BY: SUN STAFF
Apr 2, CANADA (SUN) —
Bhagavat Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION FIFTY-FIVE
All Part Expansions of Lord Krishna are Transcendental.
Therefore even the part expansions of Lord Krishna are of the same nature. Sri Suka says (S.B. 10.13.54):
"The Vishnu-murtis all had eternal, unlimited forms, full of knowledge and bliss, and existing beyond the influence of time. Their great glory was not even to be touched by the jnanis who have the Upanishadsic vision"
Sridhara Swami comments, "Although they all have individual forms, they have a common constitution, described in the verse beginning with satya-jnana (10.13.54). They are Absolute (satya), unlimited, blissful in nature, and constitute knowledge. Furthermore, they consist of only this much, which means that they are devoid of any difference caused by a foreign object. Over and above this, their form remains same always (sadaikarasa).
Another explanation is that His forms constitute Brahman, which is uniformly unlimited, blissful, immutable, full of truth and knowledge and nothing else. He cannot be known, therefore, by those whose only eye is the knowledge of the self (Upanishaddrisham). The indeclinable hi means certainty. Asprishtabhurimahatmya means that Their glory cannot be perceived by those on the path of knowledge. Brahma saw all these forms with such qualities." This is the end of his comment.
In this verse the term matra "just that much" indicates that their color and other attributes are part of their essential nature. According to Sri Sukadeva and Sridhara Svami, the word murti form, used in this verse cannot mean "the formless self "or have some other meaning. Because secondary meaning will be a cumbersome imagination; the four terms "untouched" (asprishta), "wonderful glory" (bhuri-mahatmya), "even" (api), "with the eye of knowledge" (Upanishad driga) whether used in a compound or separately will spoil the theme of description; it will be contrary to the context; this meaning is in accordance with the experience of the Kumaras which will be exemplified later (S.B. 3.15.18) "As a result of their trance, they saw Him with their eyes."; and it would also contradict the experience of Sri Suka as described in verses such as S.B. 12.12.69.
Therefore the phrases such as" personification of pure consciousness" (visuddha vijnanaghana S.B. 10.37.22), "unto Him who is pure knowledge personified" (visuddha jnanamurttaye S.B. 10.27.11), and "in You whose body is full of bliss and knowledge eternally" (tvayeva nitya-sukhabodhatanu S.B. 10.14.22), should not be misinterpreted by applying a secondary meaning such as Brahman.
Similarly in the phrases such as (S.B. 10.41.22) "embracing the form full of bliss" and the statements (S.B. 10.48.7) "simply by smelling the fragrance of Krishna's lotus feet, Trivakra cleansed away the burning lust Cupid had aroused in her breasts and eyes. With her two arms she embraced her lover Sri Krishna, the personification of bliss, between her breasts, and thus gave up her long-standing distress." The vision and embrace cannot be interpreted to have any other meaning. Mahavaraha Purana also states
"All the forms of the Supreme Lord are eternal, unchanging, devoid of any rejectable or acceptable attribute because they are never the product of material nature. They are packed with (concentrated) supreme bliss, and purely conscious in nature. The distinction between the body and the embodied does not exist in the Lord."
COMMENTARY
After explaining that Lord Krishna's form is eternal and transcendental, Srila Jiva Gosvami next establishes that all the plenary portions of Lord Krishna are of the same nature. The verse cited (S.B. 10.13.54) describes Lord Brahma's experience seeing the various expansions of Lord Krishna after he stole the cowherd boys along with their calves. Lord Krishna expanded Himself and took the exact forms and moods of the stolen calves and cowherd boys. When Brahma returned a year later to witness Krishna's plight, he was astounded to see that His pastimes were going on as if nothing had happened. While he was thus marveling at Krishna's mystic power he saw all the cowherd boys and calves turn into forehanded Vishnu forms. Sri Suka explains the nature, beauty, and glory of these forms for a few verses.
In the event someone might think that these forms were magical creations only meant to befuddle Brahma's intelligence, the verse says satya, or real. Furthermore, the forms were full of knowledge and bliss. The matraca suffix, which appears in ananda matra, signifies that the vishnu-murtis were not tinged by matter--they were fully conscious and unlimited. The word ekarasa means that they were beyond the influence of time. Brahma saw unlimited Vishnu forms and each form was also unlimited. They were not liberated jivas, because Brahma saw the mark of Srivatsa on their chests (S.B. 10.13.48), which is one of the distinctive features of Lord Vishnu. Though there were unlimited forms, they were all one with Krishna, the advya-tattva who lacks duality. These forms were not different from each other as a table is different from another table.
Krishna gave a practical demonstration of acintya bhedabheda philosophy in this Brahma-Mohana lila. The Lord is one, yet by His acintya sakti, He manifests as many. Thus the verse states that the glory of these forms was beyond the reach of Upanishadic scholars.
The Upanishads describe the Absolute as satyam jnanam anantam brahma (Taittariya Upanishad 2.1.1), ananda brahmano vidran (Taittriya Upanishad 2.4.1) and so on. From statements such as these non-devotee scholars assume that the Absolute has no form. This verse says, however, that the Lord's forms (murttayah) were satya jnana ananta ananda matra. This is beyond the conception of non-devotee scholars, because Krishna can be understood only through loving devotion. He cannot be attained by mere scholarship, as the Sruti declares (Kathopanishad 1.2.23):
"The Supreme Lord cannot be attained by mere study of the Vedas, nor through the intellect, nor by hearing. Only one who is blessed by the Lord can attain Him and only to such a person does the Lord reveal His form."
The word murti (S.B. 10.13.54) should not be misconstrued to mean atma or Brahman, because Lord Brahma saw these forms with his own eyes. Brahman has no attributes and thus cannot be seen. According to Amarakosa (3.3.66) murti means "body" and "hard" -- murttih kathinya-kayayoh. Impersonalists propose that these forms were bodies of Brahman, or "solidified Brahman" appearing in Vishnu forms. Such a meaning does not suit the context and is also contrary to logic. Brahman has no manifest qualities and thus can neither accept form or become solidified. According to impersonalists, Brahman cannot even bear It's name as this gives rise to duality as the name, its meaning, and the object referred to amount to three. Sati prasidde'rthe'prasiddharth-kalapanam anyayam -- according to this rule it is highly improper to imagine an unpopular meaning when the popular meaning fits appropriately. Accordingly, Srila Jiva Gosvami says lakshanayah kashtakalpana mayatvat -- to give a secondary meaning is difficult imagination.
Moreover, such an explanation is neither supported by Sridhara Swami nor Sukadeva Gosvami. And it certainly does not agree with Brahma's experience.
Srila Jiva Gosvami refers to the experience of the Kumaras, but the details of their experience will be discussed in section seventy-nine. He also cites the example of Sukadeva Gosvami, who was self-realized and became a devotee simply by hearing some select verses from Srimad Bhagavatam describing Lord's Krishna's activities, beauty, and qualities. If Krishna's body were material, or inferior to Brahman, Sukadeva Gosvami would not have been attracted to His devotional service. The general psychology is that a person does not give up something superior for something inferior. But an intelligent person gladly abandons his attachments for a superior object. Srila Jiva Gosvami offers various references from Srimad Bhagavatam which describe Lord Krishna's form as purely transcendental. And Brahma realized this when he saw the expansions of Lord Krishna (S.B. 10.13.55):
"Thus Lord Brahma saw the Supreme Brahman, by whose energy this entire universe, with its moving and nonmoving living beings, is manifested. He also saw at the same time all the calves and boys as the Lord's expansions."
In the next Text Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that Lord Krishna's body is the Supreme object of achievement because it is the Absolute Reality.
Go to Section Fifty-six
Return to Section Fifty-four
