Adhyaya 3 Pada 3 AdhikaraNa 17
The Individual Spirit Soul Is Part and Parcel of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead
Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
Next, to corroborate the previous explanation the author of
the sUtras explains that the individual spirit soul is part and
parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the muNDaka
UpaniShad (3.1.1) it is said:
dvA suparNA
"The soul and the Supersoul within the body are
compared to two friendly birds sitting together."*
The first bird here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and the second is the individual spirit soul.
SaMshaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul in truth the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, only seeming to be different
because of the illusion of mAyA, or is the the individual spirit
soul part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
different from the Lord, but related to Him as a ray of sunlight
is related to the sun?
PUrvapakSha (the opponent speaks): What is the truth? The
truth is the individual spirit soul covered by the illusion of
mAyA is in truth the same as the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
The Brahma-bindu UpaniShad (13) explains:
ghaTa-samvR^itam AkAshaM
nIyamAne ghaTe yathA
gato lIyeta nAkAshaM
tadvaj jIvo nabhopamaH
"The space within a jar is not moved when the jar is
moved, nor is it destroyed when the jar is broken. The spirit
soul is like that unbreakable space."
The ChAndogya UpaniShad also (6.8.7) affirms:
tat tvam asi
"You are that."
SiddhAnta (conclusion): In the following words the author of
the sUtras gives his conclusion.
SUtra 41
aMsho nAnA vyapadeshAd anyathA cApi dAsa-kitavAditvam adhIyate eke
aMshaH - part; nAnA - many; vyapadeshAt - because of the
teaching; anyathA - otherwise; ca - and; api - also;dAsa - servant;
kitava - gambler; Adi - beginning with; tvam - the state of being;
adhIyate - is read; eke - some.
He is a part because of the description of being many, and
also because some scriptures describe him as a servant, as
a gambler, or as something else.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
The individual spirit soul is a part and parcel of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead as a ray of sunlight is part and
parcel of the sun. The individual spirit soul is different from
the Lord, dependent on the Lord, and related to the Lord. That is
the meaning. Why is that? The sUtra explains: "Because of
the description of being many." The Subala UpaniShad explains:
udbhavaH sambhavo divyo deva eko nArAyaNo mAtA pitA
bhrAtA nivAsaH sharaNaM suhR^id gatir nArAyaNaH
"NArAyaNa is the transcendental Supreme Personality
of Godhead. NArAyaNa is the creator, destroyer, mother, father,
brother, home, shelter, friend, and goal."
In Bhagavad-gItA (9.18) Lord KR^iShNa declares:
gatir bhartA prabhuH sAkShI
nivAsaH sharaNaM suhR^it
"I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the
witness, the abode, the refuge, and the most dear friend. I am
the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the
resting place, and the eternal seed."*
The words "nAnA vyapadeshAd" in this sUtra describe
the many relationships that exist between the Supreme Personality
of Godhead and the individual spirit soul, relationships like
that between the creator and created, controller and controlled,
shelter and person who takes shelter, master and servant, friend
and friend, and goal and seeker. Some passages in the Atharva
Veda declare that because the Supreme is all-pervading, the
individual spirit souls and the Supreme are identical. The
Atharva Veda declares:
brahma dAsA brahma dAshA brahma kitavAH
"These servants are the Supreme. These fishermen are
the Supreme. These gamblers are the Supreme."
It is not possible that this passage intends to say that the
individual spirit soul is actually not different from the
Supreme. It is not possible that the Supreme is simultaneously both thecreator and created, the pervader and pervaded, nor is
it possible that supremely intelligent Lord becomes a servant or
other lowly being. If it were true that the
individual spirit souls are identical with the Supreme, then the
scriptures.a advice to renounce the world would become
meaningless. Nor is it possible that the Supreme has become
covered by the influence of illusion, for illusion has no power
to bewilder the Lord. Nor is it possible that the individual
spirit souls are parts of the Supreme like fragments cut with a
chisel from a great stone, for that would contradict the
scriptures.a statements that the Supreme can neither be broken nor
changed. Therefore the individual spirit soul is different from
the Supreme, but related to Him as created to creator, and in
other ways also. The individual spirit soul is thus a part and
parcel of the Supreme. The truth is that the individual spirit
soul is a potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is
described in ViShNu PurANa (6.7.61):
viShNu-shaktiH parA proktA
kShetraj~nAkhyA tathA parA
"Originally, KR^iShNa’s energy is spiritual, and the
energy known as the living entity is also spiritual."*
When it is said that the individual spirit soul is a part of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the word "part" is
used in the same way as in the sentence, "The circle of
Venus is a one-hundredth part of the moon.as circle," or the
same way as in the definition, "A part, although situated
in a smaller area than the whole, is identical with the whole in
substance." The use of the word "part" here is not
different from that definition. Thus the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is the master of all potencies, and the individual spirit
soul is a part of the Lord.as spiritual potency. This, by being a
localized manifestation of one of the Lord.as potencies, the
individual spirit soul is a part of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. That is their relationship.
The example of the pot means that when the mistaken
identification of the soul for the body is broken, the
individual soul meets the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
ChAndogya UpaniShad.as statement "tat tvam asi" (You are
that) therefore means "You are dependent on the Supreme."
The context of that passage supports this view. It does not
support any other interpretation. Therefore the individual spirit
soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are separate and
different. One is the controller, the other the controlled. One is
all-pervading, the other atomic in size. This is directly seen in
the scriptures. It is not possible to prove otherwise. In the
next sUtra the author continues his explanation.
SUtra 42
mantra-varNAt
mantra - of the mantras; varNAt - from the description.
Because of the description in the Vedic mantras.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
In the Rg Veda (10.90.3) it is said:
pAdo .asya sarvA bhUtAni
"All living entities are part and parcel of the
Supreme."
In this way the Vedic mantras declare that the individual
spirit souls are part and parcel of the Supreme. The word
pAda" here means "part". No other meaning makes sense
in this context. The word "sarvA bhUtAni" (all living
entities) here is in the plural, whereas the word "aMshaH"
(part) in sUtra 41 is in the singular. The singular here is used
in a generic sense to denote all spirit souls. This kind of usage
is also seen in many other places.
SUtra 43
api smaryate
api - also; smaryate - in the SmR^iti-shAstra.
Also in the SmR^iti-shAstra.
Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa
In the Bhagavad-gItA (15.7) Lord KR^iShNa explains:
mamaivAMsho jIva-loke
jIva-bhUtaH sanAtanaH
"The living entities in this conditioned world are
My eternal fragmental parts."*
By using the word "sanAtana" (eternal), the Lord
refutes the idea that the living entities referred to here are
the temporary external bodies in which the eternal souls reside.
In this way it is seen that the individual spirit souls are part
and parcel of the Supreme and have an relationship with Him. the
Supreme is the creator and dominant in other ways also, and the
individual spirit souls are dependent on Him. The nature of the
individual spirit souls is described in the following passage of
Padma PurANa:
j~nAnAshrayo j~nAna-guNash
cetanaH prakR^iteH paraH
na jAto nirvikArash ca
eka-rUpaH svarUpa-bhAk
"The individual spirit soul is the shelter of knowledge, has knowledge asone if his qualities, is
consciousness, is beyond the world of matter, is never born,
never changes, and has one form, a spiritual form.
aNur nityo vyApti-shIlash
cid-AnandAtmakas tathA
aham artho .avyayaH sAkShI
bhinna-rUpaH sanAtanaH
"The soul is atomic, eternal, is present by
consciousness everywhere in the material body, is by nature full
of spiritual bliss and knowledge, has a sense of individual
identity, is unchanging, is a witness within the body, is
eternal, and is different from the Supreme.
adAhyo .acchedyo .akledyo
.ashoShyo .akShara eva ca
evam-Adi-guNair yuktaH
sheSha-bhUtaH parasya vai
"The soul can never be burned, cut, moistened,
withered, or killed. It has these and many more qualities. It is
part and parcel of the Supreme.
ma-kareNocyate jIvaH
kShetra-j~naH paravAn sadA
dAsa-bhUto harer eva
nAnyasyaiva kadAcana
"Thus the word .ama.a refers to the individual spirit
soul. The soul is the knower of the field of activities. The soul
is spiritual. The soul is an eternal servant of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. The soul is never the servant of anyone
else.
The phrase "evam-Adi-guNaiH" (with these and many
more qualities) refers to the soul.as other qualities, such as his
ability to perform actions, to experience sensations, to
attain enlightenment, and to enlighten others. The word
enlightenment" here has two features. In the first feature
the soul itself attains enlightenment. In the second feature the
soul brings enlightenment to others. That is the nature of the
soul. A lamp sheds light on itself and on other objects also. A
jar or similar object has no power to bring light. Although a
lamp may shine, because it is inanimate matter it cannot benefit
from its own light. The individual soul, however, can benefit
from the light it brings. Because the soul can thus become
illuminated, it is said that the soul is spiritual and full of
knowledge.
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