BY: SUN STAFF
Jan 25, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIFTY-NINE
To explain the nature of the Asraya-tattva more clearly, during the period of maintenance, or sthiti, through the direct experience of an individual, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami utters the next two verses, which give the distinction between the adhyatmika, adhidaivika, and adhibhautika (S.B. 2.10.8,9):
This adhyatmika purusha is the same as the adhidaivika purusha and that who differentiates between these two is called the adhibhautika purusha. We do not perceive the other two in the absence of any one of these three. It is the Lord who knows all these three and He is the support of His Own Self, not depending on anything else.
The jiva, or the seer, who identifies himself with the senses, such as the eye, is called the adhyatmika purusha. He is verily the adhidaivika purusha, or the presiding deity of the senses, such as the sun for the eyes. Before the existence of the gross body there is no resting place for the senses. Hence no distinction arises between the adhyatmika purusha, who considers himself the illuminator of the senses, and the adhidaivika purusha, who assists him in this work of illumination. They remain unidentifiable individually.
But when the visible body, or adhibhautika purusha, comes into existence, which consists of the resting place for the senses, such as the eyeballs, then the distinction between the adhyatmika purusha and adhidaivika purusha comes into existence. The former identifying himself with the senses and the latter as the presiding deity of the senses. The gross body is called purusha since it is the limiting adjunct of the purusha within, the living entity. As stated in the sruti, "This purusha, or physical body, is made of foodstuff." (Taitt.U. 2.1.1)
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
In the previous section, Srila Jiva Gosvami showed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Asraya tattva, or supporting element, even from the aggregate point of view. Now he further explains that the Lord is the support of each individual, even in his day to day sensory experiences.
The pure living being, who misidentifies himself with the senses, is called the adhyatmika purusha. The presiding deities of the senses are called the adhidaivika purusha, and the visible physical body as well as the sense objects are called the adhibhautika purusha.
The adhibhautika purusha is the distinctive feature between the adhyatmika purusha and adhidaivika purusha. Before the birth of the body they remain unidentifiable, merged together in the same jiva. In this regard, Sripada Baladeva Vidyabhushana writes, dehotpatteh purvam api jivena sarddham indriyani tad-devatasca santy eva, "Even before the creation of the gross body, the senses and their presiding deities are existing with the jiva." Distinction between them is not made because there is no physical body. When the physical body comes into existence the senses come and sit in it and their respective presiding deities take charge of them. At that time the activities of the presiding deities can be distinctly perceived. The eyes and nose that we see in the physical body are not the senses. They are the seats for the senses, which are subtle in their composition. Lord Krishna confirms this in Bhagavad-gita, fifteenth chapter. After asserting that the living entity is his eternal fragmental part, the Lord states (BG.15.7), "The jiva attracts the mind situated in material nature along with the five senses," meaning that the jiva accepts them as his own. In the next verse Krishna says: "When the master (the soul) quits his body he carries these (his five senses along with his mind) from their seats into his next body, just as the air carries aroma." (Bg 15.8.)
At the time of death, obviously, the visible nose and eyes do not disappear. But the senses situated in them are carried away by the soul along with the mind.
The physical body is also called purusha, or a person, because it forms the designation of the soul. On account of this conditioning the person says "I am sick" when actually the body is sick. All designations such as small man, tall man, American, Indian, boy, girl, and so on are based on the material body. The usage of the term purusha for the body is confirmed by the Vedic statement Srila Jiva Gosvami quoted in the text.
In the next section, Srila Jiva Gosvami gives the explanation of the second of the two Bhagavatam verses.
Go to Section Sixty
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