BY: SUN STAFF
Apr 1, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIFTY-FOUR
Devaki's Prayer to Lord Krishna.
Similarly, Srimati Devaki also says in the verse beginning rupam yattat (SB.10.3.24), "You are directly Lord Vishnu, the transcendental lamp." There is some object which Vedas speak of. What is that object? Devaki answers, "unmanifest" (avyaktam), and so on. Whatever is that product like object with such qualities as described in the verse, that is directly perceived by my eyes, and that is Visnu.
Srila Veda Vyasa makes a similar statement to the Lord in the Nirvanakhanda of the Padma Purana:
"O Lord Madhusudana! I wish to see You with my eyes. The Upanisads describe You as Satya, Param Brahma, the source of the universe, the Lord of the universe. O Lord, let that form become visible to my eyes."
The reason is that the Lord is a transcendental lamp (adhyatma-dipa). The meaning is that He exists as the illuminator of the embodied soul, the entirety of all bodies and senses. The import of Devaki's statement is that because He is such, He has nothing to fear. The import shown by Sridhara Swami which is suitable to the context is also based on the form of the Lord. There can be no possibility of fear otherwise.
COMMENTARY
After respecting the opinion of Bhishmadeva, one of the twelve mahajana's, Srila Jiva Gosvami cites one of the prayers of Devaki after Krishna was born as Her son. Lord Krishna took birth in Kamsa's prison house and His parents feared that as soon as Kamsa heard this, he would murder the child. When mother Devaki noticed however, that the child displayed the symptoms found on the Supreme Lord, she abandoned her fear and prayed to the Lord. In this verse she established that her son is none other than Vishnu, who has a completely transcendental body (S.B. 10.3.24):
"My dear Lord there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as imperceptible through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything. full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause. You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and Paramatma, yet You are not different from Them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Vishnu, the light of all transcendental knowledge."
Sridhara Swami gives a nice explanation of this verse in his Bhavartha Dipika. Devaki says that the form of Vishnu before her is the same reality that is described in the Vedas. How do the Vedas describe His form? As un-manifest (avyaktam ), and as the original cause (adyam). Logicians conclude that atoms are un-manifest and yet the cause of the universe, so does this mean the Lord's form is atomic? She says no--it is very great (brahma). Then maybe it is pradhana, which is un-manifest, very great, and according to Sankhyaites, the cause of the universe. Lord Krishna also calls pradhana, brahma (B.g. 14.3):
"The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata."
Devaki responds by saying that His form is jyoti, or luminous, and since pradhana is inert, this is not a reference to it. Then maybe His form is the isvara of the vaiseshikas who consider that the atma is conscious due to contact with knowledge which is in material modes. She responds to this by saying nirguna, His form is free from the modes. Then could His form be like the atma described by the mimamsakas who consider it a transformation of jnana? Devaki negates this possibility by saying nirvikara, His form undergoes no change. Then is His form the atma of the followers of Pushakaraksha, who consider it empowered by the vikshepasakti of Maya? No, because His form is sattamatram, pure existence and does not depend on anything else. Thus His form always remains the same. Maybe it is samanya, meaning that the Lord's form has divisions of near and far as described by the naiyayikas. To this she replies, nirvisesam, His form is without divisions.
If the Lord's form is the cause of everything, then it must undergo some change while producing effects. Mother Devaki says it is niriham, motionless. The Lord is just like the magnet that moves a piece of iron but remains still. Finally she says, "You are sakshad, directly perceivable." It is not that the Lord is inferred by seeing an effect as one may infer fire upon seeing smoke in the distance. Moreover, the Lord is adhyatmadipa, a transcendental lamp. This means that everything is illumined after He shines--yasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati (Mundaka 2.2.10). The import is that He is the controller of everyone's senses, mind, and body. Thus there is no cause to fear Kamsa.
This verse explains that the Lord's form is completely transcendental and beyond the conceptions of philosophers such as Naiyayikas, Sankhyaites, and Mimamsakas. The verse exclusively describes the body of the Lord and not the various impersonal "absolute realities" imagined by the different philosophical systems. Sridhara Swami has also explained that this verse describes the form of the Lord. And this naturally agrees with the context. This chapter describes birth of Lord Krishna. There is no question of birth without having a form. Srila Jiva Gosvami quotes a verse from the Padma Purana spoken by Srila Vyasa, who was undergoing severe penances to please the Lord. After a long time, Krishna came within his mind and offered Vyasa a boon. Vyasa desired to see the form of the Lord with his eyes. He refers to this form as the satyam param brahma described in the Upanishads. This is consistent with the verse by Devaki who also says the Lord's form is described in the Vedas as avyaktam, nirvisesham, sattamatran and so on. These attributes of Brahman are commonly referred to in the Upanishads, however they apply to the forms experienced by mother Devaki and Srila Vyasa. Therefore, it is proven without a doubt that Lord Krishna's body is self-luminous and transcendental to the modes of nature. It is the Absolute Reality and reconciles all the Vedic statements that seem contradictory.
In the following Text Srila Jiva Gosvami shows that the expansions of Lord Krishna have the same qualities as Him. For this he alludes to Brahma's experience from Brahma-Mohana-lila.
Go to Section Fifty-five
Return to Section Fifty-three
