BY: SUN STAFF
Jan 29, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION SIXTY-THREE
(SB. 12.7.17)
Learned persons say that samstha, or dissolution, is of four types--naimittika (causal), prakritika (complete), nitya (continuous), and atyantika (ultimate)--and it proceeds from the nature of the Lord.
In this verse, the term asya means of Paramesvara, or the Supreme Lord, and svabhavatah (lit. from nature) means from His energy. The word atyantika indicates that mukti is also included.
(SB.12.7.18)
The jiva, who performs work out of ignorance is the hetu, or cause, of sarga, visarga, and so on. Some call this jiva the anusayin, or one who sleeps after, and others call him avyakrita, or changeless.
In this verse, the term hetu means nimitta, or the efficient cause. Asya refers to this universe, which exists owing to the ignorant activities of the jiva, avidya-karma-karakah. Those who emphasize the conscious aspect call him anusayi, and those who emphasize the limiting adjunct call him avyakrita.
(S.B.12.7.19)
Brahman, or the Lord, is called the apasraya, or the distinct shelter in both the conditioned and the liberated state of the jiva, though He is both associated with and separate from the jiva's wakeful, dream, and deep sleep states as well as other products created by the material energy
The jiva, even in the pure state, cannot be the asraya. That would go against the vision of Srila Vyasadeva in His trance. The sense is as follows: Brahman, or the Lord in His original form, is always aloof from the various states of existence, such as wakeful, as well as from the creation of Maya beginning from the mahat-tattva onwards. These are all manifestations of His external energy. Yet in His feature as the Supersoul, the Supreme Witness, He is associated with these manifestations. He is the ground, therefore, for all the activities of the jiva both in his pure form and in his conditioned form. At the same time the Supersoul remains transcendental to everything. This is indicated by the prefix apa, which means abandoning. Here it implies transcending.
This "transcendental Asraya" is understood by the knowledge of the pure nature of the jiva, called hetu, and thus Sri Suta Gosvami reveals it in the following two verses (SB.12.7.20,21):
Just as a material element is both connected with and distinct from the objects made of it having various names and forms, so, due to ignorance, the pure living being is associated with the nine states of life, beginning with conception and ending with death, yet is distinct from these nine. When the jiva restrains his mind and transcends the three states either by himself or by meditation, he realizes his self and becomes free from all actions.
The earth is associated with and distinct from its own products having names and forms such as a mud pot, but if one does not consider these products, then it also exists independent of them. Similarly the consciousness of the jiva, due to ignorance, is mixed with the nine states of life, beginning from conception up to death, nonetheless the pure jiva is always aloof from them. When he realizes his self to be pure he becomes indifferent to these changes and becomes qualified to inquire into the nature of the apasraya. This is the purpose of the verse beginning with virameta
The phrase vrittitrayam (lit. three states) means wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep states. The word atmanam means the Supersoul. The word svayam, or by himself, means to be discriminating about the illusory nature of the world, as was done by the sage Vamadeva. The term yogena, or through meditation, implies meditation or yoga as was practiced by Srimati Devahuti. "He becomes free from all actions" means he refrains from all actions except the practice of God-realization.
Thus the sambandha or the subject has been delineated
Thus ends the Tattva Sandarbha, the first among the Bhagavat Sandarbha, which is written according to the instructions of Srila Rupa and Srila Sanatana, who are the reverend members of the universal royal assembly of Vaishnavas. They are unalloyed servants unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the purifier of the jivas in Kali-yuga, who descended to distribute the benediction of His own service.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
The partial or complete dissolution of the material creation is called samstha. Suta Gosvami classifies this dissolution into four--naimittika, prakritika, nitya, and atyantika. The dissolution that comes at the end of Lord Brahma's day is called naimittika, or the causal dissolution. The dissolution at the end of Lord Brahma's life span is called prakritika, or the complete dissolution. When a jiva gets free from both subtle and gross bodies and enters the spiritual sky that is called atyantika, or the ultimate dissolution, or liberation. Having attained this state he does not have to take birth again in this material world. Thus Srila Jiva Gosvami says that atyantika includes mukti, the ninth item enumerated by Sukadeva Gosvami in Anuccheda 56.
At every moment everything in the material world is proceeding towards annihilation. Scholars call this nitya, or the continuous dissolution.
In Sarva-samvadini Srila Jiva Gosvami states that there is also partial dissolution at the end of each manvantara. To substantiate this he quotes from the Vishnu-dharmottara Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam, and the Bharata-Tatparyya of Sri Madhavacarya. Part of the reference from the Vishnu Dharmottara Purana (1.75.1,2) states:
King Vajra asked, "O brahmana, when a manvantara is over, what is the situation of the world, kindly explain it to me."
Markandeya replied, "At the end of a manvantara the demigods appointed for that particular manvantara, being free from sins, attain to Maharloka and reside there."
After this, Markandeya goes on to explain that the seven sages, Manu, and Indra go to Brahmaloka and the earth becomes submerged in a deluge. The description is similar to the one in the twenty-forth chapter, Eighth Canto, of the Bhagavatam. The description given in the Vishnu Dharmottara Purana is a general occurrence that comes at the end of each manvantara. Srila Jiva Gosvami says that this conclusion is further substantiated by the Harivamsa Purana and its commentaries on the chapters dealing with the subject. That being the case, the dissolution at the end of a Manvantara can be counted as naimittika, or causal, because it occurs due to a cause, namely the change of a Manu, and it cannot fit into any one of the other three types of dissolutions.
Hetu, or the efficient cause of creation, is the jiva. The Lord has nothing to gain from this material world. He has His transcendental abode where He engages in loving pastimes with His dear devotees. For the welfare of those living beings who have turned their back to the Lord, He has created this universe where the jiva is avidya-karma-karaka, acting out of ignorance and sustaining the universe. In that sense the jiva is the efficient cause behind the creation, not that he fashions it. Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita (7.5) that the whole material world is sustained by the living entities, jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat.
The ultimate purpose of the material world is to attain liberation and not remain in the cycle of repeated birth and death. Sukadeva Gosvami makes this clear in the Srimad Bhagavatam (10.87.2):
"The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind, and vital air of the living entities so they could indulge in their devices for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in future activities, become elevated in future lives, and ultimately attain liberation."
From this one should not misconstrue that the jiva is the asraya of the universe. That will certainly contradict the realization of Srila Vyasadeva, in which He saw the Lord as the ultimate Asraya of everything. But if the Lord is the Asraya of this material world, He must also be in contact with Maya and her creation? To this Sri Suta Gosvami says, apasraya, the Supreme Lord is the transcendental Asraya. He is the Asraya, but He is apart from Maya. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.4) the Lord Himself describes that material nature as bhinna prakriiti, His separated energy. In His original form the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely aloof from the creation, but as the
Supersoul He witnesses and controls the activities of both the jiva and Maya. Thus by His inconceivable potency He is both in association with the creation and distinct from it. This He also confirms in the Bhagavad-gita (9.4):
"By Me in My invisible form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them." But even when He pervades it or controls it He is neither in physical contact nor influenced by it.
Previously Srila Jiva Gosvami showed that knowledge of the pure nature of the jiva is the primary step in the science of God-realization. Here he substantiates this with the two verses spoken by Sri Suta Gosvami (SB.12.7.20, 21):
"Just as a material element is both connected with and distinct from the objects made of it having various names and forms, so, due to ignorance, the pure living being is associated with the nine states of life, beginning with conception and ending with death, yet is distinct from these nine. When the jiva restrains his mind and transcends the three states either by himself or by meditation, he realizes his self and becomes free from all actions." (SB.12.7.20, 21)
Elsewhere, Lord Krishna names the nine states of the body that the jiva experiences: conception, remaining in the womb, birth, infancy, boyhood, youth, middle age, old age, and death. Although the jiva in it's conditioned state seems to be in association with the nine types of changes in the body, he is never actually mixed with it. Just as clay constitutes the mud pot, still, clay exists independent of the mud pot. Similarly, the jiva animates the body, but nevertheless exists independent of the body and the nine types of changes the body undergoes.
When one understands himself to be distinct from the body in all the nine stages during the wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep states, he is qualified to walk on the path of God-realization. That is the stage of athato brahma jijnasa, "Knowing oneself distinct from the body one becomes qualified to inquire into the Absolute Truth" (V.S. 1.1.1). This is also indicated by the following statement from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.12) yadatmanam vijaniyadayamasmiti purushah, "When the jiva understands that 'I am distinct from the body. I am a conscious fraction of Brahman' he comes to realize the Supreme Lord."
In this anuccheda two processes for self-realization are indicated. The word svayam implies the path of jnana, in which one meditates on the self as different from everything else in the realm of Maya. This was the path followed by the sage Vamadeva, whose history is related in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. A similar example is that of Dattatreya told in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.
The second process is implied by the word yogena, which means the path of bhakti. On this path one considers himself different from the three states of existence--wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep--and meditates on the Supersoul. This was exemplified by Srimati Devahuti, the mother of Lord Kapiladeva. Her story is in the Third Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.
Srila Jiva Gosvami concludes that the Supreme Asraya of everything is Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; and He alone is the subject (sambandhi tattva) of Srimad Bhagavatam.
A summary of Sri Tattva Sandarbha is as follows: The first eight verses make up the invocation, or Mangalacarana. In these verses, besides praying to his teachers and his worshipable deity, Srila Jiva Gosvami outlines the purpose of his writing the book, the subject matter within, and the qualification of the reader.
From sections nine to twenty-six he discusses the Gaudiya Vaishnava epistemology. He first points out that all human beings are subject to the four defects, which inhibits their attempt to acquire perfect knowledge independently. Out of ten means of gaining knowledge he accepts sabda, or revealed knowledge as supreme. The Vedas, being sabda brahman, or the revealed knowledge given by the Supreme Lord, are the highest authority; but, being unavailable in complete form and owing to their cryptic nature and the absence of a proper parampara, he prefers to examine the Puranas, which he establishes as the fifth Veda, along with the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Next, he shows that the Puranas have the same quality, authority, and nature as the Vedas, and that due to their simple language and accessibility, they are even better than the other four Vedas, accessible even to non-dvijas, those who have not undergone the sacred thread ceremony.
But the Puranas speak of various deities and seem to contradict each other and there is no proper sampradaya available for each of them. By process of elimination therefore, in section eighteen, he accepts the Srimad Bhagavatam, which is not marred with the above problems, as the most suitable Purana for investigation.
From section nineteen to twenty-six he analyzes the Srimad Bhagavatam and reveals its supreme nature as the most authoritative Vedic literature, the ripened fruit of the desire tree of Vedic knowledge. It is based on Gayatri, the essence of the Vedas; it is the natural commentary on the Vedanta Sutra In sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight he gives the basic scheme of the Sandarbhas, what reference sources he plans to use, and his method of analysis.
From sections twenty-nine to sixty-three he establishes the following points:
1. The subject matter of the Srimad Bhagavatam is Lord Krishna.
2. Lord Krishna is the original personality of Godhead.
3. He has multifarious potencies that are divided into three main categories--internal, external, and marginal.
4. Maya is His external energy and she works under Him but cannot control Him.
5. The jivas are bound by Maya since time immemorial.
6. The jivas cannot transcend Maya by their own power.
7. Surrender to the Lord is the jiva's only means of liberation.
8. The goal of life is to attain prema, love of Krishna.
In establishing these eight points Srila Jiva Gosvami first analyzes the heart of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, the speaker of the Srimad Bhagavatam. In section twenty-nine he quotes and analyzes the prayers of Sri Suta Gosvami, in which the realization and exhalted position of Sukadeva is described. Then from sections thirty to forty-nine he analyzes the statements describing the trance of Srila Vyasadeva, which is the basis for the Srimad Bhagavatam. While analyzing Vyasa's trance, Srila Jiva Gosvami, in sections thirty-four to forty-three, decisively smashes the two primary doctrines of the mayavadis, with logic and scriptural reference.
From sections fifty to fifty-two he shows what is the subject of the Srimad Bhagavatam by analyzing the second verse of the first chapter. He concludes that the Bhagavatam is solely about the non-dual Reality. In sections fifty-three to fifty-five he explains the nature of the jiva, that the jiva, being a fractional part of Brahman is conscious like Brahman, but can never be equal to Brahman. He explains that understanding this similarity between jiva and Brahman is the initial step towards realizing the Absolute Truth.
From section fifty-six on he determines the subject of the Srimad Bhagavatam from another angle of analysis. He analyzes the ten characteristics of the Srimad Bhagavatam as spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami in the Second Canto and as spoken by Suta Gosvami in the Twelfth Canto. He shows that there is no disharmony between the spirit and intent of these two great authorities on the Srimad Bhagavatam. Both Sukadeva and Suta Gosvamis purpose in explaining the first nine out of the ten characteristics is to convey an understanding of the multifarious potencies and the activities of the tenth item, the Asraya, who is Lord Sri Krishna.
Thus, from different angles, Jiva Gosvami establishes that the Srimad Bhagavatam is the ultimate scriptural source; it revolves around Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and it preaches the message of unalloyed love of Godhead as the supreme goal of life. In the next three Sandarbhas, Srila Jiva Gosvami further expands the sambandhi tattva.
Thus ends the Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary on Sri Tattva Sandarbha, the first book of the Sri Shat-sandarbha of Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhupada.
Go to Appendix One
Return to Section Sixty-two
