gauṇaś cen nātma-śabdāt: The Supreme Self.
Brahman is described as performing activities and having desires, this is proof that the Brahman we are encouraged to inquire about in the first sutra is indeed Krsna, the Supreme Lord.
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Sūtra 1.1.6 - Words don’t cover His qualities
gauṇaś cen nātma-śabdāt
gauṇaḥ: figurative, secondary meaning (saguna Brahman); cen: if (if it is argued); na: it is not so; ātma-sabdat: on account of the word ātmā being used.
If one argues that the Brahman described in the scriptures is saguna Brahman (a manifestation covered by the material modes), I say no, because Brahman is described in the Vedas as ātmā, the Supreme Self.
Commentary: This sūtra is a follow-up to the arguments of the previous. In the 5th sūtra, it was established that the scriptures indeed define the Supreme Lord. Therefore, when Brahman is described as performing activities and having desires, this is proof that the Brahman we are encouraged to inquire about in the first sūtra is indeed Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. We can see that the first five sūtras establish the very foundation of transcendental realization by defining that the Supreme Lord is a person (which opens the door for the establishment of the supreme stage of perfection of the soul as devotional service) and that the Lord can be known through the scriptures, breaking the very core of the Māyavadi arguments.
One may think it is strange that Vyāsadeva, who wrote the Vedānta-sūtras at the end of Dvāpara-yuga, could have dedicated the first five sūtras to counter the Māyāvāda philosophy, since Śankarācārya appeared only much later, in the 8th century, but the truth is that the ideas propagated in the Māyāvāda philosophy are not new. The Māyāvāda philosophy was established as a school after the departure of Śankarācārya, but similar ideas are found in other schools present at the time of Vyāsadeva, such as the atheistic Sānkhya. Vyāsadeva also knew that Śankarācārya would come in the 8th century to bewilder the atheists, and that his teachings would be used as a basis for the Māyāvāda philosophy, which would then be defeated by the different Vaiṣnava ācāryas coming afterward. It is thus not a surprise that he included passages proving the Māyāvāda philosophy as incorrect.
A Māyāvādi opponent, however, could argue against the arguments of the 5th sūtra by holding to the concept of saguna Brahman, another concept that is very central to Māyāvāda-philosophy.
Their idea is that Brahman, as the ultimate reality, is originally formless and qualityless. This original Brahman is defined by them as nirguna Brahman (the transcendental Brahman, beyond the covering of the material modes). In reality, Brahman is always nirguna, because the Supreme Lord is never covered by the three material modes, but in their eagerness to prove that the supreme Brahman is ultimately impersonal, they invent a secondary Brahman, that exists under the contamination of the material modes, which they call saguna Brahman, a so-called lower aspect of the Absolute Truth, explained as Brahman reflected in Māyā. In this way, while claiming Brahman is one, they effectively introduce a two-tiered absolute truth: nirguṇa as the higher truth, and saguṇa as a provisional, dependent manifestation.
According to their theory, just as we fall under illusion, the saguna Brahman, the so-called lower aspect of the absolute, reflected in Māyā, is Brahman under illusion, assuming a material form (rupa), a material name (nāma), inclination to perform material activities (icchā) and personal consciousness, distinct from the original Brahman (the nirguna Brahman), which is transcendental. This idea is used by them to reconcile their impersonalistic philosophy with the descriptions of Brahman appearing in different incarnations, performing pastimes, and interacting with His devotees, as well as passages that indicate Brahman desiring to create the material manifestation, etc. However, this idea leads to the most dangerous and blasphemous idea of Māyāvāda philosophy, which is the idea that when the Lord appears as an incarnation, He assumes a material form, becoming saguna Brahman. According to them, he performs beneficial activities under the material mode of goodness, speaks transcendental philosophy, and so on, but when these activities are concluded, the temporary saguna Brahman abandons this material body he assumed and merges back, or dissolves into the eternal nirguna Brahman. From this conclusion comes the famous passage from a commentator of the Gītā that “It is not to Kṛṣṇa that one should surrender, but to the unborn inside Kṛṣṇa”. In their minds, Kṛṣṇa has a material body and performs activities under the material modes. One should thus, they say, surrender not to Him but to the nirguna Brahman behind Him.
Māyāvādis believe that one can worship the form of Kṛṣṇa to purify the mind and gradually realize one’s real identity as one with the supreme Brahman. In this way, just like the guru, the worship of Kṛṣṇa is used as a stepping stone to attain the ultimate goal of becoming one with God. This idea is so widespread that even in Vṛndāvana it is common to find supposed Vaiṣnavas who share this understanding, worshiping Kṛṣṇa with the intention of merging into the unborn Brahman behind Him.
However, this understanding is condemned by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, who says:
“The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete in eternity, cognizance and bliss. However, you describe this transcendental form as a product of material goodness. One who does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly an agnostic. Such a person should be neither seen nor touched. Indeed, he is subject to be punished by Yamarāja. The Buddhists do not recognize the authority of the Vedas; therefore they are considered agnostics. However, those who have taken shelter of the Vedic scriptures yet preach agnosticism in accordance with the Māyāvāda philosophy are certainly more dangerous than the Buddhists. Śrīla Vyāsadeva presented the Vedānta philosophy for the deliverance of conditioned souls, but if one hears the commentary of Śankarācārya, everything is spoiled.” (CC Madhya 6.166-169)
Vyāsadeva responds to this argument of the Brahman described in the scriptures being saguna Brahman with just five words: gauṇaś cen nātma-śabdāt. If one argues that the Brahman described in the scriptures is saguna Brahman, or Brahman covered by the material modes, the answer is no, because Brahman is described in the Vedas as ātmā, the Supreme Self.
The word ātmā refers to the perfect Brahman, and not some kind of covered or reflected Brahman. This proves that the Supreme Lord, endowed with form and attributes as described in the Vedas, is indeed the Absolute Truth. This is corroborated by many verses of the scriptures:
ātmaivedam agra āsīt puruṣa-vidhaḥ
“In the beginning, before the creation of this material universe, only the Supreme Self, ātma, who is a transcendental person, existed.” (Vajasaneya-Samhita)
ātmā vā idam eka evāgre āsīn nānyat kiñcana miṣat
sa īkṣata lokān nu sṛjāḥ“Before the material world was manifest, the Supreme Self, ātmā, alone existed. Nothing else was manifested at that time. The Supreme Self then thought, ‘Let me create the material planets.’” (Aitareya Upaniṣad, 1.1.1)
Both texts clearly refer to the Supreme Self (ātmā), who existed before the creation of the material world. As discussed on sūtra 1.1.2, the word ātmā refers to the perfect Supreme Brahman, and not to some secondary representation. For this reason, the word ātmā used in the scriptures should be understood to refer to the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not to any material manifestation of the mode of goodness. Simultaneously, because the Supreme Brahman described in the scriptures is identified by the word ātmā, we can be sure that this is the transcendental Brahman and not some illusory representation.
The transcendental nature of the Supreme Person is also extensively described in the scriptures:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas, tattvam yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti, bhagavān iti śabdyate“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.” (SB 1.2.11)
śuddhe mahā-vibhūtākhye pare brahmaṇi śabdyate
maitreya bhagavac-chabdaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇe“O Maitreya, the word Bhagavān refers to the Supreme Brahman, who is full of all powers and opulences, the original cause of all causes, and the supreme transcendence, pure and always untouched by matter.” (Viṣnu Purana)
Although this Supreme Brahman appears in this world in the form of many incarnations, they are all fully transcendental and untouched by matter. These incarnations are classified as plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions according to the transcendental qualities they exhibit, but as Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Lord manifests Himself in His original personal form, as confirmed by Vyāsadeva:
ete cāmśa-kalāḥ pumsaḥ, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulam lokam, mṛḍayanti yuge yuge“All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.” (SB 1.3.28)
Brahman is always transcendental. He is a person, he has spiritual qualities and activities, and He never becomes covered by Māyā. The Absolute Truth is realized in three aspects, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme.
In this way, the Māyāvāda idea that the Brahman described in the Vedas as having qualities, form, and activities is the covered, saguna Brahman, is rejected by Vyāsadeva himself. The Lord is always transcendental to matter, and at the same time He has a spiritual form and attributes. When He is referred to as nirguna, it just means He has no material qualities (being fully transcendental).
There are a few verses where the Lord is referred to as saguna, such as “sa svatantraḥ param brahma saguṇo nirguṇo’pi ha, alakṣyaḥ sakalais svāmī paramātmā nirañjanaḥ” from the Śiva-purāṇa, but in these passages the word “saguna” just indicates that although the Lord is devoid of material qualities, He simultaneously possesses transcendental qualities. There is no such thing as a “saguna Brahman” in the sense of a separate and inferior aspect of the absolute truth. This is a concept invented by the Māyāvādis that doesn’t find support in the scriptures. The Lord has three aspects, Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān (SB 1.2.11), but all of them are fully transcendental.
Prabhupāda explains this point in his purport to text five of the Sri Īśopaniṣad:
“In this connection, two words the revealed scriptures often apply to the Lord-saguṇa (”with qualities”) and nirguṇa (”without qualities”)-are very important. The word saguṇa does not imply that when the Lord appears with perceivable qualities He must take on a material form and be subject to the laws of material nature. For Him there is no difference between the material and spiritual energies, because He is the source of all energies. As the controller of all energies, He cannot at any time be under their influence, as we are. The material energy works according to His direction; therefore He can use that energy for His purposes without ever being influenced by any of the qualities of that energy. (In this sense He is nirguṇa, “without qualities.”) Nor does the Lord become a formless entity at any time, for ultimately He is the eternal form, the primeval Lord. His impersonal aspect, or Brahman effulgence, is but the glow of His personal rays, just as the sun’s rays are the glow of the sun-god.”
One last observation is that the expression “saguna Brahman” is also used in relation to the mahat-tattva, which is the source of all material elements. The mahat-tattva is Brahman in the sense of being composed of His energies, just as the universal form, but not as a direct personal form of the Lord. In this way, the fact that the mahat-tattva is sometimes called “saguna Brahman” also doesn’t support the Māyāvada doctrine.
Next: Sutra 1.1.7 - tan-niṣṭhasya mokṣopadeśāt: The Brahman described in the scriptures is the Lord »
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