Adhyaya 1 - Pada 3 AdhikaraNa 2
The Fullness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
ViShaya: When, after describing the Lord.as holy names and qualities, he was asked a question by shrI NArada Muni, shrI Sanat-kumAra said (ChAndogya UpaniShad 7.23.1-7.24.1):
bhUmA tv eva vijij~nAsitavya iti bhUmAnaM bhagavo
vijij~nAsa iti. yatra nAnyat pashyati nAnyac chR^iNoti nAnyad
vijAnAti sa bhUmA. atha yatrAnyat pashyaty anyac chR^iNoty anyad
vijAnAti tad-alpam
"One should ask about BhUmA.a .aMy lord, I wish to know about BhUmAa. When one attains Him one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, and knows nothing else. That is BhUmA. When one sees something else, hears something else, and knows something else, he knows that which is very small."
Here the word bhUmA does not mean many." Here it means "all-pervading." The text says yatrAnyat pashyati. . .tad-alpam (When one sees something else, he sees that which is very small). The BhUmA is contrasted against alpa (the small. The opposite of small is "all-pervading," not "many." Therefore BhUmA here means "all-pervading."
SaMshaya: Does BhUmA here mean prANa (life-breath) or Lord ViShNu?
PUrvapakSha: In the passage previous to this the ChAndogya UpaniShad (7.15.1) says prANo vA AshAyA bhUyAn (prANa is better than hope). Because prANa is the topic immediately preceding BhUmA, and because no question and answer intervenes between them, therefore prANa and BhUmA are the same. here the word prANa (life-breath) means the jIva soul who has breath for his companion. It does not mean merely air. Because this passage begins by describing the jIva soul (7.1.3) tarati shokam Atma-vit
(He who knows the soul crosses beyond grief) and ends by again describing the jIva soul (7.26.1) Atmana evedaM sarvam (The soul is everything), therefore the description of BhUmA situated between these two statements must be a description of the jIva soul. When the UpaniShad says (7.25.1) yatra nAnyat pashyati
(When one attains Him one sees nothing else), it means, in this interpretation, that when the jIva is rapt in deep sleep and his senses are all in the grip of prANa, he cannot see anything beyond himself. When the UpaniShad says (7.23.1) yo vai bhUmA tat sukham (the BhUmA is bliss) it does not contradict the idea that the BhUmA is the jIva here because the shruti-shAstra says tasyAM sukham aham asvApsam (I slept very happily). In this way it is proved that this passage of the UpaniShad describes the jIva soul. All the other portions of this passage are also very favorable to this interpretation of the jIva.
SiddhAnta: He says:
SUtra 8
bhUmA samprasAdAd adhyupadeshAt
bhUmA - the BhUmA; samprasAdAt - than the
jIva, who is the object of the Lord.as mercy;
adhi - greater; upadeshAt - because of the teaching.
(The BhUmA here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead) because of the scriptural teaching that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jIva soul.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The BhUmA here is Lord ViShNu and not the jIva, who has prANa (life-breath) as his companion. Why? The sUtra says samprasAdAd adhy upadeshAt (because of the scriptural teaching that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jIva soul). The BhUmA is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the passage here in the words (ChAndogya UpaniShad 7.23.1) yo vai bhUmA tat sukham (the BhUmA is bliss) says that the BhUmA is full of great bliss, and because the sUtra here says that the BhUmA is superior to all. Or the BhUmA is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the ChAndogya UpaniShad (8.3.4) in the words eSha samprasAdo .asmAc charIrAt samutthAya (The jIva who has attainedthe mercy of the Lord rises above the gross material body and attains the effulgent spiritual world) says that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jIva, who is dependent on the Lord.as mercy, and who has prANa (life-breath) as his companion.
The meaning is this: After describing names and a host of other things, the ChAndogya UpaniShad (7.15.2) says sa vA eSha evaM pashyan evaM manvAna evaM vijAnann ati-vAdI bhavati (He who sees prANa, meditates on prANa, and understands prANa becomes a true knower of things), and then after saying that the knower of prANa becomes a true knower of things, the UpaniShad then says(7.16.1) eSha tu vA ativadati yaH satyenAtivadati (He who knows the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in reality the true knower of things). The word tu (but) here ends the discussion of prANa. Then the greatest ativAdI (wise man) is described as he who knows the satya, which here means "Lord ViShNu." In this way the UpanIsad explains that the BhUmA is both different from and superior to prANa. Because in this way the BhUmA is declared to be superior to prANa, prANa cannot be identical with the BhUmA.
The BhUmA is here taught to be superior to the series beginning with name and culminating in prANa and therefore it is clearly seen to be different from speech and the other items in this series. In this way the BhUmA is taught to be superior to prANa.
The word satya is famous as a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord ViShNu. The scriptures use the word satya in this way. For example, the TaittirIya UpaniShad (2.1.2) says satyaM j 24Anam anantam (the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of transcendental knowledge) and the
shrImad-BhAgavatam (1.1.1) says satyaM paraM dhImahi (I meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The word satyena is in the instrumental case to show in the sense of "because." The meaning here is that one becomes anativAdI (wise man) because of the satya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The person who meditates on prANa is called an ativAdI (wise man) because he is wise in comparison to they who meditate on the series of objects mentioned previously, beginning with prANa and culminating in hope. But he who meditates on Lord ViShNu is superior to the person who meditates on prANa. Therefore he who meditates on Lord ViShNu is the real, the best ativAdI (wise man). For this reason the student asks (ChAndogya UpaniShad (7.16.1) so .ahaM bhagavaH satyenAtivadAni (my lord, I will become a man wise with knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The guru then answers satyaM tv eva vijij Asitavyam (one must yearn to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead).
The objection that because after the
description of the ativAdI wise with knowledge of prANa there are no further questions and answers, therefore the subject of prANa continues into the next sentence, is not a valid objection. Moreover, (it may be said,) because there are no questions after the description of prANa, (therefore prANa is the highest). In describing the series of inanimate elements, beginning with name and culminating in hope, the guru did not say that the knower of any of these was an ativAdI (wise man). However, when he described prANa, which here means the jIva, he did say that the knower of prANa is an ativAdI. The student then assumes that prANa is the highest. That is why he asks no further question. The guru, however, not accepting prANa as the highest, proceeds to explain that Lord ViShNu is higher than prANa. The student, however, now taught that Lord ViShNu is the highest, becomes eager to know how to meditate on Him, and asks so .aham bhagavaH satyenAtivadAni (my lord, I will become a man wise with knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The opponent may say, "What is referred to here is the jIva, who is the companion of prANa (life-breath), and who is referred to in the beginning of this passage as AtmA."
The reply is: No. Here the word AtmA primarily means the Supreme Personality of Godhead because to interpret the word otherwise would contradict the statement at the beginning of the passage (7.26.1) AtmanaH prANaH (from the AtmA prANa is manifested). This view of the opponent contradicts the statement (7.24.1) yatra nAnyat pashyati nAnyac chR^iNoti nAnyad vijAnAti sa bhUmA. (When one attains Him one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, and knows nothing else. That is BhUmA). This description of the perception of BhUmA clearly refutes any idea that the word BhUmA could mean anything other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The scriptures say sauShuptikam sukham alpam (the happiness of deep sleep is very slight), and therefore to say that the word BhUmA here means "the jIva who is soundly sleeping" is simply laughable. For all these reasons, therefore, the BhUmA described here is Lord ViShNu.
SUtra 9
dharmopapattesh ca
dharma - qualities; upapatteH - because of the appropriateness; ca - and.
And also because the qualities described here can be ascribed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead only.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The qualities ascribed here to the BhUmA are suitable only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord ViShNu, and not for anyone else. The UpaniShad says (7.24.1) yo vai bhUmA tad amR^itam (The BhUmA is the eternal). This describes the eternalness that is a natural feature of the Supreme. The UpaniShad also says sa bhagavaH kasmin pratiShThita iti sve mahimni (Where does the Supreme Personality of Godhead stay? He stays in His own glory). This explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not depend on anyone. The scriptures also say sa evAdhastAt (The Supreme Person is above, below, in front, behind, to the left and to the right). This shows that the Lord is the ultimate shelter of everyone and everything. The scriptures say (ChAndogya UpaniShad 7.26.1) AtmanaH prANaH (From the Supreme Personality of Godhead the life-force is manifested). This shows that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of all causes. These are some of the qualities of the Supreme described in the Vedic literatures.
No comments:
Post a Comment