraviṣṭam idam ātmatayāvasitam

TRANSLATION

The three modes of material nature comprise everything in this world—from the simplest phenomena to the complex human body. Although these phenomena appear real, they are only a false reflection of the spiritual reality, being a superimposition of the mind upon You. Still, those who know the Supreme Self consider the entire material creation to be real inasmuch as it is nondifferent from the Self. Just as things made of gold are indeed not to be rejected, since their substance is actual gold, so this world is undoubtedly nondifferent from the Lord who created it and then entered within it.

COMMENTARY

A Māyāvādi philosopher would take the words spoken by the personified Vedas in the preceding prayer— tri-guṇa-mayaḥ pumān iti bhidā—as negating any distinction between the Paramātmā and the jīva soul. He would claim that since the jīva’s material embodiment is a temporary display of the three modes of nature, when the jīva’s ignorance is destroyed by knowledge, he becomes the Paramātmā, the Supreme Soul. Bondage, liberation and the manifest world are all unreal creations of ignorance. In response to such ideas, the śrutis speak this verse to clarify the factual relationship between sat and asat.

The whole universe comprised of the three modes and including the living entity seems to be real, but actually it is not because it is simply an imagined production of the mind. The śrutis say, asato ’dhimano ’sṛjyata, manaḥ prajāpatim asṛjat, prajāpatiḥ prajā asṛjat, tad vā idaṁ manasy eva paramaṁ pratiṣṭhitaṁ yad idaṁ kiṁ ca: “The supreme mind was originally created from asat. This mind created Prajāpati, and Prajāpati created all living beings. Thus mind alone is the ultimate foundation of everything that exists in this world.”

“This statement is in accordance with the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.7.1), asad vā idam agra āsīt: ‘In the beginning of this creation, only asat was present.’ By the agency of Brahman (asato), as the active cause, there evolved ignorance, which manifested in the form of the mind (manaḥ). That total mind of the creation then manifested Prajāpati Brahmā, who identifies with it as his body, since the economy of creation is such that no material body is created until some living entity wants to inhabit it. Therefore this world is created by the mind.”

“But the learned knowers of the self say the world is real. How can you say it is unreal?”

“They understand it to be real in the sense that it is the product of the real; in other words, it is nondifferent from it. Indeed, when a particular created object has a particular ingredient cause, it appears in the very form of that cause, and in that way can be utilized in a practical way.”

They illustrate this with a common example in the third line: “When gold transforms into an earring, it is not rejected by those wanting gold, because the earring is in essence gold.” True jñānīs see in this mundane example an analogy to the different-yet-nondifferent relationship of the Supreme Lord and His emanations, both material and spiritual. Thus this transcendental knowledge frees them from the bondage of illusion, for they can then see Śrī Kṛṣṇa throughout His creation.

|| 10.87.27 ||

tava pari ye caranty akhila-sattva-niketatayā

ta uta padākramanty avigaṇayya śiro nirṛteḥ

parivayase paśūn iva girā vibudhān api tāṁs

tvayi kṛta-sauhṛdāḥ khalu punanti na ye vimukhāḥ

TRANSLATION

The devotees who worship You as the shelter of all beings disregard Death and place their feet on his head. But with the words of the Vedas You bind the nondevotees like animals, though they be vastly learned scholars. It is Your affectionate devotees who can purify themselves and others, not those who are inimical to You.

COMMENTARY

In the previous two verses regarding the supreme goal of life, the personified Vedas presented five different schools of erroneous philosophies: the asad-utpatti-vāda , proponents of Patañjali’s yoga system, who say one can attain Brahman by material exercises; the sad-vināśa-vāda of the Naiyāyikas, who advocate destruction of the jīva’s consciousness; the saguṇatva-bheda-vāda of the Sāṅkhyas, who say liberation is achieved when the soul is separated from all his apparent qualities; the vipaṇa-vāda of the Mīmāṁsakas, who condemn the soul to eternal involvement in the mundane business of karma; and the vivarta-vāda of the Māyāvādīs, who claim the soul’s real life in this world is an illusion.

Having rejected all these concepts, the personified Vedas now present paricaryā-vāda, the philosophy of devotional service in this verse. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy teaches that the jīva soul is an atomic particle of spiritual personality who possesses minute knowledge. He is not independent and has no material qualities. Being minute, he is prone to come under the control of the material energy, where he suffers the pains of material life. Only by bhakti, and not by fruitive work, mental speculation or any other process, can one destroy the suffering of material existence and attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in His own words,

daivī hy eṣā guna-mayī, mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante, māyām etāṁ taranti te

“My divine energy consisting of the three modes of material nature is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” (Bg. 7.14)

bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ śraddhayātmā priyaḥ satām

bhaktiḥ punāti man-niṣṭhā śva-pākān api sambhavāt

“Only by practicing unalloyed devotional service with full faith in Me can one obtain Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am naturally dear to My devotees, who take Me as the only goal of their loving service. By engaging in such pure devotional service, even the dog-eaters can purify themselves from the contamination of their low birth.” (SB 11.14.21)

According to these statements of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, bhakti is the only process. By such statements as the twenty-first verse beginning duravagamātma (difficult to understand), the śrutis also indicate that devotional service is itself the supreme goal of life (parama-puruṣarthā). Thus propounding the Vaiṣṇava philosophy as superior to all others, the śrutis place the Vaiṣṇavas in the topmost category and condemn all other philosophers in this verse. The genitive form of tava is used here in the sense of the accusative case. The intervention of other words between the upasarga and the verb in the phrase tava pariye caranti, which is equivalent to tvāṁ ye paricaranti, is not a mistake, rather it is permissible for metrical reasons in the verse according to the rule of the great grammarian Pāṇini: chandasi vyavahitās ca. The śrutis said, “The Vaiṣṇavas worship You as the shelter (niketa:āsrayaḥ) of everything that exists (akhila-sattva). Moreover, the devotees themselves can be called akhila-sattva-niketa in the sense that they serve You with the mood of accepting the reality (sattvam) of both the material and spiritual worlds. In his commentary on Vedānta-sūtra, Śrīpāda Madhvācārya gives evidence of this fact by quoting the śruti-mantra: satyaṁ hy evedaṁ viśvam asṛjata, “He created this world as real.” The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.1.11) refers to the Supreme Lord as pradhāna-pumbhyām naradeva satya-kṛt, “the creator of a real universe of matter and living entities.”

There is another more confidential meaning of akhila-sattva-niketa: Akhila may be analyzed as follows: The word khila means impure or inferior, therefore akhila means pure or perfect, though its common meaning is “all.” Then the phrase means that Supreme Lord’s personal abodes in Vaikuṇṭha are perfectly pure realms free of anxiety and restriction. Therefore, the Vaiṣṇavas who serve the Supreme Lord simply step on the head of death and transcend material existence without paying much attention.

“But,” it may be questioned, “The proponents of the above-mentioned philosophies can also surpass death.”

The śrutis answer, “No, they cannot! Those so-called wise philosophers (vibudhān) who are inimical (vimukha) to the Lord are bound in illusion like animals tied by the ropes of such Vedic statements as asato ’dhimano ’sṛjyata, manaḥ prajāpatim asṛjat. Thus they are kept in ignorance by the same words of the Vedas that enlighten the surrendered devotees.”

One should not think, however, that Vaiṣṇavas are ignorant because they may not be expert in philosophical analysis and argument. The Vaiṣṇavas acquire perfect knowledge by receiving the Lord’s favor, not through their own efforts at mental speculation. This is confirmed in Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau

tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.”

The śrutis continue, “Therefore, those who have manifested love (sauhṛdāḥ:prema) for You are themselves purified and by their instructions they purify others. However, those who are not devotees (vimukhāḥ:abhaktah) do not become pure.” The following sastric statements confirm these points: nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām, eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān, “There is one eternal, supreme conscious being among all the other eternal, conscious beings who supplies the needs of everyone else.” (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)

taṁ pīṭha-gam ye tu yajanti dhīrās, teṣāṁ sāntiḥ sāsvatī netareṣām

“Those wise souls who worship Him in His abode attain everlasting peace; others cannot.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 22)

juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyaty anyam īśam asya mahimānam iti vīta-śokaḥ

ṛco ’kṣare pare vyoman yasmin devā adhi viśve niṣeduḥ

“When the Lord is served with loving affection (juṣṭaṁ:prītyā), one realizes (pasyati:anubhavati) His glory. By such means one becomes free of sorrow, victorious over death, and ascends to the eternally manifest (akṣare:nitya-rūpe) spiritual sky called Mahā-vaikuṇṭha (pare vyoman).” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.7-8)

|| 10.87.28 ||

tvam akaraṇaḥ sva-rāḍ akhila-kāraka-śakti-dharas

tava balim udvahanti samadanty ajayānimiṣāḥ

varṣa-bhujo ’khila-kṣiti-pater iva viśva-sṛjo

vidadhati yatra ye tv adhikṛtā bhavataś cakitāḥ

TRANSLATION

Though You have no material senses, You are the self-effulgent sustainer of everyone’s sensory powers. The demigods and material nature herself offer You tribute, while also enjoying the tribute offered them by their worshipers, just as subordinate rulers of various districts in a kingdom offer tribute to their lord, the ultimate proprietor of the land, while also enjoying the tribute paid them by their own subjects. In this way the universal creators faithfully execute their assigned services out of fear of You.

COMMENTARY

The personified Vedas conclude, “All intelligent living beings should acknowledge their dependence on You, the supreme independent controller, and willingly engage in Your service.”

But Lord Nārāyaṇa might object, “No, this is not so. Because I possess eyes, ears, hands and so forth, I am just as dependent on the senses as the living beings. What question is there of My independence or almighty power?”

Śrutis: “No, You have no material senses, yet You are the absolute controller of all.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “Then where do My eyes, ears and mind come from?”

Śrutis: “Your hands, feet, eyes and ears are not like those of an ordinary, conditioned soul, which are derived from false ego, a material substance. Rather, Your transcendentally beautiful features are direct manifestations of Your internal nature (sva-rāḍ).”

The phrase akhila-śakti-dhara, “maintainer of everyone’s sensory powers,” has an alternative explanation: The power that Lord Nārāyaṇa maintains within Himself is akhila, free from the limitations of all that is khila, inferior and insignificant. The Supreme Lord energizes the living being’s senses, as described by the Kena Upaniṣad (1.2): cakṣuṣas cakṣur uta śrotrasya śrotraṁ, manaso mano yad vāco ha vācam. “He is the eye’s eye, the ear’s ear, the mind’s mind, and the voice’s capacity of speech.”

Śrutis: “You bestow the power (śakti) of hearing, seeing and hearing to the material senses. Though You have no material senses, You do have spiritual senses arising from Your svarūpa-śakti, internal energy.” The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) declares:

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate

svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca

“He has no material work to perform, nor any material senses with which to perform it. No one can be found who is equal to or greater than Him. From the Vedas we hear how that Supreme Lord possesses multifarious energies— the potencies of knowledge, strength and action—each of which acts autonomously.”

Next the śrutis speak of Lord Nārāyaṇa’s great power: “The demigods like Brahmā, whose eyes do not blink (animisāḥ), bring You articles of worship (balim), along with even māyā (ajaya), their authority, who also makes offerings to You. By Your mercy the demigods eat the various sacrificial offerings presented to them by human beings, just as the leaders of various provinces give offerings made by the citizens to the king. These powerful controllers of the universe perform their assigned duties in fear of You.” As the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.8.1) states:

bhīṣāsmād vātaḥ pavate bhīṣād eti sūryaḥ

bhīṣāsmād agniś cendraś ca mṛtyur dhāvati pañcamaḥ

“The wind blows out of fear of Him. The sun rises out of fear of Him. The fire, moon and death, the fifth of their number, run out of fear of Him.”

|| 10.87.29 ||

sthira-cara-jātayaḥ syur ajayottha-nimitta-yujo

vihara udīkṣayā yadi parasya vimukta tataḥ

na hi paramasya kaścid aparo na paraś ca bhaved

viyata ivāpadasya tava śūnya-tulāṁ dadhataḥ

TRANSLATION

O eternally liberated, transcendental Lord, Your material energy causes the various moving and nonmoving species of life to appear by activating their material desires, but only when and if You sport with her by briefly glancing at her. You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, see no one as an intimate friend and no one as a stranger, just as the ethereal sky has no connection with perceptible qualities. In this sense You resemble a void.

COMMENTARY

Having spoken of the power and independence of Lord Nārāyaṇa as reasons for His being worthy of worship, now the śrutis speak of the reasons for the jīva being His worshiper, namely his lack of power and lack of independence.

The śrutis said, “O ever-liberated (vimukta:nitya-mukta) Lord! When You, who remain far away from (parasya:dūre) māyā and do not associate with her, play (viharaḥ:vihārah krīḍā) with Mahā-Māyā (the energy of material creation) by slightly glancing (udīkṣayā: īkṣaṇa-lesena) at her, then the jīvas develop bodies endowed with movement or inertia.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa:“But if all the jīvas are merged in Me, how can they appear again?”

Śrutis: “By Your glance the jīvas manifest (syur:āvirbhūtāni) the subtle bodies needed for material activities. The jīvas merge into You because of a merging of their illusory identities (upādhis) at the time of devastation (pralaya). The jīvas again appear when their upādhis manifest through Your glance. In this way, the jīva’s lack of power is indicated by his being controlled by karma.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “But then this awakening to activity takes place simply by My whim?”

Śrutis: “No, because You are free from partiality, You cannot produce an unfair creation. You are the faultless Supreme Personality of Godhead (paramasya:nirdoṣa-puruṣottamasya), so there cannot be any sense of “mine” and “others” (aparo na paraś), just as the ethereal sky (viyataḥ), which because of not being touched by anything, does not allow any partiality to abide in it. But this does not mean that You are exactly like the ether; rather ether has some similarity (śūnya-tulāṁ) to You.”

In this connection, the Brhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (2.1.20) states:

yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliṅgā vyuccaranty evam evāsmād ātmanaḥ sarve prāṇāḥ sarve lokāḥ sarve devāḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni vyuccaranti,

“Just as small sparks emanate from a big fire, similarly all living entities, all planets, all the demigods, and all material elements such as the earth emanate from the supreme soul, Śrī Govinda.

|| 10.87.30 ||

aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās

tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā

ajani ca yan-mayaṁ tad avimucya niyantṛ bhavet

samam anujānatāṁ yad amataṁ mata-duṣṭatayā

TRANSLATION

If the countless living entities were all-pervading and possessed forms that never changed, You could not possibly be their absolute ruler, O immutable one. But since they are Your localized expansions and their forms are subject to change, You do control them. Indeed, that which supplies the ingredients for the generation of something is necessarily its controller because a product never exists apart from its ingredient cause. It is simply illusion for someone to think that he knows the Supreme Lord, who is equally present in each of His expansions, since whatever knowledge one gains by material means must be imperfect.

COMMENTARY

The śrutis said, “There are widely differing theories among the various philosophers about this jīva who has accepted different moving and non-moving bodies. The Advaita Māyāvādīs, for example, propose that there is only one living being and one power of illusion (avidyā) that covers him, producing the appearance of plurality.”

“But this hypothesis leads to the absurd conclusion that when any one jīva becomes liberated, everyone obtains liberation. If, on the other hand, there are many avidyās to cover the one jīva, each avidyā will cover only some part of him, and we would have to talk about his becoming partly liberated at particular times while his other parts remain in bondage. This is also obviously absurd. Thus the plurality of living beings is an unavoidable conclusion.”

“The advocates of Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika claim that the jīva soul is infinite in size. If souls were infinitesimal, they would not pervade their own bodies, whereas if they were of medium size they would be divisible into parts and thus could not be eternal. Therefore, the numerous eternal jīva souls are each infinitely large, so how can they be covered by any power of bondage, whether belonging to avidyā or to the Supreme Lord Himself?” The śrutis then explain in this verse that others do not accept this opinion of the Nyāya philosophers.

The śrutis said, “If the countless (aparimitāḥ:asankhyata) living entities (tanu-bhṛto) were eternal (dhruvāḥ:nityāḥ), rather than being generated from You and also all-pervading, then because they would thus be equal to You, the scriptures would not say that they are under Your control. O Lord, You are perpetually in Your original form (dhruvās:nityasvarūpa), not otherwise (netarathā). That is to say, if they were generated from You, then they would not be all pervading, and thus would be under Your control.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “How is this?”

Śrutis: “Since the jīvas come into existence as an effect of Brahman, Brahman would be their controller. On account of being their source, He does not separate Himself from the jīvas.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “What is this Brahman?”

Śrutis: “He is equal (samam:tulam) toward all the jīvas in His expansion as Paramātmā.”

If someone asks what is known by the word “tad” (from that), the śrutis answer: “For those who say ‘we know it’ (anujānatām), it is for all extents and purposes unknown (amatam), because the Vedas say that knowledge gained by sense perception is imperfect (mata-duṣṭatayā).”

This is confirmed in the Kena Upaniṣad (2.3):

yasyāmataṁ tasya mataṁ mataṁ yasya na veda saḥ

avijñātaṁ vijānatāṁ vijñātam avijānatām

“Whoever denies having any opinion of his own about the Supreme Truth is correct in his opinion, whereas one who has his own opinion about the Supreme does not know Him. He is unknown to those who claim to know Him, and can only be known by those who do not claim to know Him.”

The śrutis also say avacanenaiva provāca, “Although He cannot be described in words, the Vedas have described Him.” Also it is said, saha tūṣṇīṁ babhūva, “By not speaking He spoke and then became silent.”

The Śrī Kena Upaniṣad (2.1) states: yadi manyase su-vedeti dabhram evāpi nūnaṁ tvam vettha brahmaṇo rūpaṁ, yad asya tvaṁ yad asya devesu: “If you think you know Brahman well, then your knowledge is very meager. If you think you can identify Brahman’s form from among the demigods, indeed you know but little.”

|| 10.87.31 ||

na ghaṭata udbhavaḥ prakṛti-pūruṣayor ajayor

ubhaya-yujā bhavanty asu-bhṛto jala-budbuda-vat

tvayi ta ime tato vividha-nāma-guṇaiḥ parame

sarita ivārṇave madhuni lilyur aśeṣa-rasāḥ

TRANSLATION

Neither material nature nor the soul who tries to enjoy her are ever born, yet living bodies come into being when these two combine, just as bubbles form where water meets the air. And just as rivers merge into the ocean or the nectar from many different flowers blends into honey, so all these conditioned beings eventually merge back into You, the Supreme, along with their various names and qualities.

COMMENTARY

It is seen that others criticize this doctrine. If you say that the jīvas are born from the Paramātmā, then that means the jīvas are not eternal. Every day, things created would be destroyed and uncreated things would come into being. Moreover, liberation would consist of the destruction of the jīva’s essential identity. But his essential identity (svarūpa) is Brahman. Just as the unlimited sky becomes limited by a pot, and when the pot is broken the sky is again unlimited, similarly, when the designative coverings (upādhis) of the jīva are broken, then liberation is attained. What is called the “birth” of the jīvas is simply the birth of these upādhis; for the jīva itself is not born. In this verse, the śrutis, while glorifying the Lord, relate the philosophy of those who speak like this.

In this connection the question arises; “Does the form of the jīva arise from prakrti, from the puruṣa or from both?” If the jīva arises from prakrti, then the jīva would be without consciousness. If the jīva arises from the puruṣa, then the puruṣa is subject to tranfor-mation. In the first line of this verse, the śrutis reject the third alternative that the jīva arises from both prakrti and the puruṣa, because the śrutis declare that the jīva is unborn (ajayor).

This is confirmed in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.5):

ajām ekāṁ lohita-śukla-kṛṣṇāṁ, bahvīḥ prajāḥ sṛjamānāṁ sa-rūpāḥ ajo hy eko juṣamāṇo ’nusete, jahāty enāṁ bhukta-bhogam ajo ’nyaḥ

“Material nature consists of three modes goodness, passion, and ignorance and is the mother of the innumerable living beings within the universe. It is brought into existence and supported by the one unborn Lord, who is full in self-knowledge. That unborn Lord, however, does not consort with His material energy. He independently enjoys the pleasure of His transcendental pastimes. The living entity, however, enjoys her and thus becomes perpetually bound.”

“The combination of material nature (prakrti) and her controller (puruṣa) that produces the countless conditioned souls in material creation is compared here to the combination of water and air that produces limitless bubbles (budbuda) of foam on the surface of the sea. Just as the efficient cause, air, impels the ingredient cause, water, to form itself into bubbles, so by His glance the Supreme Puruṣa inspires prakṛti to transform herself into the array of material elements and the innumerable material forms that manifest from those elements. Because the scriptures speak of the upādhis, designative coverings, merging into Brahman again when they are destroyed, even their birth is not actual.” This the śrutis state in the third line of the verse.

The words beginning tato (therefore) state that since the jīvas (te ime) are not actually born, therefore (tato), they merge along with their various names and qualities into You. The dissolution of the living being’s (jīvas) material condition occurs in two ways, partial and complete. In liberation (mukti) or the ultimate dissolution (ātyantika-laya), the jiva’s designative coverings (upādhis) of the gross and subtle bodies and also the upādhis of ignorance (avidyā), which is their cause, all become dissolved, just as rivers (sarita:nadyaḥ) merge into the ocean. In other words, all the false material designations of the jīvas are given up at the time of liberation.

Partial dissolution occurs when the soul experiences deep, dreamless sleep (suṣupti) and appears to leave his body. Partial dissolution also occurs when all souls reenter the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu at the time of universal annihilation (pralaya). In deep sleep and during the annihilation of the universe, however, only the designative coverings (upādhis) of the gross and subtle bodies are dissolved, and not that of their cause, avidyā, ignorance. These different types of dissolution are just like honey, which contains the tastes of the nectar of different flowers (aśeṣa-rasāḥ:sakala-kusuma-rasāḥ). Even though these tastes are not individually perceivable, they are perceived in a general sense. These points are corroborated in the following śrutis:

yathā nadyaḥ syandamānāḥ samudre

’staṁ gacchanti nāma-rūpe vihāya

tathā vidvān nāma-rūpād vimuktaḥ

parāt-paraṁ puruṣam upaiti divyam

“As rivers flow to their dissolution in the sea, giving up their names and forms at their destination, so the wise man who becomes free from material names and forms attains to the Supreme Absolute, the wonderful Personality of Godhead.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.8)

yathā saumya madhu madhu-kṛto nistiṣṭhanti nānātyayānāṁ vṛkṣānāṁ rasān samavahāram ekatāṁ saṅgayanti.

te yathā tatra na vivekaṁ labhante amuṣyāhaṁ vṛkṣasya

raso ’smy amuṣyāham raso ’smīty evam eva khalu saumyemāḥ

sarvāḥ prajāḥ sati sampadya na viduḥ sati sampadyāmahe

“My dear boy this partial dissolution resembles what happens when honeybees collect honey by extracting the nectar from the flowers of various kinds of trees and merge it all into a single mixture. Just as the mixed nectars cannot distinguish, ‘I am the juice of such-and-such a flower,’ or ‘I am the juice of another flower,’ so, dear boy, when all these living entities merge together they cannot consciously think, ‘Now we have merged together.’” (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.9.1-2)

The verse quoted above from the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad refers to liberation, and the verse from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad refers to universal annihilation (pralaya).

|| 10.87.32 ||

nṛṣu tava mayayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ

tvayi su-dhiyo ’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam

katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhru-kuṭiḥ

sṛjati muhus tri-nemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam

TRANSLATION

The wise souls who understand how Your Māyā deludes all human beings render potent loving service to You, who are the source of liberation from birth and death. How, indeed, can fear of material life affect Your faithful servants? On the other hand, Your furrowing eyebrows—the triple-rimmed wheel of time—repeatedly terrify those who refuse to take shelter of You.

COMMENTARY

Having proposed various philosophies and rejected them, the śrutis now establish the Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

“The eloquent proponents of the various contending materialistic philosophies mentioned in the previous two verses may consider themselves very wise, but they are in fact all deluded by Kṛṣṇa’s illusory potency, māyā. Recognizing this pattern of general delusion, Vaiṣṇavas offer their pure love (bhāvam) to Kṛṣṇa in the devotional moods of servitude, friendship and other mellows. Such pure Vaiṣṇavas experience delight (prabhavaḥ:ullāsaḥ) at every moment (anu:prati-kṣaṇam) because the object of their love is He who brings an end to material entanglement.”

Or an alternate explanation: “They perform (dadhati:kurvanti) devotional service life after life (anuprabhavam:prati-janmaiva).” This point is mentioned in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa:

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu bhramāmy aham

tatra tatrācyutā bhaktir acyutāstu dṛḍhā tvayi

“O Lord Acyuta! Wherever I may wander among the thousands of species of life, may I always have undeviating devotion to You.”

Some philosophers will question how the Vaiṣṇavas can overcome their material entanglement without thorough analytic knowledge of the jīva and the Supreme Brahman, and without being disgusted with material life.

The personified Vedas answer, “There is no chance of material illusion continuing to act on Kṛṣṇa’s devotees, because even in the earliest stages of devotional service all fear and attachment are removed by the Lord’s grace. Only because of the extreme desireless-ness and the deep feelings of humility that arise from their cultivation of devotion do the Vaiṣṇavas still identify themselves as fallen in the material world. Thus, the razor sharp sword of time, in the form of the furrowing of Your eyebrows (bhru-kuṭiḥ), with its three divisions of past, present and future creates fear of disease, death and hellish suffering only for those who fail to worship Your feet. As Lord Rāma Himself says in the Rāmāyana (Laṅkā-khaṇḍa 18.33):

sakṛd eva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate

abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama

“If anyone even once surrenders to Me, pleading ‘I am Yours,’ I will give him eternal fearlessness. This is My solemn vow.” Furthermore, in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) Śrī Kṛṣṇa says,

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante māyāṁ etāṁ taranti te

“This divine energy of Mine consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” The idea behind this is as follows:” Vaiṣṇavas are not eager to defeat other’s opinions and establish their own, as other philosophers are prone to do. The Vaiṣṇavas, however, are very eager to worship You, and for that they need not quarrel with any adverse philosophers. The Vaisnava philosophy is the essence of all scriptures. Their conception of the Supreme Absolute Truth as the infinite ocean of personality and loving pastimes in His worshipable forms of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and other divine manifestations, and their conception of themselves as His eternal servants, amount to the perfect conclusion of Vedānta philosophy in terms of the entities God (tat) and the self (tvam).

The Personality of Godhead and His emanations, such as the jīva souls, are simultaneously different and nondifferent, just like the sun and its expanding rays. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself affirms this: sūkṣmānām apy ahaṁ jīvo, “Among subtle things I am the spirit soul.” (SB 11.16.11)

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.9) also describes the measurement of the atomic spirit soul:

eṣo ’ṇurātmā cetasā veditavyo yasmin prāṇaḥ pañcadhā saṁviveśa

“The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna).”

The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9) states:

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya satadhā kalpitasya ca bhāgo
jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate

“If the tip of a hair were divided into one hundred parts, and if one of those parts were again divided into a hundred parts, that one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair would be the dimension of the living entity.”

The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.8) says: ārāgra-mātro hy aparo ’pi dṛṣṭaḥ, “The spirit soul appears in such a small size that he measures only the width of the tip of an arrow.” From these Vedic statements one can understand the infinitesimal size of the soul and its ability to pervade the whole body. The power of this minute jīva in the body can be compared to the healing power of a precious gem or a potent medicinal herb which can infuse invigorating energy throughout the body simply by being placed on the head or chest.

The jīva’s traveling through various species of life in heaven or hell is due to the influence of his material coverings. This is mentioned by Dattātreya who says that by prāṇa a man takes repeated birth in the world (yena saṁsarate pumān).

There are more, jīvas than anyone can count, and each of them is eternally alive with consciousness, as the śrutis confirm: nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 5.13). When the jīvas are sent forth from the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu at the beginning of material creation, they are all equal in the sense that they are all atomic particles of the Lord’s marginal potency (taṭastha-śakti). But according to their differing conditions, they divide into four groups: Some are covered by ignorance, which obscures their vision like a cloud, and others become liberated from ignorance by knowledge mixed with devotion. A third group of souls become endowed with pure devotion, with a slight mixture of desire for speculative knowledge and fruitive activity. Those souls attain purified bodies composed of perfect knowledge and bliss with which they can engage in the Lord’s service. Finally, there are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates who never had any connection with ignorance.

The marginal position of the jīva soul is described in the Nārada Pañcarātra:

yat taṭa-sthaṁ tu cid-rūpaṁ sva-saṁvedyād vinirgatam

rañjitaṁ guṇa-rāgeṇa sa jīva iti kathyate

“The marginal potency, who is spiritual by nature, who emanates from the self-cognizant saṁvit energy, and who becomes tainted by his attachment to the modes of material nature, is called the jīva.”

The śruti, Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (2.1.20) says: yathāgneḥ kṣudrā visphuliṅgā vyuccaranti, “As many tiny sparks are manifested from a great fire, so many individual spirit souls are manifested from the Supreme.”

If the jīva comes outside from the Personality of Godhead (cid-rūpaṁ), who is the amalgamation of all living consciousness (sva-saṁvedyād:cit-puñjāt), then he becomes colored by the influence of the three modes of the external energy. Māyā, and assumes various material forms. Because the minute jīva lives within the border between the Lord’s external, illusory potency, Māyā, and His internal, spiritual potency, cit, the jīva is called taṭa-stha, “marginal.”

When he earns liberation by cultivating devotion to the Lord, however, he comes completely under the shelter of the Lord’s internal potency (cit-śakti). At that time he takes on a spiritual form produced by his great attachment to the Lord, and is no longer tainted by the modes of material nature. Such is the description of a worshiper (upāsaka) of the Lord.

Thus, in the same way as a person working for the king (rājakīya-puruṣa) is called rāja-puruśa, the living entity (tvam:jīva) stands in a relationship with the supreme entity (tat:Supreme Lord). Therefore, some authorities say the phrase tat tvam asi (You are that:Brahman) means “You belong to Him.” The word tat stands for the possessive case (his) as an element in a compound word. Thus tat tvam asi means “You are his.”

The object (upāsya) of the soul’s worship is realized in three aspects: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Impersonal Brahman is like the radiant effulgence of the sun; the Supersoul, or Paramātmā, is like the sun globe; and the Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, with His associates is like the presiding deity within the sun, who has his personal chariot, charioteer, assistants, and beautiful form, face, eyes, hands and feet.

Or, to cite another analogy: Travelers approaching a city from a distance cannot at first distinguish its features but rather see something vaguely shining ahead of them. As they come closer, they may discern a few of the taller buildings, trees, flagpoles and flags. Then, when they are sufficiently close, they will see the city as it is—a bustling metropolis with many citizens, residences, public buildings, highways and parks. In the same way, persons inclined to impersonal meditation may at best gain some realization of the Supreme Lord’s effulgence (Brahman); those who approach closer can learn to see Him as the Lord in the heart (Paramātmā), but they will have scanty knowledge of His spiritual qualities. When they enter into intimate association however, and experience the unprecedented sweetness of God, they can know His full personality as Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

In this connection, the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa states: brahma-saṁjñam abhūd ekaṁ, jyotiryat sarva-kāraṇam, “What is called Brahman is one light that is the cause of all. The Hari-vaṁsa Purāṇa says: mama eva tad ghanaṁ tejo, jñātum arhasi bhārata, “You should know the Brahman to be My condensed effulgence.”

The śrutis say:

cayas tviṣām ity avadhāritaṁ purā tatā sarīrīti vibhāvitākṛtim, vibhur vibhaktāvayavaṁ pumān iti kramād amuṁ nārada ity abodhi saḥ

“Nārada gradually recognized the Lord, first perceiving Him as a mass of light, then as an embodied person, and then as the almighty Personality of Godhead with variously defined limbs.”

Some Vaiṣṇavas take great care to understand their philosophy. Others however give no regard for it, and yet other always make it a point to ignore it. But they always give special attention to their own style of worship.

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (1.22) states the same point.

etad viṣṇoḥ paraṁ padaṁ ye, nityodyuktāḥ saṁyajante na kāmāt

teṣām asau gopa-rūpaḥ prayatnāt, prakāśayed ātma-padaṁ tadaiva

“To they who always diligently worship Lord Visnu’s transcen-dental form without any trace of material motivation, the Lord, in His original form as a cowherd boy (gopa-rūpaḥ), shows His lotus feet.”

|| 10.87.33 ||

vijita-hṛṣīka-vāyubhir adānta-manas tura-gaṁ

ya iha yatanti yantum ati-lolam upāya-khidaḥ

vyasana-śatānvitāḥ samavahāya guroś caraṇaṁ

vaṇija ivāja santy akṛta-karṇa-dharā jaladhau

TRANSLATION

The mind is like an impetuous horse that even persons who have regulated their senses and breath cannot control. Those in this world who try to tame the uncontrolled mind, but who abandon the feet of their spiritual master, encounter hundreds of obstacles in their cultivation of various distressful practices. O unborn Lord, they are like merchants on a boat in the ocean who have failed to employ a helmsman.

COMMENTARY

“But,” the Lord may say, “Even a Vaiṣṇava should follow the eightfold system of yoga to make his mind steady while worshiping Me.”

Śrutis: “No, this is not necessary! Just by firm devotion to the feet of the divine spiritual master he can easily keep his mind steady. This has been stated already in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (7.15.25): etat sarvaṁ gurau bhaktyā puruṣo hy añjasā jayet, ‘One can easily obtain all these goals simply by guru-bhakti (serving the spiritual master with faith and devotion.’”

“Otherwise, one may conquer his senses and vital air by the yoga process and still fail to tame his mind, which will continue to run like a wild horse. Nondevotees who try to control the mind without serving the feet of a spiritual master (guroś caraṇaṁ) will suffer unending anxiety (vyasana-satānvitāḥ) over the troublesome execution (upāya-khidaḥ) of various spiritual practices. And in the end they will drown in the vast ocean of material life. O unborn Lord, they are like merchants on a boat in the ocean who have failed to hire a competent helmsman.”

In this regard the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) states: tad-vijñānār-thaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham, “To understand thoroughly about God, one must humbly approach, with firewood in his hands, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Supreme Lord.” The Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.14.2) says: ācāryavān puruṣo veda, “One who approa-ches a bonafide spiritual master can understand everything about spiritual realization.”

The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23) states:

yasya deva parā, bhaktir, yathā deve tathā gurau

tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ, prakāsante mahātmanaḥ

“One who has unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord and the spiritual master, all the purports of the scriptures become revealed.”

|| 10.87.34 ||

svajana-sutātma-dāra-dhana-dhāma-dharāsu-rathais

tvayi sati kiṁ nṛṇām śrayata ātmani sarva-rase

iti sad ajānatāṁ mithunato rataye caratāṁ

sukhayati ko nv iha sva-vihate sva-nirasta-bhage

TRANSLATION

To those persons who take shelter of You, You reveal Yourself as the Supersoul, the embodiment of all transcendental pleasure. What further use have such devotees for their servants, children or bodies, their wives, money or houses, their land, good health or conveyances? And for those who fail to appreciate the truth about You and go on pursuing the pleasures of sex, what could there be in this entire world—a place inherently doomed to destruction and devoid of significance—that could give them real happiness?

COMMENTARY

In this way, the śrutis have spoken about the pure bhakti of the Vaiṣṇavas, which is not mixed with yoga or other processes. Now they establish that such bhakti must be devoid of other desires.

The śrutis said, “For one who has taken shelter of Your loving service and realized You as the Supersoul (ātmani:paramātmani), what use does he have for the various objects of worldly success such as servants, svajanāḥ; virtuous sons, sutāḥ; a beautiful body, ātmā; an attractive wife, dārāḥ; fabulous wealth, dhanam; a luxurious, celestial home, dhāma; a vast estate, dharā; health and vitality, asavaḥ; and costly conveyances, rathāḥ? One who experiences the ecstasy of devotional service loses all attraction for these things, since he finds real satisfaction in the Supreme Lord, the reservoir of all pleasure (sarve rase:ānanda).”

In this regard, the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.3.32) states:

eṣāsya paramā gatir, eṣāsya paramā sampad eṣāsya parama loka, eṣāsya parama ānanda etasyaivānandasyānyāni, bhūtāni mātram upajīvanti.

“Devotional service is the supreme goal, the supreme wealth, the supreme abode and the supreme bliss. All varieties of ecstasy arise from it.”

Śrutis:“For those who cannot appreciate the supreme spiritual happiness attained by realizing the Absolute Truth, and instead remain attached to the pleasure of sex life, what is there worthwhile to be found in this world?” The implied answer is that they derive pleasure from their servants, house, land and wealth.

One may object, “But why can’t these material things give pleasure?”

Śrutis:“They are perishable, being under the grip of time (sva-vihate). Therefore, by their nature they are insignificant (sva-nirasta-bhage) even from their inception. And they are condemned by saints who understand the changeable nature of the material world.”

The Amara-kośa dictionary gives the definition bhagaṁ: srī-kāma-mahātmya-vīrya-yatnārka-kīrtiṣu, “The word bhaga can mean fortune, lust, greatness, potency, effort, the sun or fame.” The words sva vihate and sva nirasta bhaga also have the alternative reading sva vihite and sva nirasta bhage. In that case these words modify the word “iha” and mean, “The house and servants give pleasure to the materialistic people in this world (iha), which is temporary and devoid of good qualities by nature.”

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Pūrva 15) concludes: bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam etad eva naiṣkarmyam, “Devotional service is the process of worshiping the Supreme Lord. It consists of fixing one’s mind upon Him by renouncing all material desires (upādhi:sakāmatvam) for enjoyment in this world and the next. Indeed, this is true renunciation.”

|| 10.87.35 ||

bhuvi puru-puṇya-tīrtha-sadanāny ṛṣayo vimadās

ta uta bhavat-padāmbuja-hṛdo ’gha-bhid-aṅghri-jalāḥ

dadhati sakṛn manas tvayi ya ātmani nitya-sukhe

na punar upāsate puruṣa-sāra-harāvasathān

TRANSLATION

Sages free from false pride live on this earth by frequenting the sacred pilgrimage sites and those places where the Supreme Lord displayed His pastimes. Because such devotees keep Your lotus feet within their hearts, the water that washes their feet destroys all sins. Anyone who even once turns his mind toward You, the ever-blissful Soul of all existence, no longer dedicates himself to serving family life at home, which simply robs a man of his good qualities.

COMMENTARY

In this verse, the śrutis state that saintly persons abandon their wives, homes and the other items mentioned above, and live peacefully in sacred places of pilgrimage which are favorable for worshiping Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

The śrutis said, “The prideless (vimadās) devotees (rṣayaḥ) live in the holy abodes of the Lord (sadanāni:bhagavad-dhāmāni). Because such devotees have realized the Lord’s lotus feet in the core of their hearts (bhavat-hṛdo-padāmbuja:manasi-tvat-padāmbujaṁ dadhānāḥ), the water that washes their feet has the power to sanctify others. It goes without saying that such devotees have put aside all affection for their wives, children, friends and followers in order to absorb their minds in Your eternally blissful form.”

“Even those Vaiṣṇavas who have meditated upon You for a moment lose interest in the pleasures of a materialistic family life (vasathān:gṛhān), which steals away the very essence of a man (puruṣa-sāra-harā); namely his good qualities of discretion, determination, sobriety, tolerance and peace of mind.”

In this connection the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (2.26) says,

sakāmyā meroḥ śṛṅge yathā,

sapta-pūryo bhavanti tathā niṣkāmyāḥ sakāmyāś ca bhūgola-cakre, sapta-pūryo bhavanti tāsāṁ madhye sākṣād brahma gopāla-purī hīti

Lord Nārāyana said: “As on the summit of Mount Meru there are seven cities that fulfill all desires, similarly, on the earth planet there are seven cities that fulfill desires and grant liberation. Among them the city of Gopāla-purī (Mathurā) is directly the spiritual world.”

The Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 54-55 says,

mathurāyāṁ sthitir brahman, sarvadā me bhaviṣyati

śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-padma, vana-mālāvṛtastu vai

Lord Nārāyaṇa continued, “O Brahmā, decorated with a forest-flower garland, and holding a conch, disk, mace and lotus, I will reside eternally in Mathurā.”

viśva-rūpaṁ paraṁ jyotiḥ, svarūpaṁ rūpa-varjitam hṛdā māṁ saṁsmaran brahman, mat-padaṁ yāti niscitam

“O Brahmā, he who with all his heart meditates on Me, whose form is the resting place of all forms, whose form is supremely powerful and splendid, whose form is wonderful, and who has no material form, goes to My abode. Of this there is no doubt.”

|| 10.87.36 ||

sata idaṁ utthitaṁ sad iti cen nanu tarka-hataṁ

vyabhicarati kva ca kva ca mṛṣā na tathobhaya-yuk

vyavahṛtaye vikalpa iṣito ’ndha-paramparayā

bhramayati bhāratī ta uru-vṛttibhir uktha-jaḍān

TRANSLATION

It may be proposed that this world is permanently real because it is generated from the permanent reality, but such an argument is subject to logical refutation. Sometimes, indeed, the apparent nondifference of a cause and its effect fails to prove true, and at other times the product of something real is illusory. Furthermore, this world cannot be permanently real, for it partakes of the natures of not only the absolute reality but also the illusion disguising that reality. Actually, the visible forms of this world are just an imaginary arrangement resorted to by a succession of ignorant persons in order to facilitate their material affairs. With their various meanings and implications, the learned words of Your Vedas bewilder all persons whose minds have been dulled by hearing the incantations of sacrificial rituals.

COMMENTARY

Someone may object, “But how can you criticize the home for taking away the good qualities of men (verse 34), and at the same time praise the home for giving men good qualities (verse 35)? It cannot be said that a mirage of water is both dry and thirst quenching.”

“The śrutis that adhere to the philosophy of sat-kārya-vāda (that the universe is a real manifestation of Brahman) speak in agreement with the śrutis who adhere to asat-kārya-vāda (the philosophy that this universe is unreal), saying that the visible world (idam:visvam) is permanently real because it is generated from the permanent reality, but not that it is sat, permanent, in its own right. Just as a pot when resolved to its cause is not a pot, but merely the reality expressing itself through the pot.”

The Sanskrit ablative expression sataḥ, “from the eternal reality,” implies a definite separation of cause and effect. Therefore, what is created from sat, the permanent reality, must be significantly different from it—in other words, temporary. In this way the argument of the materialists is flawed because it proves just the opposite of what it is intended to prove (tarka-hatam), namely that the world as we know it is all that exists, that it is eternal, and that there is no separate, transcendental reality.

The Karma mīmāṁsā logicians may argue, “We do not propose that they are the same. But we are denying their difference, since they are produced from the sat, just as golden earrings arise from gold. Effects can never exist without existence of a cause.”

Anticipating this reply, the Vaiṣṇavas refute it by the phrase vyabhicarati kva ca (some cases are inconsistent). “There are counterexamples that deviate from the general rule. Indeed, sometimes the source is very different from what it produces, as in the case of a man and his young son, or of a hammer and the destruction of a clay pot.”

Then Mīmāṁsakas say, “But just as illusory silver has no existence separate from the real existence of the oyster shell, so the material creation has no existence of its own separate from that of its foundation, the Supreme Lord.”

The personified Vedas reply, “No, this universe is not false in the same way as such illusions as the appearance of silver seen in an oyster shell; rather it is real, being called ubhaya-yuk because the source and its expanded manifestation (kāraṇa-kāryayaḥ) both join together in it.”

In other words, the śrutis say, “Both the Lord and the world are real (tat satyam). But, the existence of the cause (Supreme Lord) is eternal and the existence of effect (material world) is temporary, as is empirically perceived. Without the reality of the effect (this world), the ordinary dealings (vyavahṛtaye) of this world could not take place. So for the purpose of effecting ordinary activities the created product (vikalpah:kāryam) is “desirable” (iṣitaḥ) in the sense of “real,” since with real objects such as pots ordinary activities can be performed. The carrying of water and similar engagements cannot be done with imaginary pots.” “But,” the Karma-mīmāṁsakas counter, “Sometimes we see business conducted even with counterfeit coins.”

Śrutis: “That business, the illusion of this world’s permanence [which the Karma-mīmāṁsakas believe], is sustained by a succession of blind philosophers (andha-paramparayā), who learn this materialistic idea from their predecessors and pass on this illusion to their descendants. It is not perpetuated through a succession of wise men. Foolish people may be willing to exchange counterfeit coins among one another, but a wise man knows that such money is useless for the practical business of buying food, medicine and other necessities. Medicine purchased with counterfeit money will not yield good results. If such money is given in charity, it will not earn any pious credit.”

“Therefore the material universe is real. According to the teachings of wise men like Nārada Muni and Ṛṣi Dattātreya, the world is real because it manifests meaningful activity. If the world were not real, the actions would also be unreal, just like the illusory silver seen in an oyster shell. By this teaching these learned authorities assert that the material world is real but not eternal, due to its being subject to destruction.”

Karma-mīmāṁsakas: “But the Vedic Saṁhitās and Brāhmanas establish that the fruits of karma are eternal. For example, apāma somam amṛta babhūma: “We have drunk the soma rasa and become immortal.” (Ṛg Veda 8.43.3) Therefore the world is eternal and will never be otherwise!”

Thus the Karma-mīmāṁsakas do not believe in the creation or destruction of the material universe. In this verse the śrutis reply to the karma-vādīs: “This proposition is invalid! O Lord! Your words of wisdom (bhāratī), comprising the Vedas, with their confusing variety of meanings in the semantic functions (uru-vṛttibhiḥ) of gauṇa and lakṣanā can be interpreted in many ways, either literally or metaphorically. Thus Your learned words bewilder (bhramayati: mohayati) those whose intelligence has been dulled (jaḍān) by too much faith in karmic rituals (uktha).”

The meaning of this is as follows: The Vedas never claim that the fruits of karma are eternal, but only indirectly they mention in metaphors the praiseworthiness of regulated sacrifices. Otherwise there would be a contradiction between one statement and another. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad (8.1.16) clearly states that the results of ritual karma are impermanent: tad yatheha karma-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate evam evāmutra puṇya-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate, “Just as whatever benefit one works hard to attain in this world is eventually depleted, so whatever life one earns for oneself in the next world by his piety will also eventually end.” Therefore, the philosophy of those intoxicated with karma is erroneous.

In this connection the śrutis proclaim:

yathorṇa-nābhiḥ sṛjate gṛhṇate ca

yathā pṛthivyām oṣadhayaḥ sambhavanti

yathā sataḥ puruṣāt keśa-lomāni

tathākṣarāt sambhavatīha viśvam

“As a web is expanded and withdrawn by a spider, as plants grow from the earth, and as hair grows from a living person’s head and body, so this universe is generated from the inexhaustible Supreme.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.7). The word ākṣarāt in this verse indicates the cause of the universe’s creation, which is being compared to different analogies, is eternal, while the created effect is real but not eternal. This verse states the opinion of the Vaiṣṇavas.

|| 10.87.37 ||

na yad idam agra āsa na bhaviṣyad ato nidhanād

anu mitam antarā tvayi vibhāti mṛṣaika-rase

ata upamīyate draviṇa-jāti-vikalpa-pathair

vitatha-mano-vilāsam ṛtam ity avayanty abudhāḥ

TRANSLATION

Since this universe did not exist prior to its creation and will no longer exist after its annihilation, we conclude that in the interim it is nothing more than a manifestation imagined to be visible within You, whose spiritual enjoyment never changes. We liken this universe to the transformation of various material substances into diverse forms. Certainly those who believe that this figment of the imagination is substantially real are less intelligent.

COMMENTARY

The personified Vedas repeat what they previously said with logic and clarity by presenting positive evidence to prove that this world is unreal in that it is temporary.

Śrutis: “This known universe did not exist before its creation, and it will not exist after the upcoming annihilation. It exists only between these two as an object of knowledge (mitam:pramāna-viṣayī-bhūtam).” Lord Nārāyaṇa asks, “Where does this happen?”

Śrutis: “It happens within You, the Supreme Lord who considers, ‘Let Me create such an illusory world.’ This world cannot be eternal since it did not exist before and will be destroyed in the future. It is shown to be real by comparing it with clay and gold which transform into pots and golden earrings. It is not false like the silver seen in an oyster shell or the rope mistaken for a snake.” The vi in vibhāti (appears) indicates the perceivable nature of the creation.

“Moreover, the jñānis who think (avayanti) that this world is false, a mere mental fantasy, and the Karma-mīmāṁsakas, who think that it is real and eternally existing, are both unintelligent (abudhaḥ: apaṇḍitāḥ).’”

|| 10.87.38 ||

sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṁś ca juṣan

bhajati sarūpatāṁ tad anu mṛtyum apeta-bhagaḥ

tvam uta jahāsi tām ahir iva tvacam ātta-bhago

mahasi mahīyase ’ṣṭa-guṇite ’parimeya-bhagaḥ

TRANSLATION

The illusory material nature attracts the minute living entity to embrace her, and as a result he assumes forms composed of her qualities. Subsequently, he loses all his spiritual qualities and must undergo repeated deaths. You, however, avoid the material energy in the same way that a snake abandons its old skin. Glorious in Your possession of eight mystic perfections, You enjoy unlimited opulences.

COMMENTARY

Having declared the reality of the world composed of the three modes of material nature and designated by the term (idam), the śrutis now speak of the jīva. Although the jīva is pure spirit, qualitatively equal with God, he becomes degraded under the power of material illusion, māyā.

The śrutis said, “Entranced by the allurements of Māyā, the pure jīva soul becomes covered by ignorance and the qualities of material nature. Thus tainted by material designations, he accepts (bhajati) bodies and senses produced from the raw material of Māyā’s three modes— goodness, passion and nescience. Subsequently (tad anu), his qualities like bliss become covered, and he undergoes repeated birth and death (mṛtyum) in this world.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa said, “But since I, the Supreme Soul, share the same spiritual nature as the individual spiritual soul (jīva), do I also get covered by ignorance?”

Śrutis: “No, this can never happen! The jīva is an infinitesimal particle of consciousness, whereas You are the vast repository of consciousness. Smoke may engulf the glow of a small molten sphere of gold, brass or copper, but it can never cover the vast light of the sun. You, on the other hand (tvam uta:tvam punaḥ), leave Māyā aside (jahāsi).”

The meaning is this: The material Māyā potency is the outward expansion of Kṛṣṇa’s internal Yogamāyā potency. Her powers are described in the Nārada Pañcarātra in a conversation between Śruti and Vidyā,

asyā āvarika-śaktir mahā-māyākhileśvarī

yayā mugdhaṁ jagat sarvaṁ sarve dehābhimāninaḥ

“The covering potency derived from Yogamāyā is called Mahā-māyā, the controller of the world. She bewilders the entire universe, and thus every living being falsely identifies with his material body.”

The śrutis continued, “Mahā-māyā is only a partial expansion of Your Yogamāyā, and is not regarded by You as part of Your internal energy; thus she becomes separated from You and left aside. She is called Your external (bahir-aṇgā) māyā-śakti. Just as a snake casts aside his old skin, knowing that it is not part of his essential identity, so You always avoid Mahā-māyā because You are eternally endowed with intrinsic glories (ātta-bhagaḥ:nitya-prāptaisvaryaḥ).”

To further reinforce their statement, the śrutis said, “You are worshiped (mahīyase:pūjyase) in Your eightfold mystic opulences (mahasi:paramaisvarye), such as aṇimā (the power to become infinitesimal) and mahimā (the ability to become infinitely large). What is their nature? You have unlimited powers, unlike the powers of others which are limited by time and space. And Your power is immeasurable because it is intimately related to Your internal nature.”

In this regard the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.5.) says:

ajām ekāṁ lohita-sukla kṛṣṇāṁ, vahvīḥ prajāḥ sṛjamānāṁ sarūpāḥ

ajo hy eko juṣamāno’ nuśete jahaty enāṁ bhukta-bhogām ajo ’nyaḥ

“One unborn person, the jīva, is serving the unborn material nature, which generates numerous material bodies for the living entities and is composed of goodness, passion and ignorance. The other unborn person, the Paramātmā, is detached from the enjoyment of material nature.”

|| 10.87.39 ||

yadi na samuddharanti yatayo hṛdi kāma-jaṭā

duradhigamo ’satāṁ hṛdi gato ’smṛta-kaṇṭha-maṇiḥ

asu-tṛpa-yoginām ubhayato ’py asukhaṁ bhagavann

anapagatāntakād anadhirūḍha-padād bhavataḥ

TRANSLATION

Members of the renounced order who fail to uproot the last traces of material desire in their hearts remain impure, and thus You do not allow them to understand You. Although You are present within their hearts, for them You are like a jewel worn around the neck of a man who has totally forgotten it is there. O Lord, those who pratice yoga only for sense gratification must suffer punishment both in this life and the next: from death, who will not release them, and from You, whose kingdom they cannot reach.

COMMENTARY

Thus in three verses it was established that mundane homes steal away a man’s essential qualities. The sages who were mentioned in the verses are of two kinds: the worshippers of formless (nirguṇa) Brahman called jñānis, and the worshippers of qualitative (sa-guṇa) Brahman called bhaktas or devotees. Both attain success by remai-ning free from delusion and by strict adherence to their paths. However, if these aspiring transcendentalists misbehave, then they attain the disastrous results described in these two verses

The śrutis said, “O Bhagavān! If the sannyāsī worshippers of the impersonal Brahman do not uproot the lusty desires in their hearts, then You, though residing in their hearts, become most difficult to attain for such impure persons. How is this? Because You become like a forgotten jewel around their necks. Though the jewel is hanging there, because a person forgets about it, it is as good as not being there. Although such sannyāsīs make a pretense of yoga, they are primarily interested in sense enjoyment, so they only experience unhappiness and misery both this life and the next.” In this connection, the personified Vedas describe how the imperso-nalistic renunciants, who have failed to attain liberation, must suffer life after life as a result of their painful endeavors to acquire name, fame, wealth and sense gratification.

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.2.2) confirms the statements of this verse:

kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ sa karmabhir jāyate tatra tatra

“Even a thoughtful renunciant, if he maintains any worldly desires will be forced by his karmic reactions to take birth again and again in various circumstances.”

|| 10.87.40 ||

tvad avagamī na vetti bhavad-uttha-śubhāśubhayor

guṇa-viguṇānvayāṁs tarhi deha-bhṛtāṁ ca giraḥ

anu-yugam anv-ahaṁ sa-guṇa gīta-paramparayā

śravaṇa-bhṛto yatas tvam apavarga-gatir manu-jaiḥ

TRANSLATION

When a person realizes You, he no longer cares about his good and bad fortune arising from past pious and sinful acts, since it is You alone who control this good and bad fortune. Such a realized devotee also disregards what ordinary living beings say about him. Every day he fills his ears with Your glories, which are recited in each age by the unbroken succession of Manu’s descendants, and thus You become his ultimate salvation.

COMMENTARY

In this verse, the śrutis explain how neophyte devotees on the other hand, even though they may misbehave, still do not suffer in this life and the next like the impersonal sannyāsīs. Rather, they attain success.

“One whose nature is to recognize You as his object of worship (tvad-avagamī:tvām bhajanīyatvenāvagantuṁ sīlaṁ yasya saḥ) is not aware of the good or bad actions produced by You.” In this regard the Gopāla-tāpanī śrutī (Pūrva 15) states: bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam etad eva naiṣkarmyam. ‘Bhakti, devotional service, is the process of worshi-ping the Supreme Lord by concentrating the mind upon Him, and renouncing all material desires (upādhi) for enjoyment both in this life and the next. Bhakti destroys all karmas.’

“Since a devotee becomes free from all karmic reactions by worship-ing You, the apparent good and bad events he experiences are not the result of his karma, but rather they are personally arranged by You (bhavad-uttha-subhāśubhayor). You do this in order to protect the confidentiality of devotion to You, or to avoid uprooting the opinions of the atheists, or to increase the longing in Your devotee. Or these apparently auspicious and inauspicious material reactions appear as the results of offenses against Your devotees (vaiṣṇava-aparādha). You make these experiences appear in such a way that the devotee seems to be suffering the reactions of his karma.”

“However, the devotee ignores the apparent good and bad reactions of the work he does only for Your pleasure. In other words, if someone praises him, ‘This devotee is merciful, tolerant and generous,’ or condemns him, ‘This devotee is greedy, hypocritical and attached to sense enjoyment,’ the devotee is not overly concerned about it. At these times, the humble devotee does not pay much attention to the words of any person (deha-bhṛtām), be he high or low, which praise or denounce him. He thinks to himself, If these people mistakenly see good qualities in me and express praise, let them do it. If others see my real qualities of being attached to sense gratification and criticize me, then this is perfectly appropriate.’

The śrutis then explain the reasoning behind this: “By continually singing day after day (anv-ahaṁ:ahani ahani) about You, who incarnate in every yuga (anu-yugam) and are the ocean of transcen-dental qualities (sa-guṇa), the mighty current of Your nāma-saṅkīrtana fills up the devotee’s ears (sravaṇa-bhṛto), and thus he quickly attains love, kṛṣṇa-prema, for You, the ultimate goal of liberation (apavarga-gatir).”

According to the prose statement in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (4.30.30), the phrase apavarga-gatir (goal of liberation) means the bestower of pure loving service, or else that destination in com-parison with even the four goals of life (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) are most despicable.

As Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa states in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (51-53):

tair ahaṁ pūjanīyo vai bhadrakṛṣṇa-nivāsibhiḥ

tad-dharma-gati-hīnā ye tasyāṁ mayi parāyaṇāḥ

kalinā grasitā ye vai tesāṁ tasyām avasthitiḥ

yathā tvaṁ saha putraiś ca yathā rudro gaṇaiḥ saha

yathā śrīyābhiyukto ’haṁ tathā bhakto mama priyaḥ

“For those who live in Bhadrakṛṣṇa [Mathurā district], I am the object of all worship. Even if the residents of that place fail to properly cultivate the religious principles that one should observe in the holy land, they still become devoted to Me just by virtue of living there. Even if Kali [the present age of quarrel] has them in his grip, they still get credit for living in this place. My devotee who lives in Mathurā is just as dear to Me as you [Brahmā] and your sons—Rudra and his followers—and Goddess Śrī and My own self.”

In this verse, the phrases tad-dharma-gati-hīnāḥ and kalinā grasitāḥ indicate wicked behavior, implying the idea “if one is wicked but lives in that Mathurā.” Thus, between the two worshippers, the fallen sannyāsī and the fallen devotee living in Mathurā, the impersonalist sannyāsī is criticized and the devotee is praised by the Lord.

This point is confirmed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (SB 11.18.40-41):

yas tv asaṁyata-ṣaḍ-vargaḥ pracaṇḍendriya-sārathiḥ

jñāna-vairāgya-rahitas tri-daṇḍam upajīvati

surān ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ nihnute māṁ ca dharma-hā

avipakva-kaṣāyo ’smād amuṣmāc ca vihīyate

“One who has not controlled the six forms of illusion [lust, anger, greed, envy, false pride and intoxication], whose intelligence, the leader of the senses, is extremely attached to material things, who is bereft of knowledge and detachment, who adopts the sannyāsa order of life to make a living, who denies the worshipable demigods, his own self and the Supreme Lord within himself, thus ruining all religious principles, and who is still infected by material contamination, is deviated and lost both in this life and the next.”

And in the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa encourages His devotee:

api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

“Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.” (Bg. 9.30)

In this way Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa praises His devotee. By all means, the Lord agrees with the śrutis who are His followers at the end of their praises of Him.

|| 10.87.41 ||

dyu-pataya eva te na yayur antam anantatayā

tvam api yad-antarāṇḍa-nicayā nanu sāvaraṇāḥ

kha iva rajāṁsi vānti vayasā saha yac chrutayas

tvayi hi phalanty atan-nirasanena bhavan-nidhanāḥ

TRANSLATION

Because You are unlimited, neither the lords of heaven nor even You Yourself can ever reach the end of Your glories. The countless universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of time to wander within You, like particles of dust blowing about in the sky. The śrutis, following their method of eliminating everything separate from the Supreme, become successful by revealing You as their final conclusion.

COMMENTARY

The śrutis were attempting to define the Absolute Truth on the pretext of glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the vast ocean of eternity, knowledge and bliss. But since they could not reach the limit of His qualities, they gave up and concluded their praises by indicating they were all in agreement.

The following conversation between Lord Nārāyaṇa and the personified Vedas illuminates the meaning of this final prayer of the śrutis: The Vedas said, “Lord Brahmā and the other rulers of the heavenly planets (dyu-pataya) cannot find the end of Your glories. What can we do, then, since we are insignificant in comparison to these great demigods?”

Lord Nārāyaṇa replied, “No, you śrutis are gifted with more sublime vision than those demigods. You will be able to reach the end of My glories if you do not stop now.”

Śrutis: “But even You cannot find Your own limit!”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “If that is the case, what do you mean when you say that I am all-knowing and all-powerful?”

Śrutis: “We conclude that You possess these features from the very fact that You are limitless. Certainly if one is ignorant of something that does not even exist, like a rabbit’s horn, that does not detract from his omniscience. And if one fails to find such a nonentity, that does not limit his omnipotence. You are so vast that multitudes of universes float within You. Each of these universes is surrounded by seven shells composed of the material elements, and each of these concentric shells is ten times larger than the one within it. Although we can never fully describe the truth about You, we perfect our existence by declaring that You are the true topic of the Vedas.”

Lord Nārāyaṇa: “But why do you seem dissatisfied?”

Śrutis: “Because in the Vedas Śrīla Vyāsadeva has described the transcendental existence of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān only briefly. When he saw the need to elaborate on his description of the Supreme, he chose to concentrate on the subject of Brahman, the impersonal aspect of the Supreme known as tat “that.” He described Brahman by negating whatever is different from it. Just as in a field where a chest of jewels has been accidentally spilled, the jewels can be recovered by removing unwanted stones, twigs and refuse. Similarly, within the visible realm of Māyā and her creations the Absolute Truth can be found by a process of elimination.”

“We Vedas cannot possibly enumerate every material category, individual entity, quality and motion in the universe from the beginning to the end of time. Even if we tried to describe all these things and then discarded them, the truth concerning Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān would still remain untouched. Therefore, by this means of investigation we can never expect to reach a final definition of You. Only by Your mercy can we make some attempt to approach You, the supremely inaccessible Absolute Truth.” This idea has been indicated previously in verses 14 (akhila-sakty-avabodhaka te) 27 (tava pari ye paricaranti); 32 (nṛṣu tava māyayā); 2 (brāhmī upaniṣat)

There are many statements of śruti that describe the process of distinguishing the Supreme from everything inferior (atan-nirasanam). The Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.8.8), for example, states,

asthūlam anaṇu ahrasvam adīrgham alohitam

asneham acchāyam atamo ’vāyv anākāśam asaṅgam

arasam agandham acakṣuṣkam aśrotram agamano ’tejaskam

aprāṇam asukham amātram anantaram abāhyam

“It is neither big nor small, short nor long, hot nor cool, in shadow nor in darkness. Nor is it the wind or the ether. It is not in contact with anything, and it has no taste, smell, eyes, ears, motion, potency, life air, pleasure, measurement, inside or outside.”

|| 10.87.42 ||

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

ity etad brahmaṇaḥ putrā āśrutyātmānuśāsanam

sanandanam athānarcuḥ siddhā jñātvātmano gatim

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord, Śrī Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi, said: Having heard these instructions about the Supreme Self, the Personality of Godhead, the sons of Brahmā now understood their final destination. They felt perfectly satisfied and honored Sanandana with their worship.

COMMENTARY

By hearing the twenty-eight prayers of the personified Vedas, which comprise the elucidation of the Brahma Upaniṣad spoken in verse two of this chapter (buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān), the sons of Brahmā assembled in Brahmaloka made great progress toward their goal (ātmano gatim) of pure love of God (bhagavat-prema).

|| 10.87.43 ||

ity aśeṣa-samāmnāya-purāṇopaniṣad-rasaḥ

samuddhṛtaḥ pūrva-jātair vyoma-yānair mahātmabhiḥ

TRANSLATION

|| 10.87.44 ||

tvaṁ caitad brahma-dāyāda śraddhayātmānuśāsanam

dhārayaṁś cara gāṁ kāmaṁ kāmānāṁ bharjanaṁ nṛṇām

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