34. PuruSha

Adhyaya 1 PAda 4 AdhikaraNa 5

The "PuruSha" of the KauShItaki UpaniShad Is Brahman


Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


In the next passage the author of the sUtras)
again refutes the sa~Nkhya theory. In the
KauShItakI UpaniShad 4.18 BAlAkI Vipra promises
I shall tell you about Brahman," and proceeds to describe 16
puruShas, beginning with the sun-god, as Brahman.
King AjAtashatru then rejects these instructions and says:
O BAlAkI, the person who is the creator of these 16
puruShas, the person engaged in this karma
is the actual Brahman."
SaMshaya: At this point the doubt may be raised:
"Is the superintendent of matter, the enjoyer described
in the sa~Nkhya texts, or is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Lord ViShNu, to be understood as the Brahman mentioned
here?
PUrvapakSha: Someone may object: Because the use of the
word karma here identifies this Brahman with the
experiencing the results of good and bad work, because it the
next passage this Brahman is described as sometimes sleeping
(tau ha suptaM puruSham AjagmatuH, and because in
the passage after that this Brahman is described as an enjoyer
(tad yathA shreShThI svair bhu~Nkte), it should be
understood that the Brahman here is the jIva
(individual spirit soul) described in the tantras.
The use of the word prANa (life-breath) here also
confirms that the Brahman described here is the living individual
soul. This Brahman (the jIva), which is different
from matter, should thus be understood as the original cause of
the many enjoyer-puruShas and the original cause of
their sinless activities as well. In this way it has been proven
that the Brahman described in this passage is the individual
spirit soul (jIva). The theory that there is a
Supreme Personality of Godhead is separate from the individual
spirit soul (jIva) is thus completely untenable.
The text (sa aikShata) that explains that the
creator thinks is thus very appropriate if it is understood that
the original cause, the controller of the material energy that
creates this world, is in fact the individual soul (
jIva).
SiddhAnta: In response to this:


SUtra 16


jagad-vAcitvAt

jagat - the world; vAcitvAt - because of the word.


(The word Brahman here means the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, because the word "karma" here should be
understood) to mean "jagat" (creation).

Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


The word Brahman here does not mean the kShetraj
24a (individual spiritual soul) described in the
tantras, but rather it means the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who is known by study of VedAnta. Why? Because of the
use of the word jagat. Because it is accompanied by
the word jagat, the word karma in
this passage means "the material world composed of a
mixture of matter and spirit." Because He is the original
creator, this karma (material world) may be
understood to be His property (yasya karma). The
truth is this: the word karma, which is derived from
the verb kR^i (to do, create) here means
creation". When this interpretation is accepted the actual
meaning of the word here is understood. This interpretation
refutes the mistaken idea that the individual spirit soul (
jIva) is the original creator. Even the Kapila-
tantra does not accept the individual living entity as the
original creator. One also cannot say that by adhyAsa
(association) the individual living entity may be considered
the creator of the material world, for all the scriptures
maintain that the spirit soul is always aloof from matter. For
these reasons it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the
original creator of the material world. It cannot be that King
AjAtashatru speaks lies in this passage. Rejecting BAlAkI.as
teaching that the sixteen puruShas (persons) are
Brahman, AjAtashatru promises, "I will tell you about
Brahman." If AjAtashatru then teaches that the jIvas
(individual spirit souls) are Brahman then his teaching is no
different than BAlAkI.as, and he is dishonest to reject BAlAkI.as
instruction as untrue, and then teach the same instruction as the
truth. In this way the meaning of this passage is understood.
"You have described these puruShas (persons)
as Brahman, but I will tell you of someone who is the creator of
all of them," is the gist of AjAtashatru.as statement. In this way
it should be understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is the original cause and the entire material world is His
creation.
PUrvapakSha: If someone objects "Because it
mentions mukhya-prANa (the chief breath of life)
the Brahman here must be the jIva and not anyone
else," then he replies:


SUtra 17


jIva-mukhya-prANa-li~NgAn neti cet tad-vyAkhyAtam

jIva - the individual spiritual entity; mukhya - the
chief; prANa - breath of life; li~NgAn
- because of the characteristics; na - not; iti - thus; cet - if; tad - that; vyAkhyAtam - has been explained.


If the objection is raised that the jIva or
chief breath of life is described as Brahman in this passage,
then I say, "No. This has already been explained (in
1.1.31)."

Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


In sUtra 1.1.31, which dealt with the
conversation of Indra and Pratardana, this question was
conclusively decided. There it was explained that in a passage
where in both the beginning and the end Brahman was explicitly
named, what in the beginning may seem perhaps by its
characteristics to refer to the jIvas or something
else (without them being explicitly named) must be taken as
referring to Brahman also.
This passage from the KauShItakI UpaniShad
begins with the words brahma te bravANi (Now I will
tell you about Brahman), and ends with the words sarvAn
pApmAno .apahatya sarveShAM bhUtAAnAM shreShTham AdhipatyaM paryeti
ya eva veda (A person who understands this becomes free
from all sins. He becomes the king of all men). Because of these
words understood according to the explanation given in the
conversation of Indra and Pratardana (1.1.31) and because of the
other arguments given here the words yasya caitat
karma in this passage of KauShItakI UpaniShad
should not be understood to refer to anything other than Brahman,
the Personality of Godhead.
SaMshaya: Certainly
you may connect the words karma and
prANa with the word etat and then
interpret them to refer to Brahman, but still there are direct
references to the jIva in this passage (of
KauShItakI UpaniShad). The evidence of the questions and
answers in this passage make it impossible to consider Brahman
different from the jIva. In the question about the
sleeper the jIva is asked about, and in the
questions about the place of sleep, the naDIs, and
the senses, the jIva, who is here called
prANa, is also asked about. It is the jIva
who awakens (at the end). In this way the entire passage is about
the jIva. In this way it may be understood thgat
the jIva is the Supreme.
To answer this doubt he says:


SUtra 18


anyArthaM tu jaiminiH prashna-vyAkhyAnAbhyAm api caivam eke

anya - another; arthaM - meaning; tu
- but; jaiminiH - Jaimini; prashna - with the
questions; vyAkhyAnAbhyAm - and answers; api - also;ca - and; evam - in this way.
eke - some.


Jaimini thinks these questions and answers convey a
different meaning and some versions of the text also give a
different meaning.

Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


The word tu (but) is used here to dispel
doubt. The description of the jIva here has a
different meaning. Jaimini considers that this passage explains
that Brahman and the jIva are different. Why?
Because of the questions and answers in this passage. The
questions ask about the living soul, sleeping and awake, who is
different from the life-breath. The text reads: kvaiSha
etad bAlAke puruSha shayiShTa kva vA etad abhUt kuta etad agAt
(O BAlAkI, where does this person rest while he sleeps? From
where does he come when he wakes?) In this question the
difference between Brahman and the jIva may be
clearly seen. The answer is given yadA suptaH svapnaM na
ka~ncana pashyati tathAsmin prANa evaikadhA bhavati
(When he sleeps without seeing a dream he becomes one with the
life-breath). The passage etasmAd AtmanaH prANA
yathAyatanaM vipratiShTante prANebhyo devA devebhyo lokAH
(From that Supreme Self the breath of life comes. From the breath
of life the demigods come. From the demigods the planets come.)
shows the difference between Brahman and the jIva.
The word prANa here means Lord ParamAtmA because
ParamAtmA is famous as the resting-place of dreamless sleep. Into
Him the jIvas merge and from Him they become
manifested again. The meaning of the following passage is that
the nADIs are merely the gateways leading to the
realm of sleep. The ParamAtmA should be understood to be the
realm where the sleepy jIva sleeps and from which
the jIva emerges to enjoy (in wakefulness). In the
VAjasaneyI recension of this conversation between BAlAkI and
AjAtashatru the jIva is described as vij
24Anamaya full of knowledge and Brahman is clearly
distinguished from him. In that reading the question is:
ya eSha vij~nAnamayaH puruShaH kvaiSha tadAbhUt kuta etad
AgAt (O BAlAkI, where does this person full of knowledge
rest while he sleeps? From where does he come when he wakes?) and
the answer is given: ya eSho .antar hR^idaya AkAshas tasmin
shete (He rests in the sky within the heart). In this way
the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the object of knowledge
taught in this passage.