Paramātma · Sanskrit §21 · English §23
Source[२१] विकारित्वं निरस्यन्न् आह - विसर्गाद्याः श्मशानान्ता भावा देहस्य नात्मनः । कलानाम् इव चन्द्रस्य कालेनाव्यक्त-वर्त्मना ॥ [भ्प् ११.७.४८] चन्द्रस्य जलमय-मण्डलत्वात् कलानां सूर्य-प्रतिच्छवि-रूप-ज्योतिर्- आत्मत्वात् यथा कलानाम् एव जन्माद्या नाशान्ता भावा न तु चन्द्रस्य तथा देहस्यैव ते भावा अव्यक्त-वर्त्मना कालेन भवन्ति न त्व् आत्मन इत्य् अर्थः । श्री-दत्तात्रेयो यदुम् ॥२१॥
[21] vikāritvaṃ nirasyann āha - visargādyāḥ śmaśānāntā bhāvā dehasya nātmanaḥ | kalānām iva candrasya kālenāvyakta-vartmanā || [BhP 11.7.48] candrasya jalamaya-maṇḍalatvāt kalānāṃ sūrya-praticchavi-rūpa-jyotir- ātmatvāt yathā kalānām eva janmādyā nāśāntā bhāvā na tu candrasya tathā dehasyaiva te bhāvā avyakta-vartmanā kālena bhavanti na tv ātmana ity arthaḥ | śrī-dattātreyo yadum ||21||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 23
Anuccheda 23
Text 1
The material potency is also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.38):
“The illusory material nature attracts the minute living entity to embrace her, and as a result he assumes forms composed of her qualities. Subsequently, he loses all of his spiritual qualities and must undergo repeated deaths.”***
Text 2
Srila Sridhara Svami comments:
Here the words ‘sa tu’ mean ‘the individual spirit soul’, ‘ajaya’ means ‘by the unborn maya potency’, ‘ajam’ means ‘unborn material ignorance’, ‘and ‘anusayita’ means ‘embraces’. ‘Gunan’ means ‘the material body and senses’, ‘jusan’ means ‘acting as if they were the self’, ‘tad anu’ means ‘after that’, ‘saruatam’ means ‘with a nature like that’, ‘jusann apeta- bhagah’ means ‘his bliss and other spiritual qualities are covered over’, ‘mrtyum’ means ‘the material world of repeated birth and death’, and ‘bhajati’ means ‘he attains’.”
Text 3
This verse was spoken by the Personified Vedas.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §22 · English §24
Source[२२] ज्ञानात्मको न चेति किं तर्हि ज्ञान-मात्रत्वेऽपि ज्ञान-शक्तित्वं प्रकाशस्य प्रकाशन-शक्तित्ववत् तादृक्त्वम् अपि । नात्मा जजान न मरिष्यति नैधतेऽसौ न क्षीयते सवन-विद् व्यभिचारिणां हि । सर्वत्र शश्वद् अनपाय्य् उपलब्धि-मात्रं प्राणो यथेन्द्रिय-बलेन विकल्पितं सत्॥ इत्य् अनेन [भ्प् ११.३.३७] तत्त्व-सन्दर्भ एव दर्शितम् । उपलब्धि-मात्रत्वेऽपि सबलवत्त्वेनोक्तेः । अतएव शुद्धो विचष्टे ह्य् अविशुद्ध-कर्तुर् इत्य् उक्तम् । प्रकारान्तरेणापि तद् आह - गुणैर् विचित्राः सृजतीं सरूपाः प्रकृतिं प्रजाः । विलोक्य मुमुहे सद्यः स इह ज्ञान-गूहया ॥ [भ्प् ३.२६.५] अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः [गीता ५.१५] इति ॥ ३.२६ ॥ श्री-कपिलदेवः ॥२२॥
[22] jñānātmako na ceti kiṃ tarhi jñāna-mātratve'pi jñāna-śaktitvaṃ prakāśasya prakāśana-śaktitvavat tādṛktvam api | nātmā jajāna na mariṣyati naidhate'sau na kṣīyate savana-vid vyabhicāriṇāṃ hi | sarvatra śaśvad anapāyy upalabdhi-mātraṃ prāṇo yathendriya-balena vikalpitaṃ sat|| ity anena [BhP 11.3.37] tattva-sandarbha eva darśitam | upalabdhi-mātratve'pi sabalavattvenokteḥ | ataeva śuddho vicaṣṭe hy aviśuddha-kartur ity uktam | prakārāntareṇāpi tad āha - guṇair vicitrāḥ sṛjatīṃ sarūpāḥ prakṛtiṃ prajāḥ | vilokya mumuhe sadyaḥ sa iha jñāna-gūhayā || [BhP 3.26.5] ajñānenāvṛtaṃ jñānaṃ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ [Gītā 5.15] iti || 3.26 || śrī-kapiladevaḥ ||22||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 24
Anuccheda 24
Text 1
The inauspicious life of the conditioned soul is again described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.5.15):
“If one becomes the husband of a prostitute, he loses all independence. Similarly, if a living entity has polluted intelligence, he prolongs his materialistic life. Frustrated by material nature, he must follow the movements of the intelligence, which brings various conditions of happiness and distress. If one performs fruitive activities under such conditions, what will be the benefit?”*
Text 2
This verse explains how, by associating with the prostitute named Maya (material illusion) one loses his spiritual knowledge and other spiritual opulences (aisvaryam). Such a soul wanders (samsarantam) without any good destination (agatih). That soul is very foolish (abudhasya).
Paramātma · Sanskrit §23 · English §25
Source[२३] शक्त्य्-अन्तरं चाहुः - स यद् अजया त्व् अजाम् अनुशयीत गुणांश् च जुषन् भजति सरूपतां तद् अनु मृत्युम् उपेत-भग इति [भ्प् १०.८७.३८] ॥ टीका च -- स तु जीवः यद् यस्माद् अजया मायया अजाम् अविद्याम् अनुशयीत आलिङ्ग्येत ततो गुणांश् च देहेन्द्रियादीन् गुषन् सेवमानः आत्मतया अध्यस्यन् तद् अनु तद्-अनन्तरं स-रूपतां तद्-धर्म-योगं च जुषन् अपेत- भगः पिहितानन्दादि-गुणः सन् मृत्युं संसारं भजति प्राप्नोति इत्य् एषा ॥ १०.८७ ॥ श्रुतयः ॥२३॥
[23] śakty-antaraṃ cāhuḥ - sa yad ajayā tv ajām anuśayīta guṇāṃś ca juṣan bhajati sarūpatāṃ tad anu mṛtyum upeta-bhaga iti [BhP 10.87.38] || ṭīkā ca -- sa tu jīvaḥ yad yasmād ajayā māyayā ajām avidyām anuśayīta āliṅgyeta tato guṇāṃś ca dehendriyādīn guṣan sevamānaḥ ātmatayā adhyasyan tad anu tad-anantaraṃ sa-rūpatāṃ tad-dharma-yogaṃ ca juṣan apeta- bhagaḥ pihitānandādi-guṇaḥ san mṛtyuṃ saṃsāraṃ bhajati prāpnoti ity eṣā || 10.87 || śrutayaḥ ||23||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 25
Anuccheda 25
Text 1
Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.7.9) also declares:
“Certain conditioned souls put forward the theory that the Supreme Brahman, or the Personality of Godhead, is overcome by illusion, or maya, and at the same time they maintain that He is uncondtioned. This is against all logic.”*
Text 2
“Here the word ‘isvarasya’ means of He who is the master of the knowledge potency and other transcendental potencies also”. This verse was spoken by Sri Maitreya.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §24 · English §26
Source[२४] तथा - तत्-सङ्ग-भ्रंइतैश्वर्यं संसरन्तं कुभार्यवत् । तद्-गतीर् अबुधस्येह किम् असत्-कर्मभिर् भवेत् ॥[भ्प् ६.५.१५] तस्याः पुंश्चली-रूपाया मायायाः सङ्गेन भ्रंशितम् ऐश्वर्यं किञ्चित् स्वीय-ज्ञानादि-सामर्थ्यं यस्य तम् । तस्या गतीः संस्मरन्तं गच्छन्तं जीवं स्व-स्वरूपम् अबुधस्याजानत इत्य् अर्थः ॥६.५॥ हर्यश्वाः ॥२४॥
[24] tathā - tat-saṅga-bhraṃitaiśvaryaṃ saṃsarantaṃ kubhāryavat | tad-gatīr abudhasyeha kim asat-karmabhir bhavet ||[BhP 6.5.15] tasyāḥ puṃścalī-rūpāyā māyāyāḥ saṅgena bhraṃśitam aiśvaryaṃ kiñcit svīya-jñānādi-sāmarthyaṃ yasya tam | tasyā gatīḥ saṃsmarantaṃ gacchantaṃ jīvaṃ sva-svarūpam abudhasyājānata ity arthaḥ ||6.5|| haryaśvāḥ ||24||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 26
Anuccheda 26
Text 1
The inauspicious life of the conditioned soul is also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.25.62):
“In this way, King Puranjana was captivated by his nice wife and was thus cheated. Indeed, he became cheated in his whole existence in the material world. Even against that poor foolish king’s desire, he remained under the control of his wife, just like a pet animal that dances according to the order of its master.”*
Text 2
Here the word “mahisya” means “by King Puranjana’s queen”, “vipralabdhah” means “Puranjana was cheated of his knowledge and all other opulences”, and “necchan” means without desiring”. That is the meaning. “Anukaroti” means “in his heart he imitated that nature”.
Text 3
The relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme Lord, who is the master of all potencies, is described in these words of Vedanta-sutra (3.2.5):
“By the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the illusory potency maya is withdrawn. Indeed, bondage and liberation both come from the Supreme Lord.”
Text 4
The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Sri Narada to Sri Pracinabarhi.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §25 · English §27
Source[२५] तथा -- ईश्वरस्य विमुक्तस्य कार्पण्यम् उत बन्धनम् ॥ [भ्प् ३.७.९] ईश्वरस्य किञ्चिज्-ज्ञानादि-शक्तिमतः ॥ ३.७ ॥ मैत्रेयः ॥२५॥
[25] tathā -- īśvarasya vimuktasya kārpaṇyam uta bandhanam || [BhP 3.7.9] īśvarasya kiñcij-jñānādi-śaktimataḥ || 3.7 || maitreyaḥ ||25||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 27
Anuccheda 27
Text 1
The individual soul is self-manifest. This is confirmed by use of the words “svayam-prakasa” and “sva-drk” in Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.10.8 (quoted here in anuccheda 19, text 12).
Text 2
Manifestation is of two kinds. 1. self-manifestation, where one is the seer and 2. manifestation where one is the object that is seen.
Text 3
The spirit soul should be understood in this way: “The spirit soul has the power to light the lamp of the eyes and see various objects. A clay pot or other inanimate object has no such power. In this way the soul is self-manifest (svayam-prakasa), which means it has the power to manifest things before himself, or in other words to perceive sense objects. Whatever does not have that power of perception is called inanimate matter”. Because it thus has the power to perceive itself and others, the soul is called self-manifest. That is why the soul is said to be spiritual in nature.
Text 4
Other thinkers say that “self-manifest” means “the soul is independent in its actions”, and still other thinkers say that “self-manifest” means “when something is not understood, the soul can act to try to understand it”.
Text 5
In the first of these two ideas the idea of the soul’s independence refutes the idea that the soul is material, like a material lamp. This idea also affirms that the word “svayam” in “svayam-prakasa” means “to oneself”. Because the soul is thus different from a material lamp, it is clear that the word “svayam” here means “to oneself”. The second of these two ideas is clear in its meaning. In this way it is clear that the word “svayam-prakasa”, meaning “manifest to oneself” here has the same meaning as the word “sva-drk”.
Text 6
The Supersoul is not manifested by a source outside Himself, as clay pots or other material objects are. Because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul is not dependent on others for His being manifested. The Lord Himself explains this in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.22.30-31):
Text 7
“My dear Uddhava, My material energy, comprising three modes and acting through them, manifests the varieties of creation along with varieties of consciousness for perceiving them. The manifest result of material transformation is understood in three aspects: adhyatmika, adhidaivika, and adhibhautika.***
Text 8
“Sight, visible form, and the reflected image of the sun within the aperture of the eye all work together to reveal one another. But the original sun standing in the sky is self- manifested. Similarly, the Supreme Soul, the original cause of all entities, who is thus separate from all of them, acts by the illumination of His own transcendental experience as the ultimate source of manifestation of all mutually manifesting objects.”***
Text 9
This verse describes vikalpa (manifestation), bheda (difference), and tad-buddhih (the conceptions of things). In this way many different manifestations are created. This is described with the word “vaikarika”. The word “tri-vidhah” indicates that three kinds of transformations are present before the gross material vision. These three kinds of manifestations are described in the passage beginning with the word “adhyatmam” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.22.30, quoted here in text 7). They are described, one after the other, in the three verses Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.22.31-33.
Text 10
Here the word “vapuh” means “part”, “atra randhre” means “on the eyeballs”, The three manifestations thus work together (parasparam) to reveal each other (sidhyati) on the eyes. Therefore, they are mutually dependent. They are not self-manifested and independent. However, the sun (arkah) in the sky (khe) is self-manifested (svatah sidhyati). Even in the eye’s sphere of perception the sun does not need any other thing in order to be manifested. Therefore it is self-manifested (svatah).
Text 11
This verse explains: “As the sun is self-manifested, so the Supersoul is self-manifested also.” Here the word “yat” means “because of the previously stated example”. “esam” means “of the three things that begin with adhyatma”, and “yo ‘para adyah” means “the shelter of them”. In this way the Supersoul is self- manifested. The Lord thus acts by His own transcendental experience (svayanubhutya) because He is perfectly spiritual in nature. He is not only the cause of His own manifestation, but He is also the cause of the manifestation of the many mutually-dependent beings. That is His nature. The verse quoted in this anuccheda were spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §26–27 · English §28
Source[२६] तथा - विप्रलब्धो महिष्यैवं सर्व-प्रकृति-वञ्चितः । नेच्छन्न् अनुकरोत्य् अज्ञः क्लैब्यात् क्रीडा-मृगो यथा ॥ [भ्प् ४.२५.६२] महिष्या पुरञ्जन्या विप्रलब्धः पुरञ्जनः सर्वया प्रकृत्या ज्ञानादिरूपया वञ्चितः त्याजितः सन् नेच्छन् तद्-इच्छयैवेत्य् अर्थः । अनुकरोति तद्-धर्मात्मन्य् अध्यस्यति । अत्र जीवस्य शक्तिमत्तायां पराभिध्यानात् तु तिरोहितं ततो ह्य् अस्य बन्ध-विपर्ययाव् इत्य् एतत् सूत्रम् अप्य् अनुसन्धेयम् ॥ श्री-नारदः प्राचीनबर्हिषम् ॥२६॥ [२७} पूर्वोक्तम् एवार्थं व्यञ्जयितुं स्वस्मै स्वयं प्रकाश इत्य् उक्तम् । तथाभूतत्वं च विलक्षण इत्य् आद्य् उक्त-पद्य एव स्वदृग् इत्य् अनेन व्यक्तम् अस्ति । तत्र प्रकाशस् तावद् गुण-द्रव्य-भेदेन द्विविधः । प्रथमो निजाश्रयस्य स्फूर्ति-रूपः । द्वितीयः स्व-पर-स्फूर्ति-निदानं वस्तु-विशेषः । तत्रात्मनो द्रव्यत्वाद् अयम् एव गृह्यते । यथा दीपश् चक्षुः प्रकाशयन् स्वरूप-स्फूर्तिं स्वयम् एव करोति न तु घटादि-प्रकाशवत् तद्-आदि- साक्षेपः । तस्माद् अयं स्वयं प्रकाशः । तथापि स्वं प्रति न प्रकाशते यत एव जड इत्य् उच्यते । तस्मात् तु स्वं परं च प्रकाशयन् स्वात्मानं प्रति प्रकाशमानत्वात् स्वस्मै स्वयं प्रकाशः । यत एव चिद्-रूप उच्यते । तद् उक्तम् अन्यैर् अपि । स्वयं प्रकाशत्वं स्व-व्यवहारे परान् अपेक्षत्वात् अवेद्यत्वे सत्य-परोक्ष-व्यवहार-योग्यत्वं चेति ।तत्र पूर्वत्र- स्वस्मैपदम् अपेक्ष्यम् उत्तरत्र तु स्पष्टार्थम् । अतः स्वदृक् स्वस्मै स्वयं प्रकाश इत्य् अर्थः । न चासौ परमात्म-प्रकाश्यत्वे घटवत् पर- प्रकाश्यः परमात्मनस् तत्-परम-स्वरूपत्वेन पर-प्रकाश्यत्वाभावात् । एवम् एवाह द्वाभ्याम् । ममाङ्ग माया गुण-मय्य् अनेकधा विकल्प-बुद्धीश् च गुणैर् विधत्ते । वैकारिकस् त्रिविधोऽध्यात्मम् एकम् अथाधिभूतम् अधिदैवम् अन्यत् ॥ दृग्-रूपम् आर्कं वपुर् अत्र रन्ध्रे परस्परं सिध्यति यः स्वतः खे । आत्मा यद् एषाम् अपरो य आद्यः स्वयानुभूत्याखिल-सिद्ध-सिद्धिः ॥ [भ्प् ११.१२.३०-३१] विकल्पं भेदं तद्-बुद्धीश् च । अनेकधात्वं प्रपञ्चयति वैकारिक इति । अनेक-विकारवान् अप्य् अस्यौ स्थूल-दृष्ट्या तावत् त्रिविधः । त्रैविध्यम् आह अध्यात्म इत्य् आदिना । तानि क्रमेणाह दृग्-आदि-त्रयेण । वपुर् अंशः । अत्र रन्ध्रे दृग्-गोलके प्रविष्टं तत् त्रयं च परस्परम् एव सिध्यति न तु स्वतः । यस् तु खे आकाशे अर्को वर्तते स पुनः स्वतः सिध्यति । चक्षुर् विषयत्वेऽपि स्व-विरोधिनः प्रतियोग्य-प्रेक्षाभाव-मात्रेण स्वत इत्य् उक्तम् । एवं यथा मण्डलात्मार्कः स्वतः सिध्यति तथात्मापीत्याह । यद् यतः पूर्वोक्त-दृष्टान्त-हेतोर् आत्मा एषाम् अध्यात्मादीनां योऽपर आद्यस् तेषाम् आश्रयः । सोऽपि स्वतः सिध्यति किन्तु स्वयानुभूत्येति चिद्-रूपत्वाद् विशेषः । न केवलम् एतावद् अपि तु अखिलानां परस्पर-सिद्धानां सिद्धिर् यस्मात् तथाभूतः सन्न् इति ॥ ॥ ११.१२ ॥ श्री-भगवान् ॥२७॥
[26] tathā - vipralabdho mahiṣyaivaṃ sarva-prakṛti-vañcitaḥ | necchann anukaroty ajñaḥ klaibyāt krīḍā-mṛgo yathā || [BhP 4.25.62] mahiṣyā purañjanyā vipralabdhaḥ purañjanaḥ sarvayā prakṛtyā jñānādirūpayā vañcitaḥ tyājitaḥ san necchan tad-icchayaivety arthaḥ | anukaroti tad-dharmātmany adhyasyati | atra jīvasya śaktimattāyāṃ parābhidhyānāt tu tirohitaṃ tato hy asya bandha-viparyayāv ity etat sūtram apy anusandheyam || śrī-nāradaḥ prācīnabarhiṣam ||26|| [27} pūrvoktam evārthaṃ vyañjayituṃ svasmai svayaṃ prakāśa ity uktam | tathābhūtatvaṃ ca vilakṣaṇa ity ādy ukta-padya eva svadṛg ity anena vyaktam asti | tatra prakāśas tāvad guṇa-dravya-bhedena dvividhaḥ | prathamo nijāśrayasya sphūrti-rūpaḥ | dvitīyaḥ sva-para-sphūrti-nidānaṃ vastu-viśeṣaḥ | tatrātmano dravyatvād ayam eva gṛhyate | yathā dīpaś cakṣuḥ prakāśayan svarūpa-sphūrtiṃ svayam eva karoti na tu ghaṭādi-prakāśavat tad-ādi- sākṣepaḥ | tasmād ayaṃ svayaṃ prakāśaḥ | tathāpi svaṃ prati na prakāśate yata eva jaḍa ity ucyate | tasmāt tu svaṃ paraṃ ca prakāśayan svātmānaṃ prati prakāśamānatvāt svasmai svayaṃ prakāśaḥ | yata eva cid-rūpa ucyate | tad uktam anyair api | svayaṃ prakāśatvaṃ sva-vyavahāre parān apekṣatvāt avedyatve satya-parokṣa-vyavahāra-yogyatvaṃ ceti |tatra pūrvatra- svasmaipadam apekṣyam uttaratra tu spaṣṭārtham | ataḥ svadṛk svasmai svayaṃ prakāśa ity arthaḥ | na cāsau paramātma-prakāśyatve ghaṭavat para- prakāśyaḥ paramātmanas tat-parama-svarūpatvena para-prakāśyatvābhāvāt | evam evāha dvābhyām | mamāṅga māyā guṇa-mayy anekadhā vikalpa-buddhīś ca guṇair vidhatte | vaikārikas trividho'dhyātmam ekam athādhibhūtam adhidaivam anyat || dṛg-rūpam ārkaṃ vapur atra randhre parasparaṃ sidhyati yaḥ svataḥ khe | ātmā yad eṣām aparo ya ādyaḥ svayānubhūtyākhila-siddha-siddhiḥ || [BhP 11.12.30-31] vikalpaṃ bhedaṃ tad-buddhīś ca | anekadhātvaṃ prapañcayati vaikārika iti | aneka-vikāravān apy asyau sthūla-dṛṣṭyā tāvat trividhaḥ | traividhyam āha adhyātma ity ādinā | tāni krameṇāha dṛg-ādi-trayeṇa | vapur aṃśaḥ | atra randhre dṛg-golake praviṣṭaṃ tat trayaṃ ca parasparam eva sidhyati na tu svataḥ | yas tu khe ākāśe arko vartate sa punaḥ svataḥ sidhyati | cakṣur viṣayatve'pi sva-virodhinaḥ pratiyogya-prekṣābhāva-mātreṇa svata ity uktam | evaṃ yathā maṇḍalātmārkaḥ svataḥ sidhyati tathātmāpītyāha | yad yataḥ pūrvokta-dṛṣṭānta-hetor ātmā eṣām adhyātmādīnāṃ yo'para ādyas teṣām āśrayaḥ | so'pi svataḥ sidhyati kintu svayānubhūtyeti cid-rūpatvād viśeṣaḥ | na kevalam etāvad api tu akhilānāṃ paraspara-siddhānāṃ siddhir yasmāt tathābhūtaḥ sann iti || || 11.12 || śrī-bhagavān ||27||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 28
Anuccheda 28
Text 1
Therefore the soul is manifested from the Lord’s internal potency. Each soul has one nature, like a lamp. The nature of the soul is described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.3.38, which were previously quoted in this book in anuccheda 22, text 2):
“The soul was never born. It will never die. It never grows. It never decays. The soul is the witness, observing the changes time forces on changeable things. The soul is consciousness, existing always and in every situation.”
Text 2
Thus the soul is spiritual and conscious. As a lamp or other luminous object lights up a certain place, so the soul lights up the body with consciousness. This example is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.10.8. In that verse the word “prakasah” means “the source of consciousness”.
Text 3
That the Supersoul is all pervading will be explained later, in this book, when Sri Prahlada’s words of Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.19-23 will be quoted. Here the word “vyapaka” means that the Supersoul subtly enters the hearts of all living beings. One reason this is so is that the Lord’s nature is like that, as explained in the words “jnana-matratmako na ca” (He is not only transcendental knowledge). Another reason is that because He is spiritual and full of bliss, therefore the Lord appears as the Supersoul.
Text 4
Because He is free from any trace of matter, the Supersoul is filled with transcendental knowledge. Because He is free from suffering, the Supersoul is filled with knowledge and bliss. Because He is thus filled with transcendental knowledge and bliss, the Supersoul is the abode of limitless transcendental love. This is explained in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.54):
Text 5
“Therefore it is the Supersoul who is most dear to every embodied living being, and it is simply for the satisfaction of the Supersoul that the whole material creation of moving and nonmoving entities exists.”
Text 6
The meaning of this verse is clear. This verse was spoken by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §28 · English §29
Source[२८] यस्मात् स्वरूप-भूतयैव शक्त्या तथा प्रकाशते तस्माद् एक-रूप-स्वरूप- भाक्त्वम् अपि दीपवद् एव । नात्मा जजानेत्य् आदाव् [भ्प् ११.३.३७][*एन्द्नोते #५] उपलब्धि-मात्रम् इत्य् अनेनैवोक्तं मात्र-पदं तद्-धर्माणाम् अपि स्वरूपानतिरिक्तत्वं ध्वनयति । अथ चेतनत्वं नाम स्वस्य चिद्-रूपत्वेऽप्य् अन्यस्य देहादेश् चेतयितृत्वं दीपादि-प्रकाशयितृत्ववत् । तद् एतद् विलक्षण इत्य् आदाव् एव दृष्टान्तेनोक्तम् । प्रकाशक इति चेतयितृत्वे हेतुः । व्याप्ति-शीलत्वम् उदाहरिष्यमाण आत्मेत्य् आदौ श्री-प्रह्लाद-वाक्ये व्यापक इत्य् अनेनोक्तं व्याप्ति-शीलत्वम् अति-सूक्ष्मतया सर्वाचेतनान्तः- प्रवेश-स्वभावत्वम् । ज्ञान-मात्रात्मको न चेत्य् अत्र चिद्-आनन्दात्मक इत्य् अपि हेत्व्-अन्तरम् । तत्र तस्य जड-प्रतियोगित्वेन ज्ञानत्वं दुःख- प्रतियोगित्वेन तु ज्ञानत्वम् आनन्दत्वं च । ज्ञानत्वं तूदाहृतम् । आनन्दत्वं निरुपाधिप्रेमास्पदत्वेन साधयति । तस्मात् प्रियतमः स्वात्मा सर्वेषाम् एव देहिनाम् । तद् अर्थम् एव सकलं जगच् चैतच् चराचरम् ॥ [भ्प् १०.१४.५४] स्पष्टम् ॥ १०.१४ ॥ श्री-शुकः ॥२८॥
[28] yasmāt svarūpa-bhūtayaiva śaktyā tathā prakāśate tasmād eka-rūpa-svarūpa- bhāktvam api dīpavad eva | nātmā jajānety ādāv [BhP 11.3.37][*ENDNOTE #5] upalabdhi-mātram ity anenaivoktaṃ mātra-padaṃ tad-dharmāṇām api svarūpānatiriktatvaṃ dhvanayati | atha cetanatvaṃ nāma svasya cid-rūpatve'py anyasya dehādeś cetayitṛtvaṃ dīpādi-prakāśayitṛtvavat | tad etad vilakṣaṇa ity ādāv eva dṛṣṭāntenoktam | prakāśaka iti cetayitṛtve hetuḥ | vyāpti-śīlatvam udāhariṣyamāṇa ātmety ādau śrī-prahlāda-vākye vyāpaka ity anenoktaṃ vyāpti-śīlatvam ati-sūkṣmatayā sarvācetanāntaḥ- praveśa-svabhāvatvam | jñāna-mātrātmako na cety atra cid-ānandātmaka ity api hetv-antaram | tatra tasya jaḍa-pratiyogitvena jñānatvaṃ duḥkha- pratiyogitvena tu jñānatvam ānandatvaṃ ca | jñānatvaṃ tūdāhṛtam | ānandatvaṃ nirupādhipremāspadatvena sādhayati | tasmāt priyatamaḥ svātmā sarveṣām eva dehinām | tad artham eva sakalaṃ jagac caitac carācaram || [BhP 10.14.54] spaṣṭam || 10.14 || śrī-śukaḥ ||28||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 29
Anuccheda 29
Text 1
When that blissful spiritual consciousness is pervertedly reflected in material consciousness, the individual soul thinks, “I will not act for your benefit. I will only act for my benefit”. In this way the individual soul comes under the grip of materialistic false-ego. Thus influenced by false-ego, the pure soul enters the material world. Without this false-ego it would not be possible for the soul to enter the material world. In this way the individual soul comes under the grip of false-ego. This is described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.26.6):
Text 2
“Because of his forgetfulness, the transcendental living entity accepts the influence of material energy as his field of activities, and thus actuated, he wrongly applies the activities to himself.”*
Text 3
Here the world “parabhidhyanena” means “by entering the material world and thinking ‘I am made of matter’.” In this way the transcendental living entity accepts the influence of material energy as his field of activities, and thus actuated, he wrongly applies the activities to himself (prakrter gunair kriyamanesu karmasu kartrtvam atmani manyate). A person who is free of false-ego does not think in this way. Only when a person is covered by materialistic false-ego does he think in this way. A soul who is convinced of his spiritual identity has no reason to enter the material world. That is clear.
Text 4
The two kinds of false-ego are described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.3.39):
“When the living entity sleeps and the senses, false-ego, and material consciousness are all dormant, the unchanging soul still remembers that he had slept.”
Text 5
Even though he was asleep, and even though he was in the grip of materialistic false-ego, the soul still remembers his activity of sleeping (tad-anusmrtir nah). Thus, even though he is in the grip of false-ego, the soul thinks, “I slept happily.” Even though he is in the grip of false-ego, the soul does not think, “I was completely unaware of myself as I slept”. The conclusion is that the soul is never in a state of unawareness. The verse quoted in the beginning of this anuccheda was spoken by Lord Kapiladeva.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §29 · English §30
Source[२९] तस्मिंश् चानन्दात्मके ज्ञाने प्रतिस्वं युष्मद्-अर्थत्वं न भवति । किन्त्व् आत्मत्वाद् अस्मद्-अर्थत्वम् एव । तच् चास्मद्-अर्थत्वम् अहम्भाव एव । ततोऽहम् इत्य् एतच् छब्दाभिधेयाकारम् एवअ ज्ञानं शुद्ध आत्मा प्रकृत्यावेशोऽन्यथा नोपपद्यते । यत एवावेशात् तदीय-सङ्खात एवाहम् इत्य् अहस्मावान्तरं प्राप्नोति तद् एतद् अभिप्रेत्य तस्याहमत्वम् आह । एवं पराभिध्यानेन कर्तृत्वं प्रकृतेः पुमान् । कर्मसु क्रियमाणेषु गुणैर् आत्मनि मन्यते ॥ [भ्प् ३.२६.६] पराभिध्यानेन प्रकृत्यावेशेन प्रकृतिर् एवाहम् इति मननेन प्रकृति- गुणैः क्रियमाणेषु कर्मसु कर्तृत्वम् आत्मनि मन्यते । अत्र निरहम्भावस्य पराभिध्यानासम्भवात् परावेशजाताहङ्कारस्य चावरकत्वाद् अस्त्य् एव तस्मिन्न् अन्योऽहम्भाव-विशेषः । स च शुद्ध- स्वरूप-मात्र-निष्ठत्वान् न संसार-हेतुर् इति स्पष्टम् । एतद् एवाहङ्कार- द्वयं सन्ने यद् इन्द्रिय-गणेऽहमि च प्रसुप्ते कूटस्थ आशयम् ऋते तद्- अनुस्मृतिर् न इत्य् अत्र [भ्प् ११.३.३९] दर्शितम्[*एन्द्नोते #६] । उपाध्वभिमानात्मकस्याहङ्कारस्य प्रसुप्तत्वात् तद्-अनुस्मृतिर् न इत्य् अनेन सुखम् अहम् अस्वाप्स्वम् इत्य् आत्मनोऽहतयैव परामर्शाच् च अतएव माम् अहं नाज्ञासिषम् इत्य् अत्र परामर्शेऽपि उपाध्यभिमानिनोऽनुसन्धानाभावः अन्यस्य त्व् अज्ञान- साक्षित्वेनानुसन्धानम् इति दिक् । ॥ ३.२६ ॥ श्री-कपिलदेवः ॥२९॥
[29] tasmiṃś cānandātmake jñāne pratisvaṃ yuṣmad-arthatvaṃ na bhavati | kintv ātmatvād asmad-arthatvam eva | tac cāsmad-arthatvam ahambhāva eva | tato'ham ity etac chabdābhidheyākāram evaa jñānaṃ śuddha ātmā prakṛtyāveśo'nyathā nopapadyate | yata evāveśāt tadīya-saṅkhāta evāham ity ahasmāvāntaraṃ prāpnoti tad etad abhipretya tasyāhamatvam āha | evaṃ parābhidhyānena kartṛtvaṃ prakṛteḥ pumān | karmasu kriyamāṇeṣu guṇair ātmani manyate || [BhP 3.26.6] parābhidhyānena prakṛtyāveśena prakṛtir evāham iti mananena prakṛti- guṇaiḥ kriyamāṇeṣu karmasu kartṛtvam ātmani manyate | atra nirahambhāvasya parābhidhyānāsambhavāt parāveśajātāhaṅkārasya cāvarakatvād asty eva tasminn anyo'hambhāva-viśeṣaḥ | sa ca śuddha- svarūpa-mātra-niṣṭhatvān na saṃsāra-hetur iti spaṣṭam | etad evāhaṅkāra- dvayaṃ sanne yad indriya-gaṇe'hami ca prasupte kūṭastha āśayam ṛte tad- anusmṛtir na ity atra [BhP 11.3.39] darśitam[*ENDNOTE #6] | upādhvabhimānātmakasyāhaṅkārasya prasuptatvāt tad-anusmṛtir na ity anena sukham aham asvāpsvam ity ātmano'hatayaiva parāmarśāc ca ataeva mām ahaṃ nājñāsiṣam ity atra parāmarśe'pi upādhyabhimānino'nusandhānābhāvaḥ anyasya tv ajñāna- sākṣitvenānusandhānam iti dik | || 3.26 || śrī-kapiladevaḥ ||29||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 30
Anuccheda 30
Text 1
The soul’s nature is also described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.22.53):
“Seeing others singing and dancing, one may be inclined to imitate them. In the same way, seeing the material intelligence, the inactive spirit soul may be inclined to imitate it.”
Text 2
This verse is harmonious with the previous explanations. This verse was spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §30 · English §31
Source[३०] तथा - नृत्यतो गायतः पश्यन् यथैवानुकरोति तान् । एवं बुद्धि-गुणान् पश्यन्न् अनीहोऽप्य् अनुकार्यते ॥ [भ्प् ११.१२.५३] पूर्ववत् ॥ ११.१२ ॥ श्रीभगवान् ॥३०॥
[30] tathā - nṛtyato gāyataḥ paśyan yathaivānukaroti tān | evaṃ buddhi-guṇān paśyann anīho'py anukāryate || [BhP 11.12.53] pūrvavat || 11.12 || śrībhagavān ||30||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 31
Anuccheda 31
Text 1
The example of the dream is further elaborated in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.7.10):
“The living entity is in distress regarding his self-identity. He has no factual background, like a man who dreams that he sees his head cut off.”*
Text 2
Here the words “upadrastur amusya” mean “of the spirit soul who sees something in a dream”. This verse was spoken by Sri Maitreya.
Paramātma · Sanskrit §31 · English §32
Source[३१] एवम् एव स्वप्न-दृष्टान्तम् अपि घटयन्न् आह । यद्-अर्थेन विनामुष्य पुंस आत्म-विपर्ययः । प्रतीयत उपद्रष्टुः स्व-शिरश् छेदनादिकः ॥ [भ्प् ३.७.१०] उपद्रष्टुर् अमुष्येति स्वप्न-द्रष्ट्रा अमुना जीवेनेत्य् अर्थः ॥ ३.७ ॥ श्री- मैत्रेयः ॥३१॥
[31] evam eva svapna-dṛṣṭāntam api ghaṭayann āha | yad-arthena vināmuṣya puṃsa ātma-viparyayaḥ | pratīyata upadraṣṭuḥ sva-śiraś chedanādikaḥ || [BhP 3.7.10] upadraṣṭur amuṣyeti svapna-draṣṭrā amunā jīvenety arthaḥ || 3.7 || śrī- maitreyaḥ ||31||
English translation
English witness · section(s) 32
Anuccheda 32
Text 1
Someone may say that it is only because of the influence of the false-ego that one thinks there are many different souls, each the witnesses of a particular field of activities. This mistaken idea is refuted by the Lord Himself in a passage of Srimad-Bhagavatam that begins with these words (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.13.22):
Text 2
“If your question assumes that all variety is ultimately an illusion, then how can such a question be at all meaningful? O brahmanas, what is the truth about you and about Me, who am now speaking to you?”
Text 3
Here Lord Hamsadeva refers to the materialistic idea of the impersonalist gurus who claim that all individual souls are one and there is no true difference between them. Lord Hamsadeva rejects this idea and instead explains that the spirit souls, who are part-and-parcel of the Lord, are distinct individuals. He then says (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.13.23):
Text 4
“If your question ‘Who are You?’ referred to the material body made of five elements, elements that are in truth all alike, then your question was only a meaningless collection of words.”
Text 5
Therefore, even though they are all parts-and-parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the individual spirit souls are individual, distinct persons, different from the Lord and from each other. The Lord describes the individual souls in these words (Bhagavad-gita 5.18-19):
“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater (outcaste).* “Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.”*
Text 6
Here the word “brahma” indicates the spiritual nature of the individual soul. That the individual soul is spiritual and transcendental is described in these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.27):
“As my taste developed, I could realize that it was only in my ignorance that I had accepted gross and subtle material coverings, for both the Lord and I am transcendental.”*
Text 7
Here the words “mayi brahmani” mean “the soul that resides in the material body”, “pare brahmani” mean “He who is the soul of the entire universe”, and “sad asat” mean “cause and effect”. In this way the individual spirit soul, who is called the “jiva-maya” (the potency that is the individual soul) resides in the material body. (Here Narada says) “I am such an individual soul”. As the individual spirit soul resides in a particular material body, in the same way the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the controller of the entire universe, also resides in the bodies of Indra, Candra, and all others. “Kalpitam” here means “with this understanding”, “yaya” means “with this idea”, and “pasye” means “I see”. In this way, in the previous statements of this book, and in many other places also in the scriptures, it is seen that the nature of the individual souls is in many ways like the nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is why in some places the scriptures declare, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is like that, I am like that, and you are also like that”. That all spirit souls have the same kind of spiritual nature is also confirmed by these words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.10.32):
Text 8
“As long as one thinks the different modes of material nature create different kinds of souls, one will think that the souls have many different kinds of natures. As long as one thinks the souls have many different kinds of natures, one will remain in the grip of material illusion.”
Text 9
In these words the idea that the different species of living entities, beginning with the demigods, and descending to the lowest forms of life, house different kinds of souls is strenuously refuted.
Text 10
The idea that a different Supersoul resides in the material bodies of the different living entities is refuted by these words of Sri Visnu Purana (2.14.32):
“A flute has many holes, which produce different notes and scales, beginning with sadja. However, the wind that blows through the flute is one. In the same way it is the same Supersoul, His identity always unchanged, who stays in different material bodies of the conditioned souls.”
Text 11
These words of Sri Visnu Purana describe the Supersoul. Although the Supersoul residing in the different material bodies is one person, the individual spirit souls in the different material bodies are all different persons. This is described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.30):
Text 12
“O Supreme Eternal! If the embodied living entities were eternal and all pervading like You, then they would not be under Your control. But if the living entities are accepted as minute energies of Your Lordship, then they are at once subject to Your supreme control. Therefore real liberation entails surrender by the living entities to Your control, and that surrender will make them happy. In that constitutional position only can they be controllers. Therefore, men with limited knowledge who advocate the monistic theory that God and the living entities are equal in all respects are actually misleading themselves and others.”*
Text 13
The words that follow the word “yadi” affirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is limitless, eternal, and untouched by matter. That is the Supreme Lord’s nature. The words that follow that description affirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present everywhere in the material world. That act establishes the Lord’s relationship with the living entities. This is clearly stated.
Text 14
The Supersoul is also described in these words of Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.11):
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the all pervading Supersoul, the witness present in the hearts of all living entities. He witnesses all activities of the living entity. He is the supreme living force, and yet He is transcendental to all material qualities.”*