BY: SUN STAFF
Jun 21, CANADA (SUN) —
Sri Krsna-sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
Anuccheda 93
1 Although we have clearly proven that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His form is eternal, doubt may linger in the minds of the less intelligent, to eradicate these doubts we shall continue this description of Sri Krsna.
That the form of Krsna is eternal is proven by the Vedic literatures’ repeated order that Krsna be worshipped. If the form of Krsna were only a temporary manifestation, then what is the use of worshipping Him? If the scriptures advise us to worship that which is temporary, then the scriptures are defective and are cheating us. In truth the Vedic literatures teach us the supreme goal of life, and they are free from all defect. If they instruct us to worship Sri Krsna, then the form of Sri Krsna is certainly eternal and spiritual. Krsna is not a temporary manifestation of material energy.
Sarva-samvadini Comment
1 After reading the argument of Anuccheda 93, text 1, someone may raise the following objection: When a child is stricken with a disease, one may speak many untrue words to coax him to take a medicine which will cure him. In the same way, the Vedas instruct the conditioned souls to worship the Personality of Godhead. This is certainly beneficial for the conditioned souls who become purified by that worship and enabled to understand the actual nature of the Absolute, which is formless and without qualities.
2 To this objection I reply: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is an eternal reservoir of unlimited transcendental qualities, opulences and forms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His various incarnations such as Lord Narayana and others, are eternally present in the spiritual world, although they enter this material world as incarnations for a certain limited period of time, the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad explains (3.8.3):
The Absolute Truth exists eternally. He was in the past. He is in the present. He will be in the future.”
This describes the eternal form of the Lord.
3 The eternality of the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also described in the following statement of the Uttara-mimamsa: “The Supreme is manifest in many forms”.
4 The eternality of the form of the Personality of Godhead is also described in the following statement of the Gopala-tapani Upanisad (1.20).
“They who are intelligent worship Lord Krsna. They, and not others, attain eternal transcendental bliss.”
This verse clearly describes the Lord’s form as eternal. They who interpret it in another way are committing a great violence to the meaning of the scriptures.
5 In this verse the worshippers of Lord Krsna are described as the possessors of eternal happiness. This means they are liberated from material entanglement, for as long as one remains in the clutches of matter his position is continuously changing, and he cannot attain eternal happiness. Because the devotees of Lord Krsna are thus liberated, one cannot say that they are ignorant of the actual nature of things, for knowledge is a prerequisite for liberation. This is confirmed by the Smrti-sastra which says:
“When one attains transcendental knowledge he becomes liberated.”
Our opponent says the devotees of the Lord in a lesser position, and he pushes forward the example of cajoling the sick child to convince him to take the medicine. This example is not very appropriate, for the devotees of the Lord are described as ‘dhira’, advanced saintly persons. They are not at all like ignorant children. Our opponent would have it that there are different stage of spiritual advancement, and the devotees are in the lower stage, while the impersonalists are on the higher stage. This view is rejected by this statement of Gopala-tapani Upanisad, which considers the devotees of the Lord the best of transcendentalists (“Only such devotees of the Lord, and not others, are able to attain eternal transcendental bliss”).
6 The Chandogya Upanisad (7.1.5) explains:
“One should worship the Supreme Brahman.”
From this we may understand that the Supreme Brahman is a person, and He is eternal, for if this conclusion is rejected, and the theory of the impersonalists is accepted, there is no need to worship Brahman. That the Chandogya Upanisad mentions worship of Brahman supports the actual conclusion, that the Supreme Brahman is a person and His form is eternal. This conclusion is also supported by the Patanjali Yoga-sutra, which explains (Sadhana-parva, Sutra 44):
“By study of Vedic literature one understands the Supreme Person.”
2 At this point the mayavadis may object: The ultimate truth is the formless impersonal Brahman. In order to make itself perceived by the unintelligent, Brahman may sometimes assume a temporary form, such as the form of Krsna, but the ultimate truth cannot actually have forms or qualities, for the ultimate is unlimited, and a form is always limited within a certain space, and qualities are also limitations. Therefore, because it is unlimited, the Absolute Truth cannot have a form or qualities.
To this objection the followers of Sridhara Svami reply by quoting the following verse of Srimad Bhagavatam (11.31.6):
“By performing agneyi-yoga, mystics burn the material body in the fire of mystic yoga, and by giving up the body in this way, attain the upper planets or the spiritual world. When Sri Krsna left the material world, however, He did not burn His beautiful body which is so pleasing to the devotees who continually meditate upon it, but without changing His body directly returned to His own abode in the spiritual world.”***
If the body of Lord Krsna is only a temporary manifestation, then the devotees’ meditation described in this verse is empty and useless. Actually such meditation is not at all useless, for by continually meditating on the form of the Lord Krsna, one may eventually see Him face-to-face.
3 The direct appearance of the Lord and the worship of Him by the devotees residing in the nine varsas is described in Srimad Bhagavatam (5.17.14):
“To show mercy to His devotees in each of these nine tracts of land, the Supreme Personality of Godhead known as Narayana expands Himself in His quadruple principles of Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. In this way He remains near His devotees to accept their service.”*
4 This passage describes how, in the presence of His devotees, the Lord personally appears in the form of Pradyumna and other visnu-tattva expansions. This passage describes the direct appearance (atmana) of the Lord. The Lord also appears eternally in the form of the Deity, such as the form of Lord Nrsimha and other forms manifested among the Salagrama-silas. In this way the Lord incarnates in many forms.
5 The direct revelation of Lord Krsna to His devotee is described in the Krsna-sahasra-nama prayers of the Visnu-dharma Purana, Uttara-khanda:
“Pleased at heart by these sincere prayers, Lord Visnu revealed the form of Sri Krsna, whose dark form was the colour of a tamala tree, whose hair was decorated with a peacock feather, and who was accompanied by the gopis.
6 “Lord Krsna addressed that devotee in the following words: O fortunate one, O best of the wise, know that I am Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and I have now appeared before you because of your great devotion. I grant you the benediction that all your spiritual desires will become perfectly fulfilled.”
7 The revelation of the eternal form of Sri Krsna is also described in the Padma Purana, Nirmana-khanda, where Lord Krsna says to Brahma:
“O Brahma, see My original form as Lord Krsna, which I now reveal to you. This form is very confidential and difficult to see. It cannot be known simply by studying the verses of the Vedas.
8 After speaking this words, the Lord revealed His original form to Brahma, who described this revelation in the following words:
“O king, I then saw the form of Lord Krsna, who was a cowherd boy with a complexion like a dark rain-cloud. He was accompanied by many gopis, and was laughing and joking with His cowherd friends. He was arrayed in yellow garments and was very handsome and wonderful to see. He was seated at the base of a kadamba tree in the forest of Vrndavana, which was decorated with many blossoming plants and trees.”
9 That the form of Sri Krsna is eternally manifested and may be seen at any time by the sincere devotee is confirmed in the following verse from the Trailokya-sammohana Tantra:
“A properly initiated devotee who continually chants this eighteen syllable Krsna mantra with a controlled mind will certainly see this form of Lord Hari as a cowherd boy. Of this there is no doubt.”
10 This eternal form of Lord Krsna is described in the same words in the following passage from Gautamiya Tantra in a passage describing the proper conduct of saintly persons.
Go to Anuccheda Ninety-two (Part 2)
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