BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 17, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIFTEEN
The Lord's potencies are inconceivable.
These energies are inconceivable, as Devahuti states to Lord Kapila (S.B. 3.33.3), "You are the controller of living entities and possessor of thousands of inconceivable potencies." The meaning is clear. Two Brahma Sutras also state that His energies are inconceivable (B.S. 2.1.27, 28): "The Vedas state that the Lord is free from defects and can be understood only by sabda" and "The Lord has variegated energies in Him."
COMMENTARY
In the previous three texts Srila Jiva Gosvami explained that Lord has various energies and generally these energies act contrary to each other. The natural question arises "how is such a thing possible, because it is contrary to logic? In answer to this Srila Jiva Gosvami says that Lord's energies are inconceivable. Lord cannot be understood by mere logic. Srimati Devahuti spoke this verse (3.33.3) to Kapiladeva, who gave her instructions on jnana, vairagya and bhakti. She is astonished to learn that her son is the Personality of Godhead. She cannot grasp how the Lord, who created Brahma from His lotus navel, and who is the source of the universe, could be kept in her womb. Thus from her personal experience she declares that the Lord has thousands of inconceivable potencies. Because His potencies act beyond the realm of logic, faithless people take His pastimes as myth. It is therefore advised that one hear the exploits of the Lord with faith from the lips of a devotee of the Lord, otherwise one will reject the Lord's pastimes as fanciful stories, commit offenses and thus suffer. Text 9,10 and 11 of Tattva Sandarbha establish that Lord can be understood only through revealed sound. Logic does not have the ability to reveal him.
Srila Jiva Gosvami next cites two Vedanta Sutra which also explain the Lord's inconceivable potencies. Sutra 2.1.26 conveys that the soul is without parts or divisions. One may object and say that Brahman must have divisions otherwise every action He performs, however minor, would be accomplished by use of His full power. This controversy is solved by Sutra (2.1.27) which states that the Vedas declare Brahman to be free from such defects. The reason is that Brahman has such inconceivable potencies and It can even accommodate opposing qualities. This was already discussed in the previous sections. While commenting on this Sutra, Baladeva Vidyabhushana refers to the Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.7):
"The Lord is splendorous, inconceivable, and the greatest, yet He is smaller than the smallest. He is near and far off as well. Indeed He resides in the heart of the realized soul."
Commenting on the "Sabda Mulatvat" part of the Sutra Baladeva writes, "Knowledge of Brahman can only be obtained from the scriptures, therefore we have no right to think them illogical if they describe the Lord's paradoxical attributes. Since only the scriptures supply us knowledge of Brahman, these descriptions of His inconceivable attributes must be accepted. This is not completely mysterious as it is seen that certain gems and mantras produce magical effects resulting from their inconceivable power. Because something is inexplicable or inconceivable, does not mean it should be regarded as impossible".
Sutra 2.1.28 further explains the existence of the variegated power within the Lord. While commenting on this sutra, Srila Baladeva asserts that if gems and mantras can have inconceivable power, then certainly can the Lord. Who is the original source of everything. In India there are certain mantra healers who can cure certain medically incurable diseases by chanting mantras. Such a power in the vibration of certain syllables is inconceivable. But by seeing the effect one can not deny it. Similarly by studying the material nature a devotee can understand that Lord must have inconceivable power.
The next text explains that these energies are part of the Lord's nature and not incidental.
Go to Section Sixteen
Return to Section Fourteen
