BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 19, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION SEVENTEEN
The Lord Has Conscious And Inert Potencies.
In this way united with all energies the Lord possesses both conscious (cit) and unconscious (acit) energies. Even Hiranyakasipu, eulogizing Brahma to be the Supreme controller, spoke in this way (S.B.7.3.34):
"I offer my obeisances to the Lord who has conscious and inert potencies."
The conscious Lord is the shelter of the other conscious entities just as the effulgent sun orb is the fountainhead of the light in the sun rays and its reflections. Out of this the marginal energy called jiva will be described in an opportune place in Paramatma Sandarbha. Now, to explain the internal potency, the external potency is introduced. The internal (para) and external (apara) energies are stated in the Vishnu Purana (1.19.76, 77), "O Supersoul, controller of demigods! I bow down to Your eternal inert nature, the support of the three modes, that exists in all beings. I further worship the transcendental potency, the controlling deity, which is beyond the reach of speech, mind and sense objects, devoid of any qualities; it illuminates the intelligence of all.
This transcendental potency manifests in multifarious forms as confirmed in the Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.8.), "The transcendental energy has multi-manifestations."
COMMENTARY
By establishing that the Lord has natural intrinsic potencies that manifest in three ways, Srila Jiva Gosvami has laid the groundwork for giving a detailed description of the internal potency, svarupa sakti. First he explains that the Lord's three energies fall into two categories--cit (conscious) and acit (inert). The internal energy and the marginal energy fall in the first group and the external energy in the second. The Lord owns both the conscious and inert energies, otherwise He could not be the Supreme controller and enjoyer. Because energy cannot be separated from the energetic source, the ultimate reality is a non-dual conscious entity, who is the subject matter of the Srimad Bhagavatam. This was established in Tattva Sandarbha.
This clearly negates the theory that the ultimate reality is the formless, impotent, quality-less, all-pervading Brahman. Rather, Brahman is the particular realization of Bhagavan in which one does not distinctly perceive His energies, like seeing the sunlight without seeing source clearly, the Sun itself. Such a level of God-realization is certainly possible because energy is no different from the energetic source. When a practitioner is unwilling to see the energies distinct from the Lord, then he gets only one half of the realization of acintyabhedabheda. Rather he is barely touching the shore of the ocean of God realization. That's why Srila Jiva Gosvami said that Brahman realization is an incomplete realization of God, who is the Absolute Truth. Oneness between the energy and the energetic source is inconceivable, acintya. Beyond saying that Brahman is without any manifest qualities there is nothing left to be said. The Mayavadis can only describe Brahman in negative terms. They say, neti neti (Not this, not this), but what it is they cannot say. Therefore the Taittriya Upanishad states (2.4.1) yato vaco nivartante aprapya manasa saha. "Speech along with the mind returns from it (Brahman) not having grasped it." Of course the Vaishnava rendering of this mantra is that the mind and speech of a devotee are unable to capture and describe the personality of the Lord in total.
It is interesting that Jiva Gosvami quotes the chief of the demons, Hiranyakashipu, as evidence that the Lord has both conscious and inert energies. It shows that in bygone days even demons did not consider the Absolute to be void, impersonal, or as nature, matter, mass or gases. They had the logical sense to conclude that the cause of the universe cannot be insentient. This is in stark contrast with the contemporary atheists who uphold many foolish speculative theories in their attempt to establish inert matter or void as the cause of all causes. Hiranyakashipu spoke this to glorify Lord Brahma, because he considered Brahma the ultimate creator and master of the universe. He is a demon because he does not consider Lord Vishnu as Supreme although he does not deny his existence. The advaita vadas have a similar concept.
Another significant point Srila Jiva Gosvami makes is that a conscious entity only emanates from and is supported by another conscious entity. Consciousness does not spring from matter, hence all the conscious living beings must come from a conscious source, the Personality of Godhead. This is certainly not to the liking of Carvaka Muni or his modern counterparts, the evolutionists. Long ago Carvaka, the most famous gross materialist in India history, proposed that there is no soul and no God in control of existence. The goal of life is to eat good food and enjoy the senses as much as possible. He said that consciousness comes into existence in the body at the time of birth and it is finished at death, hence there is no rebirth. Since this is the only life we live, we must enjoy it to the maximum. Sri Sankaracarya summarized their view in the following verse (Sarva-siddhanta-sangraha 1.9):
"The heavenly enjoyment means eating delicious food, keeping company of young damsels, using fine clothes, perfumes, garlands and sandalwood paste." There is no such thing as sin or piety that can give rise to good or bad effects. He said that there is no specific intoxicating quality in the earth, but when a plant of catcchu or dhatura grows from earth, its fruit causes intoxication. The intoxicating quality comes into existence due to a special combination of chemical elements in the fruit. Similarly consciousness manifests in the body due to a special combination of material elements. This philosophy is akin to the modern day evolutionists who have developed elaborate theories on the evolution of consciousness from the inert matter of the body. Yet they are unable to produce even a mosquito. These theories are very fascinating to those who are attached to enjoying the senses. That's why the India's philosopher was called carvaka, literally "beautiful speech", or one who has a fascinating philosophy.
But it is highly illogical that consciousness could arise from a combination of matter. That would be like saying that light comes from an arrangement of darkness or knowledge arises from a particular blend of ignorance. An effect is always dependent upon its causes. This is called satkaryavada by Sri Isvara Krishna in his Sankhya-karika (9):
"The effect is present in the cause because: 1.) That which is non-existent cannot produce anything. 2.) A product is always dependent on its material cause. 3.) Any cause cannot give any effect. Rather, a particular cause gives rise only to a particular effect) 4.) Only a capable cause produces the effect. 5.) Cause manifests into effect". If a particular attribute does not exist in the cause it cannot appear in the effect. Oil can be squeezed from peanuts but not from stone. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed only transformed from one state to another. One can transform heat energy into light, but both are material energies. It is not possible to transform material energy into consciousness. Srila Jiva Gosvami will throw more light on Satkaryavada in Parmatma Sandarbha in many Texts such as 60.
In the previous section, Srila Jiva Gosvami said that the each of the Lord's three energies function in their respective realms. They do not merge or encroach upon each other. This also lends support to the theory of Satkaryavada. Tattva Sandarbha, Text 59-60, discussed in detail that the physical body and senses cannot be the support for the soul, rather the Supersoul is the shelter of all. A conscious being can be the shelter for matter because of his superior nature. In fact matter is used in the service of a conscious being. It has no purpose independently.
To study the internal potency, which is unfamiliar to us, Srila Jiva Gosvami first gives a description of the external energy, which is familiar to us. The external energy is dependent on the internal energy. If we first comprehend the nature of the material energy, it will be easier to study His internal potency. In Tattva Sandarbha also it was explained that the topics of creation, dissolution are described in the Srimad Bhagavatam to understand the Transcendental Lord. The devotees study to universe to appreciate the energies of the Lord and the atheists study to deny His existence unsuccessfully.
Jiva Gosvami cites two verses that name the two energies. In the Vedic philosophical system the general principle is to first name the object, uddesa, give a definition, lakshana, and then , pariksha, examine the definition for any defects. Trividha casy sastrasy apravrittiruddeso lakshanam pariksha ca (Nyaya-vatsyayana-bhashya 1.1.3) In the next text he says the internal energy as para (superior), the external as apara (inferior). Then he defines the external energy and follows with a detailed analysis of the definition.
Interestingly, Prahlada Maharaja is the speaker of the two verses from the Vishnu Purana. Demoniac Hiranyakasipu was so enraged by his son's devotion to Lord Krishna, he tried to kill Prahlada in various ways. Once he fastened boulders to Prahlada's body and threw him into the ocean. At that time Prahlada recited these two verses as part of a prayer to Lord Krishna.
The material energy is also eternal, sasvata. As the Lord is eternal so are His energies. The internal energy is called Isvari, or goddess, which means that she is like a queen who remains in the private chambers of the King. The external energy is like a maidservant, who serves outside. Maya cannot directly associate with the Lord, who is like a King. This implies that she cannot control the Lord. Similarly, she cannot control His internal energy, which is like the queen.
The para energy is beyond mind, speech, and sense perception (atitagocara). It is transcendental yet it can be understood by the pure living beings (jnani-jnana-parichedya). The word jnani in this compound means devotees and not the impersonalist jnanis, who limit themselves to the impersonal feature of the Lord. According to Swamipada, the word jnani means the living entity and jnana means the objects of senses. Paricchedya means that all these sense perceptions are like the streams of water which are flowing out of the big lake which signifies the internal energy. Just as the streams indicate the lake, these sense perceptions indicate a supreme source. In text 19 it will be shown that internal potency is the fountainhead of all activities in the material world. In the next Text Srila Jiva Gosvami gives a detailed exposition of external energy.
Go to Section Eighteen
Return to Section Sixteen
