BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 6, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FOUR
Bhagavan is Narayana
In the same way this is also explained by Sri Narada Muni to Sri Vasudeva by reciting a dialogue between King Nimi and Nava-Yogendras (S.B.11.3.34,35)
King Nimi said: Please explain the essential nature of the Supreme Lord, Narayana,(Bhagavan), the Absolute Truth (Brahman) and the Supersoul (Paramatma) of everyone. You can explain this to me, because you are all most expert in transcendental knowledge.
Pippalayana said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of this universe, yet He has no prior cause (Bhagavan). He pervades the various states of wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep, and also exists beyond them (Brahman). As the Supersoul (Paramatma), He enlivens the body, senses, life-airs, and mental activities. Thus all the subtle and gross organs of the body begin their functions. My dear King, know that Personality of Godhead to be the Supreme.
The purport of the question is as follows: The word Narayana refers to Bhagavan because it appears with the other two words Brahman and Paramatma--which are found with Bhagavan as in verse 1.2.11 the third member of the group. That Narayana and Bhagavan mean the same is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam (11.4.3).
When the primeval Lord Narayana created His universal body of the five elements produced from Himself and then entered within that universal body by His own plenary portion, He thus became known as the Purusha (Paramatma).
This equality will also be depicted in the verse 10.14.14, which gives the derivative meaning of the word Narayana and is explicitly mentioned in the following verse (S.B.11.15.16):
Narayana who is called Turiya or the fourth and expressed by the word Bhagavan.
The word nishtha (11.3.34) means the essential nature.
King Nimi first inquired about the Personality of Godhead Narayana, then about His all-pervading aspect called Brahman, and finally about His localized aspect called Paramatma. Sage Pippalayana answered according to the order found in the question. The one Absolute Truth who is the cause of maintenance, annihilation, and creation, but Himself has no cause (Narayana); who exists in the state of wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep as well as outside these (Brahman); who activates the body, life air, and heart so that everyone can perform their respective duties (Paramatma), know that to be in the form of Narayana and so on in the order of your question. This is how the answer has to be applied. In order to clarify the nature of Brahman Sage Pippalayana explains these three aspects in a different order than the order found in 1.2.11. The essence of the answer is that different aspects of the one Absolute being established as with or without qualities and similarly being experienced by the respective worshipers, appear differently having different names.
In this regard this is to be said: Ahetu or causal means that although Lord is indifferent toward material nature, because of His sporting only in the internal potency, yet through in His feature as Supersoul, which is another name for His plenary manifestation called Purusha, He becomes the cause of universal creation, maintenance, and dissolution during the active state of the jiva and material nature know that to be Bhagavan. He is established as the Supreme Lord, owing to His possessing all the internal potencies in their fullness.
Or the meaning is: The Purusha who is the first incarnation is the whole, having jivas as parts, and thus has no cause or separate basis for Himself just as He is the shelter for others. Thus the form of Paramatma is contained within Bhagavan. This is further described in the verse. That inspiring agent who enlivens through jiva who is His part activates the body, senses and so on who are indicative of all other elements beginning with Pradhana and also causes everything and inspires everyone to perform their respective functions, know that to be Paramatma.
A similar statement is found in Varuna's prayers to Lord Krishna (10.28.7): I offer my obeisances unto You who is Bhagavan, Brahman and Paramatma. Sridhara Swami comments that Paramatma means the controller of all living beings.
A living entity has consciousness (atmatva). In comparison to him, Lord is superior (Paramatvam) and thus the word Paramatma implies that He is his companion. The Absolute is without these qualifications and is called Brahman and its existence is described in the verse with the phrase beginning with svapna. The manifestation that remains undifferentiated from the jiva in states of wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep, and which shines differently as pure consciousness such as in the state of trance is to be known as Brahman (S.B.11.13.27):
Waking, sleep, and deep sleep are the three functions of the intelligence and are caused by the modes of material nature. The living entity within the body is different from these three states and thus is a witness to them.
Although this verse explains only the pure nature of the jiva, yet its purpose is not limited only to that. The real purpose is to explain the complete consciousness Brahman, which encompasses the potency of the jiva. When it is not possible to depict an object fully, a portion of it is shown, just as only the par of the ocean in front of one's stretched finger is pointed out and called the entire ocean. Only the concept of non-difference allows Brahman to be approached, hence considering Brahman and the jiva as non-different in this verse is appropriate. Other instances of non-differences should be similarly understood.
If difference is intended then the explanation should be as follows: Brahman is non-different from the jiva in the three states of dream, deep sleep, and wakefulness. It is also outside these states in the pure energy called jiva. The word ca (and) implies that It is also beyond the pure jiva, situated free of everything. In this way that which manifests in three ways (Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan) is the non-dual consciousness called the Absolute Reality (Param tattvam). This should be understood clearly.
COMMENTARY
In the previous two Texts Srila Jiva Gosvami defined the word Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. In this section he substantiates these definitions by citing references from Srimad Bhagavatam. In the Eleventh Canto, Second Chapter, is a dialogue between Narada and Vasudeva, the father of Krishna, when the former visited Dvarka. Vasudeva inquired about bhagavata-dharma, or the principles of bhakti. In reply Sri Narada related the discussion between King Nimi and the nava-yogendras when they appeared in his sacrificial arena. In 11.3.34 King Nimi inquires about the nature of Narayana, Brahman, and Paramatma. In the preceding verse Prabuddha had said that a devotee of Narayana can easily transcend the material nature which is very formidable. This inspired King Nimi to ask about Narayana and His relation with Brahman and Paramatma. Srila Jiva Gosvami while commenting on this question says that Narayana is the name of Bhagavan, because it has been used with the other two words, Brahman and Parmatma. These two appear in Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11 along with Bhagavan.
To further support his claim he refers to three additional verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam. These all imply that Narayana is Bhagavan. Verse 11.4.3 refers to Lord Narayana as Adideva, or the original personality of Godhead. Adideva is a synonym for Bhagavan as Lord Krishna says (Bg.10.2) aham adirhi devanam. This verse also shows that Bhagavan or Narayana expands as Paramatma. This conforms to the definition of Paramatma given in the previous Text.
Lord Brahma spoke the verse 10.14.14 in his prayers to Krishna. Brahma stole the calves and cowherd boys to test Lord Krishna, but later on he realized the super excellent position of Lord Krishna and offered prayers to appease Him. In this verse he establishes that Lord Krishna is also Narayana, which means that Bhagavan is Narayana, because Krishna is bhagavan Krishnaastu bhagavan svayam (S.B. 1.3.28). He also give the derivative meaning of Narayana, which explains that Bhagavan expands as Paramatma and enters into the universe.
Krishna spoke the verse 11.15.16 to Uddhava and He clearly states that Narayana is called Bhagavan. In this way Srila Jiva Gosvami establishes that the Narayana mentioned in 11.13.35 is Bhagavan. This verse is a reflection of the verse 1.2.11, which states that one Absolute Truth is called Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.
Pippalayana answers King Nimi's question about the nature of Narayana, Brahman, and Paramatma in this particular order. In this verse he explains the functions of all three features of the Absolute by giving their tatastha lakshana, their marginal characteristics. Bhagavan is the cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction, but Himself has no cause. The Purusha incarnations expand from the Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, and perform the act of creation, maintenance and destruction. Mother Devaki, while praying to Krishna, indicated this in (Please quote this verse, I do not have the tenth canto "yasyamsa SB.10.85.31):
This Bhagavan is called turiya (lit. fourth) because He is free from any limiting adjuncts, which are of three types, as given in the verse quoted in the Bhavartha-Dipika (11.15.16):
Virat, Hiranyagarbha and karana are the three upadhis of the Lord. When He is free from these three He is called Turiya.
Virat is the gross upadhi, Hiranyagarbha the subtle upadhi, and karana is Maya. These only apply to the purusha incarnations which are known as Kshirodakasayi, Garobhodakasayi and Karanodakasayi Vishnus. But Bhagavan, replete with six opulences, is beyond these three upadhis. Or the meaning of the word turiya is that the Lord is in the fourth dimension, beyond the state of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep. While commenting on Bhagavatam verses 2.3.9 and 10 Sridhar Swami writes that the Purusha or Paramatma has prakriti as a limiting adjunct, but the Purna Purusha, Bhagavan, is nirupadhi, without any limiting adjunct. The limiting adjunct, however, does not make the Purusha conditioned like the living entities in the material world. The Purusha does not manifest all the features of Bhagavan.
The Purusha, who is the same as the Paramatma feature, is the controller of the Maya and the living entities. He energizes the material nature which is inert. Through jiva who is his part, the Lord enlivens the body and senses. Thus He is called the Hetukarta or the inspiring agent. When an agent makes another agent do the work then the former is called the inspiring agent and the latter inspired agent. This definition is given by Srila Jiva Gosvami in his Harinamamrita-Vyakaranam (4.13) kartta svatantra ityukto hetukarta prayojakah prayojakadhina-kartta prayojya iti satridha. The energy in the living entity, his senses, body and so on is infused by the Paramatma. Thus Paramatma is called amsi, or the whole, and the living entities are His amsa, or parts, because of being part of His energy. Therefore Sridhar Swami translates Paramatma as the controller of all the living entities, sarva-jiva-niyantre. Param means superior and atma means the soul. Paramatma therefore is superior to atma and He assists atma by supplying him the requisite energy and inspiration to work. Thus in the Vedic scriptures Paramatma is described as the friend or well wisher of the living entity. (Bg. 5.29):
"A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries."
Because Brahman is the unqualified feature of the Absolute Truth, it is very difficult to understand it. In section 52 of Tattva Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Gosvami established that knowledge of the self is essential to understand Brahman. Now, to further clarify Brahman, he first quotes a verse (11.13.27) that describes the self. Krishna spoke this verse to Uddhava. The jiva experiences three states--wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep--but these states are manifestations of the intelligence combined with the three modes of material nature. Wakefulness is the result of intelligence mixed with the mode of goodness; dreaming, the mode of passion; and deep sleep, the mode of ignorance. The living entity, however, is different from these three states, because he is the witness of them. In the material world a witness must be different from that being witnessed. This was explained in detail in Tattva Sandarbha Text 53 and 54. This is succintly put in the following verse of Drig-drisya Viveka (1)
"The form is perceived and the eye is its perceiver. Eye is the perceived and mind is its perceiver. The various mental states are the perceived and self is the perceiver. But the self is not perceived by anything."
He remains unchanged in all the three states. Indeed if he undergoes any change he would not be able to perceive it. Lord Krishna confirms this (SB.11.25.20):
"It should be understood that alert wakefulness comes from the mode of goodness, sleep with dreaming from the mode of passion, and deep, dreamless sleep from the mode of ignorance. The fourth state of consciousness pervades these three and is transcendental."
Here the word santatam means unchanging, which is a reference to the soul.
An objection may be raised that in deep sleep there is no witness, because no one witnesses anything. But that is not true. In deep sleep the self is aware of itself and that's why on awakening one remembers the pleasurable experience of deep sleep. As is stated in the Sruti-etavantam kalam sukhamahmasvapsam na kincidavedisham,"I slept so long and happily and did not know anything." Not knowing anything means other than his own self. Because even in deep sleep no one experiences "I do not exist". There cannot be any recollection without first having experience, but because in deep sleep the mind becomes disassociated from the soul, the experience is not very specific.
Srila Jiva Gosvami further develops this point and says that by this experience of the self as the witness we should try to understand Brahman, which is always existent in the three different states of existence and also in the state of trance. This is called mukta prayrahah nyaya or the principle of relieving all constraints to get the fullest meaning. Brahman cannot be realized without the feeling of oneness with the individual soul. But that does not mean that one becomes Brahman in its original sense. That is the reason for the statements of oneness in the scriptures such as tattvam asi, "You are That (Brahman)." On account of its vastness we cannot see the complete ocean at once by our vision, so only a portion is pointed out and designated as the whole ocean. This is called ekadesa-nirdesa nyaya--designating the part as a whole. Similarly, a jiva cannot realize the complete Brahman, which is all pervading and unlimited. So to convey knowledge of Brahman, the individual soul, which is a fraction of Brahman, is designated as Brahman. In Text 6 more details are given about the process of Brahman realization.
In the next section Srila Jiva Gosvami cites three verses spoken by Lord Krishna to show the three features of the Absolute.
Go to Section Five
Return to Section Three
