Adhyaya 1 - Pada 3 - AdhikaraNa 1
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Abode of Heaven
Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
vishvaM bibharti niHsvaM yaH
kAruNyAd eva deva-rAT
mamAsau paramAnando
govindas tanutAM ratim
I pray that Lord Govinda, the supremely blissful king of the demigods, who mercifully maintains this pathetic material world, may give me pure love for Him.
In this Third PAda will be considered some scriptural texts that may seem to describe the jIva or some other topic but in truth describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
ViShaya: MuNDaka UpaniShad 2.2.5 says:
yasmin dyauH pR^ithivI cAntarikSham
otaM manaH saha prANaish ca sarvaiH
tam evaikaM jAnatha AtmAnam
anyA vAco vimu~ncathAmR^itasyaiSha setuH
"Know that He in whom heaven, earth, sky, mind, breath, and everything else, are woven, is the AtmA. Give up talking of anything else. He is the shore of the eternal."
SaMshaya: Is the abode of heaven described here the pradhAna, jIva, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
PUrvapakSha: The abode of heaven here is the pradhAna because pradhAna is the cause of all material transformations and also because the words amR^ita-setu (the shore of the eternal) appropriately describe pradhAna, which leads the living entities to liberation just as milk brings nourishment to a calf. The word AtmA in this passage may refer to pradhAna either because pradhAna brings
happiness to the living entities or because it is all-pervading. Then again thewords in this passage may refer to the jIva because the jIva is the enjoyer of the the things in this world and because the j.iva possesses the mind and the breath mentioned in this passage.
SiddhAnat: Now he speaks the conclusion.
SUtra 1
dyu-bhv-Ady-AyatanaM sva-shabdAt
dyu - of heaven; bhv - and earth;
Adi - beginning with; AyatanaM - the abode;
sva - own; shabdAt - because of the word.
The description "the abode of heaven, earth, and other things," refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the words in this passage specifically describe Him.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The word "the abode of heaven" here refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Why? The sUtra says sva-shabdAt (because the words in this passage
specifically describe Him). The Supreme Personality of Godhead is referred to here because the word amR^itasya setuH (the shore of the eternal) can refer to Him alone and no one else. Because it comes from the verb sinoti, which
means "to bind," the phrase amR^itasya setuH means "He who enables one to attain the eternal." Or the word setuH here may mean "like a bridge." As a bridge enables on to cross to the other side of rivers and other bodies of
water, in the same way this bridge enables one to attain the liberation that lies on the other shore of the cycle of repeated birth and death. That is the meaning of this word. In this matter the shvetAshvatara UpaniShad (3.8 and 6.15) says tam eva viditvAti mR^ityum eti (One can overcome the path
of birth and death only by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead).
Next he says:
SUtra 2
muktopasR^ipya vyapadeshAt
mukta - liberated; upasR^ipya - attaining;
vyapadeshAt - because of the statement.
Because it is said that this abode of heaven is attained by the liberated souls.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
That the Supreme Personality of Giodhead is attained by the liberated souls is described in the following statement of
MuNDaka UpaniShad (3.1.3):
yadA pashyaH pashyate rukma-varNaM
kArtAram IshaM puruShaM brahma-yonim
tadA vidvAn puNya-pApe vidhUya
nira~njanaH paramaM samyam upaiti
"One who sees that golden-colored Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Lord, the supreme actor, who is the source of the Supreme Brahman, becomes free from the reactions to past pious and sinful deeds, and becomes liberated, attaining the same transcendental platform as the Lord."
SUtra 3
nAnumAnam atac-chabdAt
na - not; anumAnam - that which is inferred;
atat - not that; shabdAt - because of a word.
The "pradhAna" is not the "abode of heaven and earth" here because there is no word appropriate to it in this passage.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The pradhAna described in the smR^iti-shAstras is not referred to in this passage. Why? The sUtra says atac-chabdAt, which means that none of the words in this passage are appropriate for the insentient pradhAna.
SUtra 4
prANa-bhR^ic ca
prANa-bhR^it - the jIva ca - and.
For the same reason the "jIva" is not the "abode of heaven and earth."
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The word na (not) and the phrase giving the reason (tac-chabdAt) should be understood here from the previous sUtra. The word AtmA here also cannot be understood to be the jIva because the word AtmA, because it is derived from the verb atati (to go), must primarily refer to the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word sarva-vit (all-knowing) also cannot refer to the jIva. For these reasons, because the words in this passage of the UpaniShad are not appropriate for such an interpretation, he says that the jIva cannot be the "abode of heaven and earth" mentioned here.
SUtra 5
bheda-vyapadeshAc ca
bheda - difference; vyapadeshAt - because of the description; ca - and.
And also because the difference between them is specifically described.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The jIva is not the "abode of heaven and earth" because the scriptures affirm that the jIva and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are different, as explained in the MuNDaka UpaniShad (2.2.5) in the words tam evaikaM jAnathAtmAnam (Know Him to be the only Supreme Lord).
SUtra 6
prakaraNAt
prakaraNAt - because of the context.
And also because of the context.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The "abode of heaven and earth" here must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of the context. The opening statement of this passage under discussion (MuNDaka UpaniShad (1.1.3)), asks kasmin nu vij~nAte sarvam idaM vij~nAtaM bhavati (What is the one thing, knowing which everything becomes known?). Therefore the passage that follows must describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SUtra 7
sthity-adanAbhyAM ca
sthiti - staying; adanAbhyAM - eating;
ca - and.
And also because one is eating and the other standing.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
After describing the "abode of heaven and earth," the MuNDaka UpaniShad (3.1.1) says:
dvA suparNA sayujA sakhAyA
samAnaM vR^ikShaM pariShasvajAte
tayor anyaH pippalaM svAdy atti
anashnann anyo .abhicAkashIti
"Two friendly birds stay on the same tree. One eats the sweet pippala fruits and the other, not eating, shines with great splendor."
If the "abode of heaven and earth" had not been previously mentioned then (there would be) no (reason to assume) that the splendid bird here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise (if the "abode of heaven and earth" had not been mentioned), the sudden, unannounced mention of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (in this little allegory of the birds) would not be acceptable. The jIva, who is already well known in the world, did not need to have been previously mentioned in the same way here. For these reasosn the "abode of heaven and earth" here refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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