The Knowability of God

When we accept the existence of God as a knowable Being, the next inquiry should be regarding the efficacy of the means to ascertain any positive knowledge about Him. To clearly specify the authentic means for progressing in the path of Brahman realization, Śrīla Bādarāyaṇa in the very beginning of his Vedānta treatise declares that śāstra is the only way by which one can research about the Supreme. The central idea from the Vaiṣṇava perspective is that God is a person, and this implies that He possesses innumerable transcendental attributes which are manifested according to His supreme will. Being so, Lord Kṛṣṇa reserves the right to make the rules for creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world, as well as the proper means to get rid of it and attain pure love for Him. The Vedas are the emanation of the Supreme Lord’s breath, therefore apauruṣeya or divine. The smṛti and the Vedānta are all compiled by the Lord Himself in the form of Dvaipāyana Vyāsa  and thus there is no question of flaws in the scriptures, although one may find apparent contradictions from the mundane perspective, which can ultimately be reconciled through the lucid interpretation of the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. There are several means for acquiring knowledge, but śabda-pramāṇa is the one chosen and given by God for those who desire to obtain knowledge about Him, and accepting this fact is the first step towards the comprehension of the final goal presented in all scriptures. Why is it so? Why not by other means, which might be more appealing to some people or can make more sense to others? Again, because God is a person and He decided that this is the way. Therefore, at least theoretically one should take to this principle from the very outset to be able to delve deeply into the conclusive Vedic knowledge. This is not an exclusive or innovative creed adopted in India, for the Christians and the Muslims similarly accept the bible and the Koran as the words of God or the scriptures composed through divine inspiration, and give proper value to revelation in their theological systems. Moreover, unless we take to this conclusion, words like ‘aupaniṣada’ (the One Who is known through the Upaniṣads) would become meaningless.

Then, what is the relevance of the reasoning power, such as that used in logical inference? That is relevant as far as it is subordinated to śabda, as the smṛti states :

pūrvottarāvirodhena ko’trārtho’bhimato bhavet

ity ādyam ūhanaṁ tarkaḥ śuṣka-tarkaṁ tu varjayet

“Without contradicting the previous and subsequent statements, what must be the intended meaning in this scriptural passage?— Such deliberation is real logic. Mere dry logic should be given up.”

Here, dry logic refers to the process by which one tends to draw conclusions based on premises proceeding from one’s own mental speculation or external perception instead of those clearly defined by the scriptures.

 If we thus accept the scriptural statements about God as the definite and flawless description of Him, then we have to accept His transcendental form, qualities, names, entourage, omnipotence, omniscience, etc. and worship Him accordingly, for the śastras abound in such descriptions.

The Nature of Brahman

 

 A question is raised as to whether Brahman and the jīva are one and the same entity, for in the śruti there are many passages in which the interpretation can be applied to either of them or to both. In reply to this, the Vedānta-sūtra starts by stating that Brahman is the original cause of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material universes. Thus, from the outset, the distinction between the minute living entity and Parabrahma is declared and it will be further clarified in the text. Although it is true that words like ‘bhūma,’ ‘ātmā’ and ‘Brahman’ are indistinctly used as referring to either the jīva or the Supreme Lord, it is required to properly apply exegetical principles in given contextual instances. Brahman is thus etymologically defined:

atha kasmād ucyate brahmeti bṛhanto hy asmin guṇāḥ

(Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.2)

 "Why is Brahman called so? Because in Brahman all attributes expand unlimitedly."

This evidently contrasts with the living entity’s minuteness and limited power to act or manifest anything beyond the capacity of his respective material body and mind. Otherwise, the jīva would never be restricted by material adjuncts, therefore how could he possibly ever become unlimitedly powerful after liberation? And if the scriptures meant that there is no difference between the jīvas and Brahman, then there would be no point in using different terminology to refer to the same thing, nor any meaning in prompting someone to meditate on and worship an entity distinct from oneself. Here knowledge of the original nature of the soul is regarding relevant as far as it is part of the preliminary knowledge to understand the nature of Parabrahma, therefore it is considered imperfect and insufficient until it blooms in the comprehension of the soul and God.

 To understand the nature of Brahman, the Vedānta-sūtras give us some illustrations: just like a serpent’s coil forms one unity with the serpent itself, Brahman and His attributes also form an inseparable unity. When the scriptures state that Brahman is knowledge and bliss, the purport is not that Brahman is simply constituted of transcendental knowledge and bliss, nor that Brahman has them as Its qualities, but that Brahman is by definition the dharma and the dharmī, the very attributes and the possessor of those attributes. A subtler analogy is that of fire and its light: both are intrinsic. So is Brahman, for it is not possible to isolate either the qualities or the substance itself. Another example is time, which is generally classified as past, present and future, but in fact, the three are a single element. Instead of being put aloof from its different stages, time is the very principle that defines those stages. Similarly, God is one with His qualities, yet from Him come all the concepts of all attributes existent. In the Brahma Purāṇa it is said:

ānandena tv abhinnena vyavahāraḥ prakāśavat

pūrvavad vā yathā kālaḥ svāvecchedakatāṁ vrajet

"Although the Supreme is non-different from bliss itself, He is conventionally said to be different, just as light and its source, or just as time is divided into earlier and later phases.”

In the material world, one may circumstantially accept or develop some qualities for the time being, and then eventually give them up, but the qualities incorporated by Brahman are never originated nor decayed, but rather ever expanding. His qualities are primeval and the reservoir of unlimited varieties that give rise to all the reflections seen in the material plane. Moreover, there is ample evidence in the scriptures to prove that there cannot ever be any difference between God and His transcendental qualities. In the śruti it is said:

neha nānāsti kiñcana

(Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.4.19,

 “Within the Supreme Lord there is no difference whatsoever.”

mṛtyoḥ sa mṛtyum āpnoti ya iha nāneva paśyati

"A person who sees difference between the Supreme Lord’s expansions attain death after death in this world."

yathodakaṁ durge vṛṣṭaṁ parvateṣu vidhāvati

evaṁ dharmān pṛthak paśyaṁs tān evānuvidhāvati

(Kaṭha Upaniṣad, 2.4.14)

“Just as rain water on the hills runs down into impassable places, similarly one who sees the Lord’s attributes as different from Him falls down.”

 In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is said:

nirdoṣa-pūrṇa-guṇa-vigraha ātma-tantro niścetanātmaka-śarīra-guṇaiś ca hīnaḥ

ānanda-mātra-kara-pāda-mukhodarādiḥ sarvatra ca svagata-bheda-vivarjitātmā

“The Supreme Soul is independent. His body is composed of faultless and fully transcendental qualities, devoid of the qualities of a body made of insentient matter. His self is totally free of internal differences, and His hands, feet, face, belly, and so on consist exclusively of blissfulness.”

 

There is a gulf of difference between the way God and His attributes are related and the way a material object and its adjuncts are related. A material object like a house may be constituted by diverse elements and suffer by their addition or reduction, but God’s status is never influenced by any external element, because all His qualities are of the same spiritual nature as He Himself, therefore devoid of all material frailties. This point is clarified by the smṛti in the following words:

jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejāṁsy aśeṣataḥ

bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa, 6.5.79; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.2.31)

“Complete omniscience, power, might, opulence, strength, and splendour without any undesirable qualities is expressed by the word ‘bhagavān.’

To refer to both as if they were subject and object is merely a language limitation, just like saying that the wave is made of water. Here there is a mild redundancy, for unless there is water, there is no meaning for wave, but still we have different terms to qualify them. In a similar way, when the scriptures describe Brahman as the reservoir of all rasas, it is to be understood that He is both the rasas and the enjoyer of rasas. When Brahman is manifested in a form able to enjoy and reciprocate the sweetest varieties of rasas, that form is called Govinda, the giver of pleasure to His devotees.

Karma

Everyone definitely meets the results of one's activities

    Some may consider that the Supreme Lord displays partiality and cruelty in the creation of the universe, for we see that living entities such as the demigods in the heavenly planets have ample abundance of enjoyment, while those in the lower species of life or in hellish conditions simply suffer intensely. The fact, however, is that the Lord is neither partial nor cruel towards anyone, as He declares:

samo ‘haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ‘sti na priyaḥ

ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

(Bhagavad-gītā, 9.29; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.1.36)

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.”

God simply creates the conditions and environment in which the conditioned living beings can carry on the activities they performed in the previous creation. The Lord sitting in everyone’s heart simply reminds the jīvas of their wishes and thus propels them to work. The śruti therefore declares:

eṣa eva sādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam ebhyo lokebhya unninīṣata eṣa u evainam asādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam adho ninīṣate (Kauśītaki-brāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, 3.9; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.29)

“Whomever the Supreme Lord desires to carry to heaven, He inspires him to perform pious deeds. Whomever the Supreme Lord desires to carry to hell, He inspires him to perform sinful deeds.”

 

One of the purposes of the creation of the material world is to give the living entities an opportunity to fulfill their contaminated desire for sense gratification, realize the ephemeral nature of this world, and then desire to go back home, back to Godhead. The cycles of creation and destruction proceed from time immemorial, being impelled by the karma performed by the jīvas. At the end of the life of Brahmā, the entire universe is devastated and all the material elements and the conditioned souls become absorbed in the body of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu . When the brahmāṇḍa is created, all the souls again receive another material body according to their previous activities and desires. Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu as the paramātmā in everyone’s heart controls the movements of all, giving everyone the results of their work.

 Karma is basically twofold: pious and impious. The scriptures prescribe the performance of ritualistic pious activities such as sacrifices, charity, etc. meant to fulfill one’s desires for fruitive results, culminating in the attainment of the heavenly planets, and prohibit the performance of impious, sinful activities such as murder, theft, etc., which lead one to suffering and the hellish planets. In either case, the duration of time of staying in heaven or hell is according to the exhaustion of the specific amount of piety or impiety respectively, after which one again takes birth on earth:

te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti

evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante

(Bhagavad-gītā, 9.21; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.1.8)

“When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death.”

 Karma can be further divided into nitya-karma, regular, such as worship, reciting mantras etc.; naimittika-karma, occasional, such as the reformatory ceremonies performed in different stages of life; and kāmya-karma, for personal desire, such as the performance of some sacrifices to attain specific desired objects. The scriptures recommend to all several sacrificial rituals as well as expiatory methods (prāyaścitta) as being auspicious, but warn those who desire liberation to avoid kāmya-karma, for it binds one to the fruitive results produced by them. Liberation implies the destruction of both pious and impious results, for both lead the soul to accept a material body. Transcendental knowledge is the effective means that destroys both, as stated:

yathaidhāṁsi samiddho ‘gnir bhasma-sāt kurute ‘rjuna

jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā

(Bhagavad-gītā, 4.37; Govinda-bhāṣya, 4.1.16)

“As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.”

In the śruti it is said:

ubhe u haivaiṣa ete taraty amṛtaḥ sādhv-asādhunī

(Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.4.22; Govinda-bhāṣya, 4.1.Adhikaraṇa 10, Intro)

“The liberated soul then transcends both pious and sinful activities.”Once such knowledge is obtained, one becomes a jīvan-mukta and no action by him performed is able to bind him:

yathā puṣkara-palāśa āpo na śliṣyanta evam evaṁ-vidi pāpaṁ karma na śliṣyate

(Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 4.14.3; Govinda-bhāṣya, 4.1)

“Just as water does not cling to a lotus petal, sinful activity does not cling to one who knows the Supreme in this way.”

 Another objection that may be raised is that if the creations are done in cycles, there must have been a first creation in which everything was manifested for the first time. Thus, the Lord must be unjust, for some entities would receive animal bodies while others would receive demigod bodies, though none of them had any previous karma to start with. In reply to this charge, the smṛti states:

puṇya-pāpādikaṁ viṣṇuḥ kārayet pūrva-karmaṇā

anāditvāt karmaṇaś ca na virodhaḥ kathañcana

“The Lord makes the living beings perform pious or impious acts according to their previous karma. There is no contradiction whatsoever here, for karma is beginningless.”

Just as the jīvas are beginningless, so is their karma. In other words, it is inconceivable for the conditioned soul to understand how the bondage of karma began. The details of this mystery are known only to the Lord. The jīvas are simply able to comprehend how the laws of karma work and what the way out is. Therefore the scriptures focus on these points, rather than to explain something that is beyond their capacity of understanding. This is not mere evasiveness, since the living entity is infinitesimal and therefore possesses only a limited capacity of knowledge in comparison to the all-knowing Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda.

 Sometimes it is also questioned why we cannot remember our previous lives if they really existed. The hint to this was already given above, for the Lord in the heart of all is the supreme conductor:

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca

vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

(Bhagavad-gītā, 15.15; Govinda-bhaṣya, 2.1.11)

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”

It would be very difficult to live the present life if we had a clear recollection of our previous lives. For example, we would have the impressions and experiences of different animal bodies and the sufferings we underwent, and also the memory of the unbearable pain of every death, which would be absolutely disrupting while leading our present life. Therefore, paramātmā in our hearts makes us forget all those impressions when we take birth in a different body, so that we may again start a cycle of activities with a fresh mind. Moreover, since we had numberless bodies, it would be impossible for us to account for which particular activity we are enjoying and for which we are suffering, therefore it would be purposeless to recollect them. Only in special circumstances someone may have the ability to remember something of his previous life, as in the case of Nārada Muni and Jaḍa Bharata.

 Some scriptural statements may lead one to have doubts about the authorship of karma. Is it done by the soul or by the material nature? For example:

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.27)

“The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.”

From this, one may hastily conclude that the soul has no connection with activity and is just a passive observer of the activities of the modes of nature. This is not what is meant by the śāstras. First of all, if we interpret the above verse as literally meaning that one is not a doer at all, then the whole Bhagavad-gītā would be self-contradictory, for Śrī Kṛṣṇa again and again prompts Arjuna to fight. We find several scriptural injunctions, such as ‘svarga-kāmo yajeta,’ ‘one who desires to attain heaven should perform sacrifices,’ etc., as well as innumerable prohibitions for those who want to avoid sinful reactions. Such injunctions can be meaningful only if there is a conscious being  with some capacity and freedom to deliberate on his own actions, for unconscious matter is totally devoid of these. Those prescriptions are specially meant to create a kind of mentality that leads the soul to act in a particular way to suffer or enjoy the fruits of his deeds. Moreover, there are passages that describe how even those liberated from material bondage also perform activities. It is said:

eṣa samprasādo’smāc charīrāt samutthāya paraṁ jyotir upasampadya svena rūpeṇābhiniṣpadyate sa uttamaḥ puruṣaḥ (Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 8.12.3; Govinda-bhāṣya, 4.4)

“Becoming thus liberated, the individual soul raises out from the body and becomes manifest in one’s original spiritual nature after attaining the supreme light, which is the Supreme Person.”

 Therefore mere activity does not imply necessarily suffering, for this is a feature of the conditional life that does not apply in the liberated stage, where all actions can be performed in a pure platform, without any inebriety, thus without producing any negative result . It is also evident that the life airs and the sense organs are manipulated by a conscious entity, for these, being instruments, need an agent to operate them. Such an agent cannot be other than the soul, for prakṛti is not a conscious, independent element. It is also seen that the living entities are suffering or enjoying because of their previous actions. If they were not the direct agents of their own deeds, then the creation of God would be unfair, for one would suffer on account of a sinful activity performed by someone else. It is the natural course that the author is the one who enjoys the fruits of his work, for if be said that prakṛti is the real author of karma, then it would also be its enjoyer, and thus there would be no scope for any implication between the jīva and the karma.

 Sometimes it is argued that if we were responsible for our karma, we would only get happiness and never distress, for no one deliberately causes one’s own misery. Nevertheless, the laws of karma are so intricate that practically it is not possible to avoid suffering completely. The soul is implicated in the wheel of saṁsāra since time immemorial and he has to suffer and enjoy according to the results of actions performed in so many lifetimes. Therefore, when the scriptures mention that the soul is not the doer they mean to say that they are not independent in their acts, for they are conditioned by so many factors. As it is said:

adhiṣṭhānaṁ tathā kartā karaṇaṁ ca pṛthag-vidham

vividhāś ca pṛthak ceṣṭā daivaṁ caivātra pañcamam

(Bhagavad-gītā, 18.14)

“The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul—these are the five factors of action.”

Here it is clearly stated that the soul is one of the factors that produce action, without which the body, the instruments and the effort would not be able to act. The three modes of nature totally cover the pure consciousness of the jīva to such an extent that the acts performed by him are in all respects byproducts of their influence. This is thus explained:

kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate

puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate

(Ibid.13.21; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.31)

“Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.”

The Brahma-sūtras  compare the soul to a carpenter, who is an agent in twofold ways— he is the agent creating objects by using tools like an axe, etc., and he is the agent who holds those tools. It can be said that the wood is cut by the axe, and from this point of view, the axe can be considered the agent, but behind it there is a conscious agent. Similarly, material nature can be the direct agent for all material activities as far as it plays the role of an instrument, but it never acts on its own without the will of the jīva. On the other hand, it should be remarked that the individual soul is not independent in his activities, for the fifth factor of action is the Lord in the heart, Who observes and gives permission to the soul to act in a particular way according to his past deeds and desires . At last, if prakrti were the sole doer, there would be no meaning for all the scriptural injunctions concerning liberation, because if the soul does nothing, there would be no bondage at all, nor any possibility to perform the prescribed sādhana.

Kala- Time

 

Time is an impersonal manifestation of the Lord’s energy, unrelated to the three modes, unconscious, and perceived as past, present and future. Time is one of the causes of creation and destruction in the universe, and its cycle is relative in different planetary systems and species of life. The śruti confirms:

sa viśvakṛd viśvavid ātmā-yonir jñaḥ kāla-kālo guṇī sarvavid yaḥ

pradhāna-kṣetrajña-patir guṇeśaḥ saṁsāra-mokṣa-sthiti-bandha-hetuḥ

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, 6.16; Govinda-bhāṣya, Introduction)

“The Supreme Soul is the creator of the universe. He is omniscient, the source of Himself, the supreme knower, the controller of time, omniscient, and replete with all transcendental qualities. He is the Lord of the material modes and the ruler of material nature and the living entities. He is the cause of the jīvas’ bondage, permanence within the cycle of birth and death, and liberation from it.”

And the smṛti says:

yo ‘yaṁ kālas tasya te ‘vyakta-bandho ceṣṭām āhuś ceṣṭate yena viśvam

nimeṣādir vatsarānto mahīyāṁs taṁ tveśānaṁ kṣema-dhāma prapadye

(Bhāgavatam, 10.3.26; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.45)

“O inaugurator of the material energy, this wonderful creation works under the control of powerful time, which is divided into seconds, minutes, hours and years. This element of time, which extends for many millions of years, is but another form of Lord Viṣṇu. For Your pastimes, You act as the controller of time, but You are the reservoir of all good fortune. Let me offer my full surrender unto Your Lordship.”

 

However, time exerts no influence over Lord Kṛṣṇa and His abode:

na yatra kālo ‘nimiṣāṁ paraḥ prabhuḥ kuto nu devā jagatāṁ ya īśire

na yatra sattvaṁ na rajas tamaś ca na vai vikāro na mahān pradhānam

(Bhāgavatam, 2.2.17; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.7)

“In that transcendental state of labdhopaśānti, there is no supremacy of devastating time, which controls even the celestial demigods who are empowered to rule over mundane creatures. (And what to speak of the demigods themselves?) Nor is there the mode of material goodness, nor passion, nor ignorance, nor even the false ego, nor the material Causal Ocean, nor the material nature.”

 

 The calculation of time is elaborately described by Maitreya muni in the Bhāgavatam (3.11.4-39):

sa kālaḥ paramāṇur vai yo bhuṅkte paramāṇutām

sato ‘viśeṣa-bhug yas tu sa kālaḥ paramo mahān

“Atomic time is measured according to its covering a particular atomic space. That time which covers the unmanifest aggregate of atoms is called the great time.”

aṇur dvau paramāṇū syāt trasareṇus trayaḥ smṛtaḥ

jālārka-raśmy-avagataḥ kham evānupatann agāt

“The division of gross time is calculated as follows: two atoms make one double atom, and three double atoms make one hexatom. This hexatom is visible in the sunshine which enters through the holes of a window screen. One can clearly see that the hexatom goes up towards the sky.”

trasareṇu-trikaṁ bhuṅkte yaḥ kālaḥ sa truṭiḥ smṛtaḥ

śata-bhāgas tu vedhaḥ syāt tais tribhis tu lavaḥ smṛtaḥ

“The time duration needed for the integration of three trasareṇus is called a truṭi, and one hundred truṭis make one vedha. Three vedhas make one lava.”

nimeṣas tri-lavo jñeya āmnātas te trayaḥ kṣaṇaḥ

kṣaṇān pañca viduḥ kāṣṭhāṁ laghu tā daśa pañca ca

“The duration of time of three lavas is equal to one nimeṣa, the combination of three nimeṣas makes one kṣaṇa, five kṣaṇas combined together make one kāṣṭhā, and fifteen kāṣṭhās make one laghu.”

laghūni vai samāmnātā daśa pañca ca nāḍikā

te dve muhūrtaḥ praharaḥ ṣaḍ yāmaḥ sapta vā nṛṇām

“Fifteen laghus make one nāḍikā, which is also called a daṇḍa. Two daṇḍas make one muhūrta, and six or seven daṇḍas make one fourth of a day or night, according to human calculation.”

dvādaśārdha-palonmānaṁ caturbhiś catur-aṅgulaiḥ

svarṇa-māṣaiḥ kṛta-cchidraṁ yāvat prastha-jala-plutam

“The measuring pot for one nāḍikā, or daṇḍa, can be prepared with a six-pala-weight [fourteen ounce] pot of copper, in which a hole is bored with a gold probe weighing four māṣa and measuring four fingers long. When the pot is placed on water, the time before the water overflows in the pot is called one daṇḍa.”

 

yāmāś catvāraś catvāro martyānām ahanī ubhe

pakṣaḥ pañca-daśāhāni śuklaḥ kṛṣṇaś ca mānada

“It is calculated that there are four praharas, which are also called yāmas, in the day and four in the night of the human being. Similarly, fifteen days and nights are a fortnight, and there are two fortnights, white and black, in a month.”

tayoḥ samuccayo māsaḥ pitṝṇāṁ tad ahar-niśam

dvau tāv ṛtuḥ ṣaḍ ayanaṁ dakṣiṇaṁ cottaraṁ divi

“The aggregate of two fortnights is one month, and that period is one complete day and night for the Pitā planets. Two of such months comprise one season, and six months comprise one complete movement of the sun from south to north.”

ayane cāhanī prāhur vatsaro dvādaśa smṛtaḥ

saṁvatsara-śataṁ nṝṇāṁ paramāyur nirūpitam

“Two solar movements make one day and night of the demigods, and that combination of day and night is one complete calendar year for the human being. The human being has a duration of life of one hundred years.”

graharkṣa-tārā-cakra-sthaḥ paramāṇv-ādinā jagat

saṁvatsarāvasānena paryety animiṣo vibhuḥ

“Influential stars, planets, luminaries and atoms all over the universe are rotating in their respective orbits under the direction of the Supreme, represented by eternal kāla.”

saṁvatsaraḥ parivatsara iḍā-vatsara eva ca

anuvatsaro vatsaraś ca viduraivaṁ prabhāṣyate

“There are five different names for the orbits of the sun, moon, stars and luminaries in the firmament, and they each have their own saṁvatsara.”

yaḥ sṛjya-śaktim urudhocchvasayan sva-śaktyā

puṁso ‘bhramāya divi dhāvati bhūta-bhedaḥ

kālākhyayā guṇamayaṁ kratubhir vitanvaṁs

tasmai baliṁ harata vatsara-pañcakāya

“O Vidura, the sun enlivens all living entities with his unlimited heat and light. He diminishes the duration of life of all living entities in order to release them from their illusion of material attachment, and he enlarges the path of elevation to the heavenly kingdom. He thus moves in the firmament with great velocity, and therefore everyone should offer him respects once every five years with all ingredients of worship.”

vidura uvāca

pitṛ-deva-manuṣyāṇām āyuḥ param idaṁ smṛtam

pareṣāṁ gatim ācakṣva ye syuḥ kalpād bahir vidaḥ

“Vidura said: I now understand the life durations of the residents of the Pitā planets and heavenly planets as well as that of the human beings. Now kindly inform me of the durations of life of those greatly learned living entities who are beyond the range of a kalpa.”

bhagavān veda kālasya gatiṁ bhagavato nanu

viśvaṁ vicakṣate dhīrā yoga-rāddhena cakṣuṣā

“O spiritually powerful one, you can understand the movements of eternal time, which is the controlling form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because you are a self-realized person, you can see everything by the power of mystic vision.”

maitreya uvāca

kṛtaṁ tretā dvāparaṁ ca kaliś ceti catur-yugam

divyair dvādaśabhir varṣaiḥ sāvadhānaṁ nirūpitam

“Maitreya said: O Vidura, the four millenniums are called the Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali yugas. The aggregate number of years of all of these combined is equal to twelve thousand years of the demigods.”

catvāri trīṇi dve caikaṁ kṛtādiṣu yathā-kramam

saṅkhyātāni sahasrāṇi dvi-guṇāni śatāni ca

“The duration of the Satya millennium equals 4,800 years of the years of the demigods; the duration of the Treta millennium equals 3600 years of the demigods; the duration of the Dvāpara millennium equals 2,400 years; and that of the Kali millennium is 1,200 years of the demigods.”

sandhyā-sandhyāṁśayor antar yaḥ kālaḥ śata-saṅkhyayoḥ

tam evāhur yugaṁ taj-jñā yatra dharmo vidhīyate

“The transitional periods before and after every millennium, which are a few hundred years as aforementioned, are known as yuga-sandhyās, or the conjunctions of two millenniums, according to the expert astronomers. In those periods all kinds of religious activities are performed.”

dharmaś catuṣ-pān manujān kṛte samanuvartate

sa evānyeṣv adharmeṇa vyeti pādena vardhatā

“O Vidura, in the Satya millennium mankind properly and completely maintained the principles of religion, but in other millenniums religion gradually decreased by one part as irreligion was proportionately admitted.”

tri-lokyā yuga-sāhasraṁ bahir ābrahmaṇo dinam

tāvaty eva niśā tāta yan nimīlati viśva-sṛk

“Outside of the three planetary systems [Svarga, Martya and Pātāla], the four yugas multiplied by one thousand comprise one day on the planet of Brahmā. A similar period comprises a night of Brahmā, in which the creator of the universe goes to sleep.”

niśāvasāna ārabdho loka-kalpo ‘nuvartate

yāvad dinaṁ bhagavato manūn bhuñjaṁś catur-daśa

“After the end of Brahmā’s night, the creation of the three worlds begins again in the daytime of Brahmā, and they continue to exist through the life durations of fourteen consecutive Manus, or fathers of mankind.”

svaṁ svaṁ kālaṁ manur bhuṅkte sādhikāṁ hy eka-saptatim

“Each and every Manu enjoys a life of a little more than seventy-one sets of four millenniums.”

manvantareṣu manavas tad-vaṁśyā ṛṣayaḥ surāḥ

bhavanti caiva yugapat sureśāś cānu ye ca tān

”After the dissolution of each and every Manu, the next Manu comes in order, along with his descendants, who rule over the different planets; but the seven famous sages, and demigods like Indra and their followers, such as the Gandharvas, all appear simultaneously with Manu.”

eṣa dainan-dinaḥ sargo brāhmas trailokya-vartanaḥ

tiryaṅ-nṛ-pitṛ-devānāṁ sambhavo yatra karmabhiḥ

“In the creation, during Brahmā’s day, the three planetary systems—Svarga, Martya and Pātāla—revolve, and the inhabitants, including the lower animals, human beings, demigods and Pitās, appear and disappear in terms of their fruitive activities.”

manvantareṣu bhagavān bibhrat sattvaṁ sva-mūrtibhiḥ

manv-ādibhir idaṁ viśvam avaty udita-pauruṣaḥ

“In each and every change of Manu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by manifesting His internal potency in different incarnations, as Manu and others. Thus He maintains the universe by discovered power.”

tamo-mātrām upādāya pratisaṁruddha-vikramaḥ

kālenānugatāśeṣa āste tūṣṇīṁ dinātyaye

“At the end of the day, under the insignificant portion of the mode of darkness, the powerful manifestation of the universe merges in the darkness of night. By the influence of eternal time, the innumerable living entities remain merged in that dissolution, and everything is silent.”

tam evānv api dhīyante lokā bhūr-ādayas trayaḥ

niśāyām anuvṛttāyāṁ nirmukta-śaśi-bhāskaram

“When the night of Brahmā ensues, all the three worlds are out of sight, and the sun and the moon are without glare, just as in the due course of an ordinary night.”

tri-lokyāṁ dahyamānāyāṁ śaktyā saṅkarṣaṇāgninā

yānty ūṣmaṇā maharlokāj janaṁ bhṛgv-ādayo ‘rditāḥ

“The devastation takes place due to the fire emanating from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and thus great sages like Bhṛgu and other inhabitants of Maharloka transport themselves to Janaloka, being distressed by the warmth of the blazing fire which rages through the three worlds below.”

tāvat tri-bhuvanaṁ sadyaḥ kalpāntaidhita-sindhavaḥ

plāvayanty utkaṭāṭopa-caṇḍa-vāteritormayaḥ

“At the beginning of the devastation all the seas overflow, and hurricane winds blow very violently. Thus the waves of the seas become ferocious, and in no time at all the three worlds are full of water.”

antaḥ sa tasmin salila āste ‘nantāsano hariḥ

yoga-nidrā-nimīlākṣaḥ stūyamāno janālayaiḥ

“The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, lies down in the water on the seat of Ananta, with His eyes closed, and the inhabitants of the Janaloka planets offer their glorious prayers unto the Lord with folded hands.”

evaṁ-vidhair aho-rātraiḥ kāla-gatyopalakṣitaiḥ

apakṣitam ivāsyāpi paramāyur vayaḥ-śatam

“Thus the process of the exhaustion of the duration of life exists for every one of the living beings, including Lord Brahmā. One’s life endures for only one hundred years, in terms of the times in the different planets.”

yad ardham āyuṣas tasya parārdham abhidhīyate

pūrvaḥ parārdho ‘pakrānto hy aparo ‘dya pravartate

“The one hundred years of Brahmā’s life are divided into two parts, the first half and the second half. The first half of the duration of Brahmā’s life is already over, and the second half is now current.”

pūrvasyādau parārdhasya brāhmo nāma mahān abhūt

kalpo yatrābhavad brahmā śabda-brahmeti yaṁ viduḥ

“In the beginning of the first half of Brahmā’s life, there was a millennium called Brāhma-kalpa, wherein Lord Brahmā appeared. The birth of the Vedas was simultaneous with Brahmā’s birth.”

tasyaiva cānte kalpo ‘bhūd yaṁ pādmam abhicakṣate

yad dharer nābhi-sarasa āsīl loka-saroruham

“The millennium which followed the first Brāhma millennium is known as the Pādma-kalpa because in that millennium the universal lotus flower grew out of the navel reservoir of water of the Personality of Godhead, Hari.”

ayaṁ tu kathitaḥ kalpo dvitīyasyāpi bhārata

vārāha iti vikhyāto yatrāsīc chūkaro hariḥ

“O descendant of Bharata, the first millennium in the second half of the life of Brahmā is also known as the Vārāha millennium because the Personality of Godhead appeared in that millennium as the hog incarnation.”

kālo ‘yaṁ dvi-parārdhākhyo nimeṣa upacaryate

avyākṛtasyānantasya hy anāder jagad-ātmanaḥ

“The duration of the two parts of Brahmā’s life, as above mentioned, is calculated to be equal to one nimeṣa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchanging and unlimited and is the cause of all causes of the universe.”

kālo ‘yaṁ paramāṇv-ādir dvi-parārdhānta īśvaraḥ

naiveśituṁ prabhur bhūmna īśvaro dhāma-māninām

“Eternal time is certainly the controller of different dimensions, from that of the atom up to the superdivisions of the duration of Brahmā’s life; but, nevertheless, it is controlled by the Supreme. Time can control only those who are body conscious, even up to the Satyaloka or the other higher planets of the universe.”

Prakrti

Durga is the personified external energy of the Lord

     The external potency of the Lord is called prakṛti or bahiraṅga-śakti, the energy responsible for all the material manifestations. It is thus defined by the śāstras:

gaur anādy-antavatī sā janitrī bhūta-bhāvinī

sitāsitā ca raktā ca sarva-kāma-dughā vibhoḥ

(Mantrikā Upaniṣad, 5)

            “The Supreme Lord’s external energy is the beginningless and endless genetrix, the source of the manifestation of all created beings. It is white, red, and black,  and is compared to a cow from which all desirable things can be milked.”

 

triguṇaṁ taj-jagad-yonir anādi-prabhavāpyayam

acetanā parārthā ca nityā satata-vikriyā

triguṇaṁ karmiṇāṁ kṣetraṁ prakṛte rūpam ucyate

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa, 1.2.21; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.4.10)

“Material nature is beginningless, it is neither created nor destroyed. It consists of the three material modes and is the source of this universe. It is unconscious, eternal, unchanging, and meant for others. It is said to be the field where the conditioned souls perform their actions under the spell of the modes.”

 

The mode of goodness is the cause of illumination, self-satisfaction, knowledge, etc. The mode of passion causes misery, sensual desires, fruitive work, attachment, greed, etc. The mode of ignorance causes negligence, laziness, sleep, madness, darkness, illusion, etc. The balance stage of these modes in the universe causes the universal devastation. Their misbalance produces the creation of all material elements and the material bodies of the conditioned souls. Thus, everything that exists inside the universe is composed of a certain combination of the modes, among which one is always predominant. For example, in the animals the mode of ignorance is prominent; in the human beings, the mode of passion; and in the demigods, the mode of goodness. By the interaction of the modes, the mahat-tattva emanates, which is the substance from which all the material elements will further appear. By the interaction of the mahat-tattva with the modes, the ahaṅkāra becomes manifested, which causes the living entities to falsely identify themselves with the material body.  This is explained thus:

tebhyaḥ samabhavat sūtraṁ mahān sūtreṇa saṁyutaḥ

tato vikurvato jāto yo ‘haṅkāro vimohanaḥ

(Bhāgavatam, 11.24.6; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.6)

“From these modes arose the primeval sūtra, along with the mahat-tattva. By the transformation of the mahat-tattva was generated the false ego, the cause of the living entities’ bewilderment.”

 

 By the interaction of the ahaṅkāra with the mode of goodness, the mind and the presiding deities of the senses appear. By the interaction of the ahaṅkāra with the mode of passion, the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the five working senses appear. By the interaction of the ahaṅkāra with the mode of ignorance, the five sense objects become manifest, from which the five gross elements appear, namely ether, air, fire, water, and earth.

vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tri-vṛt

tan-mātrendriya-manasāṁ kāraṇaṁ cid-acin-mayaḥ

(Bhāgavatam, 11.24.7; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3, Adhikarana 7)

“False ego, which is the cause of physical sensation, the senses, and the mind, encompasses both spirit and matter and manifests, in three varieties: in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance.”

arthas tan-mātrikāj jajñe tāmasād indriyāṇi ca

taijasād devatā āsann ekādaśa ca vaikṛtāt

(Bhāgavatam, 11.24.7-8)

 “From false ego in the mode of ignorance came the subtle physical perceptions, from which the gross elements were generated. From false ego in the mode of passion came the senses, and from false ego in the mode of goodness arose the eleven demigods.”

mahat-tattvād vikurvāṇād bhagavad-vīrya-sambhavāt

kriyā-śaktir ahaṅkāras tri-vidhaḥ samapadyata

vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś ca yato bhavaḥ

manasaś cendriyāṇāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ mahatām api

(Ibidem, 3.26.23-24; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.4.6)

 “The material ego springs up from the mahat-tattva, which evolved from the Lord’s own energy. The material ego is endowed predominantly with active power of three kinds—good, passionate and ignorant. It is from these three types of material ego that the mind, the senses of perception, the organs of action, and the gross elements evolve.”

     In summary, prakṛti expands into mahat-tattva, false-ego, intelligence, mind, ether, air, fire, water, earth, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, the five working senses, and the five sense objects, thus totalizing twenty-four material elements, which comprise the field of activities for the living entity.

Jiva-tattva

             The living entities are also part of the Lord’s internal energy, but due to their tendency to be situated either in the spiritual world or in the material world, they are called taṭastha-śakti, the marginal potency. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains:

bhūmir āpo ‘nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca

ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

 “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.”

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām

jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

(Bhagavad-gītā 7.4-5; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.2)

“Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.”

Being part and parcel of the Lord, the jīvas also share some of His qualities in minute proportion, among which consciousness is the main one by which they are distinguished from inert matter. Although both possess a spiritual nature and eternal existence, the śruti clearly makes a distinction between the living entities and the Supreme Lord:

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān

(Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.2.13); Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.16)

 “There is one eternal being among many eternal beings, one sentient being among many sentient beings, the one Who brings about their desirable objects.”

This statement also corroborates the fact that every jīva is a distinct being, endowed with consciousness limited to his particular body. His fragmental dimension and eternality are thus corroborated:

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca

bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, 5.9; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.3.25)

“The individual soul is meant for liberation and should be understood as having the size conceived as the hundredth part of the tip of a hair again divided by one hundred.”

The living entities are often referred to in the scriptures as the aṁśas or vibhinnāṁśas of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He declares:

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ

manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati

(Bhagavad-gītā, 15.7; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.43)

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.”

This is confirmed by the following statement:

etāvann asya mahimato jyāyāṁś ca puruṣaḥ

pado ‘sya sarva-bhūtāni tri-pad asyāmṛtaṁ divi

(Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 3.12.6; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.24)

 "Such is the greatness of the Supreme Person. Immortality is situated in the spiritual sky and comprises three quarters of the Supreme Lord’s creation, while all created beings and material elements comprise one quarter."

The above quotes from the śruti suffice to refute the false theory that the living entities and the Supreme Lord are one and the same in the liberated stage by proving that the jīvas are eternally His subordinate particles. By using the word ‘sanātana,’ Lord Kṛṣṇa refutes the idea that the soul remains as a separate unit so long as his material designations exist, after which he becomes one and the same as the Supreme, for ‘eternally’ obviously means either in the conditioned stage or in the liberated stage. This is further corroborated:

na hi vijñātur vijñāter viparilopo vidyate (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.3.30)

(Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.3.30; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.29)

“The consciousness of the conscious being is never destroyed.”

Since the jīva is eternally conscious and can never be deprived of any of these two attributes, it is natural to conclude that in the liberated stage, the living entity remains as a single conscious being eternally.

 The consciousness pervades through the body just as the sun through the universe, and for this reason, one is conscious of bodily perceptions in any limb. This perception, however, is limited to a single body, for whatever is experienced by one cannot be experienced by anyone else simultaneously, such as in the case of a headache. This common-sense example proves that each jīva is unique in his identity, and his subjective experiences are restricted to his own perception. The same is not true regarding Paramātmā, the Lord in the heart of everyone, for although He is one and the same, He can expand Himself unlimitedly as to observe everything that the living entities think, speak, feel, desire or do. Both the śruti and the smṛti give a lot of evidence for this fact:

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā

samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte

tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty

anaśnann anyo abhicākaśīti

(Śvetāvatara Upaniṣad, 4.6)

“Two birds are sitting together on the same tree as friends. One of them is eating the sweet fruits of sense enjoyment, while the other one just observes without eating.”

 

Lord Kṛṣṇa says:

upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ

paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe ‘smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ

(Bhagavad-gītā, 13.23; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.7)

“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.”

 The soul, being intrinsically a spiritual being, should never be identified with any material element, gross or subtle. It is only due to the illusory potency of the Lord that the soul identifies himself with a body composed of five gross elements and with a subtle body composed of mind, intelligence and false ego. In the liberated stage, however, the soul exists free from all these coverings in a spiritual body consisting of sac-cid-ānanda.

 Another feature the jīvas share with the Supreme Lord is the desire to perform activities and the desire to enjoy. However, only in the original constitutional position can the jīvas act in the pure spiritual platform and enjoy transcendental rasa, while in the material world, due to the influence of the false ego and the consequent bodily identification, they assume the authorship of the activities that are indeed an interaction of the three modes of material nature. This is so explained by Lord Kṛṣṇa:

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

(Bhagavad-gītā, 3.27; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3. Adhikaraṇa 14)

“The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.”

However, all this cycle of material activities that the jīva under illusion claims to perform have behind them a supervisor, as stated above, the Lord in heart, Who is inspiring, directing and reminding every living entity in the course of his respective karma. He guides the soul from within in the form of the Supersoul, and from without in the form of the holy scriptures and the spiritual master. It is said:

eṣa eva sādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam ebhyo lokebhya unninīṣata eṣa u evainam asādhu karma kārayati taṁ yam adho ninīṣate (Kauśītaki-brāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, 3.9; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.2.41)

“Whomever the Supreme Lord desires to carry to heaven, He inspires him to perform pious deeds. Whomever the Supreme Lord desires to carry to hell, He inspires him to perform sinful deeds.” The Brahma-sūtra (2.3.39) confirms:

parāt tu tac-chruteḥ

“The jīva’s doership depends on the Supreme Lord, for this is stated in the śruti.”

 

Then, which kind of activity would be performed by the liberated jīva in the spiritual world? By constitution, the jīva is an eternal servant of the Lord, therefore only when reinstated in that capacity one can attain full bliss. One of the pratipādya-vākyas of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism is thus enunciated by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’

kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa

(Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya 20.108; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.4.43)

"It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord.”

 

Even in the material world, the jīvas retain their status as servants, although in a perverted way. Thus, one becomes the servant of family or society, while the root purpose is to serve one’s own senses, either individually or collectively. Innumerable statements from the scriptures prove that even in the ultimate stage of liberation the living entities engage eternally in the devotional service of the Lord, thus refuting the theory that they merge in the Supreme and lose their identities, for it is not possible to speak of service without individual existence. This view is supported in this way:

sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya-sārūpyaikatvam apy uta

dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ

(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam , 3.29.13; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.4.42)

“A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation—sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or ekatva—even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

 

For the attainment of liberation, it is imperative that one should receive instructions from a bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him. Although the guru is also a jīva, due to his elevated position in the path of bhakti-yoga, he is able to take the disciple to Lord Kṛṣṇa. As Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī prays:

sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ

kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(Gurvāṣṭakam, 7; Govinda-bhāṣya, 3.3.45)

"The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Śrī Hari."

Here the word ‘kintu’ is very significant, for simply because the guru should be shown the same respect as God, one should not erroneously think that he is God. Therefore, our ācārya says that the spiritual master is worshipped as God, ‘but’ he is not God, rather he is the beloved of God. Because he is so dear to the Lord, he has the power to deliver the Lord to whomever he wishes. His oneness with God consists in his spiritual quality, dovetailing his soul to God’s will, never in quantity or identity. The scriptural statements used by the Advaitavādīs are better understood from this angle of vision. For example:

yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim

tadā vidvān puṇya-pāpe vidhūya nirañjanaḥ paramaṁ sāmyam upaiti

(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, 3.1.3; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.2.23)

“When one sees the Supreme Person of golden complexion, the Lord and creator, the source of the brahma-jyoti, then shaking off pious and sinful reactions, this wise seer whose heart is pure attains transcendental similarity with the Supreme Lord.”

Here the word ‘samyam’ means similarity, not oneness, thus implying that the jīva still remains an individual, but only his status in the liberated stage is different from that in the conditioned stage. Otherwise, the affirmation that the living entity attains a different ontological state after liberation would contradict the śāstric evidence that the soul is immutable, never undergoing any change. Even in the conditioned life, the soul is never touched by matter, and thus always keeps his own transcendental nature, although circumstantially covered. This difference and non-difference is also implied in the following statement:

brahmaiva san brahmāpnoti (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.4.6; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.17)

 "Being Brahman, the individual spirit soul attains Brahman."

 

Here it is clearly mentioned that the soul is Brahman and that he attains Brahman. Now, it is neither logical nor feasible to say that one attains something that he already is. Therefore, the simple conclusion is that we must qualify the terms in order to understand that the Brahman soul attains the Brahman abode where he enjoys a similar Brahman nature with the Parabrahma, Who is quantitatively and ontologically a being distinct from all other beings. It is this disassociation from the Lord and His abode that makes the status of the conditioned entities different from that of the liberated ones, for under no condition the jīva ever loses his status as Brahman. When the scriptures speak of the Supreme Lord as the all in all, that refers to His all-pervasive feature that propels all the universal elements and the living beings to act, for none of them has any independent power apart from the will of God. This obviously does not support the pantheistic view that everything is God, as if He had become amalgamated or diluted in His creation. Certain statements from the śāstra should be interpreted according to the philosophical context instead of the immediate literal meaning, for otherwise we would end up with innumerable contradictions and unable to draw any conclusion. For example, let us consider the following prayer:

yo’yaṁ tavāgato deva samīpaṁ devatā-gaṇaḥ

sa tvam eva jagat-sraṣṭā yataḥ sarva-gato bhavān

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa, 1.9.69; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.30)

            “O Lord, this host of demigods that has come before You is You Yourself, for You are omnipresent, the creator of the universe.”

Here one should not hastily conclude that the demigods are also God, for this is not what it is meant. Moreover, it would be meaningless for the demigods to offer prayers to God unless they are distinct from one another. What is philosophically meant here is the fact that all souls and their material bodies are expansions of the energy of the Lord and are maintained by Him, and therefore there is no possibility of their existence apart from Him, since He pervades all and everything. But at the same time, there is no scope for stating that on this basis, ontological diversity is not a reality, for the Lord is still clearly referred to as the Supreme All-pervasive. If instead of a Supreme Person, what pervades everything is the same common principle present everywhere, then there would be no need to glorify anyone, nor there would be any difference between the prowess of one being and another, nor any kind of dependence.

 Then, again the monists may propose that the jīva is indeed Brahman covered by avidyā, and once this ignorance is removed by the process of knowledge, the soul is reinstated as Brahman just like the sky inside an earthen pot is again one with the outside sky once the pot is broken, or just like the same sun is reflected in innumerable reservoirs of water. These illustrations, however, are defective to describe the soul either in his conditioned or liberated phase. Since the impersonalists consider Brahman an undistinguished agglomerate of consciousness, how it could be possibly divided and covered by avidyā? This would contradict both common sense and the scriptural descriptions of the soul’s indivisible nature and Brahman’s supremacy. And if Brahman is impersonal and formless, how could it be reflected at all? Otherwise, in the given illustration we could wonder why the wind and the directions— both formless— don’t display any reflection, although situated in the sky just like the sun. The fact here is that just like the sky, the soul’s nature does not change after liberation, but simply gets rid of its material designations. Moreover, no sane man would say that the sun is inside the glass of water, for anyone can understand that the reflection is due to a mere particle of its rays that are temporarily appearing on the surface of the water. Further evidence from the śruti confirms the eternal difference between the jīva and the Lord:

pṛthag ātmānaṁ preritāraṁ ca matvā

juṣṭas tatas tenāmṛtatvam eti

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, 1.6; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.1.2)

“Considering oneself and the Supreme Ruler as different, one then becomes pleased and thus attains immortality.”

By rejecting this siddhānta and accepting the monist one, several incongruities accrue. For example, it would not be possible to ascertain who is a bona fide spiritual master, for one who realized the same undivided spiritual nature in everyone would contradict his own philosophy by seeing someone as a different person to be accepted as a disciple. Thus, if one does accept a disciple, he is not a realized monist; and if he does not, nobody would be instructed. In any case, there would be no possibility of a disciplic succession, which would violate the Vedic injunctions.

 A doubt may be raised regarding the origin of the jīvas: if everything is a creation of God, we may conclude that the souls are also made by Him. Some statements of the scriptures may apparently give this idea:

yataḥ prasūtā jagataḥ prasūtī toyena jīvān vyasasarja bhūmyām

(Mahā-Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad, 1.4; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3. Adhikaraṇa 11)

 "The universe was born from the Supreme Lord, and through water, He created the living beings on the earth."

san-mūlāḥ somyemāḥ sarvāḥ prajāḥ sad-āyatanāḥ sat-pratiṣṭhāḥ (Chāndogya 6.8.4)

“Dear Śvetaketu, all these created beings have the Supreme Lord (sat) as their root, support and ultimate abode.”

 

But we should understand that there is no contradiction in the śāstra, therefore when it is mentioned that the souls are born, that is obviously referring to the material body accepted by the jīva, who is eternally unborn, as already stated:

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ

ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

(Bhagavad-gītā, 2.20; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.16)

“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. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

 

It is also stated in the śruti yhat the jīva was never born:

jñājñau dvāv ajāv īśānīśāv ajā hy ekā bhoktṛ-bhogārtha-yuktā

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, 1.9; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.16)

“Both the Supreme Lord and the jīva are never born, but the Lord is omniscient, while the jīva is ignorant.

It is only a matter of worldly convention to say that such-and-such person was born or died, as well as holding ceremonies like jāta-karma, for indeed all these usages are directly applied with reference to the body, not the soul. The jīva is certainly different from the material body, merely dwelling within it like a passenger:

sa vā ayaṁ puruṣo jāyamānaḥ śarīram abhisampadyamānaḥ sa utkraman mriyamāṇaḥ

(Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.3.8; Govinda-bhāṣya, 1.3.43)

 "When one takes birth, the soul enters a material body, and when one dies, the soul leaves the body."

 

jīvopetam vāva kiledaṁ mriyate na jīvo mriyate

(Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 6.11.3)

 "When the body possessed of a soul dies, the soul does not die."

How is the nature of the soul to be understood? It is perceivable that the conscious living entities are cognizant of themselves (dharmi-jñāna) and of the external world (dharma-bhūta-jñāna), therefore endowed with knowledge. Some claim that the soul is knowledge itself, while the gauḍīya siddhānta is that the jīva is the knower and has knowledge as his attribute, thus being both of them simultaneously. This is based on some particular passages from the śruti, like the following one:

eṣa hi draṣṭā spraṣṭā śrotā ghrātā rasayitā mantā boddhā kartā vijñānātmā puruṣaḥ

(Praśna Upaniṣad, 4.9)

“The individual soul is consciousness itself, the one who sees, the one who touches, the one who hears, the one who smells, and the one who tastes. It is the thinker, the knower, and the doer.”

In the Smṛti-śāstra it is said :

jñātā jñāna-svarūpo ‘yam

 "The jīva is both consciousness and conscious."

 Some consider the soul’s consciousness to be temporary, acquired under some specific circumstances, giving up which the jīva again attains his original state characterized by unconsciousness. They believe that it is the mere contact of the living entity with the mind that produces the perception of knowledge, and that otherwise the soul is incapable of perception, just as someone in a state of dreamless sleep does not perceive anything. They claim that the mind brings about cognition to the soul just like an iron rod put in the fire acquires fiery attributes and that if knowledge were eternal it would not be possible for the soul to be unconscious at any stage, such as in deep sleep. Moreover, if knowledge were an intrinsic attribute of the soul there would be no need for any sense organ such as the mind and the five acquiring knowledge senses, for under any condition the soul would be able to experience cognition. The Vedic conclusion, however, refutes all these arguments in the following way:

avināśī vā are ayam ātmānucchitti-dharmā

(Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.5.14; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.26),

“O Maitreyī, the individual soul is imperishable and has indestructible attributes.”

 

Cognition cannot be produced by the contact of the soul with the mind, for none of them is constituted by parts nor is the soul ever subject to any factual interaction with any material element. The soul’s eternal knowledge is simply temporarily covered due to the influence of the Lord’s external illusory potency and again revived by the process of devotional service unto Him:

yathā na kriyate jyotsnā mala-prakṣālanān maṇeḥ

doṣa-prahāṇān na jñānam ātmanaḥ kriyate tathā

yathodapāna-khananāt kriyate na jalāntaram

sad eva nīyate vyaktim asataḥ sambhavaḥ kutaḥ

tathā heya-guṇa-dhvaṁsād avabodhādayo guṇāḥ

prakāśyante na janyante nityā evātmano hi te

(Viṣṇu-dharma Purāṇa, 100.55-57; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.26)

“Just as a jewel’s light is not created by cleansing it from dirt, a living entity’s consciousness is not created by removing material contamination. Just as water is not produced by digging a well, only an existent being becomes manifest. How can a non-existent being be brought into existence? Similarly, after negative qualities have been destroyed, qualities like consciousness are merely revealed, and not produced, for they are eternal attributes of the soul.”

Knowledge exists eternally along with the jīva and cannot be alienated in any circumstance, just like fire and its light exist concomitantly. Therefore there is no contradiction in calling the soul knowledge itself or saying that it possesses knowledge as his attribute. However, it can be latent or dormant in specific conditions, such as under the material coverings. The example given is that in childhood one’s procreative power is in a latent phase to be manifested later. This is described in the following words:

yad vai tan na vijānāti vijānan vaitad vijñeyam na vijānāti na hi vijnātur vijñānāt viparilopo vidyate avināśitvāt (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 4.3.30; Govinda-bhāṣya, 2.3.29)

 "During dreamless sleep, the soul is not aware, but it is conscious and simply does not perceive any cognizable object. The consciousness cannot be separated from the conscious being, since it is never destroyed."

 

If consciousness or knowledge did not exist in the soul as an intrinsic attribute, then even in the wakeful state, it would not be possible to apprehend anything, for the senses themselves are mere material elements, which once left by the soul are simply dead matter. The soul’s spiritual senses, however, are also eternal and are also non-different from the soul. They can be fully manifested only in the spiritual world or in this world by those who are jīvan-muktas, liberated even before leaving the material world.