BY: SUN STAFF
Dec 4, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION EIGHT
Lord Krishna's feature as pure consciousness, without any manifest characteristics, is called Brahman in some portions of the Vedas. In another feature, He expands as the Purusha that controls the external potency called Maya and also expands into many plenary portions. In one of His principle features He exists as Narayana in the spiritual sky or Vaikuntha. May that Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bestow His love on those who worship His feet in this world.
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
Lord Sri Krishna, although one without a second, has limitless expansions. When only His dazzling effulgence is manifest, without His form, qualities, and his opulences, this feature is called Brahman in some sections of the Vedas.
Some transcendentalists worship this undivided, formless aspect of the Absolute, considering it the ultimate reality. For such persons, the Absolute Truth, Lord Krishna, appears as impersonal Brahman. As described in the Taittariya Upanishad (2.2.2) satyam jnanam anantam brahma, "Brahman is eternal, conscious and unlimited."
Another aspect of Lord Krishna is His controlling feature called Purusha. There are three such Purusha expansions. The first is Karanodakasayi Vishnu, who lies in the Causal Ocean and is the Supersoul of the entire material creation. The Lord has only one Karanodakasayi Vishnu expansion, who is also called Mahavishnu. He activates the material energy by His glance.
The second Purusha is Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, who is the Supersoul expansion within each of the innumerable universes. He is the source of the various Lila Avataras, or pastime incarnations of the Supreme Lord in the respective universes. Lord Brahma, who has the delegated responsibility of creating within the universe, is born from the lotus flower from Garbhodakasayi Vishnu's lotus navel.
The third Purusha is Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, who expands as the Supersoul in all the varieties of life forms. These three Purusha Avataras are also called Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha respectively. Krishna controls the material nature through the agency of His Purusha incarnations.
These three Purusha manifestations are summarized in the Naradiya-tantra (cited in Bhavartha-dipika 2.6.38):
"Lord Vishnu has three forms, which are all called Purusha. The first is the Creator of the Mahat, the second is inside the universal egg, and the third is the Supersoul within all living beings. Knowing these three forms a person becomes liberated."
Beyond the material creation is the spiritual sky, or para-vyoma. It contains the various spiritual planets, called Vaikunthas. The chief Deity in the spiritual sky, who is a vilasa expansion of Lord Sri Krishna, is Lord Narayana. The definition of a vilasa form is given in the Laghu Bhagavatamrita (1.15):
svarupamanyakaram yattasya bhati vilasatah
prayenatmasamam saktya sa vilaso nigadyate
"When the Lord expands into a form which appears different than His original two handed form but has almost all of His original qualities He is called a vilasa expansion."
Lord Krishna, in His two handed form, is Svayam Bhagavan, the original Personality of Godhead. This svayam rupa is described in the Laghu Bhagavatamrita (1.12), ananyapekshi yadrupam svayamrupah sa ucyate, "That form which is not an expansion of some other form is called the self-existent form or svayamrupa." His form is grounded in Itself and is the basis of all other forms. It is second to no other form, and is completely independent. All this is explained in greater detail in Sri Krishna Sandarbha. Here Srila Jiva Gosvami gives in a nutshell the essence of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Like a seed, he will expand it into the tree of Sri Bhagavata Sandarbha.
In Sanskrit, words have an integral relationship with their meaning or the object of the word. This is called the vacya-vacaka sambandha, or the relation of the word with the subject. Hence the words of a book have an integral relation to the subject through their meaning. That svayam bhagavan, Lord Sri Krishna, is the subject (vishaya) of the Shat Sandarbhas is indicated here by the words "sah krishnah." By its use Srila Jiva Gosvami establishes the vacya-vacaka sambandha between his book and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
The process (abhidheya) to realize Lord Sri Krishna is devotional service at His lotus feet. This is indicated by the words tat padabhajam. The purpose (prayojana) is to attain love of Godhead, indicated by the word prema. Thus Srila Jiva Gosvami hints at four topics--subject, relation, process, and purpose. In the next section he explicitly states these four and explains the means of acquiring valid knowledge about them.
Go to Section Nine
Return to Section Seven
