BY: SUN STAFF
Dec 27, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION THIRTY
Sri Suta Gosvami came to a similar conclusion while describing the trance of Srila Vyasadeva, the writer, whose trance outlines the principle to be established in this book. He describes it in brief (S.B.1.7.4-8):
Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service (bhakti-yoga), without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under His full control. Being bewildered by this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus suffers the reactions of material bondage.
The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service to Lord Adhokshaja (Krishna), but the mass of people do not know this and therefore the learned Vyasadeva compiled this Vedic literature, the Srimad Bhagavatam, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth. Simply by giving aural reception to this Srimad Bhagavatam, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion, and fearfulness.
After composing the Srimad Bhagavatam and editing it, Srila Vyasadeva taught it to His son, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, who was fixed on the path of renunciation.
Thereafter Saunaka Rishi inquired (S.B. 1.7.9):
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami was already on the path of renunciation, having no material desires and he was satisfied with his own self, so why did he take the trouble to undergo the study of such a vast literature?
Suta Gosvami replied (SB. 1.7.10-11):
All varieties of atmaramas (those who take pleasure in atma or the spirit self), especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. Indeed, such are the transcendental qualities of the Lord that He can attract everyone, including liberated souls. The powerful son of Sri Vyasa, who is very dear to the devotees of Lord Vishnu, his mind being captivated by the enchanting qualities of Lord Hari, studied this great narration.
The phrase bhakti-yogena (SB. 1.7.4), "through bhakti-yoga", means through love of God, as the same meaning is conveyed in the following verse (S.B.5.6.18)
My dear King, Lord Mukunda sometimes grants liberation to those who are rendering service unto Him, but rarely does He grant bhakti-yoga or love of God.
The word pranihite, means "concentrated". Previously, Narada Muni instructed Vyasadeva "to experience the pastimes of Lord Krishna through trance, or samadhi." (SB. 1.5.13) The meaning of the word purna, full or complete, in its unrestricted sense should be understood from the following verse of the Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda (226.68), "The words 'bhagavan' and 'purusha' when free from any modifiers refer to Lord Vasudeva (Krishna), the Supersoul of all". This is further verified from the commentary of Sridhara Swami on the following two verses (S.B.2.3.9,10):
One who desires sense gratification should worship the Moon, but one who desires no material enjoyment should worship the Supersoul. A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of material desires, without any material desires, or desires liberation, must by all means worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Krishna).
Sridhara Swami says that the word "purusha" in the first of these two verses, indicate the Supersoul, whose upadhi is the material nature, while the same word in the second verse means "the complete personality of Godhead, free from any upadhis." The term "purna purusha" (1.7.4) refers, therefore, to the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
To understand the import of a book such as Srimad Bhagavatam, it is important to understand the faith and experience of its author. His writing is guided by these two factors, and, as in this case, if the speaker agrees with the author's faith and experiences then the author's goal is achieved. To understand the mind or heart of Srila Vyasadeva, Srila Jiva Gosvami analyzes Vyasa's trance, which is the basis for the Srimad Bhagavatam. Once this is accomplished the whole Bhagavatam should be understood in light of this ideal. Then one can be confident that he has grasped its essential message. Srila Jiva Goswami writes twenty sections, therefore, just to bring out the ideal lodged in the heart of Srila Vyasadeva and shows it to be in agreement with the heart of Srila Sukadeva Goswami.
In the previous section, even before analyzing the heart of Vyasadeva, Srila Jiva Gosvami analyzed the heart of Sukadeva. This was to invoke the blessings of Sri Suka, who was given audience even by Srila Vyasadeva. Further, the basis of the analysis was a single verse spoken by Suta Gosvami in glorification of Suka, his guru. By contrast, Vyasadeva's trance is described in six verses. This forms another reason why Srila Jiva Gosvami analyzed Sukadeva's heart before Vyasadeva's. He follows the suci-kataha-nyaya, or the principle of the needle and the cauldron, which means that in an undertaking the smaller task should be executed first.
The verses describing the trance of Srila Vyasadeva are pregnant with the import of the Srimad Bhagavatam and they form the basis of that great work and subsequently the Shat-sandarbhas. Here the term bhakti-yogena (SB.1.7.4.) means by prema, or love of Godhead, because only prema can give one the vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead along with His potencies. This is also indicated by the word amala, or the pure heart.
According to Srila Rupa Gosvami, bhakti is divided into three categories, sa bhaktih sadhanam bhavah prema ceti tridhodita (B.R.S. 1.2.1), "Bhakti is of three types--sadhana, bhava, and prema". One who attains prema bhakti has realized Krishna both within and without. His ignorance about the self and his material miseries are completely vanquished. Srila Rupa Gosvami confirms this when he says, "sandranandaviseshatma srikrishnakarshini ca sa" (B.R.S. 1.1.17). In commenting on this verse Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes, sadhya-prema-bhaktih sandranandah viseshatma-rupa sri krishnakarshini rupa... "The perfected platform of bhakti, known as prema bhakti, gives unlimited bliss to the devotee and even attracts Lord Krishna."
Srila Jiva Gosvami concludes therefore that it is only by the influence of this prema bhakti that Srila Vyasa realized in His trance the Bhagavat-tattva along with the maya-tattva, Jiva-tattva, and the bhakti-tattva. He saw the selfsame Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, along with His internal, external, and marginal potencies. The material creation is the manifestation of His external potency and the living entities are of His marginal potency. Only the living entity gets bewildered and subdued by His external potency, Maya.
In his pure state the living entity is completely free from the external potency, but when subjugated by Maya he considers himself material. This conditions him to accept repeated birth and death, which, like a diseased condition, is unnatural for the living being. He also saw the solution--bhakti-yoga, or devotional service unto Lord Adhokshaja, beginning with hearing His pastimes. This was unknown to humanity and so Vyasadeva compiled the Srimad Bhagavatam to propagate it.
The term bhakti-yoga mentioned in Bhagavatam verse (1.7.6.), refers to sadhana-bhakti, which is the practice stage of bhakti-yoga. It is only in this stage that one must follow strictly the regulated practice of sadhana-bhakti. In prema-bhakti, the advanced stage of bhakti-yoga, one is free of all material contamination and is fixed in rendering spontaneous devotional service. Generally, such a devotee still follows the sadhana principles, while inwardly his heart is awash with waves of blissful feeling stemming from his spontaneous loving service mood. Srila Vyasadeva compiled the "Satvata-samhita"[i], the Srimad Bhagavatam, to explain the principles of bhakti yoga, and its two phases, sadhana bhakti and prema bhakti, with an intermediate state, bhava bhakti.
The use of "bhakti" in the next verse, (SB. 1.7.7), means prema-bhakti, because, as the verse states, only at that stage one is completely free from lamentation, delusion, and fear. The word "utpadyate" literally means "is generated", but here it means "becomes manifest", because prema -bhakti cannot be generated, being the internal potency of the Lord; rather it appears within the heart of a devotee by the blessings of the Lord and His pure devotee.
Srila Jiva Goswami then explains that although there are various purusha incarnations, the words "purna purusha" indicate the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. A word is considered to have potency whereby it conveys its meaning. It can have varied meanings depending on the display of its potency, which may be either primary or secondary. A word has one primary meaning and it may have many secondary meanings. The primary meaning is displayed when no restrictions are placed on it. In the present context, the unrestricted meaning (mukhya vritti) of the word "purna" (literally, complete or perfect) applies to Lord Sri Krishna, who is free of all restrictions or limitations. The purusha incarnations are also perfect, but they have some limitations that distinguish them from the purna purusha. This is implied in the Bhagavatam verse (1.3.28), which states, ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagavan svayam, "All of the above-mentioned incarnations (listed in the preceding verses) are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Sri Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead". In Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (2.1.43), Srila Rupa Gosvami explains how Krishna has four qualities that none of His expansions have in common with Him, namely His wonderful pastimes, His extraordinary associates, His enchanting flute-playing, and His unsurpassed beauty.
This explanation of the word "purna" is further supported by the use of the phrase "krishna paramapurushe" in the Bhagavatam verse 1.7.7. Here paramapurushe is an adjective modifying the name Krishna. According to Sridhara Swami the same phrase "parama purusha" used in S.B. 2.3.10 refers to the Purna Purusha or the Complete Person.
Etymologically "purusha" means "one who lies down in the city", which is a metaphor for the body. Thus "purusha" implies the Supersoul within the body. The Supersoul is the controller of the material energy and thus He is in contact with it, although not influenced by it, but Lord Sri Krishna is not in contact with the material nature though He controls it through His purusha expansions.
Sridhara Swami uses the word "nirupadhi" (free from all limiting adjuncts) in reference to Krishna, who is not the purusha, but the purna purusha. Unlike the Supersoul, He is completely free of any upadhi. This term, upadhi, is difficult to grasp and therefore difficult to render into English. Sometimes it is translated as conditioning, limitation, false designation, or modifier. In its strict philosophical usage it means limiting adjunct, because its effect is to modify the natural state of an object by its proximity or association, though in fact it has no integral or natural relationship with the object.
For example, a crystal by nature is colorless, but when put next to a red flower it appears reddish. This reddish appearance is not a part of the crystal's nature, rather the red flower "conditions" the crystal to appear red by its proximity. Hence the flower is the upadhi for the crystal. Similarly, the material body is the upadhi, or limiting adjunct, for the soul. The soul may be likened to the crystal in that it is easily influenced or colored by its association. By the proximity of the material body to the soul it becomes mired in material existence and conditioned by the modes of nature. In reality the soul is nirupadhi, without any limiting adjuncts, just like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is explained here.
But this nirupadhi condition should never be understood to indicate the impersonal Brahman, because the word "yajeta" (S.B. 2.3.10) clearly indicates the opposite when it says, yajeta purusham param, "One should worship the Supreme Person." The root "yaj" means to worship a deity. Since it is absurd to advise someone to worship a deity devoid of attributes the meaning of purna purusha is clear from its context and there is no need to bring in the impersonal conception to explain it.
When Sridhara Svami says that Supersoul, the Purusha, has material nature as His upadhi, it should not be taken to mean the Lord is conditioned by the material nature, like the jiva. It only means that He controls material nature without coming in contact with or being influenced by it. Supersoul is always transcendental to material nature, in the way the head of state may visit the prison house but does not become an inmate of the prison.
In his comment on verse 2.3.10 of the Bhagavatam Sridhara Svami interprets purusha as the Personality of Godhead, not the Supersoul, because He is worshiped by persons desiring liberation, which means entering into the spiritual planets, which are beyond the jurisdiction of the Supersoul.
The term adhokshaja in Bhagavatam verse 1.7.6 also means Sri Krishna. Etymologically it means one who is beyond sense perception, but it is also a name of Lord Krishna given to Him after His pastime of killing the demoness Putana. The Harivamsha Purana (V.P. 101. 30-32) confirms this:
"When baby Krishna was sleeping in a cradle under the axle of a cart, the demoness Putana, who could assume the form of a bird, came to kill Him. She gave her poisoned breasts to baby Krishna, but Krishna killed her. The residents of Vraja saw Putana, who was terrible looking, gigantic, and powerful, lying dead in the forest, but Lord Krishna was safe and the people called Him Adhokshaja, "one who has taken another birth under the axle of a cart."
The verses describing Veda Vyasa's trance (SB. 1.7.4-7) give the quintessence of the Srimad Bhagavatam. The major points of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy are expressed here in brief; therefore Srila Jiva Goswami gives more analysis of these verses in the next section.
[i]*The term "satvata" has the same meaning as bhagavata. "Samhita" means a compilation.
Go to Section Thirty-one
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