Five levels of consciousness (Taittiriya Upaniṣad #6)

Understanding the different levels of consciousness: anna-maya, prana-maya, mano-maya, vijñāna-maya, and ānanda-maya, which are the essence of the teachings of the Taittiriya Upanisad.

Dec 03, 2024

The ātmā of the mano-maya person is the same as that of the prāṇa-maya, which is the vijñāna-maya, or the soul. Our self has many layers, including the gross body, the vital air, the mind, material intelligence, and the false ego, but all of this is sustained by the soul. However, not everyone sees himself as the soul, therefore this is a level of understanding that we need to reach at some point in our lives. It’s generally not something we are born with.

The next stage is the vijñāna-maya, the stage where spiritual consciousness finally becomes prominent and one starts seeing himself as a soul. This vijñāna-maya stage of consciousness is described as having a human form (just like Krsna has a form, the soul also has an original form, none of them are formless). This form is composed of śraddhā (faith), ṛtam (proper conduct), satyam (eternity, or truth), and yoga (connection with the Lord). These are characteristics of the soul, and one who reaches the stage of vijñāna-maya develops these qualities.

The last stage of evolution, the ānanda-maya stage, is where one realizes his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and attains the platform of eternal spiritual bliss. Both the Supreme Brahman and the fragmental spirit soul are blissful by nature. Both are spiritual, by nature full of knowledge, eternity, and bliss. The difference is that the Supreme Brahman never falls into illusion, while the infinitesimal jiva sometimes does. However, when a jiva recovers his original consciousness, his life of spiritual enjoyment is revived. Thus, the ānanda-maya stage is reached when one comes in contact with the ānanda-maya Person.

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Text 2.4.1

yato vāco nivartante/ aprāpya manasā saha
ānandam brahmaṇo vidvān/ na bibheti kadācaneti
tasyaiṣa eva śārīra ātmā/ yaḥ pūrvasya
tasmād vā etasmānmanomayāt/ anyo’ntara ātmā vijñānamayaḥ
tenaiṣa pūrṇaḥ/ sa vā eṣa puruṣavidha eva
tasya puruṣavidhatām/ anvayam puruṣavidhaḥ
tasya śraddhaiva śiraḥ/ ṛtam dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ
satyam uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ yoga ātmā/ mahaḥ puccham pratiṣṭhā/
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

He who knows the bliss of the Supreme Brahman, whom neither the mind nor speech are capable of reaching, attains fearlessness. The inner Self of the mano-maya person, which consists of the subtle body, is the same as that of the prāṇa-maya.

This inner Self consists of transcendental understanding (vijñāna). The mano-maya is filled with this vijñāna-maya. He also has the shape of a man, like the human shape of mano-maya. Faith (śraddhā) is his head; proper conduct (ṛtam) is his right arm; truth (satyam) is his left arm; absorption in yogic trance is his Self and Mahaḥ is his foundation.

Commentary: It's not possible to fully understand the glories of the Lord. In Srimad Bhagavatam (2.6.34-35), Lord Brahma himself admits: "Although I am known as the great Brahmā, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization, and although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth."

Although Brahma is so powerful, he is unable to fully comprehend the glories of the Lord. Because of his devotion, Brahma can understand to a certain extent, but it's not possible for anyone to fully understand the opulence of the Lord, since He is unlimited. Just like one can't estimate an unlimited number, one can't understand the unlimited opulences of the Lord. The same applies to us. To the extent of our devotion, we may be able to understand the Lord up to a certain extent, and from there we may gradually understand more, but it is not possible for anyone to fully understand Him. Even the Lord's personal associates, who live with Him in the spiritual realm, are constantly amazed by learning new details about the Lord's qualities and activities.

Can Krsna estimate the extension of His opulence? As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to 2.3.26, surely He can, but because His potencies are always expanding, immediately there is something new that was not included in His estimation. If Krsna tries to estimate a second time, including the new expansions, immediately something new appears, and so on. Therefore, even Krsna Himself becomes surprised. In this way, it's not possible to understand Krsna by experimentation or speculation. The process is thus to abandon the attitude of imagining Krsna as an object we can study and simply surrender to Him. As Lord Brahma concludes (SB 2.36.36), this surrender is all auspicious and allows us to attain unlimited spiritual happiness. "Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto His feet, which alone can deliver one from the miseries of repeated birth and death. Such surrender is all-auspicious and allows one to perceive all happiness. Even the sky cannot estimate the limits of its own expansion. So what can others do when the Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own limits?"

By surrendering to the Lord, one can easily attain a platform of spiritual bliss, and on such a platform one finally attains fearlessness, realizing one's transcendental nature.

There is another characteristic that is mentioned: Mahaḥ. What is it? Mahaḥ refers to the power to destroy obstacles and reach the Lord. Once we attain the stage of vijñāna-maya, we gain the power to continue evolving our spiritual realization and gradually regain, by the mercy of the Lord, our original transcendental nature.

Text 2.5.1

vijñānam yajñam tanute/ karmāṇi tanute’pi ca
vijñānam devāḥ serve
brahma jyeṣṭham upāsate/ vijñānam brahma ced veda
tasmāc cen na pramādyati/ śarīre pāpmano hitvā
sarvān kāmān samaśnuta iti
tasyaiṣa eva śārīra ātmā/ yaḥ pūrvasya
tasmād vā etasmād vijñānamayāt
anyo’ntara ātmā’nandamayaḥ/ tenaiṣa pūrṇaḥ
sa vā eṣa puruṣavidha eva/ tasya puruṣavidhatām
anv ayam puruṣavidhaḥ/ tasya priyam eva śiraḥ
modo dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ
pramoda uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ/ ānanda ātmā/ brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

Spiritual understanding (vijñāna) is the basis for the performance of sacrifice; all the sacred acts are performed thanks to it. All the devas worship this transcendental understanding as Brahman, the oldest. If a man knows vijñānam as Brahman, and if he does not deviate from it, he leaves all evils behind in the body and attains all his wishes (on the transcendental platform).

The vijñāna-maya purusha is pervaded by another self, the ānanda-maya. The ānanda-maya has the form of a human, like the previous puruṣa. His head is pleasure (priya), his right side is joy (moda), his left side is delight (pramoda), his identity is bliss (ānanda), and his foundation is Brahman.

Commentary: What exactly does this vijñāna-maya stage of consciousness consist of? We can see that material civilization is based primarily on the first two stages, with intelligent people often reaching the third stage. The fourth stage, vijñāna-maya, is reached when one reaches the platform of spiritual understanding (vijñāna). This is the stage where one understands he is not the body or the mind, but the soul. In this stage one understands the temporality of this world and starts looking for what is eternal. Just like the previous verses teach us to see the Lord as food and prana, this verse teaches us to see this transcendental understanding as a form of the Lord, which can bring us back to our original, transcendental nature.

In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna gives us an idea of how rare this stage is: manuṣyāṇām sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. Out of many thousands of ordinary people, maybe one will endeavor for perfection. When one comes to the perfection of this stage, he reaches the beginning of the transcendental platform, the stage of liberation.

However, what is beyond the vijñāna-maya stage? One may endeavor for perfection, but what is perfection? How can it be found? This leads to the second part of the verse.

The characteristics of this stage are described as priya (the happiness of seeing the Lord), moda (the happiness of attaining the Lord), pramoda (the bliss obtained after attaining the Lord), and ānanda (spiritual happiness). The foundation of this stage of eternal happiness is the Lord Himself, in His personal form, who is the object of affection. This transcendental stage of ānanda-maya is what Srila Prabhupada describes as Krsna Consciousness.

He summarizes this whole section, starting from the anna-maya consciousness in the Krsna Book, chapter 87:

"Within the body there are five different departments of existence, known as anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, vijñāna-maya and, at last, ānanda-maya. In the beginning of life, every living entity is food conscious. A child or an animal is satisfied only by getting nice food. This stage of consciousness, in which the goal is to eat sumptuously, is called anna-maya. Anna means “food.” After this one lives in the consciousness of being alive. If one can continue his life without being attacked or destroyed, one thinks himself happy. This stage is called prāṇa-maya, or consciousness of one’s existence. After this stage, when one is situated on the mental platform, his consciousness is called mano-maya. The materialistic civilization is primarily situated in these three stages, anna-maya, prāṇa-maya and mano-maya. The first concern of civilized persons is economic development, the next concern is defense against being annihilated, and the next consciousness is mental speculation, the philosophical approach to the values of life.
If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body but a spiritual soul, he is situated in the vijñāna-maya stage. Then, by evolution in spiritual life, he comes to the understanding of the Supreme Lord, or the Supreme Soul. When one develops his relationship with Him and executes devotional service, that stage of life is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the ānanda-maya stage. Ānanda-maya is the blissful life of knowledge and eternity. As it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. The Supreme Brahman and the subordinate Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, are both joyful by nature. As long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life – anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya – they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of ānanda-maya, he is a liberated soul. This ānanda-maya stage is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the brahma-bhūta stage. There it is said that in the brahma-bhūta stage of life there is no anxiety and no hankering. This stage begins when one is equally disposed toward all living entities, and it then expands to the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in which one always hankers to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This hankering for advancement in devotional service is not the same as hankering for sense gratification in material existence. In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. Similarly, when our senses are purified, they are freed from all material stages, namely anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya, and they become situated in the highest stage – ānanda-maya, or blissful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider ānanda-maya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, ānanda-maya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one’s own individual existence. Merging into the spiritual existence is the living entity’s realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But the actual ānanda-maya (blissful) stage is attained when one is engaged in devotional service. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: mad-bhaktim labhate parām. Here Lord Kṛṣṇa states that the brahma-bhūta ānanda-maya stage is complete only when there is an exchange of love between the Supreme and the subordinate living entities. Unless one comes to this ānanda-maya stage, his breathing is like the breathing of a bellows in a blacksmith’s shop, his duration of life is like that of a tree, and he is no better than the lower animals like the camels, hogs and dogs.
Undoubtedly the eternal living entity cannot be annihilated at any point. But the lower species of life exist in a miserable condition, whereas one who is engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord is situated in the pleasurable, or ānanda-maya, status of life. The different stages described above are all in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although in all circumstances there exist both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, the difference is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead always exists in the ānanda-maya stage, whereas the subordinate living entities, because of their minute position as fragmental portions of the Supreme Lord, are prone to fall to the other stages of life. Although in all the stages both the Supreme Lord and the living entities exist, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always transcendental to our concept of life, whether we are in bondage or in liberation. The whole cosmic manifestation becomes possible by the grace of the Supreme Lord, it exists by the grace of the Supreme Lord, and when annihilated it merges into the existence of the Supreme Lord. As such, the Supreme Lord is the supreme existence, the cause of all causes. Therefore the conclusion is that without development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness one’s life is simply a waste of time."

Text 2.6.1

asann eva sa bhavati/ asad brahmeti veda cet
asti brahmeti ced veda/ santam enam tato vidur iti
tasyaiṣa eva śārīra ātmā/ yaḥ pūrvasya
athāto’nupraśnāḥ/ utā vidvān amum lokam pretya
kaścana gacchatī āho vidvān amum lokam pretya kaścit samaśnutā u
so’kāmayata/ bahu syām prajāyeyeti/ sa tapo’tapyata
sa tapastaptvā/ idam sarvam asṛjata/ yad idam kiñca
tat sṛṣṭvā/ tad evānuprāviśat/ tad anupraviśya
sac ca tyac cābhavat
niruktam cāniruktam ca/ nilayanam cānilayanam ca
vijñānam cāvijñānam ca/ satyam cānṛtam ca satyam abhavat
yad idam kiñca/ tat-satyam ityācakṣate
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

If one thinks that Brahman (the ānanda-maya puruṣa) doesn't exist, he remains in illusion, identifying with the body, life after life in the cycle of birth and death. One who sees Brahman as existing revives his eternal spiritual nature and becomes peaceful. The Self of the ānanda-maya puruṣa is the Lord Himself; there is no difference between His body and His soul. He is also the Self of the previous puruṣas, the vijñāna-maya, mano-maya, and prāṇa-maya.

Doesn't a wise man go to the spiritual world after leaving this world? Doesn't a wise man associate with the blissful Lord in that world after leaving this world?

The Lord desired, "May I become many! May I produce offspring!" After deliberating in this way, He created the material universes and whatever exists. Having created the universes, He entered into each of them. Having entered, he became the conscious and unconscious entities, the definable and undefinable, the shelter and the sheltered, the knowledge and ignorance, truth and falsehood. The sages who see things as they are declare that whatever exists is the Lord.

Commentary: This verse is divided into three parts. The first is a description of the destination of the faithful and unfaithful. The second consists of rhetorical questions reinforcing the conclusion of the first, and the third part is a description of the Lord as the Prajapati, the creator.

The first two parts conclude the explanations of the different puruṣas and the different stages of consciousness. The conclusion is that the ānanda-maya puruṣa is the Lord Himself and that only by worshiping the Lord can a soul leave the cycle of samsāra and reconnect with his original position of bliss.

At this point, one could question how the transcendental soul comes into contact with the material energy in the first place. Prabhupada explains in the following way:

"The question may be raised as to why the living entities have fallen by chance into different conditions of life. To answer this question, we first have to understand that there cannot be any influence of chance for the living entities; chance is for nonliving entities. According to the Vedic literatures, living entities have knowledge, and thus they are called cetana, which means “in knowledge.” Their situation in different conditions of life, therefore, is not accidental. It is by their choice, because they have knowledge. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, “Give up everything and just surrender unto Me.” This process of realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead is open for everyone, but still it is the choice of the particular living entity whether to accept or reject this proposal. In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa very plainly says to Arjuna, “My dear Arjuna, now I have spoken everything to you. Now you may choose to accept it or not.” Similarly, the living entities who have come down to this material world have made their own choice to enjoy this material world. It is not that Kṛṣṇa sent them into this world. The material world was created for the enjoyment of living entities who wanted to give up the eternal service of the Lord to become the supreme enjoyer themselves. According to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, when a living entity desires to gratify his senses and forgets the service of the Lord, he is given a place in the material world to act freely according to his desire, and therefore he creates a condition of life in which he either enjoys or suffers. We should definitely know that both the Lord and the living entities are eternally cognizant. There is no birth and death for either the Lord or the living entities. When creation takes place, this does not mean that the living entities are created. The Lord creates the material world to give the conditioned souls a chance to elevate themselves to the higher platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If a conditioned soul does not take advantage of this opportunity, after the dissolution of this material world he enters into the body of Nārāyaṇa and remains there in deep sleep until the time of another creation." (KB ch. 87)

This passage also addresses questions about the creation of the different living entities referred to in the verse. The souls are eternal, therefore there is no question of creation for the soul. In the Bhagavad-Gita (2.20) the Lord mentions that “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval.” However, when the souls desire to become part of the material creation, the Lord creates the material universes, as well as the 8,400,000 types of bodies used by them to experience the material reality.

Many passages explain that the Lord does not become involved in the creation of the universe, which is in reality done by the work of Lord Brahma and his descendants. This is of course true, but there is also another side: the Lord creates the universe in the sense that He is responsible for the primary creation.

The universal form includes everything that is part of the material creation. Originally, it exists as a concept created by the Lord and revealed to Brahma, but later it is covered by manifest forms as Brahma advances in his work of creation.

In one sense, the Virat-rupa, or universal form, is a form of the Lord, because it is composed of His energy, but at the same time, it is not, because the Lord does not have a material form. Yogis and impersonalists are instructed to meditate in the universal form as a way to get used to the idea that the Lord has a form, but at the same time, the real form of the Lord is spiritual and behind his cosmic manifestation. As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (9.4), "By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."

Originally, the pradhana includes the non-differentiated material elements and the three modes of nature in an unmanifested form. After Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu impregnates it with Kala, the time energy, there is interaction between these, creating all the other material elements in succession. This work is done by the Lord Himself, before the birth of Brahma.

Later, when Brahma wakes up on top of the lotus flower, he performs austerities and receives from the Lord the knowledge necessary for creating the different planets and other structures of the universe, as well as its first inhabitants. This is called the secondary creation because Brahma creates on top of the work done by the Lord in the previous process. Brahma receives all the knowledge necessary to create the universe from the Lord, building according to the instructions given by Him. As Brahma explains in SB 2.5.17: "Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-pervading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only."

This is similar to the process of producing a book. First, the author conceives it in his mind, and then it is written on paper. As soon as the author has it in his mind, the book exists, although not yet in a tangible form. Still, when the book is finally written and printed, it follows what was conceived and conveyed by the author.

Another example is that most contemporary constructions and products exist first in a subtle form (a project) and later are manifested in a gross form when finally built. Similarly, the ideas and desires stored in our minds are the basis for the gross forms and experiences that will be experienced in the future.

When Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu performs the primary creation, he creates all possible forms, manifestations, and experiences that exist in the material universes. This is the universal form, or Virat-purusa, which is described in detail in the Srimad Bhagavatam. During the secondary creation, Brahma creates a number of different levels of existence that correspond to the different levels of consciousness of the different living entities. There are thus 14 levels of planetary systems, subdivided into millions of planets and stars, each one containing an enormous volume of forms and experiences. According to our consciousness, we take birth into one of these places, and there we perform our small role in the creation, manipulating the different material objects and interacting with other living entities.

When an engineer desires to design a plane, for example, the Lord reveals to him, from inside his heart, the knowledge necessary to build it. The engineer may thus take the credit for it, but the plane was actually conceived by the Lord long before. In reality, everything that exists inside the universe is the manifestation of ideas previously conceived by the Lord. As different living beings desire these things, the Lord gives the knowledge from the heart on how to build them.

The description of the creation of the universe given in the Srimad Bhagavatam (starting from the creation of material elements) gives us an idea of the work necessary for creating the environment we live in. It also helps us to better understand the nature of this world and gradually become free from it. Srila Prabhupada frequently explains in his teachings that life in this material world is, in a sense, similar to a dream. We spend time in this dream thinking that we are a man or a woman, that we have this or that position, and so on, but because none of it is true in the ultimate sense we need to leave these positions in due time, just like someone awakening from a dream. This, however, should not be misunderstood.

Like all analogies, the comparison of material life and a dream offers many similarities to reality, but like all analogies, it doesn't represent all the intricacies of the subject being discussed. We should thus take the main meaning, which is the temporary nature and illusion of our current situation, and not start believing that we are literally living inside a dream and everything around us doesn't exist. A dream is illusory, but it is not false. It is real in the sense that someone is experiencing it, but at the same time, it is illusory in nature, since in the dream we forget our real identity and become absorbed in imaginary situations. A dream is thus not false, but it is illusory and based on the forgetfulness of our real identity.

Similarly, this whole material manifestation is not false. We are here experiencing it, as are all the people around us. Things are happening. It is compared to a dream because we become forgetful of our real nature and become absorbed in the different temporary roles we play here. And because they are not connected with our eternal nature, all the roles we play in this material world are temporary. We play for some time, but eventually, we are forced to leave, and this is called death. After that, if one is still not ready to accept his real nature, a new temporary role is accepted, which we call birth.

Another point that could be raised is about the identity of the ānanda-maya puruṣa. The Taittiriya Upanisad tells us that the ānanda-maya is Brahman. One could, however, argue that the Brahman mentioned in the verse is not the Supreme Lord, but the living being, arguing that the verse refers to the ānanda-maya as a person, and therefore it must refer to the conditioned soul residing inside the material body, arguing that the Supreme Brahman has no form. If this version is accepted, the next conclusion would be that we are all God we can find spiritual bliss by just connecting with ourselves.

To this, Vyasadeva answers in the Vedanta-sutra (1.1.12): ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt. The ananda-maya is the Supreme Lord; this is established by repetition.

How can we be sure that the ānanda-maya is the Supreme Lord and not the individual soul? The word ananda-maya is repeatedly used to describe the Supreme Brahman. We can see that the verse mentions, asann eva sambhavati, asad brahmeti veda cet, asti brahmeti ced veda, santam enam tato viduh, If one thinks that Brahman (the ānanda-maya puruṣa) doesn't exist, he remains in illusion, identifying with the body life after life in the cycle of birth and death. One who sees Brahman as existing revives his eternal spiritual nature and becomes peaceful.

We can see that in this passage the word Brahman (brahmeti) is repeated. This repetition is called abhyasa. When Vyasadeva says "ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt", the word "bhyāsāt" refers to this type of repetition. The meaning is that Brahman is established as the ānanda-maya because of this abhyasa, or repetition.

Apart from the repetition in this particular verse, the idea that the Supreme Lord is full of bliss is repeated throughout the Vedic literature. You can find a huge collection of quotes corroborating this point in the Appendix of the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, entitled 'The Absolute Nature of the Supreme Lord'. The sutra, ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt, thus indicates that the Lord is the anandamaya not only due to repetition in this particular passage of the Taittiriya Upanisad but also by repetition in the whole Vedic literature.

Another way that it can be proved that the ānanda-maya is the Lord is that the four verses about the different puruṣas we studied here (beginning with text 2.2.1, annad vai prajah prajayante) describe the levels of anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, and vijnana-maya. Each of these levels of consciousness is progressively higher than the predecessor, culminating with the highest of all, the ananda-maya level.

In one sense, the anna-maya is the body, the prāṇa-maya the vital air, mano-maya the subtle body, and vijñāna-maya is spiritual understanding. These are four layers of our being, and our consciousness may be focused on any of them. However, in a higher sense, they are all manifestations of the Supreme Lord, since they are all manifestations of His energy.

The description is thus given so one can gradually progress through the different stages, but the goal is to attain the stage of ānanda-maya, which is the original position of the soul. The first three stages, anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, and mano-maya, are still under the realm of illusion, and even the stage of vijñāna-maya is not complete, since in this stage there is liberation, but still, no full realization of one's eternal relationship with the Lord.

This is corroborated in SB 10.87.17, where the personified Vedas say:

puruṣa-vidho ’nvayo ’tra caramo ’nna-mayādiṣu yaḥ

sad-asataḥ param tvam atha yad eṣv avaśeṣam ṛtam

"Among the manifestations known as anna-maya and so forth, You are the ultimate one, entering within the material coverings along with the living entity and assuming the same forms as those he takes. Distinct from the gross and subtle material manifestations, You are the reality underlying them all."

In his Govinda Bhasya, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana quotes from the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.7.3) to prove the Lord is not formless: prthivi sariram: The material universe is the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam, starting from the first chapter of the 2nd canto, the understanding of the form of the Lord starts by understanding the Virāṭ-rūpa, the universal form, where one sees the universe itself as a form of the Lord. Gradually, one can then progress to the understanding of the localized aspect, Paramātmā, and later finally come to the highest understanding, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form.

Prabhupada summarizes these points in his purport to BG 13.5:

"As stated before, kṣetra is the field of activities, and there are two kinds of kṣetra-jña: the individual living entity and the supreme living entity. As stated in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.5), brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā. There is a manifestation of the Supreme Lord’s energy known as anna-maya, dependence upon food for existence. This is a materialistic realization of the Supreme. Then, in prāṇa-maya, after realizing the Supreme Absolute Truth in food, one can realize the Absolute Truth in the living symptoms or life forms. In jñāna-maya, realization extends beyond the living symptoms to the point of thinking, feeling and willing. Then there is Brahman realization, called vijñāna-maya, in which the living entity’s mind and life symptoms are distinguished from the living entity himself. The next and supreme stage is ānanda-maya, realization of the all-blissful nature. Thus there are five stages of Brahman realization, which are called brahma puccham. Out of these, the first three – anna-maya, prāṇa-maya and jñāna-maya – involve the fields of activities of the living entities. Transcendental to all these fields of activities is the Supreme Lord, who is called ānanda-maya. The Vedānta-sūtra also describes the Supreme by saying, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by nature full of joy. To enjoy His transcendental bliss, He expands into vijñāna-maya, prāṇa-maya, jñāna-maya and anna-maya. In the field of activities the living entity is considered to be the enjoyer, and different from him is the ānanda-maya. That means that if the living entity decides to enjoy in dovetailing himself with the ānanda-maya, then he becomes perfect. This is the real picture of the Supreme Lord as the supreme knower of the field, the living entity as the subordinate knower, and the nature of the field of activities. One has to search for this truth in the Vedānta-sūtra, or Brahma-sūtra."

Text 2.7.1

asad vā idam agra āsīt/ tato vai sad ajāyata
tad ātmānam svayam akuruta/ tasmāt tat-sukṛtam ucyata iti
yad vai tat sukṛtam raso vai saḥ
rasam hy evāyam labdhvā ’nandī bhavati
ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyāt/ yad eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt
eṣa hy evānandayāti
yadā hy evaiṣa etasminn adṛśye’nātmye’nirukte’nilayane’bhayam pratiṣṭhām vindate/ atha so’bhayam gato bhavati
yadā hyevaiṣa etasminn udaram antaram kurute
atha tasya bhayam bhavati/ tat tv eva bhayam viduṣo’manvānasya
tad apy eṣa śloko bhavati

In the beginning, the creation was non-existent. It was not yet defined by forms and names. From this unmanifest was born whatever exists. The Lord created it, therefore He is called Atman. When one understands the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, he truly becomes transcendentally blissful. A living entity becomes established in spiritual, blissful life when he fully understands that his happiness depends on spiritual self-realization, which is the basic principle of ānanda (bliss), and when he is eternally situated in the service of the Lord, who has no other lord above Him.

By understanding the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, one becomes truly transcendentally blissful. For one who deviates from it, however, taking shelter in the false ego, there is great fear. This fear exists only for the one who thinks himself wise, and not for the true sage.

Commentary: In his purport to BG 14.27, Srila Prabhupada gives the translation of “raso vai saḥ, rasam hy evāyam labdhvānandī bhavati” as “When one understands the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, he actually becomes transcendentally blissful.”

In SB 5.19.20 he gives the translation of “eṣa hy evānandayati. yadā hy evaiṣa etasmin na dṛśye 'nātmye anirukte 'nilayane 'bhayam pratiṣṭhām vindate 'tha so 'bhayam gato bhavati” as “A living entity becomes established in spiritual, blissful life when he fully understands that his happiness depends on spiritual self-realization, which is the basic principle of ānanda (bliss), and when he is eternally situated in the service of the Lord, who has no other lord above Him.”

It's described that, desiring to create the material manifestation, Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu looks in the direction of the material energy, and in this way inseminates pradhana with the time energy and the jivas who want to take part in the material creation. With this, the energy is activated, and the material creation starts. First, the three material modes become apparent, and from the combination of pradhana with time and each of the three modes, all the material elements are created. The material creation doesn't imply a transformation of the material energy, but instead in a permutation, or reorganization of it. The material energy is permutated into the material creation and later returned to its original, disassembled state.

The Lord creates the material world and also destroys it in due time. The material manifestation exists under the limits of time, and while it is active the living entities can perform material activities, impelled by the three modes. The goal however is that one may gradually come to understand his original spiritual position. This is the main message of the scriptures, which Srila Prabhupada emphasizes in his teachings.

"In the beginning, the creation was non-existent" refers to the unmanifested state, when everything merges into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. The universe remains unmanifested for 311.04 trillion years (the same period as a life of Brahma) with the souls sleeping in the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. When this period is complete, the Lord desires to again create the material manifestation to give a new chance for the souls to regain their original spiritual nature.

In the 10th chapter of the 2nd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the universe is explained as a huge set of interdependent components, which are successively created by the Lord as different parts of the primary creation. Later, when Brahma is generated from the lotus flower sprouting from the navel of Lord Gabodakasayi Viṣṇu, He creates the universe following this project, giving physical forms to everything. The Lord is independent, and by his desire, He generates many sets of interdependent things.

For example, it’s described that from ether, sense energy, mental force, and bodily strength are generated. These three dictate the movements of all living entities, allowing them to act in the world according to their desires. One is propelled to act because of the pull of the senses, and action is coordinated by the workings of the mind. it can, however, be converted into physical activity only because of the strength of the body. These form, thus, a set of interdependent things that are created by the Lord. We can move because the material energy itself is moving, and it is set into motion by the Lord. When this movement is stopped, at the end of creation, we also stop moving and go to sleep inside the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu.

It’s also described that the Lord generated the sensations of hunger and thirst, and this led to the creation of the mouth and tongue, as well as all the tastes and Varuna, the demigod who controls it. Apart from tasting, the mouth is also used to speak. The property of speech, as well as the controlling demigod, were generated next. Just like these components were generated at this stage in the Virat-Purusha, they develop in the body of each living entity when inside the womb, following the project created by the Lord.

The Lord creates the adhibhautic (the senses that compose the different bodies) and the adhidaivic (the demigods that control them). It's only because of these two that the adhyātmic (the living entities) can enjoy these sensations. If not for the Lord, we would not have tongues, hands, or stomachs, and thus not be able to enjoy the world. Thus, all these different senses should be used for the Lord.

Different living entities receive different sets of bodies and senses according to their consciousness and activities. In this way, the different demigods act according to the will of the Lord. If one's karma is to not see, for example, the eyes may be present in his body, but he will not be able to see, because the corresponding demigod will withdraw his potency from the eye. The adhibhautic (the eye) may be present, and there may be many things to see, but without the cooperation of the adhidaivic (the demigod), the adhyātmic (the person) will not see.

All the other senses, objects of the senses, and the corresponding demigods are generated at this stage. The scriptures describe the most prominent stages of creation, as well as the most prominent features of the universe. It's not just because something is not directly mentioned that we should presume it does not exist. The main purpose of this description is to emphasize the point that everything is connected with the Supreme Lord. No one is independent from Him. This whole explanation is thus connected with the topic of asraya, which is the principal among the ten subjects of the Srimad Bhagavatam. By understanding how everything depends on the Supreme Lord, we can easily surrender to Him. As explained in this verse of the Taittiriya Upanisad, when one does that, he becomes blissful. However, when we remain under the concept of I and My, there is great fear, which comes from ignorance of our true self.

Five levels of consciousness (Taittiriya Upaniṣad #6)

Understanding the different levels of consciousness: anna-maya, prana-maya, mano-maya, vijñāna-maya, and ānanda-maya, which are the essence of the teachings of the Taittiriya Upanisad.

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