The nature of the Supreme Lord (Taittiriya Upanisad 2.6)
The ānanda-maya is the Supreme Brahman, who is a person. One could, however, argue that the Brahman mentioned here is not the Supreme Lord, but the living being inside the body.
Section 6: The nature of the Supreme Lord
The Taittiriya Upanisad explains that the ānanda-maya is the Supreme Brahman, who is a person. One could, however, argue that the Brahman mentioned here is not the Supreme Lord, but the living being, concluding that the verse refers to the conditioned soul residing inside the material body. 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. If one thinks that Brahman 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.
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 pūrvasyaathāto’nupraśnāḥ, utā vidvān amum lokam pretya
kaścana gacchatī āho vidvān amum lokam pretya kaścit samaśnutā uso’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-Vishnu 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, and 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."