23. The "Dahara"

Adhyaya 1 - Pada 3 AdhikaraNa 5

The "Dahara" is the Supreme Personality of Godhead


Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



ViShaya: In the ChAndogya UpaniShad
(8.1.1) is heard the following:

atha yad idam asmin brahma-pure daharaM puNDarIkaM veshma
daharo Shminn antar AkAshas tasmin yad antas tad anveShTavyaM tad
vijij~nAsitavyam


"In a great city is a small lotus palace. In that palace is a small sky. That sky should be sought. That sky should be asked about."


SaMshaya: What is the small sky here in the lotus of the heart? Is it the element sky, the jIva, or Lord ViShNu?

PUrvapakSha: Because the word AkAsha generally means the element sky it must also have that same meaning here. Or, because the jIva is very small and also the master of the city of the body, it may mean the jIva.

SiddhAnta: The conclusion follows.


SUtra 14


dahara uttarebhyaH


daharaH - the small; uttarebhyaH - because of the descriptions that follow.



The small sky here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of the description given in the remainder of the text.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



The small sky here is Lord ViShNu. Why? The sUtra says uttarebhyaH, which means "because of the description given in the remainder of the text." The descriptions used here to describe the small sky, such as "as great as the sky," "maintaining everything," and "free from all sin," cannot be used to describe either the element sky or the jIva soul. The "great city" described in this UpaniShad is the body of the devotee. The "lotus" is the heart in the body. The "palace" is the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word "small sky" is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who should be meditated upon and sought after, and who possesses a host of transcendental qualities, including being always free of all sin. The passage should be interpreted in this way. Therefore the small sky here is Lord ViShNu. Then he says -


SUtra 15


gati-shabdAbhyAM tathA hi dR^iShTaM li~NgaM ca


gati - because of going; shabdAbhyAm - and because of a certain word; tathA hi - furthermore; dR^iShTam - seen; li~Ngam - hinted; ca - and.



This is so because of the description of going, because of the use of a certain word, and because it is both directly seen and also hinted at.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



The ChAndogya UpaniShad (8.3.2) says:


yathA hiraNya-nidhiM nihitam akShetraj~nA upari
sa~ncaranto .api na vidus tathemAH sarvAH prajA ahar ahar
gacchantya enaM brahmalokaM na vidanty anR^itena hi pratyUDhAH



"As people, unaware of what the ground actually holds, walk again and again over buried golden treasure, so do the people of this world day after day go to the spiritual world of Brahman without knowing it."


"Enam" (this), which points to the "small sky," is the "certain word" mentioned in the sUtra, and the description here of the living entities.a "going to the spiritual world of Brahman" is the "going" mentioned in the sUtra. Both enam and the going mentioned here show that Lord ViShNu is the "small sky."

Furthermore, in another place the scriptures again describe the living entities.a going to the Supreme in these words: satA saumya tadA sampanno bhavati (O gentle one, the living entities are again and again in contact with the Supreme). This is the "directly seen" mentioned in the sUtra. The use of the word brahmaloka hints that Lord ViShNu is the topic of discussion here. This is the "hint" mentioned in the sUtra. The word brahmaloka here cannot refer to the Satyaloka planet because it is not possible for the living entities to go day after day to the Satyaloka planet.


SUtra 16


dhR^itesh ca mahimno .asyAsminn upalabdheH


dhR^iteH - because of maintaining; ca - and; mahimnaH - of the glory; asya - of Him; asmin - in this; upalabdheH - because of being stated.



This is so because of the description of His glory in maintaining all the worlds.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



In the passage beginning with the words daharo .asminn antar AkAshaH (in that palace is a small sky), the descriptions "as great as the sky," "maintaining everything," and "free from all sin," and the use of the word AtmA clearly, and without need to turn to any other passage, show that the "small sky" mentioned here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The BR^ihad-AraNyaka UpaniShad (4.4.22) also says: atha ya AtmA sa setur vidhR^itir eShAM lokAnAm asaMbhedAya (He is the Supreme Person, the bridge, the controller who prevents the worlds from becoming broken and destroyed). Because the "small sky" is thus shown to possess the glory of maintaining all the worlds, the "small sky" here must be Lord ViShNu.


The ChAndogya UpaniShad also says: eSha setur vidhAraNa eShAM lokAnAm asambhedAya (He is the bridge, the controller who prevents the worlds from becoming broken and destroyed). In these passages and in others also, this glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead may be seen.

SUtra 17


prasiddhesh ca

prasiddheH - because of being famous in this way;
ca - and.



And also because this is a traditional usage of the word.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



This is so because the word "sky" is commonly used to mean "the Supreme Personality of Godhead," as may be seen in the following statement of TaittirIya UpaniShad (2.7.1):


ko hy evAnyat kaH prANyAt. yad eSha AkAsha Anando na
syAt. (Who could breathe if the sky were not bliss?)

Someone may raise the following objection: The ChAndogya UpaniShad (8.3.4) says: sa eSha samprasAdo .asmAc charIrAt samutthAya paraM jyotir upasampadya svena rUpeNAbhiniShpadyate. eSha Atmeti hovAca. etad amR^itam etad abhayam etad brahma ("The liberated jIva rises from the material body. He attains the spiritual effulgence and manifests his original form. This is the self," he said. "He is immortal. He is fearless. He is Brahman"). Because this description of the jIva
appears immediately afterward, the description of the small sky" should be understood to refer to the jIva.

If this objection is raised, he replies:


SUtra 18


itara-parAmarShAt sa iti cen nAsambhavAt


itara - the other; parAmarShAt - because of reference; saH - he; iti - thus;
cet - if; na - not; asambhavAt - because of impossibility.



If it is said that because there is mention of something else (the jIva) in the same passage (and therefore the "small sky" here is the jIva, then I say) No, because it is impossible.



Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



Although in the middle of this passage there is a description of the jIva, nevertheless it is not possible to say that the beginning of this passage describes the jIva. Why? The sUtra says asambhavAt (because it is impossible). This is so because in the beginning of this passage there is a description
of eight qualities, beginning with "being free from sin," that cannot be ascribed to the jIva.

Now our opponent may say: So be it. Still, after the description of the "small sky," the ChAndogya UpaniShad (8.7.1) says ya AtmApahata-pApmA vijaro vimR^ityur vishoko vijighatso .apipAsaH satya-kAmaH satya-sa~NkalpaH so .anveShTavyaH sa vijij~nAsitavyaH (The soul is free from sin, old-age, death, suffering, hunger, and thirst. It desires only the good. Whatever it desires is attained at once). Because these words of the PrajApati describe the jIva the qualities described in 7.7.1 and the "small sky" described before that may also refer to the jIva.
Considering that this doubt might arise, he says:


SUtra 19


uttarAc ced AvirbhAva-svarUpas tu


uttarAt - because of a later passage; cet - if; AvirbhAva - manifestation; svarUpas - form; tu - indeed.


If it is said that a later passage (proves that the small sky" is the jIva then I say no.) The description of the true nature of the jIva is confined to that passage alone.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



The word tu (but) is used here to dispel doubt. The word na (no) should be understood from the previous sUtra. In this passage spoken by the PrajApati the teaching is that the jIva manifests these qualities by engaging in spiritual activities, but otherwise these qualities are not manifested. In the passage describing the "small sky" these eight attributes are said to be eternally manifested. The statement of the PrajApati is, however, that these qualities are present in the jIva only if he engages in spiritual activities. The ChAndogya
UpaniShad (8.3.4) clearly explains the difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead (who possesses these eight qualities in all circumstances) and the jIva (who possesses these qualities only when he becomes liberated) in the following words: sa eSha samprasAdo .asmAc charIrAt samutthAya paraM jyotir upasampadya svena rUpeNAbhiniShpadyate. eSha Atmeti hovAca. etad amR^itam etad abhayam etad brahma ("The liberated jIva rises from the material body. He attains the spiritual effulgence and manifests his original form. This is the self," he said. "He is immortal. He is fearless. He is Brahman"). Although the jIva may manifest some of these eight qualities by engaging in spiritual activities, he still cannot manifest all of them. The qualities of being the "bridge that spans the worlds," and being the "maintainer of the worlds" are some of the qualities the jIva can never attain. This proves that the "small sky" is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Now our opponent says: If this is so, then why is the jIva mentioned at all in this passage?

To answer this question he says:


SUtra 20


anyArthash ca parAmarShaH

anya - another; arthash - meaning; ca - and; parAmarShaH - reference.



The description of the jIva here has a different object.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



The jIva is described here in order to teach about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the jIva becomes liberated and attains his original spiritual form, he also manifests these eight qualities. In this way it may be understood that the "small sky" is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Now our opponent says: Because the "small sky" within is described as very small it must refer to the jIva, which was previously described as also being very small.

If this objection is given, then he says:


SUtra 21


alpa-shruter iti cet tad-uktam


alpa - small; shruteH - from the shruti ; iti - thus; cet - if; tat - that; uktam - said.



If it is said that when the shruti describes the "small" it must refer to the jIva, then I say no because of what has already been said.

Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests a very small form to facilitate meditation on Him. This has already been described in sUtra 1.2.7, which says nicAyyatvAd evaM vyomavac ca. This sUtra explains that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, in order to facilitate meditation on Him, He manifests a small form the size of the distance between the thumb and forefinger. He appears in this small form so He may be easily meditated upon. Of course, His glories have no limit and His size also has no limit.

Then he gives another explanation.


SUtra 22


anukR^ites tasya ca


anukR^iteH - because of imitation; tasya - of Him; ca - also.



And also because (the jIva) merely resembles in some respects (the Supreme Personality of Godhead).


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


Because, according to the statement of the PrajApati, the jIva, who only manifests the eight qualities when engaged in spiritual activities, merely resembles in some respects the "small sky," who manifests the eight qualities eternally, the "small sky" must be different from the jIva. Previously the original form of the jIva is covered by illusion, and then afterwards, by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the illusion becomes broken and the jIva, manifesting these eight qualities, becomes equal, in some respects, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way, as explained by the PrajApati, the jIva resembles, in some respects, the "small sky." The sentence pavanam anuharate hanUmAn (Hanuman resembles the wind) shows the difference between the resembled object and the thing that resembles it. That the liberated jIva resembles the Supreme Personality of Godhead may also be seen in the following words from MuNDaka UpaniShad (3.1.3): nira 24janaH paramaM sAmyam upaiti (the liberated jIva resembles the Supreme Personality of Godhead).


SUtra 23


api smaryate


api - and; smaryate - described in the smR^iti-shAstra.



This is also described in the smR^iti-shAstra.


Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa



In the Bhagavad-gIta (14.2) the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord KR^iShNa, also explains:

idaM j~nAnam upAshritya
mama sAdharmyam AgataH
sarge .api nopajAyante
pralaye na vyathanti ca


"By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Once established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution."*


In this way the smR^iti-shAstra explains that the liberated jIvas attain a nature like that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For these reasons the "small sky" is Lord Hari and not the jIva.