Sri Vedanta-sutra, Part 30
BY: SUN STAFF
Jan 12, 2021 — CANADA (SUN) — Sri Vedanta-sutra - Volume Two by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana.
Adhikarana 2
The "Aja" of Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.5 Does Not Mean Pradhana
Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
Now another smarta theory is refuted. The following is quoted from the Svetasvatara Upanishad (4.5):
ajam ekam lohita-sukla-krishnam
bahvih prajah srijamanam sarupah
ajo hy eko jushamano 'nusete
jahaty enam bhukta-bhogam ajo 'nyah
"A certain unborn male serves the red, white, and black unborn female that creates the many living entities and their forms, while another unborn male abandons her as she enjoys pleasures."
Samsaya: Does the word aja here mean the pradhana of sankhya, or does it mean the potency of Brahman described in this Upanishad?
Purva-paksha: Without any external help the unborn material nature creates the innumerable living entities.
Siddhanta: In regard to this, the sankhyas' belief concerning the creation, he says:
Sutra 8
camasavad aviseshat
camasa-a cup; vat -like; aviseshat-because of not being specific.
(The word "aja" in Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.5 does not mean the sankhya conception of material nature) because of the lack of a specific description. It is like the word "camasa" (cup) in Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad 2.2.3.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
The word na (not) should be read into this sutra from sutra 1.4.5. It cannot be said that the female described here is the material nature as described in the sankhya-smriti. Why? Because the material nature is not specifically described in this passage. Because there is no specific description, but only the mention of being unborn in the word aja, which is derived from the phrase na jayate (it is not born). It is like the example of the cup. In the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad
(2.2.3) it is said:
arvag-bilas camasa urdhva-budhna
"There is a cup with its mouth down and its bottom up."
It is not possible to take the word camasa, which is derived from the verb cam (to drink), in this mantra as literally a cup, or vessel to consume what was offered in a yajna. It is also not possible to consider the meaning of a word without reference to etymology. For this reason it is not possible to interpret the word in this mantra as the material nature described in the sankhya-smriti. It is also not possible because the sankhya-smriti considers that material nature creates the living entities independently.
The aja here is the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is described in the Vedas. Giving a specific reason to accept this, he says:
Sutra 9
jyotir upakrama tu tatha hy adhiyate eke
jyotih-light; upakrama-beginning with; tu-indeed; tatha-in that way; hi-indeed; adhiyate-iread; eke-some.
Light is its origin. Also, other passages confirm it.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
The word tu (but) is used in the sense of certainty. The word light is used to mean the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way He is celebrated in the sruti-sastra (Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad 10.4.16):
tad deva jyotisham jyotih
"The demigods meditate on Him, the light of lights."
The word upakrama should be understood here in the sense of "cause". Because this aja (unborn) has Brahman as its cause, its being unborn is metaphorical only, just as the "cup" in Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad 2.2.3.
In that passage it is said:
arvag-bilas camasa urdhva-budhna
"There is a cup with its mouth down and its bottom up."
As the "cup" here is actually the skull, in the same way the aja (unborn) here is not actually unborn, but is the potency born from Brahman, as is described in the first and fourth chapters of Svetasvatara Upanishad.
The first quote is (Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.3):
te dhyana-yoganugata apasyan
devatma-saktim sva-gunair nigudham
"The dhyana-yogis saw the Supreme Lord's potency, which was hidden by its own qualities."
The second quote is (Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.1):
ya eka-varno bahudha sakti-yogat
"He (the Lord) who is one has become many by the touch of His potency."
Then the author gives another reason in the sutra's words tatha hi. Hi in this context means "reason". The reason is the evidence given in other passages (adhiyate eke). That the material nature is born from the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also explained in the following passage (Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.9):
tasmad etad brahma nama rupam annam ca jayate
"From Him (the Lord), pradhana, names, forms, and food, are all born."
The word brahma here means pradhana, which is situated in the three modes of nature, and which is also called brahma in Bhagavad-gita (14.3):
mama yonir mahad brahma
"The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth."*
Now our opponent may ask: How, then, is the material nature unborn? Then, if it is unborn, how can it be born from light?
Fearing that these questions may be raised, he says:
Sutra 10
kalpanopadesac ca madhv-adi-vad avirodhah
kalpana-creation; upadesat-from the instruction; ca-certainly; madhv-honey; adi-beginning with; vad -like; avirodhah-not a contradiction.
Because it is said to be created by the Supreme it is not a contradiction to say that pradhana is both created and uncreated. In this way its is like honey and some other things that are both created and uncreated.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
This doubt is dispelled by the word ca (certainly). It is possible for pradhana to be both created and uncreated. How is that? That is explained by the word kalpana. Kalpana here means "creation". It should be understood in that way because it was used with that sense in the Rg Veda's statement, yatha-purvam akalpayat (In the beginning the Supreme Personality of Godhead created the world). The meaning of this is that the pradhana is manifested from the Supreme Brahman, who is the master of the potencies of darkness. That is the truth in this matter. The Lord has an eternal and very subtle potency named tamas (darkness), which is described in the following statement (Rig Veda 10.1.29.3):
tama asit tamasa gudham agre praketam yada tamas tan na diva na ratrih
"In the beginning was darkness. Darkness covered everything. When the darkness was manifested there was neither day nor night."
Tamas is also described in the Culika Upanishad:
gaur anadavati
"Matter has no power to speak."
At the time of cosmic annihilation pradhana attains oneness with Brahman, but does not merge into Brahman. In the passage from sruti-sastra beginning with the words prithivy apsu praliyate it is said that the material elements, beginning from earth and culminating in ether, all merge into tamas (darkness), but there is no mention of tamas merging into another substance because tamas is already one with the Supreme. Because tamas is very subtle there is no possibility of it being separate from the Supreme, and therefore it is one with Him. It is not otherwise. This does not mean that tamas is identical with the Supreme. If it meant identity with the Supreme the use of the pratyaya cvi in eki-bhavati, would not be appropriate.
When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the tamas potency, desires to create, from Him arises the unmanifested (avyakta) three modes of material nature. The sruti-sastra explains:
mahan avyakte liyate avyaktam akshare aksharam tamasi
"The mahat merges into the avyakta, the avyakta merges into the akshara, and the akshara merges into tamas."
The Mahabharata explains,
tasmad avyaktam utpannam tri-gunam dvija-sattama
"O best of the brahmanas, the unmanifested three modes of material nature was born from the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
These passages from scripture clearly describe the creation of pradhana and the other elements. In this way the
the scriptures teach that pradhana is created and that it is both cause and effect simultaneously. The Vishnu Purana explains this in the following words:
pradhana-pumsor ajayoh
karanam karya-bhutayoh
"Lord Vishnu is the cause of the unborn Pradhana and Purusha."
At the time of creation the three modes of material nature arise in pradhana and pradhana manifests many different names, such as pradhana-avyakta, and many different forms in red and other colors. At this time it is said that the pradhana is manifested from the Supreme Light (jyotir-utpanna).
Next he (the author of the sutras) gives an example: "It is like honey and other similar things (madhv-adi-vat)." The sun, when it is a cause, remains one, and when it is an effect it becomes other things, such as the honey enjoyed by the Vasus. In this way the sun is both cause and effect simultaneously. There is no contradiction in this.
