The Third Pāda of The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
In the third pāda, Vyasa will clarify texts that seem to describe the jīva or the material nature, but in reality, describe the Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate cause behind everything.
« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The Third Pāda
In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), Kṛṣṇa says vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo: “By all the Vedas, I am to be known.” He then states vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham: “Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”
In this passage, Kṛṣṇa reveals that He is the ultimate goal of all Vedic knowledge and that Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Vedas, is actually He Himself as an incarnation. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of all the Vedas, and He Himself came as Vyāsadeva to explain this goal.
During His talks with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stated that the Vedic statements of the Upaniṣads are like sunlight. Everything is clear and very distinct when it is seen in the sunlight, and the statements of the Vedas are similarly clear and distinct. Māyāvādī philosophers simply cover the sunlight with the clouds of their misinterpretations.
In the second pāda, Śrīla Vyāsadeva clarified the meaning of a number of passages in the Upaniṣads where the ultimate object of description is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but where the meaning is not so clear. Now, in the third pāda, he will clarify texts that seem to describe the jīva or the material nature, but in reality, describe the Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate cause behind everything. Being the compiler of the Vedas and an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, Vyāsadeva surely understands these passages better than anyone else, and Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains his conclusions, adding the references to the verses described in each passage and elaborating on the logical discussions that lead to the conclusions stated in the sūtras. These conclusions are further enriched by the explanations given by Śrīla Prabhupāda in different books, and thus these three great ācāryas work together to elevate us above the calamity of spurious interpretations of the Vedānta-sūtra, making the meaning clear to us.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa adds the following prayer at the beginning of his commentary:
viśvam bibharti niḥsvam yaḥ kāruṇyena devarāṭ
mamāsau paramānando govindas tanutām ratim
“May Govinda, who is full of the highest bliss, who is the ruler of the devatās, and who maintains the destitute world by his mercy, bestow prema unto me.”
« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa