Sri Vedanta-sutra, Part 36
BY: SUN STAFF
Nov 11, CANADA (SUN) — Sri Vedanta-sutra - Volume Two by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana.
Adhikarana 8 - All Names Are Names of Lord Visnu
Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
Someone may object: Many passages in the scriptures do not support your conclusion at all. This adhikarana is written to dispel this doubt. The Svetasvatara Upanishad explains:
ksharam pradhanam amritaksharah harah
"Material nature is in constant flux and the Supreme, Lord Hara is eternal and unchanging." (1.10)
eko rudro na dvitiyaya tasthuh
"Lord Rudra is the Supreme. He has no rival." (3.2)
yo devanam prabhavas codbhavas ca
visvadhiko rudrah sivo maharshih
"Lord Siva, who is known as Rudra, is the omniscient ruler of the universe. He is the father of all the demigods. He gives the demigods all their powers and opulences." (3.4)
yada tamas tan na diva na ratrir
na san na casac chiva eva kevalah
"When the final darkness comes and there is no longer day or night, when there is no longer being and non-being, then only Lord Siva exists." (4.18)
The scriptures also explain:
pradhanad idam utpannam
pradhanam adhigacchati
pradhane layam abhyeti
na hy anyat karanam matam
"From pradhana this material world was born. This world knows only pradhana. This world merges into pradhana at the time of annihilation. Nothing else is the cause of this world."
jivad bhavanti bhutani
jive tishthanty acancalah
jive ca layam icchanti
na jivat karanam param
"From the jiva all the elements of this world have come. In the jiva they rest without moving, and they finally merge into the jiva. Nothing else is the cause of this world."
Samsaya: Should Hara and the other names given in these quotes be understood in their ordinary senses, as names of Lord Siva, pradhana, and jiva, or should they all be understood to be names of the Supreme Brahman?
Purvapaksha: The names should all be understood in their ordinary senses, as names of Lord Siva, pradhana, and jiva.
Siddhanta: The conclusion follows.
Sutra 28
etena sarve vyakhyata vyakhyatah
etena -in this way; sarve -all; vyakhyatah -explained; vyakhyatah-explained.
All (words in the scriptures) should be interpreted to agree with the explanation (that the Supreme Brahman is the original cause).
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
In this sutra the word etena means "according to the explanations already given," sarve means "Hara and the other names," and vyakhyatah means "should be understood to be names of the Supreme Brahman because all names are originally names of the Supreme Brahman."
The Bhalvaveya-sruti explains:
namani visvani na santi loke
yad avirasit purushasya sarvam
namani sarvani yam avisanti
tam vai vishnum paramam udaharanti
"The names of this world are not different from Him. All names in this world are names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All names refer to Him, Lord Vishnu, whom the wise declare is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Vaisampayana Muni explains that all these names are names of Lord Krishna. The Skanda Purana also explains:
sri-narayanadini namani vinanyani rudradibhyo harir dattavan
"Except for Narayana and some other names, Lord Hari gave away His names to Lord Siva and the other demigods."
This is the rule that should be followed: When the ordinary sense of these names does not contradict the essential teaching of the Vedas, the ordinary meaning should be accepted. When the ordinary sense of these names does contradict the teaching of the Vedas, these names should be understood to be names of Lord Vishnu.
The repetition of the last word (vyakyatah) here indicates the end of the chapter.
sarve vedah paryavasyanti yasmin
satyanantacintya-saktau parese
visvotpatti-sthema-bhangadi-lile
nityam tasmin nas tu krishne matir nah
On Lord Krishna, who is the final goal taught by all the Vedas, who is the master of unlimited and inconcievable transcendental potencies, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and who in His own pastimes creates, maintains and destroys the material universes, may we always fix our hearts.
