Shastra Quiz 43

Time influences material nature, and thus all material objects undergo some or all of the following transformations:

• Coming into being (jāyate)
• Subsisting for some time (asti)
• Increasing (vardhate)
• Changing (pariṇamate)
• Dwindling (apakṣīyate)
• Annihilation (naśyati)

Knowledge of every object must include its qualifying attributes [except for knowledge of universal category (jāti) and knowledge of an inexplicable quality, which is called akhaṇḍopādhi].

This principle is known as sākhaṇḍopādhi [the invariable co-existence of substance and quality]. In other words, every perceivable object must have some quality. If an object has no quality, it cannot be perceived, since our senses perceive qualities [fragrance, taste, color, texture and sound]. There is no possibility of perceiving an object without quality. Hence, indeterminate knowledge is beyond sense perception.

When we look at an electric bulb, we first see light, then the shape of the bulb, and upon closer examination, the filament within. The object, i.e., the bulb, is one, but the stages of perceiving it vary.

In the case of ordinary objects, our perception naturally proceeds from indeterminate to determinate. However, in the case of Absolute Reality, we need not proceed from stage to stage.

If we so desire and are qualified, our perception can remain fixed in the indeterminate state, which is called Brahman realization. This entails perception of an object without its attributes, which others may view in conjunction with its qualities.

Thus, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī emphatically says that brahma-jñāna is the same as bhagavān-jñāna (brahmaṇaś ca bhagavata eva).  Yet it is an unclear understanding, due to a lack of qualified insight (nirvikalpa-sattva-rūpatvāt).

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes a verse from Śiśupāla-vadha by the poet Māgha to elucidate this point. The verse gives a description of Nārada Muni arriving at the Sudharmā assembly house of the Yādavas in Dvārakā. As Nārada had the mystic power to fly, he approached by way of the sky:

Śrī Kṛṣṇa first saw him as a bright mass of effulgence. When he came closer, He could understand that it was some being having a body. When he came still closer, He saw a human form. When he landed in front of them, He finally recognized him as Śrī Nārada. (Śiśupāla vadha 1.3)

This verse explains how Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s perception changed step by step from seeing a mass of effulgence to seeing Nārada Muni. Even when Kṛṣṇa saw him as mass of effulgence at first, it was still Nārada Muni. The object of perception remained one, but the perception itself changed with visibility, which improved in proportion to Nārada’s proximity.

Kṛṣṇa’s first perception of Nārada Muni is akin to Brahman realization, the last like Bhagavān realization. Based on His first experience, He could only say that there was something and that it was effulgent. He could not say anything specific about Nārada. But when He recognized him as Nārada, He knew him as the son of Brahmā, His own devotee, who carries a vīṇā, the guru of Dhruva and Prahlāda, the friend of Tumburu and so on.

The first experience is the basis of the last one and is included within it. The first experience is the indeterminate realization of Nārada, the final one the determinate experience of the same person.

The dharma-śāstras teach that happiness is an outcome of piety, while misery is caused by sin. The Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices are aimed at amassing piety. Knowing this, one may think that happiness in Brahman is the outcome of pious deeds, such as giving in charity.

This idea is countered by Brahmā’s saying, “Sounds intoned for the performance of sacrifice cannot act as agents in this regard, or in other words, in the apprehension of Brahman” (śabdo na yatra puru-kārakavān kriyārthaḥ).

Thus, Brahman, the infinite, cannot be attained by the performance of pious deeds, like sacrifices, since the power of words is finite. With this intent, the Śruti states, “From Brahman speech returns, along with mind, having been unable to ascertain its existence” (yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha)

Śabda (sound) is the quality of the sky, and since Brahman is beyond the sky, sound cannot approach there. Even māyā cannot come near Brahman, what to speak of sound. The sounds of the Upaniṣads, however, are transcendental, self-manifest and do not depend on the material sky. Thus, it is possible to approach Brahman through the sounds of the Vedas dealing with the Absolute, but not through material sound or the ritualistic parts of the Vedas meant for elevation to heavenly planets.

Due to the influence of devotion, the realization of oneness with Brahman, or Brahman realization, finally dawns. Without the influence of bhakti, however, this realization cannot take place.

It should be noted here that the living being does not become Brahman, nor does he merge in Brahman and lose his identity, any more than a drop does not become the ocean or lose its separate identity when it flows into the ocean.

Even before realizing Brahman, the yogī existed in Brahman, but simply did not recognize this truth. Because the aspirant was adamant to attain this realization, he performed devotion with that goal in mind. Bhagavān felt moved to fulfill his desire, although He does not consider this His real blessing, since such an attainment is available even to His enemies, as stated in Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa and cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu:

siddha-lokās tu tamasaḥ pāre yatra vasanti hi
siddhā brahma-sukhe magnā daityāś ca hariṇā hatāḥ

Beyond the darkness of ignorance lies the realm named Siddhaloka.
Both the sages who have attained the bliss of Brahman realization
and the demons killed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa reside there. (BRS 1.2.280)

The Supreme Lord spoke the essence of Śrīmad Bhāgavata to Śrī Brahmā in four seed verses (SB 2.9.32–35). Śrīla Vyāsadeva later expanded these four verses into the eighteen thousand that form Bhāgavata as we know it today.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī identifies the Supreme Lord who spoke to Śrī Brahmā as Kṛṣṇa, son of Nanda Mahārāja. According to SB 2.9.6, Brahmā was first ordered to perform penance (tapas). The verses here quoted from Brahma-saṁhitā show that he was actually initiated into the eighteen-syllable Gopāla mantra, which he chanted to please Govinda. Since the presiding deity of this mantra is Gopāla, or Kṛṣṇa the cowherd boy, and since Brahmā performed tapas to please Him, it follows that it was Śrī Kṛṣṇa who appeared to him and not a Viṣṇu form.

For this reason Śrī Brahmā prays to Govinda and not to Viṣṇu in Brahma-saṁhitā —

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.

This has also been confirmed in Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad, where Brahmā says that the Supreme Lord appeared before him dressed as a cowherd boy— gopa-veśo me purastād āvirbabhūva.

Furthermore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa also tells Uddhava that He spoke the four-verse Śrīmad Bhāgavata to Brahmā (SB 3.14.13). Because this event took place after Brahmā saw the Lord and His abode, it is clear that it was Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself who spoke these verses to him.

There is further confirmation of this in the Twelfth Canto, where Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī also concludes his narration of Śrīmad Bhāgavata by saying,

“I meditate on the Supreme Absolute Truth, who enlightened Brahmā on the wisdom of Śrīmad Bhāgavata” (kasmai yena vibhāsito’yam […] satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi, SB 12.13.19).

This satyaṁ param is none other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter of Śrīmad Bhāgavata.

The stories of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa are pregnant with pertinent philosophical conclusions. The description of the Kumāras’ attempt to enter Vaikuṇṭha is especially included by Śrīla Vyāsa to enable brahma-jñānīs to see beyond the a priori assumptions that limit the Absolute to Brahman, thus providing them with the possibility of further completion through devotion.

It is very interesting that Brahmā sent his own sons, the best of the jñānīs, to Vaikuṇṭha and made them experience the superiority of bhakti-ānanda over brahmānanda. The discerning jñānī should learn a lesson from this.

Learn more: Bhakti Prevails

When the Kumāras saw Bhagavān in Vaikuṇṭha, they did not conclude that Brahman was unreal, but they understood that Brahman was of the nature of Bhagavān and that devotional service to Him resulted in a more complete realization of the Absolute.

Learn more: Bhakti Prevails

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī cites a verse spoken by Śrī Brahmā

tvaṁ bhakti-yoga-paribhāvita-hṛt-saroja āsse śrutekṣita-patho nanu nātha puṁsām
yad-yad-dhiyā ta urugāya vibhāvayanti tat-tad-vapuḥ praṇayase sad-anugrahāya

O Master! You take Your seat in the lotus heart that has been made worthy of You through love, prema. Even so, the path by which You can be seen is through hearing. Out of kindness toward Your devotees, O Lord, who are greatly glorified, You manifest the very form that they meditate on, appearing to them in that form. (SB 3.9.11)

This implies that if a worshiper has a non-personal concept of the Absolute and cultivates a legitimate process to realize it, then the Absolute will manifest to him as unqualified Brahman. If the worshiper has a personal concept of the Absolute, then he will realize the Absolute as Paramātmā or Bhagavān, depending on his specific understanding and the means employed. The adherents of jñāna-yoga realize the Absolute as Brahman, those of aṣṭāṅga-yoga as Paramātmā, and those of bhakti-yoga as Bhagavān.

Of course, this last statement does not mean that one can meditate on any form and that Bhagavān is thereby bound to appear to the meditator in that way. This idea is precluded by the phrase śrutekṣita-patha (the way to reach You can be understood through hearing). One has to hear from a qualified source and should meditate on the forms that are described in these authorized texts.

Alternatively, Brahmā’s statement indicates that Kṛṣṇa has only one form, but appears differently to different devotees. This does not mean, however, that one can meditate on any concocted form. This is the significance of the words śrutekṣita-patha. Śruta means heard about the Lord, and specifically about His forms, from an authorized source, the Vedas. The significance of the word īkṣita (seen) is that one should see the form of the Lord through the ears. This will purify the heart and bestow qualification to see the Lord’s form

In the verse from Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa SB 1.7.7, the verb utpadyate (is generated) does not mean that love of God is created anew, but that it becomes manifest in the heart.

Because prema is an aspect of God’s intrinsic potency, it exists eternally in the heart of perfected devotees, siddha-bhaktas, and, hence, it is never created. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.107), “Kṛṣṇa-prema is eternally existent. It is never a generated event.”

For the same reason, prema does not stand in a causal relation with sādhana, meaning that sādhana does not produce prema. If sādhana were the cause of the appearance of prema, then prema would not be a prior existing, self-manifested condition.

Rather, being a conscious potency of Bhagavān, prema manifests of its own accord in the heart which is devotionally turned to Bhagavān through the medium of sādhana. Thus, sādhana is not the cause of prema; yet, it is normally the prior condition for prema’s own self manifestation.