BY: SUN STAFF
Apr 16, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION SEVENTY
Vaikuntha is Saccidananda.
Similarly, Sri Suka explains (2.2. 17,18):
"In that transcendental state, there is no supremacy of devastating time, which controls even the celestial demigods, who are empowered to rule over mundane creatures. And what to speak of the demigods themselves? Nor is there the mode of goodness, nor passion, nor ignorance; nor even the false ego; nor the mahat tattva, nor the material nature.
Those who have realized the self, desire to give up everything that is not conscious by saying "not this, not this". They give up the improper intelligence in the form of 'I' and 'mine' and not having any attachment to anything material, they continuously embrace the Lord's lotus feet within their heart and know the abode of Lord Vishnu as the Supreme destination."
Atat means other than conscious. They desire to give up atat by the "not this, not this" (neti neti) principle. "To consider oneself non-different from the Lord" they denounce dauratmyam and embrace the lotus feet of the worshipable Lord (arha), at every moment (pade pade) within their hearts (hrida).
Not having friendship with anyone else (ananya-sauhrida), such saintly people know (amananti) that supreme destination of Lord Vishnu, Vaikuntha, as the very form of Brahman. This is the meaning of the word tat. Owing to this practice, which is characterized with love of Godhead (prema), the other meaning of impersonal feature is rejected. Although the writer of the Muktafal commentary is an impersonalist, by the will of providence, in his explanation of this verse he writes, "They know that supreme place of Lord Vishnu. The planets such as that of Lord Brahma are under the control of Lord Vishnu just as a provincial king is under the command of an emperor. Therefore the adjective supreme (param) has been used. The meaning is that Vaikuntha is presided over only by Lord Vishnu". Therefore the Sruti establishes the Lord as situated only in His own glory (Chandogya 7.24.1) "Where is that Lord situated? In His own glory?" Thus Kathopanishad states (1.2.25), "who can know where He exists?"
COMMENTARY
Srila Jiva Gosvami continues to explain the transcendental nature of Vaikuntha. He cites two verses Sukadeva Gosvami spoke to Parikshit Maharaja regarding the process of krama mukti (gradual liberation) and sadyo mukti (immediate liberation). He explains the process of meditation on the Lord within the heart and how by gradual practice the meditator becomes free from the disturbance caused by the senses and mind, and attains the transcendental platform.
These two verses explain the state of transcendence called param padam, or the supreme abode of the Lord, which is free from the influence of time. The material world is controlled by the demigods who are under the influence of time, yet time cannot influence the transcendental abode of the Lord. The modes of nature, which are the cause behind material creation, also have no control over Vaikuntha. An alternate meaning is that time has no control over Vaikuntha which is free from the modes of nature and their source, pradhana.
Only those who desire to give up association with inert mater (atat utsisrikshavah), who understand that the Lord is different from themselves, and who have loving feelings exclusively for the Lord and His devotees, can understand Vaikuntha. Dauratmyam, wickedness of heart, manifests in two ways--the desire to enjoy matter and to consider oneself as the Absolute Reality. Only when a person is free from wickedness can he enter the transcendental abode of the Lord. This freedom cannot be material as only transcendental consciousness manifests all good qualities. Therefore, Vaikuntha cannot be a material destination. It is also not impersonal. As the verse states, devotees embrace the Lord's feet within their hearts at every moment. Thus the words param padam, the supreme place, cannot refer to the impersonal brahmajyoti in which there is no possibility of meditating on the Lord's feet. Feet is an indicative of the whole body.
Sri Hemadri, who flourished around the twelfth century, is the writer of the Muktaphala commentary alluded to. He was a staunch impersonalist and wrote the Kaivalyadipika commentary on the Muktaphala of Sri Bopadeva. By the will of the Lord, Hemadri has given personalist commentary to the first verse quoted by Bopadeva in his Muktaphala. In these two verses Bopadeva explains the impersonal feature of Vishnu. According to him, Vishnu has two forms--personal and impersonal (sa dvedha nirakarah sakarasca). Prior to this Bopadeva explained the impersonal feature of Vishnu. Hemadri says that even the topmost planet in this material world is under Lord Vishnu's control. But His Supreme abode Vaikuntha is not controlled by anyone else. This is because Vaikuntha is a manifestation of His own internal energy.
In the next Text he explains the meaning of the Kathopanishad mantra by referring to Narada Muni's teachings to King Pracinabarhi.
Go to Section Seventy-one
Return to Section Sixty-nine
