The qualities of the Lord and additional arguments
When we understand that the Lord is a person, however, this apparent contradiction appears. How can the Lord be simultaneously the knower and the object of knowledge?
« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The qualities of the Lord and additional arguments
One could point out the apparent contradiction of considering the Lord as both the knower and the object of knowledge. Impersonalists see Brahman as an unconscious being that is the object of knowledge, and this is easy to understand since this is similar to the relationship we have with unconscious material objects. We are conscious and we study things, while material objects are studied by us. Similarly, impersonalists see Brahman as the object of knowledge, but not as the knower, since for them, Brahman is impersonal. When we understand that the Lord is a person, however, this apparent contradiction appears. How can the Lord be simultaneously the knower and the object of knowledge?
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains this point by giving the example of a lamp. The lamp is not different from the light it emits. At the same time, we can see the lamp inside a dark room only because of the light emitted by the lamp itself. Without this light, we would not be able to see the lamp, or anything else. Without the lamp, we can’t see anything.
Therefore, the lamp is simultaneously the object of knowledge (the object being studied) and the method for attaining such knowledge, thanks to the light it emits. Similarly, the Lord is both the object of knowledge (the Supreme Person we wish to understand) and the process of attaining such knowledge, thanks to the Vedas and other forms of understanding that emanate from Him.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa gives then another description of the qualities of the Lord, Īśvara, and adds a few more points to the description of the five truths:
a) Īśvara, the Lord, is supremely independent.
b) He is the master of all potencies (including the internal potency, the external potency, and the marginal potency, the jīvas).
c) He enters the universe and controls it.
d) He awards both material enjoyment and ultimate liberation to the individual spirit souls (jīvas) residing in material bodies.
e) Although He is one, He manifests in many forms. Those who understand the transcendental science maintain that He is not different from His transcendental form and qualities.
f) Although He can’t be perceived by the material senses, He can be perceived by bhakti (devotional service).
g) He is changeless. Although unlimited manifestations come from Him, He remains as He is.
h) He reveals His own spiritual, blissful form to His devotees.
i) Some jīvas are averse to the Lord and are thus bound by material illusion. Other jīvas are friendly to the Lord, and are thus free from the material illusion, which hides the Lord’s form and qualities.
j) Prakṛti (material nature) is known by many names, such as Tamaḥ and Māyā. When the Lord glances at Prakṛti, she is put into motion, generating all the different material manifestations.
k) Kāla (time) is divided into many different units from the extremely brief kṣaṇa (a fraction of a second) to the extremely long parārdha (155.520 trillion years). Turning like a wheel, time is the cause of the repeated creation and annihilation of the universes. As an energy, time is unconscious. It is not a person (although it has a predominant deity).
He sustains these points by quoting a number of passages from the Upaniṣads and Purāṇas:
nityo nityānām, cetanaś cetanānām
“Of all the eternals, one [the Supreme Personality of Godhead] is the supreme eternal. Of all conscious entities, one [the Supreme Personality of Godhead] is the supreme conscious entity.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.13)
gaur anādy anantavatī
“Prakṛti is brilliant and infinite. She is eternal, without beginning or end.” (Cūlikā Upaniṣad 5)
sad eva saumya idam agra āsīt
“O gentle one, please understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternal. He existed before the manifestation of this universe.” (Chāndogya Upanisad 6.2.1)
sa viśva-kṛt viśva-vid ātma-yonir, jñaḥ kāla-karo guṇī sarva-vid yaḥ
pradhāna-kṣetrajña-patir guṇeśaḥ, samsāra-mokṣa-sthiti-bandha-hetuḥ
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator of the Universe and the knower of the Universe. He is the cause of all causes, but He himself has no cause. Being omniscient, he knows everything and is the knower of all. He is the controller of material time, which is just one of His energies. He is the master of pradhāna, the unmanifested material nature. He is the master of the three material modes and is always transcendental to them. He is the master and maintainer of all conditioned souls. Although He has no material desires, He places them in contact with matter, maintains them, controls their transmigration from one body to another, and liberates them, all according to their desire.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad Upanisad 6.16)
bhakti-yogena manasi, samyak praṇihite ’male
apaśyat puruṣam pūrṇam, māyām ca tad-apāśrayām
“Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service [bhakti-yoga] without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under full control.” (SB 1.7.4)
yayā sammohito jīva, ātmānam tri-guṇātmakam
paro ’pi manute ’nartham, tat-kṛtam cābhipadyate
“Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.” (SB 1.7.5)
anarthopaśamam sākṣād, bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
lokasyājānato vidvāmś, cakre sātvata-samhitām
“The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.” (SB 1.7.6)
dravyam karma ca kālaś ca, svabhāvo jīva eva ca
yad-anugrahataḥ santi, na santi yad-upekṣayā
“One should definitely know that all material ingredients, activities, time and modes, and the living entities who are meant to enjoy them all, exist by His mercy only, and as soon as He does not care for them, everything becomes nonexistent.” (SB 2.10.12)
Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas accept the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the authorized commentary of the Vedānta-sūtras composed by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the author Himself. That’s why, until Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, there was no specific Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Because the Bhāgavatam is the authoritative commentary, Baladeva’s commentary is based on its conclusions. To prove that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the authorized commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra, he quotes the Garuḍa Purana:
artho ’yam brahma-sūtrāṇām
“Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the commentary on Vedānta-sūtra.”
The complete verse and translation are given by Śrīla Prabhupāda on CC Madhya lila 25.143-144:
artho ’yam brahma-sūtrāṇām, bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo ’sau, vedārtha-paribṛmhitaḥ
purāṇānām sāma-rūpaḥ, sākṣād-bhagavatoditaḥ
dvādaśa-skandha-yukto ’yam, śata-viccheda-samyutaḥ
grantho ’ṣṭādaśa-sāhasraḥ, śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhaḥ
“‘The meaning of the Vedānta-sūtra is present in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The full purport of the Mahābhārata is also there. The commentary of the Brahma-gāyatrī is also there and fully expanded with all Vedic knowledge. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme Purāṇa, and it was compiled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His incarnation as Vyāsadeva. There are twelve cantos, 335 chapters and eighteen thousand verses.’”
These verses were quoted by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself in his discussions with the Māyāvādis led by Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī in Benares, where He explained the Vedānta-sūtras according to the original meaning and established the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the natural commentary. As He personally mentions:
“In the Vedānta-sūtra, the purport of all Vedic knowledge is explained, and in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the same purport has been explained in eighteen thousand verses. Therefore it is to be concluded that the Brahma-sūtra is explained vividly in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Also, what is explained in the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has the same purport as what is explained in the Upaniṣads.” (CC Madhya 25.99-100)
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, ‘Study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam very scrutinizingly. Then you will understand the actual meaning of the Brahma-sūtra. Always discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and constantly chant the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way you will be able to attain liberation very easily, and you will be elevated to the enjoyment of love of Godhead.’” (CC Madhya 25.153-154)
You can study the full discussion in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta (Madhya lila, chapter 25).
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« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa