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CHAPTER - III
Lesson - 1
Bhajaniyena advitiyam idam Kritsnasya tatsvarupatvatII 85 II
Translation:
Bhajan or Para-Bhakti is of transcendental Nature identical with
God being of His essential Potency viz. Means is the End in Itself.
Purport:
Shri Rupa Goswami refferring to Shri Narada Pancharatra says:1 To
serve the Supreme Lord and all His senses by the complete appliction of the
reciprocal chit or spiritual organs of
the pure soul is called Bhakti. This Bhakti is free from all posible extraneous
desires, and is subservient to the delight of the Lord and must not be
clouded by.Jnana, Karma, Yoga etc.
Bhajan or Seva or Bhakti at
its climax is Prema-svarupa. And
Prema is self delight of God Krhhnananda
Pradayi-. Hladini-Aspect of God, therefore
of His Essential
Potency identical with God
Himself. That is
the Self-some Hladini
Potency of God
when Projected on the uneclipsed jiva-soul all his senses
thereby being surcharged with
the current of
pure Divine poignancy of Love become engaged in gratifiying the
Transcendental Senses of Hrishi-kesha, the Supreme Godhead; unalloyed service to God is the eternal and
uninterrupted function of the soul.
This service cannot be performed by means of this
body and mind. It is performed
by the pure soul who is absolutely free
from all worldly hankerings. The Nama,
Rupa, Guna, Leela and Parikaras of
God and the Form
of Service to
Him are spiritual. No mundane consideration exists in Seva or
service. Those in whose pure heart these ideas perpetually reign they soon
realise God as well as of their own
self; they do
ere long attain Vastu siddhi (i.e.
in their unstinted soul God reveals and the soul
augmenting his natural sentiment of
Raganuga-Bhava gains personal service to that Transcendental
CGod). Here, so long he remains on
earth he remnains constantly engaged in the
service intoxic^atedly drinking
deep the Nectar that flows, geetting a
glimpse of those Leelas of God. As
lUpanishad says (Chandogya) : By
providance (0f Shyama, Itake recourse
to Shabala, the Essential Self- some
Potency of Shyama, and havingg cogently concocted the
Raganuga-Bhava aaugmenting the Ragatmika-Bhava of
Shabala, the Projected-Absolute-Counter-whole-Rasa: ll
become dovetailed in loving service of
Shvyama. Shaking off the very
nescience as a 1 horse his
hairs,shaking off the body, as the 1 moon frees itself from the mouth of
Rahu, I, a soiul with intuitive wisdom
like a cuckoo-kid halving grown
the wings leaving aside the nest cof the
crow fly into my eternal nest, the Abode c0f Eternal
Peace —yea I attain the Abode of Eterrnal Bliss. 85
Tat shaktih maya
jadasamanyat II 86 II
Translation:
God's external Potency is mays but she is insentient or inert.
Purport:
Bhagavan says:1 "My external potency which is the perverted
reflection of My Internal Potency (Yoga-maya) is known as mays (maha maya) —
the mother of this mundane universe. She at her primordial state of existence
in her condition of mahat-tattva remains inert and when propelled by Me she in
her manifested state consists of eight components viz. earth,
water, fire, air and ether-the five gross elements, and mind, intelligence
and ego - the three
subtle elements. The five
gross elements have fivefold properties
viz. smell, taste, colour, touch and
sound respectively. When the jiva
souls enter into her she infuses the spirit of cognizance when evolves the principle of ego and buddhi along
with the; ten operative senses and the mind. Sattva, trajas and tamas are the
three qualities of this may a with which the world universe has been deluided. Thus illusioned
by the triple gunas of maya all the beings do not realise Me, th<e final
Resort of all, extremely difficult to overcome. My this deluding potency (maya) illusions all through
her triple gunas. But it is only those who surrender themselves absolutely to
Me and Me, alone, can easily cross over this
ocean of maya.When soulls abusing their 'free-will' get a thought of
enjoying for themselves and thereby forget their seirvice to
Shri Krishna they are overpowered by maya who giving the two causal bodies viz.,
physical and subtle, causes immense suffering to therm : The sufferers become slaves to desires and
anger, and receive kicks from
them as if the;y are possessed of ghosts
and act according to the evil spirit;
now a king, next a subject, some times born in vipra or in sudra or
non-human birth even the lowest insect;
now happy thein suffering like anything, now elevated to the swargaloka, then
thrown to this world or to hell. They are in endless journey of birth and re-birth passing through fourteen
worlds. But to make an end of this endless journey and to possess the
Transcendental Bliss they will have to regain through service to Me, the plane of consciousness
which they have lost through their non-serving attitude.They should have to gel
that enlightenment from the true satsanga which
alone is the legitimate propitiation to get back the very consciousness
that is innate in every soul, which is now in dorment state"
Vyapakatvat - vyapyanam ii
87 II
Translation :
Due to the immanence God in the universe or His All pervasiveness
all principles are subservient to or superintended by God therefore nothing
can exist beyond His jurisdiction.
purport :Supreme God is one without a second. He has
got three potencies : Swarupa-Shakti or Antaranga-Shakti, Essential Potency
(Yoga-maya) through which He creates or
does His Own Leela at the Place of Transcendence viz. His Descents
(Bhauma-Leela), Vaikuntha-Leela and
Goloka-Leela, (ii) Tatstha-Shakti or
jiva-Shakti, the entire jiva-world
(sentient beings) comes of this jiva-potency.
Being born of Tatastha-Potency a jiva can move either in the spiritual
world or in the fourteen worlds (or
Universe), and (iii) Maya-shakti is His external potency
who although inert but when propelled by
God and stationed in her the anadi-bahumukha jiva-souls she gives Birth to this phenomenal world of cause and effect. Therefore
Tatstha-shakti or jiva-potency as
well as external
potency maya are
not independent principles. They ever remain subservient to God,
they have got
no seperate existence without
the support of God.
Before the creation of the
universe, verily the Brahman (the
Supreme Personality of God-head)
alongwith His Self-some
Potency was existent and
nothing else remained
separtely thereby it is to be known that His Tatstha-shakti (jiva-souls) and
the mays, His external-potency were not separately existing but they
were within Him. So
He, the Selfsome Almighty
thought, 'let Me create the worlds', (/) Tadaikshata r1 the Supreme Brahman
through His Self-some Potency glanced upon.
Upon what? On inert prakriti, His external-potency, (2) bahu syam prajayayeti: He potentialised
the inert Prakriti for evolution of manifold creation as per His design, (3)
tatteja cikhata bahu syam prajayayeti : Now the prakriti being propelled by the
Lord, got evolved and gave birth to manifold elements.How the Immutable and
Immortal Divinity is the Source of all
being without least modification of Himself: (i) as a spider emits and
withdraws its web so also this world proceeds from the Immutable Divinity, (ii)
as per the seeds the respective plants are grown, evenso this
universe or the respective jivas are born where earth is only the material
cause being totally dependent on Him. (Who
is Vaishamya-hairghrinye na).1 So these two analogies suggest that this
Universe has come out from the Divinity, sustained by Him and finally resorts
in Him. Just as seeds remain latent
underground in the winter and sprout out into herbs and plants in the rainy
season, so also during the pralaya jiva-souls with their different karmas
as their seeds remain within Him and
come out unconsciously and without any exertion on his parts hairs, so also,
the jivas and the universe come out from Him without any effort on His part3 Shalavatya asks.3
"What is the subtratum of this world ?' Answered by Pravahana -. ' 'It is
Akasha". All these beings emanate from Akasha alone. They finally return back to Akashaf because Akasha
alone is greater than all beings and Akasha is the final Goal for every being.
Here Akasha denotes Supreme Purusha (refer
Vedanta sutras1 akashastallingat). Such
terms as Akasha and the like are used here setting forth the creation
and government of the world, designate not the
thing—sentient or non-sentient which is known from ordinary experience,
but Brahman. "All these beings spring from Akasha only" Kethopanished
(1.9.1.) declares that the whole world
originated from Akasha only, and from this it follows that "Akasha"
is none other than the Efficient Cause of the world i.e. Brahman. Further1 'if
this Akasha were not bliss, 'Akasha'
indeed, is the evolver of names and forms : It thus appears that the 'Akasha'
in the text under discussion denotes the Highest Self with His haracteristics for the Qualities which the mantra attributes
to 'Akasha' viz., the single cause of the entire worldi Greater than all and
the Rest for all.
The non-intelligent elemental 'ether' cannot be called the cause
of all, since intelligent beings clearly cannot be its effects, not can it be
called the 'rest' of intelligent beings,
nor can it be called 'greater' than all. In the
Shvetashvatara we find,
once a number of Rishis sat
together and they were pondering over, 'Who is the fundamental Creater of the universe ? From Whom all of us have come and by Whom we
are all sustained ? at the time of
dissolution where we all have to rest? Who
is the Propeller
and Monitor of
the universe?' These fundamental
philosophical queries finally
were solved when they had the Subjective
Realisation of the
Transcendental Personality of God-head
having been endowed with
intuitive wisdom. They learnt
that the Supreme Brahman is the
Fundamental Cause of the creation. The
Supreme Brahman possesses innumerable Potencies but they may be classified into
three categories viz Chit-shakti or svarupa-shakti~~(l) Essential
Potency which is
again classified into three as
(a) Jnana-shakti or Samvit-Iccha-shakti, (b) Sandhini or krida-shakti,
(c) Hiadini; (2) Jiva-shakti or Tatasiha-shakii or
Intermediator^ Potency,
(3) Bahiranga-shakti or
mayic-potency. The individual jiva-soul is to be known as subtle as a part of
the hundredth part of hair-blade divided a
hundredfold and yet he is to be understood qualitatively same with the
infinity but absolutely not
quantitatively, as God is Infinite and jiva finite, God is the controller
of oiaya but jiva is liable to be
affected by may a. In the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad1. (i) As a
spider at ease spreads a net and freely moves on it without itself being entangled, similarly God created or produced
this universe (Hiranyagarbha) from His
external potency and
forthwith by His Providence the modes of Prakriti
got themselves shaped accordingly. God ever presides over the Prakriti, moves about
like a spider on its nets without in anyway involved into it. Besides, God with His All - pervasiveness remains in and out of the
universe. Yet He is not subjected to the
modes or qualities of Prakriti. (ii) Not only the material universe, but also all the jiva-souls, like the sparks of a blazing
fire, came forth from Him only. Shruti declares sarvepranah : which naturally
includes the dtvah -. the gods too and also sarvani bhutani.
Furthermore when the Shruti was expressing the creation of chetana why
in between pranah and devah, the word sarvt-lokah (meaning the worlds) the
jada-prakriti (matter) is pointed out?
So we must have the correct import without any contradiction. As we have learnt
that the universe in which all the worlds remain, emerged from God's eternal potency, therefore in this
context sarve-lokah cannot refer to the worlds. Here all those sparks are
having certain similarity with the blazing fire whereas the net has got no similarity with the spider. So
sparks are the part of the fire but they are infinitesimal atomic energy of the
entire fire, fiii) Therefore immediately after telling sarvepranah-. all the souls sarve-lokah
{here lokashabdo jnanaparah) with particular characteristics manifested owing
to connection with limiting adjuncts; (iv) sarve devah-. sarve jiva h includes all beings including
the gods of the heaven so here sarve devah refers to the eternal
Nitya-muktajivas. Jn general, telling about the emanation of all the Jivas with their providence, the shruti
specifically keeps the distinction of the Muktajivas though they are also from
Gods's tataitha-shakti and are free from any limited adjunctsv)
Sarvani-bhutani -. besides the animate beings even all the manimate beings
whatsover. ('Now the Shruti crushes down the Kevaladvaitavadin's absolute
monism of non-distinction; Brahman is
the Supreme Reality as He is the Real of reals. The jiva souls are also real
eternally existing with their particular characteristics of servitorship to God but at times this nature is dormant
and at other times in-fruition. They very prakriti is external-potency-whose
modes are no doubt epemeral is itself real. God Himself says: "As all the world has emanated
from My two shaktis viz. external potency and tatastha (jiva) potency,I am the
Source and the final rest at the time of dissolution of the entire cosmos. That is, He is Srasts
(Creator), Poshaka (Sustainer) and NiyantB(absolute Controller)." 87
No prani • buddhibhyo - asambhavut II 88 II
Translation :
This philosophy of Shakli-parlnama-vada : the theory of
modification of Shakti (Potency) of God cannot be intellectually comprehended.
Purport:
There are certain gross materialists who think—How before creation
some one could exist. So they say from non-existence or from nothing everthing
has come to its creation. Even
Mayavadins say that from unmanifest Brahman come the manifest; that is the
inanimate and the jivas. All these are
misconceptions.
1 That Knowledge of Brahman is that through which what is unheard
becomes heard, what is not thought of, becomes conceivable and what is not
understood becomes known i e. having
imbibed that wisdom of Truth which is non-approachable through the senses and
Supreme makes Himself Manifest to be perceptible to the spiritual senses out of His own prerogative. So it is
the intuitive wisdom which gives on the Subjective Realisation of God. A
goldsmith out of his artistic skill manufactures gold-ornaments by modyifying the gold into
various shapes, just as a potter produces clay-products out of clay and a
blacksmith makes iron-products out of iron similarly one must look into the Entity Who is the
Efficient-cause thereof. There fore know it certain that it is not out of
Prakriti the world is evolved but it is only the intuitional wisdom that will make us established in our
realisation, that Unheard, Unknown and Un-conceivable Supreme Reality is the
Efficient- Cause of the entire creation and not
the Prakriti. As it is only the matter that gets modified and not the
maker so also it is the Prakriti who becomes modified and transformed into
varie gated products but not the
Supreme Maker, the God. 88
Nirm'iya-ucchavacham-shrutih cha nirmimite pitrivat II 89
II
Translation :
Having created thejivas
from His Tatasths-shakti (which is superior to His maya of external potency)
and the universe through His maya or external Potency (which is inferior to jiva Potency) God created the
Vedas.
Purport :
Jivas who are essentially the eternal servitors of God but being
emanated from God's Tatastha- potency they are anadi-bahirmukha; therefore
aversion to God brought certain jivas
under the clutch of maya and they became subject to afflic tions. Now more
than an affectionate father, God ever looks for the true welfare of the fallen
souls ; therefore He forthwith created
the Vedas which are only the source for the jivas to over come this maya, that
is a life of transmigration,and attain the summum bonum of life. Back to God and back to home, the Abode of Eternal
Peace is the message of the Vedas. 89
Mishra - upadeshat - na - Ui • chet - na svalpatvat II 90 II
Translation :
When the Vedas delineate
most ambiguous statements of exoteric
and esoteric knowledge, then how do we consider it an act of supreme kindness
of God? We should not have such doubt in
respect to the most merciful Acts of God because indeed such ambiguous
statements are very very few.
Purport:
God's statements in the Vedas are very very simple. He never
wanted us to be confused by His lessons. Tt is only due to the influence of
triple gunas of maya people are not able
to grasp the real import of the Vedas.1 Those who are obsessed by desires are
unintelligent in understanding the significance of the Vedic-lore as they look
upon heaven as the supreme goal and
argue that there is nothing beyond heaven. No doubt in the Vedas there are
portions extolling heavenly pleasures but that is meant for those who are addicted to enjoyment with
rebirth as their fruit. The Vedas are the wish-yielding trees. All type of
people with their own perspectives while approaching the Vedas according to their quality of sattva or
rajas or tamas, gunas of maya, find support in the Vedas to serve their ends.
But being nitya sattvastho in association with the exalted Parama-Bhagavata devotees one
realises Me, who is finally known by the true import of the Vedic culture
(Veda-vid).
The scriptures have twofold objects, viz., the intended (primary)
and the indicated (secondary). The former is aimed at with the help of the
latter. That which is aimed at in a
particular scripture is the highest end of that scripture; and that
which points out the highest end is the indicator of that end. As for example^
when the pole-star is intended, the
brightest star nearest to it is pointed out to locate the pole-star. Therefore,
the pole-star is the intended object and hence the end, while the brightest
star nearest to it is the indicator
which is different from the end itself. So, the Vedas ultimately aim at the
Absolute Truth Who is beyond^ any mundane attributes, but such Truth being inconceivable to the human mind, the Vedas
have used the three attributes of maya in the beginning in order to indicate
the Absolute Truth, the intended end. That is why Maya with her three qualities of Sattva,
Rajas and Tamas seems at first sight to be the subject matter of the Vedas.
"Oh! Arjuna you need not be confined to the indicator (maya),
but freeing yourself from the three qualities of Maya, realize the Supreme
Being Who is beyond all mundane
attributes but possesses Transcendental Form and Qualities and Who is
the intended Subject of the Vedas. Free yourself from 'Kshema' (anxiety and care
for preserving the obtained results J;
apply your pure intelligence to the highest end and attain your unalloyed
existence in the spiritual realm, which is free from the three qualities of
Maya. The Vedas sometimes make mention
of Karma (action actuated by the principles of Rajas and Tamas, i.e., active
and opiate principles respectively), sometimes ofjnana, (abstract knowledge or dry wisdom prompted
by the principle of Saliva or the
principle of relative
goodness)and only on special occasions of Suddha-Bhakti ("pure devotion to Me, the Supreme Lord), Oh! Arjuna
Absolve yourself from such qualitative and relative sentiments as honour and
and dishonour, gain and loss, victory and
defeat; associate yourself constantly with the eternal entities, i.e.,
My devotees known as 'Sadhus', desist from the quest of Yoga (search after
unattained objects aimed at by the
elevationists and the Salvationists).
The Lord abides in the hearts of those who hear His Stories and
destroys all the evil propensities of their mind.1 Just as in the autumn, the
impurities of the streamlets and
stagnant pools are swept clean by the strong current of the river, so
Shri Krishna, safely ensconced through the ear-holes in the form of lotus—
sentiments of His Own in the hearts of
His devotees, washes off all filths of lust, anger etc. from the mind. Further
Gita says2 My devotee will soon become a God-loving soul and will attain
eternal Bliss.
When a devotee thus realised Me as the monitor of all souls the
knot in the shape of I-ness and My-ness born of avidya in his heart/ is cut
asunder, all his doubts get resolved and
the entire stock of his Karna-vasana is burnt out right. Mundaka Upanished say
:'L By the very realisation of that Transcendental Personality of Godhead,
who is Immanent and Transcendent all the
knots of the wordly bondage (i.e. the very nescience of the jiva-soul) are cut
asunder, all the doubts about the science of Truth are dispersed and one meets an end of his endless
cycle of births and deaths. Further :2 Therefore O Uddhava! He who has
completely concentrated his mind on Me and is
exclusively devoted to Me neither Jnana (dry agnosticism) nor even
vmagya (Pseudo-asceticism) will be conducive to his way of blessedness.
Steadfast devotion to Bhagavan Vasudeva (Shri Krishna) forthwith
endows oneself with full crystal philosophical knowledge of the Supreme
Divinity as well as speedily brings to
him aversion to worldly enjoyments.1 My sincere and faithful devotees, by means
of their devotional practice easily attain all that can be gained through the
Vedic rituals, austerities following the
path of Knowledge (Gnana) asceticism, astanga Yoga, piety, by gifts and all
sorts of auspicious deeds. Nay, not only they can obtain heavenly pleasures or salvation, but they set free
access to My Transcendental abode of peace if they are pleased to pray for it.
"My devotees who become totally free from any hankering
although all the eightfold siddhis of all the higher worlds readily come to
them of their own accord as a sequel to
devotion, do not consider it as any gain. Nay, even they do not crave
for the wealth and enjoyments of My Vaikuntha realm. But I out of compassion to
them take them to My Transcendental
Realm and endow them with inheritance of the Divine Powers and Bliss that
reside in Me."9 90
Phalam - asmat - Rhadarayanab drishtatvat II 91 II
Translation :
The vision of Truth is the Prospect of humanity : thus spake Shri
Badarayani Shri Vyasadeva.
Purport :
What is the highest pursuit of human life ? To a man of intuitive
wisdom God is Be-all and End-all of his life. He knows that God alone is the
Sole enjoyer and the Proprietor of every
belonging of this universe whereas himself is a servitor and this world is a
trust of His for rendering Service to Him and have that much right of partaking
the remnants of Lord's offerings and
thus become eligible for going back to the eternal Home of Bliss.To a Parama
Bhagavata the world with its mundanity does not remain as such but appears as it is stated by Lord Shri
Chaitanya :
Bon dekhi bhram hoy aei Vrindaban
Saila dekhi mane hoy aei Govardhan
Yaha nadi dekhe taha manaye Kalindi Sthavar jangam dekhe na dekhe
tar murti
Sarvatra hoy tar Tshtadeva sphurti.
'Every object whether animate or inanimate he does not view it
with his mundanity but it delights his mind with the absorbed thought of
presupposed objects associated with the
Transcendental Leela of the Lord. As such, the woods, bring unto him the
replica of Vrindaban, the mountains as the Govardhana and the river as the
Yamuna and so on and so forth. Having
augmented the spiritual sentiment of Gopis' Love and under the benediction of
Shri Radha a mystic in his spiritual madness observes: "In whichever direction he looks he finds Shyama and says,
'am T mad ? I see Shyama pervading all over the earth?' he hears only the
enchanting melody of His Flute; he smells the
divine fragrance emanating from His Person. The food incessantly tastes
the nectar of His Love and the body feels only the incomparable touch of the
Child of Nanda."
O Beloved of heart!
0 my hope and my rest and delight
The heart can love
None other but Thee
I have offered Thee perfect faith,
I have laid my life at Thy Feet,
Do now as Thou Will,
I cling firmly to Thy Feet.
Vyutcramat - apyayah tatha drishtan II 92 II
Translation :
Without the Vision of Truth life is undone or one is doomed to
destruction.
Purport :
IntheBrihadaranyaka Upanishad :l "Indeed, whosoever, in this
world, without knowing this Transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead
departs from this world is the most
unfortunate person and is undone in life.Bhagavata says:1 'The rising and
setting Sun steals away in vain the life of all human beings except that of the
man who spends every single moment in
talks about Lord Shri Krishna." Further :2 "Fortunate one who desires
to cross this worldly ocean should know that there is no other means than that of constantly tasting the nectarine
Blissful Narrations of the Glorious Pastimes of the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna
from the holy lips of the exalted Parama Bhagavata devotees."
Shri Chaitanya Chandramritam (93) says: "When heart is set on
crossing the sea of world-liness when the mind would rejoice in the nectarine
chant of the Divine Krishna Nama, when again
there is a fixed yearning to disport in the ecstatic Transcendental Love, then
it is meant to supplicate at the Lotus Feet of Shri Chaitanya !"
Further (Chaitanya Chandramrita-(54), "O the Saviour Shri
Chaitanya, I am drowned into the hellish ocean of worldliness, I am tied of my
hands and legs by the chains of evil
thoughts ; helpless, destitute as am I, and being much infatuated by the
lust, anger etc, as if they are like sharks and crocodiles just ready to swallow
me up at any moment—I am undone. At this
state of dilemma there is none to deliver me up except Your Boat like
Feet." 92
Here ends the 1 st Lesson of the 3rd Chapter.
Lesson—II
Tadaikyam nanatvaikatvam upadhiyogahanat adityavat II 93 II
Translation :
Bhagavan is One without a second—although He appears many as
Paramatma, Indwelling Monitor of all jiva-souls like the Sun reflected upon
many transparant objects - because God
is devoid of any modification by the adjuncts of maya.
Purport:
Bhagavan Shri Krishna is the Supreme God par-excellence and is the
Fountain-Source of all Incarnations. He exhibits Himself qualitatively same in
His various Manifestations. The
appearance of Narayana, the appearance in the form of Karanodakashayi or Garbhodakashayi
or Kshirodakashayi are examples of the obsequious Functions of the Divinity. And the Divine
Descents such as Rama, Niisimha, Varaha etc. or His Immanant
Aspect-Paramatma, Indwelling
Monitor of all jiva-souls all
are advayajnana- Tattva. Although
He descends on
earth as Avataras and remains as
Indwelling Monitor of the jivas yet like sun who is not defiled by the external
impurities, so also in such cases there is no modification of God nor
the Monitor-self within all beings is ever touched by the elements of the
phenomenal world as He is beyond any
adjunct of mays.1 Shri Krishna appeared
as many during His Rasa-Krida as well as during His Dwaraka Leela and although acted individually yet He was
One and the same ever maintaining
His Self-some Supra-logical Transcendental Characteristic without any
modification.'2
Prithak ¦ itichet - naparena - asambhandhat prakashanam
II 94 II
Translation :
Some (the Pantheist,
Mayavadi) say Brah-man in Its Variegated
Manifestiveness may appear as such but essentially variegatedness cannot be
maintained. Saguna Brahman when devoid
of adjuncts becomes Nirguna Brahman therefore no variegatedness can be
maintained,
Purport :
The Pantheists give the example that Nriguna Brahman being
modified by may a becomes incarnated Iswara or Saguna-Brahman and again when
the adjuncts are removed He is
Nirguna-Brahman (featureless like one sun reflected upon sheets of water but
when waters are removed there remains only the one sun. But this is very very
wrong proposition as it contradicts the
previous Sutra which is consonant with Vedanta as well as Upanishad as
Upadhiyogakanaivat. Absolutely Brahman cannot be modified and become Saguna-Iswara which is quite
absurd. (Please see my Upani-shadsj. He has got no phenomenal qualities but He
possesses non-phenomenal or transcendental
potency, supra-logical Power or Potency (Yoga-maya) through which He eternally main-tains His
Variegatedness as Derivative Subjective Divine Descents and in His Immanance (Indwelling Monitor) Aspect along
with His Self-some Swayamrupa Swarupa
without any modificationas such. He eternally performs His Transcen
dental Leela with His Swarupa Hladini
predominated Moiety-whole Shri Radha who again manifests Herself in Her
eternal Variegatedness as the Personification of different spiritual Rasas for the Leelamadhmya of the two
Moiety-wholes Rasaraj Mahabhava — Ontologically One and the same. 94
Na vikarinastu karana vikarat
II 95 II
Translation :
Doctrine of Brahma-parinama-vada viz. Karana fEffecient-cause)
Brahma becoming modified by maya (illusion) or with the adjunct of maya appears
as jivas — this pantheistic theory
cannot be maintained.
Purport :
The Pantheists or
Monists say: jiva
is Brahman in reality. There is
no jiva or Jagat actually. Tt is like
ghat a kasha viz. reflected sun upon the sheets of water of jars but when jars are broken one
sun without a
second only remains. So there is no permanent existence of jivas — it is only Brahman.
But question is what about the
water and the
jars? are they different from
Brahman? Are they separate objects or
entities ? Then, where is Ekameva
Brahmanl From where do they bring maya? Who is she ? Now they come to the theory of mistaking a
rope to be a snake or shell as silver?
But who does
this mistake? And again when knowledge prevails, does the existence of
rope gone or only the mis-identification alone is gone ? Yet both the rope and the snake are known to
exist in reality, though one may be
mistaken for the other, when only one is before us. But according to them only Brahman exists and
no jiva, How is, then, here the
mistaking of one thing for another when
only one exists ? (Further see our Upanisbads)
Therefore Karana-Brahman being modified appears mays-adjunct jivas is absurd. Whereas as
proverb goes a philospher's stone
(Sparsamani) by its very touch converts a piece of iron into a piece of gold without
itself least modified so also Supreme
Brahman Who possesses innumerable
Potencies vide Swetaswatara Upanishad
and also other Upanishads) and
one of them is illusive maya the external Potency who being propelled
by God brings forth this phenomenal world and another one is
tatastha-shakti or jiva-shakti that being superintended by Him appear as
individual innumerable jiva-souls who
are again known as Vibhinnamsha not svramsha
(see Gita VII) liable to be
enthralled by maya when they forget their position as eternal servants of
God. So souls are innumerable; in
fact maya is
in charge of a home of
correction. Those jivas who in abusing their
free-will, forgot the Service
of God and! thought themselves as
enjoyers, were grasped by maya for their penal servitude and correction. And by dint of satsang when
they regain their lost
position they turn
towards God and in
due course following the path of unalloyed devotion they
go back to the world of eternal Bliss.
Therefore there is Shakti-parinama-vdda of Brahmana but absolutely
not the Brahma-pari-nama-vada. Let us elaborate it from the Upanishadic point
of view:
Now the monists may come forward with some Vedic aphorisms in
their favour like (i) Sarvam khalvidam Brahma.1 It is wholly Brahman i.e.,
every phenomenon or the animate or the
inanimate world, is Brahman, (ii) Ne-hanastikinchana* — there are no
diversities; (iii) Prejnanam Brahmu* — full wisdom of Brahman; (iv)
Tattvamasi* — thou art that; (v) Aham
Brahmdsmi'0 — 1 am Brahman; (vi) Kmokam pashjet0 — to see whom with what ?
(vii) Ekam eva advitiyom1 — there
is only One
without a second etc. and claim that these vindicate their
stand. But they forget that there are
in the Vedas no less numerous
aphorisms speaking against them,
viz. (1) Brahma- Vidapnoti par am1 — one who
realises Brahman attains
summum bonum of life.
(2) Satyam jnanam
brahmana-vipaschita* — Brahman is
eternal, source of all wisdom
unbounded, he who
finds Branman existent in his
heart as in the world beyond this, he gets his objects fulfilled with the all
wisdom Brahman; (3)
Ayamatma sarvesham bhutanam
madhu6 — this Paramatma is like honey or nectar
to all beings; (4)
Tamahuragrayam pur us ham
mahantam* — the wise describe Him as the initial Cause and the
Highest Entity etc. This quite clearly indicates that 'He' Brahman is alone the Highest and there are other 'Jivas'
whose function is
to know 'Him'
through eternal service to Him.
This distinction (bheda) is established.
But no portion, no saying of the Upanishads (i.e. Vedanta or the
top of the Vedas) can be untrue. So the former quotations must also be true,
which point at 'non-distinction
(abheda). Thus we see that between God and souls there is eternal
distinction and there is also eternal non-distinction. And both are true and
that too simultaneously. But this
sychronisation of two paradoxically contrary propositions is beyond human
understanding with its limited scope in the realm of maya by which our true
entity is enveloped, which has looked to
her for enjoyment. Reason fails to poke its nose into this conception of
simultaneously contradictory truths. Only the perfect devotee of God can solve this problem with constitutional
ease, for their comprehension is clear of the dark horizons of the mundane
atmospher which blinds the innate true vision of a free soul.
Even the aphorisms which
'Keveladvaita-vadins' (champions of the
doctrine of
non-distinction) rely on for support
will when be viewed with an eye cleansed with the collyrium of self surrender to God indicate
the truth of 'Achintya-Bhtddbheda' philosophy. For example, the full wisdom {prajndna)
in the aphorism ' Prajnanam Brahma n is explained as devotional attitude to God in
Tamebadhiro vijndya 'Prajndm
kurvita brahmana '2 knowing Him fully well
the knower of Brahman should be
devoted to Him, Tattvamasi3 is explained in Brihadaranyaka. 'He who leaves this world Knowing the
Eternal God is a knower of Brahman i.e., is
(a Brahmana)'. Isopanishad says 'he who
is addicted to the learning (of non-distinction) enters
a darker region than he who is
without any learning'. Sarvam khalvidam
Brahma (all this
universe is Brahman) means that it has emanated from His external
Potency and has no existence unrelated to
Him. Even Shri
Shankaracharya admitted here Guna of Brahman. The meaning of the aphorism as given above
is supported by another aphorism ;
Tato Vaimdni* b hut dm jay ant; etc' — ' from Whom this universe has emanated, etc'
Now let us consider the aphorism 'ekamevdd-vityatn' the context is
'sadeva soumyedamagrdrit ekamevSdvitiram' 'Oh darling son, before the creation
of this universe, there existed eternal
God alone as One', Yes, at Kalpanie (at the end of the creation) only God
remains with all created beings and worlds resting in Him. This is fully
explained by God to Brahma in the first
sloka of the Chatusloki Bhagavatam 1
Thus it is seen that, if properly construed, the strongholds of
the Kevaladvaitavadins or extreme monists, viz., the few aphorisms in the Vedas
that they mainly rely on for supporting
their cause, do not give them any safe shelter against the true interpretations
as offered by the dualistic Vaishnava schools, specially when they are confronted with the other Vedic aphorisms. The Katha
Upanishad3 says: 'Nityo-nityanam' etc. Those really wise persons and none else
can obtain eternal peace, who, in virtue of their devotion, see within themselves God as
Paramatma (rndwelling Monitor) Who is the Chief Eternal among all eternals and
the chief Sentient among all sentient beings, and Who, One among the many fulfils their
desires. Is this not a fully sufficient refutation of the false doctrine of the
integral oneness of a soul, which is only an individual, with the single Brahman ? Is not this aphorism an
unambiguous proof of the plurality of individual souls ? 95
Ananya Bhaktya tat buddhihe buddhilayat tyantam II 96 II
Translation :
In unalloyed devotion where ontology of the Supreme Divinity is
not lacking but at the very dawn of Raganuga Bhakti philosophy of supremacy is
subdued by the over-flow or poignancy of
Love. Secondly an atmarami Brahma-jnani at the very dawn of unalloyed devotion
at his heart his atividya1 is destroyed.
Purport:
In one stage we find1 As Shri Ramanuja puts it : "Free from
limitation of the material world, getting back the knowledge of the self that
is characteristic of Se>ha in the
serviceable mood of Narayana, the Supreme. Next when is endowded with
single-minded devotion to Bhagavan Vasudeva there in his untinted heart
naturally rests the real spirit of
abnegation and the unambiguous wisdom of the Divinity. Whereas the Chatussanas
who were Brahma-jnanis atmaramis when chanced to get the sweet and fragrant smell of the Tulasi, because tinged with the
pollens offered at the Lotus Feet of the Lord Narayana having entered into the
nostrils of those erstwhile they felt ecstacy of devotion that is. they were absolved from
Ati-Vidya which is a kind of hindrance.2But when one augments the
Raganuga-Bhdva under the benediction of Rdgatmika-Bhakti there the philosophy of supremacy of the Divinity is subdued as Shri Rupa Goswami
also puts it in the follow-up method as the Vraja-Gopis' Service to Shri
Krishna the way that is congenial and
agreeable to His Pleasure no other extraneous motive other than the desire of
Bhakti rests and that is uninterrupted by karma or jnana.
Although Shri Krishna showed Vishva-rupa in the Cavity of His
Mouth to Ma Yashoda yet she could not be converted into His worshipper,whereas
she ever looked after Him as none but
Her Darling. Shri Krishna held the Govardhana Mount on the Tip of His little
Finger and showed very many majestic feats, yet His comrades climbed on His Shoulders and offered their ramnant fruits.
The gopis reposed Him which was more than the hymns of the Vedas to Him... So
in Kevala-rati the Majesty of Godhead cannot
prevail upon, in the unstinted supremely poignanted Love-laden heart. 96
Ayuh ¦ chiram - itaresham tu hanih anaspadatvat 11 97 II
Translation :
Life is ever lost for those who are steeped in nescience as they
run after the will-o-the-wisp, but the devotees eternally live with Bliss.
Purport:
A jiva in bondage is propelled as per actions in life. He moves
about up and down within this fourteen worlds in an unending cycling of a life
of transmigration. He is ever tormented
by ever unending turbulant lust, anger and thirst etc. and his life becomes
will-o-the-wisp. He is undone being afflicted by triple qualities of maya1
whereas an unalloyed devotee has passed
beyond all these states of sorrows and sufferings.Verily, at that self-realised
state of life he does not know, that is usually done although he is verily knowing though he does not know, for
there is no cessation of knowing of a knower, because of his immortality as a
knower. There is not however any second object
independent from God and separately existing without the support of God
that he may know about. Gross materialist
thinks that it is through the gross sense-organs he does see, smell, taste, speak, hear, think,
touch and know etc. an agnostic thinks that by cessation of functioning of
these organs he destroys their faculties alto" gether. Whereas Shruti asserts that these are the
faculties of the unstinted soul, therefore none of these faculties is getting
destroyed. At the stage of bondage these faculties in their perverted condition are detrimental and
cause illution but at the stage of self realisation they are conducive to
rendering the unalloyed devotion to the Lord of
Transcendance. See the purport of Isa. Up- I for additional
information.In the Gita, Shri Arjuna asked Shri Krishna, 'what are the
characteristics of one who is self-realised ?
What does he say, and what is his conduct ? Shri Krishna replied, ' My
dear Partha, Sthitaprajna is he who leaving off the desires of his mind, finds
solace ever in his soul. He is always
merged in the bliss of the soul and is absolutely unconcerned about world. A
self-controlled sage is unperturbed in sorrow,
his thrist for pleasures has altogether disappeared and he is free from
passion, fear and anger. He is neither exultant nor despondent under good or
evil circumstances, but so long as the body
continues he pays no heed to worldly gain or loss maintaining a stable
mind. Such a man like a tortoise draws its limbs from all directions, withdraws
his senses from the
sense-objects.'Further i1 As a man, when in the embrace of his spouse
feels nothing else than bliss, so an unalloyed devotion to the Transcendental
Supreme God enjoys nothing else but
uninterrupted Nectarine Bliss in his life of eternity—He knows no death, 97
Samshritih - eshatn - abhaktih syat • na - ajnanat karana -
asiddheh II 98 II
Translation ;
It is not due to lack of Philosophical knowledge but devoid of
unalloyed devotion to God that causes the cycling of life of transmigration.
Purport :
So long as unalloyed devotion to the Feet of Supreme Godhead is
not imbued at heart; the life of transmigration continues but it ceases for
ever on the dawn of devotion. So long as
one does not take refuge in Thee, the Saviour from all sins, the distress, the
thirst for ephemeral pleasure, lust and nescience torments the heart.1 Mere
talks about the palatable feast does not
appease one's hunger. The knowledge of the king does not help one to make the
king pleased and thereby make oneself gain something positive.
98
Trinyesham netrani shctbdalinga aksha bhedat rudravat II 99 II
Translation:
As Shiva has got three eyes so also three Principles Pramanam
: Testament, valid means of philosophy
of Supreme Reality,
Purport :
For taking in consideration anything in respect to the philosophy
of religion or spirituality three valid means are recognised viz. (i)
Shabda-Praman, (if) Anuman (inference),
(hi) Pratyaksha- sense perception or reason. But Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu says that the rational attributes of men are not capable of
approaching the Divinity, Yukti or
reason is quite incompetent in this respect. Transcendental sounds
coming down from that plane of transcendence through the exalted mystic
Love-intoxicated God-realised souls
which have come in the form of Vedas strictly speaking the Upanishads and the
Vedanta-sutras together with Bhagavat Gita, the very utterance of God Himself
and the valid Puranas particularly the
Bhaga-vatam which is the quintessence of all the valid literatures are the best
Testament in establishing the Truth.
The inference and the reason while sincerely helping to understand
the Vedic truth may be accepted as auxiliary evidence.
Generally these three viz. (i) the Vedas, or Shrutipramana, (ii)
Anumana inference and (iii) Pratjoksha Reason are accepted but in the matter of
the spiritual ontology and even for
philosophy the Sanatanists accept Prathanatraya viz. (i)Upanishadas : Nysya
Prasthana, (ii) Vedsnta-Sutra: Shruti Prasthana, and (iii) Gita-Smriti
prasthana. 99
Avistirihhava - vikarah syuh Kriyaphalasamyogat il 100 II
Translation :
The birth and death of a jiva-soul is due to the anjunct of mays
and cycling of life of transmigration as per the results of one's own Karma,
actions in life.
Purport:
Jiva-souls constitutionally are the servitors of Godhead but they
are from the Tatastha-shakti of God (vibhinnamsha) and anadi-bahirmukha'
therefore due to the aversion of God
they are enthralled by mays and thereby become subject to birth and death and
the results of one's karma during one's life time rewards him after the death
once again born either in the higher
species if virtuous karmas were done, and enjoy a life in the upper regions
like heaven etc., or due to his sinful actions will be born in the
abominable wombs and suffer hellish
afflictions — thus goes on the cycling of a life of transmigration of a fallen
soul. But by providence if such a fallen soul meets an exalted Parama Bhagavata mystic devotee he finds a way to
meet an end of his life of transmigration, because thereby he gets the seed of
Bhakti creeper and when that is nurtured with
pouring of water in the shape of incessant listening to the
Transcendental Pastimes of God from the holy lips of the exalted devotees and
chanting the Divine Names. When unalloyed devotion
rules the heart
then and then alone one
goes beyond to
the life of transmigration.
The journey ends in a dancing field of brilliant and eternal
spring sweet scented Love, and abounding peace. Ah. Back to God and Back to
Home! Yea I attain the Abode of Eternal
Bliss!
Here ends the Shandilya
Bhakti Sutra.
By the unreserved grace of my divine master Om Vishnupada Shri
Shrimad Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Goswami Maharaj I could complete the English
rendering of this glorious book Shri
Shandilya Bhakti-Sutra on this day, the 24th June 1989 at Shri Gaudiya Math,
Madras.