Vedanta Sutra

Chapter One
First Storm
Concord of Scriptural Texts

	Due to the gradual advance of time, the self-evident meaning of the Vedas was in danger of being misinterpreted and forgotten. To prevent this, the empowred incarnation of the Lord as VyÄsadeva composed the VedÄnta-sŸtra as an exposition of the true meaning of the Vedas. The first chapter of the VedÄnta-sŸtra shows how the Vedic literatures uniformly teach the supreme position of the Personality of Godhead ür" K¨§ºa, who is the source of creation, maintenance and destruction, who is all-blissful, who possesses innumerable auspicious qualities, and who is therefore not an impersonal thing, but the Supreme Person. Because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is impossible for other living beings to also be God. The Vedic literature unanimously declare that the living entities are eternal parts and parcels of God and, therefore, not wholly equal to Him. By examining them in their original context, ür"la VyÄsadeva proves that all those texts that seem to contradict the above mentioned conclusions actually support them. 

TEXT 1
SüTRA 1.1.1

athÄto brahma-jij-ÄsÄ

	atha-now; ataú-therefore; brahma-the Absolute; jij-ÄsÄ-the desire to know.

TRANSLATION
	Now, therefore, one should desire to know the Absolute.

PURPORT
	The word atha, or now, is to indicate the urgency of knowing the Absolute. From sunrise to sunset we pass our time in the vanity of this world. We rarely consider that there could be something of greater significance than the trivialitites of this world. We rarely wonder what the exact position of this world is or what its basis is. The Vedic literatures designate the underlying basis of this world as Brahman, or the Absolute. The word Brahman is derived from the word b¨hat, which means big or great. Brahman indicates that which has no equal or superior, the greatest. Because the Absolute is the foundation upon which all existence rests, everything is related to Him either directly or indirectly. The VedÄnta-sŸtra elaborates on that relativity.
	Due to our ignorance of our relationship with the Absolute, we experience the difficulties of material life. Therefore, it is the vital interest of everyone to know the Absolute. Regardless of whatever condition or situation one may be in, one should strive to know the Absolute. There are no qualifications or disqualifications regarding who should inquire about the Absolute. Everyone should and can know the Absolute. It does not matter what one did previously or what one is doing presently, when the desire arises in the heart, one should begin to inquire about the Absolute. Even if a person engaged in sinful activities should show some interest inGod, he or she should be encouraged because that inquisitiveness directed toward God can elevate such a person to holy life.

sütra 1.1.2

janmÄdy asya yataú

	janma-Ädi-creation, maintenance and destruction; asya-of this [material world]; yataú-from whom.

translation
	The Absolute is He from whom proceeds the creation, maintenance and destruction of the world.

purport
	This sŸtra defines the Absolute as the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the material existence. Although certain individuals may wield political or economic power over a certain tract of land, the Absolute is omnipotent and the source of everything. Therefore, the Absolute is one without a second. Because everything emanates from Him, He is prior to everything. He exists in infinity and eternity beyond the limiting constraints of matter, space and time.
	Although some people may claim to be God or an incarnation of God, they cannot illustrate their being the creator, maintainer and destroyer of everything. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of God and are manifested as one of His special energies-the ta asthÄ 1/2akti,  or marginal potency-they automatically exhibit some of God’s characteristics, such as existence, consciousness, and bliss. However, since He is the Complet Whole, the Absolute possesses certain qualities and attributes which the living entities do not, such as being the creator, maintainer and destroyer of everything.
	The world is not existing by the forces of chance or by some unknown accident. The world has a specific cause who is God. By establishing Him as the source of the material existence, the VedÄnta-sŸtra isolates Him from all other entities. He is always to be considered greater than all others. This is in consonance with the word Brahman, meaning „the Greatest.“
	The most significant thing about this sŸtra is that it establishes from the very outset that the VedÄnta-sŸtra proposes that God is the Supreme Person and not an impersonal Absolute. This is obvious by the fact that He is designated as the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the world. There is no possibility of a creation without an intelligence to plan it, and a creation cannot reach completion unless there is an intelligence to control the process. There is meaning, purpose and order to the universe. Each things obeys certain laws applicable to itself and does not ever sudenly follow those laws not applicable to it. Therefore, we must assume that there is an intelligence great enough to have brought the creation to its present stage. Intelligence is not some vague impersonal thing floating around in the upper stratusphere like a trace element or a cloud. Intelligence is the symptom of a personality. By this sŸtra, thererfore, VyÄsadeva wishes to make us understand that the Absolute about whome everyone should know is not something material or impersonal but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is nothing and no one greater than Him because He is the origin of everything. He controls everything and He destroys everything. An impersonal Absolute cannot create, maintain or annihilate because it is impersonal. An impersonal cannot manifest personal activities because, by definition, there is no scope for such activities in it. Therefore, the Brahman who is the topic of this VedÄnta-sŸtra, is not an impersonal Absolute but the Supreme Personality of Godhead whom the Bhagavad-g"tÄ calles K¨§ºa, the All-attractive One.

sütra 1.1.3

1/2Ästra-yonitvÄt
	1/2Ästra-scripture; yonitvÄt-because of being the source [of information about God].

translation
	The scriptures are the source of information about the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT
	The Vedic literatures are not the fanciful creation of human genius. They are called üruti, or revelation, because they are revealed by God. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is, by nature, transcendental. The living entities’ span of sense perception is limited by distance and is prone to error, and the mind has to function on the basis of these imperfect senses. Therefore, the living entities are incapable of realizing God, the All-perfect, through their senses. We are finite specks and the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead is infinite. Hence, the proposal to realize God through one’s own senses is ludicrous.
	Being aware of our shortcomings, the Lord has revealed information about Himself in the text of the Vedas. The Vedas constitute a perfect source of knowledge about God. They are apauru§eya, free from all human defect. Someone may try to mentally speculate about God, but since He has already given information about Himself in the scriptures, why not accept that? As long as the soul is conditioned by the material body and mind, the only way he can get perfect knowledge about God is through the revealed scriptures. Any other means is sure to be imperfect.

SüTRA 1.1.4

tat tu samanvayÄt

	tat-that [the fact that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the chief topic of the Vedas ]; tu-however; samanvayÄt-because of concordance of texts.

TRANSLATION
	The Vedas uniformly teach about the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of the universal agreement of all texts on this issue.

PURPORT
	There are two sections of the Vedas: karma-kÄº¶a and j-Äna-kÄº¶a. Although the j-Äna-kÄº¶a directly teaches knowledge about the Absolute, the karma-kÄº¶a deals more specifically with the details of rituals for the fulfillment of material desires. Thus, one can easily doubt whether the scriptures really intend to teach about God or whether they may deal with other things which they consider equally as important. Samanvaya means the correct determination of a passage by examing its context and by discussing its pros and cons. By doing this, one arrives at the proper sense of a passage. This is what is meant by concordance or agreement of texts as mentioned in the present sŸtra. That all the Vedas teach about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also corroborated by the Vedic literatures:
yo ‘sau sarvair vedair g"yate
„He is glorified by all the Vedas.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad )
sarve vedÄ yat padam Ämananti
tapÄµsi sarvÄºi ca yad vadanti
yad icchanto brahmacÄryaµ caranti
tat te padaµ sa›grahena brav"mi
	„That word which all the Vedas declare and which all austerities proclaim, which men desire when they practice celibacy, that word I shall briefly declare.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.15 )
taµ tv aupani§adaµ puru§aµ p¨cchÄmi

	„I am asking about that Person who is taught in the Upani§ads. „ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.9.26)
vedai1/2 ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedÄnta-k¨d veda-vid eva cÄham
	„Through all the Vedas I am what is to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of the VedÄnta and the knower of the Vedas.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 15.15)
kiµ vidhatte kim Äcaste
kim anudya vikalpayet
ity asyÄ h¨dayaµ loke
nÄnyo mad veda ka1/2cana

mÄm vidhatte ‘bhidhatte mÄµ
vikalpyÄpohyate hy aham
etÄvÄn sarva-vedÄrthaú
1/2abda ÄsthÄya mÄµ bhidÄm
mÄyÄ-mÄtram anudyante
prati§idhya pras"dati
	„What is the instruction of the Vedas? On what do they focus? What is the aim of their explanations and eliberations? Besides Myself, no one in this world knows the heart of this matter. The Vedic literature ordains Me (K¨§ºa), it denotes Me and determines Me by its explanations and deliberations. This is the full meaning fo the Vedas. Taking their stand on Me, the Vedas reiterate that any difference of opinion in this matter is simply illusion and, having ultimately forbidden such deviation, they are satisfied.(ür"mad-BhÄgavata 11.21.42-43)
	The Vedas are ultimately aimed at the Supreme Personality of Godhead ür" K¨§ºa. 

SüTRA 1.1.5

"k§ater nÄ1/2abdam
	"k§ateú-because it is seen; na-not; a1/2abdam-inexpressible.

TRANSLATION
	The Absolute is not inexpressible by words because it is seen that He is expressible.

PURPORT
	Sometines the scriptures state that the Absolute Truth is ineffable or indescribable by words. Simnulataneously, we find passages that urge us to know Him, such as the first aphorism of the VedÄnta-sŸtra, and others that attempt to describe Him. If God were enterirely unknowable and indescribable, the scriptures would be useless and there would be no reason for anyone to try to know Him.
	The argument that God is inexpressible by words is based on the following verse:
yato vÄco nivartate
aprÄpya manasÄ saha
Änandaµ brahmaºo vidvÄn
na vibheti kadÄcana
	„From whom words return, along with the mind, not having obtained Him-one who knows the bliss of Brahman is not afraid at any time.“ ( Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.4)
	By the word yataú, meaning „from whom,“ it is understood that words do indeed reach right up to God, but since He is unlimited, they cannot understand Him in His entirety, as expressed by the word aprÄpya, and so they return. Now surely having reached Him, they understand something about Him, though not everything.
	The Absolute cannot be fully known, but that does not exclude the possibility of direct God realization. We experience the taste of the whole ocean by tasting one drop. Similarly, by means of the processes outlined in the revealed scriptures, one can achieve God realization. Because God is one and indivisible, one cannot know only part of Him. One gets a realization which is inclusive of all of His features. The Absolute is the fountainhead of infinite variegatedness, but simultaneously the Lord is homogenous because He is sac-cid-Änanda, full of eternity, consciousness and bliss. Although titles and descritions like God, Absolute, Supreme Lord, Brahman and sac-cid-Änanda may not fully reveal God, that does not invalidate their usefulness for realizing something about Him. The Absolute is always perfect and complete. Therefore, there is an inexplicable completeness in realizing even only a part of Him:
pŸrºam adaú pŸrºam idaµ
pŸrºÄt pŸrºam udacyate
pŸrºasya pŸrºam ÄdÄya
pŸrºam evÄva1/2i§yate
	„The Absolute Truth is complete and so also is this world. From that Complete Whole Absolute Truth is produced the complete  unit which is this world. When this complete unit is taken away from that Complete Whole Absolute Truth, He still remains complete.“ (é1/2a Upani§ad Invocation)

SüTRA 1.1.6

gauºa1/2 cen nÄtma-1/2abdÄt

	gauºaú-the materially qualified Absolute [is the creator, etc.]; ca-and; it-if [it be said]; na-[we say it is] not [so]; Ätma-1/2abdÄt-because of the word ÄtmÄ (Soul).

TRANSLATION
	If it be said that it is the Absolute qualified by the material modes who is the creator, etc., we say no because of the use of the word ÄtmÄ or Soul in that connection.

PURPORT
	The impersonalists claim that the Absolute, being one and changeless, cannot create. Creation is entirely executed by the demigod Lord BrahmÄ, who is the materially qualified inferior aspect of the Absolute. Impersonalists claim that the form of the personal God who is the creator of all things does not exist, as He is only a manifestation of ignorance. VyÄsadeva rejects this idea in this aphorism. According to VyÄsadeva, the Absolute Truth who creates the material existence is a person, the Supreme Person.
	In the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (1.4.1) it is stated:
Ätmaivedam agra Äs"d puru§a-vidhaú
	„In the beginning there was only the Supreme Soul in the form of a person.“
	The Absoltue is free from all material conditioning and material qualities. He has a personal form, but that form was existing prior to the creation of the material world. Therefore, the personal form of God is not material.
	According to the VedÄnta-sŸtra, God who is the creator and the source of everything, the highest of the high and that after which everyone is searching, is the Supreme Personality of Godhed. He is not a secondary partial manifestation of an impersonal Absolute. He is Himself, the basis of everything, including the impersonal.
brahmaºo „hi prati§ hÄham
	„I, indeed, am the basis of the impersonal Absolute.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 14.27)

SUTRA 1.1.7

tan-ni§ asya mok§opade1/2Ät

	tat-to Him; ni§ asya-of the devoted; mok§a-liberation; upade1/2Ät-because of the teaching [in the scriptures].

TRANSLATION
	The Personality of Godhead, who is the creator, is the Supreme Absoltue Truth because the scriptures teach that those who are devoted to Him attain liberation.

PURPORT
	In the Taittir"ya Upani§ad (2.7), it is stated: „When one finds the basis of fearlessness in Him who is invisible, without a material body, undefined and not established on anything else, then one has attained fearlessness.“ This text is found in a section which begins with a description of God as the creator of the world. In this material world everyone is afraid of death. The spiritual world is characterized by the absence of death. Therefore, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead can grant immunity from death. The ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (10.88.5) states:
harir hi nirguºaú sÄk§Ät
puru§aú prak¨teú paraú
sa sarva-d¨g upadra§ Ä
taµ bhajan nirguºo bhavet
	„Lord Hari (K¨§ºa) is directly the Personality of Godhead who is without material qualities and beyond the material nature. He is the witness and overseer of everyone and everything. One who worships Him also becomes free from all material qualities.“

SüTRA 1.1.8

heyatvÄvacanÄc ca

	heyatva-the condition of being fit for abandonment; avacanÄt-because of not being said; ca-and.

TRANSLATION
	It is never stated that the Personality of Godhead should be abandoned in favor of something higher.

PURPORT
	If the Personality of Godhead, the creator of the world, were a temporary and external manifestation of the impersonal Absolute, then we might expect to find numerous passages in the scriptures that would advise us to reject Him in favor of the impersonal Absolute. Instead, however, we find inumerable texts urging us to surrender to Him, become His devotee and worship Him. The Muº¶aka Upani§ad (2.1.2) states:
divyo hy amŸrtaú puru§aú
sa bÄhyÄbhyantaro hy ajaú
aprÄºo hy amanaú 1/2ubhro
hy ak§arÄt parataú paraú
	„The Personality of Godhead is transcendental and without any material form. He is within and without and is unborn. He is not an ordinary living being nor is He just a mind-He is pure spirit. he is even higher than the impersonal Absolute.“
	Further on it states (3.2.1):
sa vedaitat paramaµ brahma dhÄma
yatra vi1/2vaµ nihitaµ bhÄti 1/2ubhram
upÄsate puru§aµ ye hy akÄmÄs
te 1/2ukram etad ativartanti dh"rÄú
	„He knows that supreme spiritual abode where all things that are situated shine brightly. By worshiping the Personality of Godhead, those wise ones who are free from material desire do escape birth in this world.“ 
	In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ (7.7) Lord K¨§ºa states:
mattaú parataraµ nÄnyat
ki-cid asti dhana-jaya
mayi sarvam idaµ protaµ
sŸtre maºi-gaºÄ iva
	„There is no truth superior to Me. Everything is resting on Me, like pearls on a thread.“

SüTRA 1.1.12

Änanda-mayo ‘bhyÄsÄt

	Änanda-mayaú-full of bliss; abhyÄsÄt-because of the repetition.

TRANSLATION
	The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of bliss, and this is repeatedly mentioned in scripture.

PURPORT
	With this aphorism, VyÄsadeva begins the task of harmonizing apparently conflicting texts. Someone might argue that the Änanda-maya or blissful person mentioned in the Taittir"ya Upani§ad is notGod but the individual soul because of the definitoins that proceed it. They conclude that the Absolute is something other than that which is described as Änanda-maya. In the Second Chapter of the Taittir"ya Upani§ad, the Absolue is described as the original source of the evolutionary progression of material elements. These material elements are eventually transformed by the Lord into planets that serve as food, which is then converted into semen. uSince all persons are engendered through semen, which is a transformation of food, the first understanding of a person is as anna-maya, or consisting of food. Higher than this is the concept of a person as prÄºa-maya, or a breathing, living creature. Higher still, is the concept of a person as mano-maya, or possessing a mind. One may possess a mind and still not be very intelligent. Therefore, higher still, is the concept of a person as vij-Äna-maya, or an intelligent being. The highest concept of a person is as Änanda-maya, or full of bliss. That this blissful person is different from the individual soul is proven by the following text.
asann eva sa bhavati
asad brahmeti veda cet
asti brahmeti ced ved
santam evaµ tato vidur iti
	„Nonexistent does one become, if one knows Brahman as nonexistent. But if one knows Brahman as existent, people know him to be existent.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.6)
	The word Brahman or Absolute is repeated twice in this passage, thus clarifying that Änanda-maya refers to the Absolute. The following passage further shows that the Supreme Lord who is full of bliss also bestows bliss upon the individual soul:
	„That which is indeed well-made, that is indeed the essence. On actually achieving the essence, one becomes blissful. In fact, who would breathe and who would live if there were not this bliss in the ether? It is He who makes one blissful.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.7)
	In section 2.5, it mentions that that Brahman who exists within the individual soul has the form of a person and is full of bliss. He is the source of all personality. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Surpeme Lord, they naturally want to experience the blissfulness of the Lord. But in ignorance of Him, they try to enjoy through material activities. The blissfulness of the Lord can only be experienced in intimate devotional communion with Him.
	In the Brahma-saµhitÄ (5.1), the Supreme Personality of Godhead is defined thus:
"1/2varaú paramaú k¨§ºaú
sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaú
anÄdir Ädir govindaú
sarva-kÄraºa-kÄraºam
	„K¨§ºa, who is the Surpeme Lord, has a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He has no beginning, but is the first and the cause of all causes.“
	As there is no bliss in monotony, the Lord must possess innumerable transcendental qualities:
parÄsya 1/2aktir vividhaiva 1/2ruyate
svabhÄvik" j-Äna-bala-kriyÄ ca
	„The energy of the Surpeme is said to be manifold. It is intrinsic to Him and comprises knowledge, power and action.“(üvetÄ1/2vatar Upani§ad 7.8)
	The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of bliss, not the impersonal.

SüTRA 1.1.30

1/2Ästra-d¨§ yÄ tŸpade1/2o vÄmadevavat
	1/2Ästra-d¨§ yÄ-from the viewpoint of scripture; tu-but; upade1/2aú-the instruction; vÄmadevavat-like that of VÄmadeva.

TRANSLATION
	As the scriptures sometimes designate the Lord by words such as ether, breath and mind, sometimes He is indicated through the declaration of individual persons as God. From the viewpoint of scripture, however, this is as an insturction about God’s presence in everyone, as in the case of VÄmadeva.

PURPORT
	In different parts of the Upani§ads, things such as  dahara (the space within the heart) and ÄkÄ1/2a (space) are described as the Supreme Absolute. Obviously these things are not God, but are descriptive of Him. In the scriptures, an organ or instrument is often used to indicate its function. The eye is used to indicate sight; the nose, smell; or the ear, hearing. The eye is not sight, but through the eye we perceive the function of sight. Similarly, the Lord appears in this world as the Soul of all existence. Those who have attained God consciousness can perceive His presence in everything and see every event as the working of god.
	In the äg Veda (4.26.1-2) the sage VÄmadeva declares:
	„I was Manu and SŸrya. I am the wise sage Kak§ivan. I am the friend of Kutsa, the son of Arjuni. I am the far-seeing U§anas-thus behold me. I gave the earth to the worthy. I have bestowed rain upon the mortal person who makes offerings to me. I have let loose the roaring waters. The gods obey my will.“
	From the above statements it would seem as if VÄmadeva is claiming to be Almight God. Actually, however, he is just expressing a particular mystic intuition. After attaining a vision of the Lord in intimate mystical communion, VÄmadeva began to convey his realization of the Lord as if the Lord Himself were talking. He was acting instrumentally as the mouthpiece of God. On seeing the Lord, VÄmadeva surrendered to Him and served Him by conveying a message to us about the Lord’s greatness.
	This text does not teach that everyone is God, because in such oneness there is no question of identifying oneself with other personalities, as is done in this text, since in oneness there can be no thing to identify with. According to that concept, all variety is a product of ignorance and is illusory. One who has attained oneness or has realized oneness could not identify himself with variety because that would indicate his identification with ignorance and illusion. After making this declaration, VÄmadeva says:
garbhe nu sann anv e§Äm avedam
aham janimÄni vi1/2vÄ
	„While dwelling in the womb, I discovered all the births of these demigods.“ (äg Veda 4.27.1)
	The fact that VÄmadeva remembers his births and those of the demigods shows that he does not literally identify himself with them, but instead recognizes his distinctiveness from them in every life. These statements uttered by VÄmadeva show that he and everyone else are all pervaded by the Supersoul and are thus individual receptacles of God. The names which apply to them can equally apply to the Lord.

SüTRA 1.2.1-2

sarvatra prasiddhopade1/2Ät
vivak§ita-guºopapatte1/2 ca

	sarvatra-everywhere; prasiddha-well known; upade1/2Ät-because of the teaching; vivak§ita-desired to be stated; guºa-qualities; upapateú-because of its reasonableness; ca-and.

TRANSLATION
	In those passages of the scriptures where things like ÄkÄ1/2a (ether), prÄºa (breath) and manas (mind) are said to be the Supreme, they are to be taken as names of the Lord because they teach His well-known qualities.
	Moreover, it is reasonable that the terms mano-maya and prÄºa-1/2ar"ra were intended to describe Brahman.

PURPORT
	In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad there is this text:
	mano-mayaú prÄºa-1/2ar"rao bhÄrŸpaú satya-sa›kalpa ÄkÄ1/2ÄtmÄ sarva-karmÄ sarva-kÄmaú sarva-gandhaú sarva-rasaú sarvam idam abhyÄtto ‘vÄky anÄdaraú.
	„He who is full of intelligence, whose body is life, whose form is light, whose will is true, whose self is ether, who ordains all work, who is the object of all desires, who is the source of all fragrances and tastes, who encompasses the whole world, who is sielnt and who is enconceitedÉ“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.2)
	Although this text is preceded by a passage discussing the Absolute, some persons propose that the terms mano-maya, etc. in this passage do not refer to the Absolute but to the inidividual soul because immediately following this passage there is the statement:
e§a ma ÄtmÄntar-h¨daye
	„This is the soul within my heart.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.3)
	The scriptures clearly indicate that God has no mind or breath:
aprÄºo hy amanaú 1/2ubhraú	
	„He is breathless, mindless and pure.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.2)
	This erroneous interpretation is refuted in the above two aphorism. In that same passage prÄºa, ÄkÄ1/2a and manas are used as names of the Lord to describe His well-known qualities. He is mano-maya,  full of intelligence; He dwells within all living beings; He is self-effulgent; His will is always fulfilled; He is the resting place of everything, as all things are accomodated in space; and He ecompasses the whole world. the passage is preceded by the topic of meditation on the Supreme Lord:
sarvaµ khalv idam brahma
taj-jalÄn iti 1/2Änta upÄs"ta
	„This whole world, indeed, is Brahman. Being tranquil, one should meditate on Him as He who moves upon the waters.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.1)
	The term taj-jalÄn is significant in this issue. It can be defined as tat (He who) jale (on water) anaiti (moves). This indicates that the object of meditation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu, whose other names-NÄrÄyaºa, KÄraºÄrºava1/2Äy", Garbhodaka1/2Äy" and K§"rodaka1/2Äy"-means one who reclines upon the waters. In these texts, the Surpeme Absolute who is being discussed is K¨§ºa. The subject is ended with the statement:
	e§a ma ÄtmÄntar-h¨daya etad brahmaitam itaú pretyÄbhisambhavitÄsm"t.
	„This Soul within my heart, He is Brahman. When departing from this body I shall attain Him.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.4)
	He who is designated by the terms manas and ÄkÄ1/2a is the Supreme Absolute Truth. Those terms could not indicate the individual soul because it states that when the soul leaves the body, he attains the possessor of those qualities. Therefore, He must be someone other than the individual soul.
	The üruti states that Brahman is known by such terms:
mano-mayaú prÄºa-1/2ar"ra-netÄ
prati§ hito ‘nne h¨dayaµ sannidhÄya
tad vij-Änena paripa1/2yanti dh"rÄ
Änanda-rŸpam am¨taµ yad vibhÄti
	„He is full of intelligence and is the leader of the body and the life airs. Established in the body which consists of food, He oversees the heart. By means of that understanding the wise perfectly see the etnally blissful form of the Lord who is ever-effulgent.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.2.8)
	Such terms as mind, ether or life breath are indicative of particular attributes of the Supreme Lord, because all words ultimately designate Him. Because Vi§ºu is the Supersoul who pervades and resides within all things, all things serve as a receptacle for Him. The names of such receptacles should primarily indicate their real content and origin, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SüTRA 1.2.11

guhÄµ prami§ hÄv ÄtmÄnau hi tad-dar1/2anÄt

	guhÄm-within the heart; pravi§ hau-two are entered; ÄtmÄnau-two souls; hi-indeed; tat-that; dar1/2anÄt-because of being seen [in various passages].

TRANSLATION
	There are two souls entered in the heart-the individual soul and the Supersoul-because it is seen to be so in various scriptural texts.

PURPORT
	Although the Lord is the Supersoul dwelling in the hearts of everyone, this does not mean that all the individual selves are illusory. In every heart thre are two souls-the individual and God. They are complementary to each other as the master and the servant. This distinction between the individual soul and the Supersoul cannot be refuted by twisting a particular text, for it is confirmed by many different scriptures:
dvÄ suparºÄ sayujÄ sakhÄyÄ
samÄnaµ v¨k§aµ pari§asvajÄte
tayor anyaú pippalaµ svad atty
a1/2nann anyo abhicÄa1/2"ti

yatra suprºÄ am¨tasya bhÄgam
anime§aµ vidathÄbhisvaranti
ino vi1/2vasya bhuvanasya gopÄú
sa mÄ dh"raú pÄkam atra vive1/2a

yasmin v¨k§e madhvadaú suparºÄ
nive1/2ante suvate cÄdhi vi1/2ve
tasyedÄhuú pippalaµ svadv agre
tan nonna1/2adyaú pitaraµ na veda
	„Two birds, fast bound friends, cling to the same tree. Of these, one, having tasted the fruit of the tree, is eating them, while the other, not eating, merely watches. Where these birds constantly and knowledgeably glorify their share of immortality, there is the Cow Herder of the whole world, the Wise One, who has entered into me here, the simple. The tree in which the birds taste nectar, where they all alight and produce additionally, at its beginning, so they say, the fruit is sweet. No one gains that who does not know the Father.“ (äg Veda 1.164.20-22)
dvÄ suparºÄ sayujÄ sakhÄyÄ
samÄnaµ v¨k§aµ pari§asvajÄte
tayor anyaú pippalaµ svadv atty
a1/2nann anyo ‘bhicÄka1/2"ti

samÄne v¨k§e puru§o nimagno
‘n"1/2ayÄ 1/2ocati muhyamÄnaú
ju§ aµ yadÄ pa1/2yati anyam "1/2am
asya mahimÄnam iti v"ta-1/2okaú
	„Two birds, fast bound friends, cling to the same tree. Of these, one, having tasted the fruit of the tree, is eating them, while the other, not eating, merely watches. Sunken within the same tree, a person, bewildered by his helplessness, laments. But when he sees that the other one, who is the Supreme Lord, is satisfied and beholds His greatness, he becomes free from sorrow.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.1-2)
	dvau suparºau bhavato brahmaºo ‘µ1/2a-bhŸtas tathetaro bhoktÄ bhavati. anyo hi sÄk§" bhavati. bhoktÄbhoktÄrau v¨k§a-dharme ti§ hataú. pŸrvo hi bhoktÄ bhavati, tathetaro ‘bhoktÄ bhavati.
	„There are two birds. One is the fragmental part of Brahman, and so he is the Ôenjoyer’ [of karmic reactions]. The other[who is the Supersoul] is the witness. these two-the enjoyer and the nonenjoyer-are in the material body which is likened to a tree destined to be cut down. The former, who is the living entity, is certainly the enjoyer [of material activities], and the other, the Lord, is the nonenjoyer.“ (GopÄla-tÄpin" Upani§ad 2.21.24)
sarvasya cÄhaµ h¨di sannivi§ ho
mattaú sm¨tir j-Änam apohanaµ ca
vedai1/2 ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedÄnta-k¨d veda-vid eva cÄham

dvau imau puru§au loke
k§ara1/2 cÄk§ara eva ca
k§araú sarvÄºi bhŸtani
ku astho ‘ksara ucyate

uttamaú puru§as tv anyaú
paramÄtmety udÄh¨taú
yo loka-trayam Ävi1/2ya
bibharty avyaya "1/2varaú

yasmÄt k§aram at"to ‘ham
ak§arÄd api cottamaú
ato ‘smi loke vede ca
prathitaú puru§ottama
	„I am situated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. I am what is to be known through all the Vedas. In fact, I am the author of the VedÄnta and the knower of the Vedas. There are two classes of persons in this world-the perishable and the imperishable. All embodied beings are perishable, whereas their souls are imperishable. Other than these two, however, there is the greatest person, the Supersoul, who has entered into the three worlds and, as the Supreme Lord, is maintaining them. Because I [K¨§ºa] am the greatest, transcending the perishable and the imperishable, I am recognized in this world and in the Vedas as that greatest person.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 15.15-18)
ekasyaiva mamÄµ1/2asya
j"vasyaiva mahÄ-mate
bandho ‘syÄvidyayÄnÄdir
vidyayÄ ca tathetaraú

atha baddhasya muktasya
vailak§aºyaµ vadÄmi te
viruddha-dharmiºos tÄta
sthitayor eka-dharmiºi

suparºÄv etau sad¨1/2au sakhÄyau
yad¨cchayaitau k¨ta-n"dau ca v¨k§e
ekas tayoú khÄdati pippalÄnnam
anyo niranno ‘pi balena bhŸyÄn

ÄtmÄnam anyaµ ca sa veda vidvÄn
apippalÄdo na tu pippalÄdaú
yo ‘vidyayÄ yuk sa tu nitya-baddho
vidyÄ-mayo yaú sa tu nitya-muktaú
	„O highly intelligent Uddhava, the living entity is one, being indivisible, and is My part and parcel. Since time immemorial he has been bound by ignorance, but by knowledge he can achieve the opposite situation, which is liberation. In the same material body there are found contradictory qualities [such as happiness and distress] due to the presence of the conditioned spirit soul and the the ever-free Supersoul. Now, my dear, I shall relate to you their different characteristics. These two birds who are similar friends by chance made a nest in the same tree.  One of these two eats the fruit of the tree, while the other, although not eating, is greater because of His power. The Supersoul is the bird who does not eat the fruit of the tree, and by His perfect knowlegdge He knows Himself and the living entity. This is not so in the case of the living entity who is engaged in eating the fruit of the tree. The living entity who is covered by ignorance is eternally conditioned; whereas, the Supreme Lord who is full of knowledge is eternally liberated.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.11.4-7)
	The individual self, though pervaded by God, always retains his individuality. If everyone were God, there would be no need for scripture to repeatedly teach that there are two souls in the heart. Therefore, God realization means not only to perceive God in all things, but to recognize how everything and everyone is permanently related to Him as His creations.

SüTRA 1.2.20

1/2ar"ra1/2 cobhaye ‘pi hi bhedenainam adh"yate

	1/2ar"raú-the embodied self; ca-and; ubhaye-both [recensions];  api-also; hi-indeed; bhedena-by difference; enam-Him, the Supersoul;  adh"yate-is read.

TRANSLATION
	The embodied self is not the same as the Supersoul because both recensions read them as different from each other.

PURPORT
	In the  B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad  an explanation is given by YÄj-avalkya about the nature of the Lord as the Inner Controller (antaryÄm" ). He concludes by saying:
	„He is the unseen Seer, the unheard Hearer, the unthought Thinker, the unknown Knower. Other than He there is no seer. Other than He there is no hearer. Other than He there is no thinker. Other than He there is no knower. He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal. (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.7.23)
	According to some people, this text proves that when a person becomes a yog"  and achieves self-realization, his individual self becomes identical with the Inner Controller described above. YÄj-avalkya teaches about the Inner Controller by describing Him progressively as dwelling in the earth, the waters, fire, the atmosphere, the wind, the sky, the sun, the quarters of the firmament, the moon and starts, space, darkness, light, all things, breath, speech, the eye, the ear, the mind, the skin, understanding, semen, and finally, as the unseen Seer, etc. Since this gradually brings us up to the indentity of the individual self, he must be the Inner Controller described in the last part.
	The both recensions of the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad, that of the KÄnvas and that of the MÄdhyandinas, disprove the above-mentioned speculation by establishing a difference between the Supersoul in the heart and the individual soul in the heart. The KÄnva recension reads:
	„He who dwells within the intelligential self, who isinside him, whom the intelligential self does not know, whose body is the intelligential self, who controls the intelligential self from within, He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immoral.“
	The MÄdhyandinas read it thus:
	„He who dwells in the soul, who is inside of him, whom the soul does not knowÉ He is your Soul, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.“
	Both versions substantiate that there is a difference between the Supersoul and the individual soul whom He pervades. The followers of üa›kara claim that the VedÄnta-sŸtra teaches the identity of the individual soul with God. In this sŸtra, however, it undeniably states that there is bheda, or essential difference between them.

SüTRA 1.2.22

vi1/2e§aºa-bheda-vyapade1/2ÄbhyÄµ ca netarau

	vi1/2e§aºa- the attributes; bheda-vyapade1/2ÄbhyÄm-by pointing out the two differences; ca-and; na-not; itarau-the other two.

TRANSLATION
	God’s distinctive attributes differentiate Him from the material nature and the living entity. Since neither of these are the cause of the creation, they cannnot be identical with God.

PURPORT
	Some people think that God is not the cause of the creation but that creation is occasioned by the interaction of the living entities with the material nature. They base this belief on two verses from the Muº¶aka Upani§ad:
	yad tad ad¨1/2yam agrÄhyam agotram avarºam acak§uú-1/2rotraµ tad apÄºi-;Ädaµ nityaµ sarva-gataµ susŸk§aµ tad avyayaµ tad bhŸta-yoniµ paripa1/2yanti dh"rÄú.
	„The which is invisible, cannot be grasped, has no genus or color, no eyes, no hands or feet, is eternal, all-pervading, very subtle and imperishable, that the wise reard as the source of all beings.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.1.6)
	This verse supposedly teaches that the material nature (pradhÄna ) is the material cause of creation. Similarly, the following verse supposedly teaches that the living entity is greater than the material nature who institgates the creation:
divyo hy amŸrtaú puru§aú
sa bÄhyabhyantaro hy ajaú
aprÄºo hy amanaú 1/2ubhro
hy ak§arÄt parataú paraú
	„The person is divine and formless. He is within and without and is unborn. Breathless, mindless and pure, he is higher than the higher imperishable [meaning the pradhÄna ].“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.2)
	The imperishable who is said to be invisible and ungrasped is not the material nature but the Supreme Lord. This is substantiated by other verses in the Muº¶aka Upani§ad which attribute qualities to that Imperishable that are only those of God, not of the pradhÄna:
yaú sarva-j-aú sarva-vid
yasya j-Äna-mayaµ tapaú
tasmÄd etad brahma nÄma
rŸpam annaµ ca jÄyate
	„He who is all-knowing and all-wise, whose active vigor is full of knowledge, from him was produced the demigod BrahmÄ, as well as the living entities of multifarious names and forms, along with their food.“ (1.1.9)
	This text distinguishes the Lord who is the creator of the world from the pradhÄna because He is said to be omniscient, and so forth. The material nature is always insentient. The previous text beginning with the words „The person is divine and formlessÉ“ cannot refer to the ordinary living entity because terms such as divine, bodiless, within and without, and highest of the high are never indicative of the living entity, but are always indicative of God. Therefore, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of creation rather than the material nature or the living entity, as these are entirely distinct in ability from Him.

SüTRA 1.2.23

rŸpopanyÄsÄc ca

	rŸpa-form; upanyÄsÄt-because of the reference; caÐand.

TRANSLATION
	Because a specific form has been mentioned as corresponding to the Lord, He must be different from the living entities and the material nature.

PURPORT
	In the Muº¶aka Upani§ad it is stated:
yadÄ pa1/2yaú pa1/2yate rukma-varºaµ
kartÄram "1/2aµ puru§aµ brahma-yonim
tadÄ vidvÄn puºya-pÄpaµ vidhŸya
nira-janaú paramaµ sÄmyam upaiti
	„When a seer sees the gold-colored Creator who is the Supreme Controller, the Personality of Godhead, the source of the impersonal Brahman and of the demigod BrahmÄ, then such a wise person, abandonging both piety and sin, untinged by any mundane contamination, achieves the highest possible similarity with the Lord.“ (3.1.3)
	Here, the person who has attained God realization verifies the separate existence of himself and God be seeing His transcendental form. The nonmaterial nature of His form as the Supreme personality of Godhead is proven by the fact that upon seeing him one becomes free from all material contamination and attains the highest possible similarity with the Lord. The living entities are also sac-cid-Änanda, though only minutely. This nature, though presently covered, is regained upon attain shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet.

SüTRA 1.2.24

prakaraºÄt

	prakaraºÄt-because of the discussion of the topic.

TRANSLATION
	The discussion of the Lord’s form in other places corroborates that the form described as a gold-colored person is that of the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT
	SŸtra  1.2.23 proposed that the Lord is different from the living entity and from matter because He has a specific form. That form is described in the Muº¶aka Upani§ad:
nÄyam ÄtmÄ pravacanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahunÄ 1/2rutena
yamevai§a v¨ºute tena labhyas
tasyai§a ÄtmÄ viv¨ºute tanuµ svÄm
	„This Supreme Soul cannot be attained by mere instruction, intellectual endeavor nor by much study. He is attainable only by one whom He chooses; to him the Lord reveals His own form.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 1.2.23)
	Similarly, the ChÄndogya Upani§ad states:
	atha ya e§o ‘ntar Äditye hiraºmayaú puru§o d¨1/2yate, hiraºya-1/2ma1/2rur hiraºya-ke1/2a ÄpraºakhÄt sarva eva suvarºaú. tasya yathÄ kÄpyÄsaµ puº¶ar"kam evam ak§iº".
	„Now, this golden person who is seen within the sun has a golden beard and golden hair. All of Him is extremely effulgent, right up to the tips of His finger nails. His eyes are just like a lotus flower.“ (1.6.6-7)
	Since the controversy about whether or not God has a form has arisen in connection with a verse from the Muº¶aka Upani§ad, the following verses are an explanation of that topic in the Vi§ºu PurÄºa (6.5.65-70):
dve vidye veditavye vai
iti cÄtharvaºi 1/2rutiú
parayÄ tv ak§ara-prÄptir
¨g-vedÄdi-mayÄparÄ

yat tad avyaktam ajaram
acintyam ajam avyayam
anirde1/2yam arŸpaµ ca
pÄºi-pÄdÄdy-asamyutam

vibhuµ sarva-gataµ nityaµ
bhŸta-yonim akÄraºam
vyÄpyÄvyÄpyaµ yataú sarvaµ
tad vai pa1/2yanti sŸrayaú

tad brahma paramaµ dhÄma
tad dhyeyaµ mok§a-kÄnk§iºÄm
1/2ruti-vÄkyoditaµ sŸk§maµ
tad vi§ºoú paramaµ padam

tad etad bhagavad-vÄcyaµ
svarŸpaµ paramÄtmanaú
vÄcako bhagavac-chabdas
tasyÄdyasyÄk§arÄtmanaú

evaµ nigaditÄrthasya
sa-tattvaM tasya tattvataú
j-Äyate yena taj-j-Änaµ
paramaµ yat tray"-mayam
	„According to the Muº¶aka Upanisad, which is part of the Atharva Veda, there are two kinds of knowledge to be known. By the higher knowledge one can achieve the Absolute, whereas the lower one consists of the äg, SÄma, Yajus and Atharva Vedas. The Absolute is unmanifested, ageless, inconceivable, birthless, everlasting, undiscernible and formless, in that He has no material hands or feet, and soforth. He is mighty, all-pervading, eternal, the source of all existence and without causation. He is present in everything and yet He is not in them-this is seen by the godly devotees. The supreme abode of the Absolute Truth is the object of meditation for those who desire liberation, and is described by the words of the Vedas as superb. That is the supreme abode of Vi§ºu. The term bhagavÄn indicates the inherent identity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word bhagavÄn expresses the original immutable Soul. Thus the meaning which it procalims is the Absolute Truth by which the supreme three-fold knowledge is understood.“
	Further on the text declares:
utpattiµ pralayaµ caiva
bhŸtÄnÄm agatiµ gatim
vetti vidyÄm avidyÄµ ca
sa vÄcyo bhagavÄn iti

j-Äna-1/2akti-balai1/2varya-
v"rya-tejÄµsy a1/2e§ataú
bhagavac-chabda-vÄcyÄni
vinÄ heyair guºÄdibhiú
	„By the word bhagavÄn is understood the cause of creation and destruction, the ultimate goal of theliving entities and their deviation from that, as well as knowledge and ignorance. BhagavÄn indicates absence of undesirable qualities, such as the three modes of material nature, and presence of unlimited knowledge, power strength, opulence. prowess and splendor.“ (Vi§ºu PurÄºa 6.5.78-79)
	In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ it is stated (7.24):
avyaktaµ vyaktim Äpannaµ
manyate mÄm abuddhayaú
paraµ bhÄvam ajÄnanto
mamÄvyayam anuttamam
	„Unintelligent persons think that I was previously impersonal and that I assumed My preseent personality. They do not know My supreme nature, which is imperishable and insuperable.“

SüTRA 1.3.1

dyu-bhv-Ädy-ayatanaµ sva-1/2abdÄt

	dyu-heaven; bhŸ-earth; Ädi-and so forth; Äyatanam-the abode or resting place; sva-pertaining to oneself; 1/2abdÄt-because of the world.

TRANSLATION
	The abode of heaven, earth and so forth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of the use of a term pertaining to Him.

PURPORT
	In the Muº¶aka Upani§ad it is stated:
yasmin dyauú p¨thiv" cÄntar"k§am
otaµ manaú saha prÄºai1/2 ca sarvaiú
tam evaikaµ janatha ÄtmÄnam anya
vÄco vimu-catha am¨tasyai§a setuú
	„Know that He on whom are woven the heaven, earth and intermediate region, as well as the mind with all the senses, is alone the Supersoul. Shun any other explanations, for He is the bridge of immortality.“ (2.2.5)
	One group of people may argue that this verse refers to the pradhana because it is the source of all effect like heaven, earth, and so forth. It is also correct to call it the bridge of immortality because the material nature, though insentient, facilitates liberation of the living entity by providing him with the means of engaging himself for that purpose. The word ÄthmÄ in this verse is applicable to the material nature because its self or body is the substance from which everything else is made.
	Another group says that this verse refers to the living entity who, as the enjoyer of all things, is said to be the abode of heaven and earth because he enjoys their contents. Moreover, it is common knowledge that the mind, senses and life air abide in the living entity.
	Both these views are refuted in this sŸtra because of the use of a word peculiar to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is am¨tasya setu, the bridge of immortality. This expression is used in the üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad also (6.18):
	„Desiring liberation, I take shelter of Him who is impartiteÉthe highest  bridge of immortality.“
	From the verse preceding and following the text from the Muº¶aka Upani§ad,  it is also clear that the subject matter is the Supreme Lord because He is omniscient (2.2.7) and possesses an eternal blissful form which is seen by the wise (2.2.8). In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.3.4-5, 4.1) it is said that the Absolute is satyam because He controls both the mortal and the immortal. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as the bridge for crossing the chasm separating this world from the world of immortality. The title „Bridge of Immortality“ indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the support of heaven and earth.

SüTRA 1.3.2

muktopas¨pya-vyapade1/2Ät

	mukta-the liberated souls; upas¨pya-resorting to; vyapade1/2Ät-because of it being pointed out.

TRANSLATION
	The abode of heaven and earth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because it is poitned out in the scriptures that the liberated souls resort to Him.

PURPORT
	In the Muº¶aka Upani§ad it is stated:
yadÄ pa1/2yaú pa1/2yate rukma-varºaµ
kartÄram "1/2aµ puru§aµ brahma-yonim
tada vidvÄn puºya-pÄpe vidhŸya
nira-janaú paramaµ sÄmyam upaiti
	„When a seer sees the golden-colored Creator, who is the Supreme Controller, the Personality of Godhead, the source of the impersonal Brahman and of the demigod BrahmÄ, then such a wise man, abandoning both piety and sin, untinged by any mundane contamination, achieves the highest possible similarity with the Lord.“ (3.1.3)
tathÄ vidvÄn nÄma-rŸpÄd vimuktaú
parÄt paraµ puru§am upaiti divyam
	„Thus does the wise man, liberated from name and form, draw near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“ (3.2.8)
	The Supreme Person attained by the liberated souls is the selfsame Parabrahma or Supreme Absolute Truth who is the source of heaven and earth.

SüTRA 1.3.3-4

nÄnumÄnam atac-chabadÄt
	na-not; anumÄnam-the inferred one (the pradhÄna ); a-tat-1/2abdÄt-because there is no word denoting it; prÄºa-bh¨t-the support oflife (the living entity); ca-and.

TRANSLATION
	The material nature is not the abode of heaven and earth because there is no word denoting it in that passage. Nor is the living entity the abode of heaven and earth for the same reason.

PURPORT
	In the passage under discussion there is no word to indicate that the abode of heaven and earth is the insentient material nature; neither is there any word to indicate that it is the living entity. One may argue that the word ÄtmÄ or soul used in connection with this passage refers to the living entity. But the word ÄtmÄ is equally connotative of the Supreme Lord because He is the Soul of all existence, and in these texts it specifically uses the word in that sense because He is also said to be omnipotent and omniscient. The living entity never possesses these qualities.

SüTRA 1.3.5

bheda-vyapade1/2Ät

	bheda-difference; vyapade1/2Ät-because of it being indicated.

TRANSLATION
	Because it is pointed out that there is a difference between the Supreme Soul and the individual soul, the living entity cannot be the abode of heaven and earth, etc. 

PURPORT
	This sŸtra is based on the following text:
tam evaikaµ janatha ÄtmÄnam
	„Known Him alone as the Supersoul.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.2.5)
	The abode of heaven and earth is the Supreme Lord who is to be realized by the living entity pursuing the path of God realization. Two distinct entities exist: the  finite individual soul who is striving to know God and the Lord Himself, the object to be known. The following verse affirms that it is the Lord who is to be known:
samÄne v¨k§e puru§o nimagno
‘ni1/2ayÄ 1/2ocati muhyamÄnaú
ju§ aµ yadÄ pa1/2yaty anyam "1/2am
asya mahimÄnam iti v"ta-1/2okaú
	„Sunken within the same tree, a person, bewildered by his helplessness, laments. But when he sees that the other one, who is the Supreme Lord, is satisfied and beholds His greatness, he becomes free from sorrow.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.2)

SüTRA 1.3.7

sthity-adanÄbhyÄµ ca

	sthiti- because of abiding; adanÄbhyÄm-because of eating; ca-and.

TRANSLATION
	The living entity is not referred to because of the differences between the two birds, one merely abiding and the other eating.

PURPORT
	After stating that the Supreme Lord is the abode of heaven and earth, the next chapter of the Muº¶aka Upani§ad examines the individual soul and differentiates between him and the Supreme Lord:
dvÄ suparºÄ sayujÄ sakhÄyÄ
samÄnaµ v¨k§aµ pari§asvajÄte
tayor anyaú pippalaµ svÄdv atty
ana1/2nann anyo ‘bhicÄka§iti
	„Two birds, fast bound friends, cling to the same tree. Of these, one, having tasted the fruit of the tree, is eating them, while the other, not eating, merely watches.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.1)
	Although the living entity engges himself in trying to enjoy the fruits of his actions, the Supreme Lord as the indwelling Supersoul witnesses without participating. He shines gloriously by His own self-power. In this way, whatever doubt there might have been regarding the „abode of heaven and earth,“ it has been clarified by the repeated teachings about the inferiority of matter and individual souls to the Supreme Soul.

SüTRA 1.3.8

bhŸmÄ samprasÄdÄ adhy-upade1/2Ät

	bhŸmÄ-God as the plenum (full); samprasÄdÄt-because of being completely blissful; adhi-greater than; upade1/2Ät-because of the teaching.

TRANSLATION
	BhŸmÄ refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is described as completely blissful and because of the teaching that He is greater than all others.

PURPORT
	The previous sŸtras clarify that certain texts apparently referring to the living entity actually refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One of such texts was that dealing with god as Änanda-maya. In order to prove that the Änanda-maya of the Taittir"ya Upani§ad (2.5) is the living entity and not God, one might argue that the bhŸmÄ of the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (7.23) is also the living entity. In this aphorism, VyÄsadeva dismisses this view by pointing out that the bhŸmÄ is not a living entity because He is completely blissful, and because there are innumerable teachings in the scriptures  to the effect that the all-blissful Lord possessing innumerable auspicious qualities is the greatest of all. The word bhŸmÄ means that which is abundant, full or excessive, like the philosophical concept of the plenum.
	The paragraph immediately following the description of the bhŸmÄ as blissful explains that everything other than this bhŸmÄ is small. He is established on His own greatness, not on the greatness of other things. He is all-encompassing and infinite. This is also confirmed in the Parama-sÄra:
sa satyo bhagavÄn vi§ºur
yan nirdo1/2o niyÄmakaú
vi1/2i§ a-j-Äna-rŸpa1/2 ca
samÄnya-j-Äna-rŸpakaú

nitya-1/2raddhÄ-svarŸpa1/2 ca
tathaiva sthairya-rŸpakaú
sa eva sarva-kartÄ ca
 supŸrºÄnanda-rŸpakaú

sa ca sarva-guºaiú pŸrºo
bhŸmety uccÄryate tataú
yad adh"naµ vinÄ nÄnyat
ki-cid asti kuta1/2cana

sa bhŸmokto ‘tipŸrºatvÄd
anyad alpam ud"yate
	„The Supreme Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu is called satya (truth) because He is faultless and is the supreme controller. He is called vij-Äna (understanding) because He knows everything specifically. He is called mati (thought) because He knows everything generally as well. He is called 1/2raddhÄ (faith) because He is always trustworthy. He is called ni§ hÄ (fixed) because He is always steadfast. He is called k¨ti (the maker) because He is the creator of everything. He is called sukha (joy) because He is completely blissful. Because He possesses all auspicious qualities, unlimitedly, He is called bhŸmÄ. Because there is nothing to which He is inferior, He is called bhŸmÄ. Because of His complete fullness, anything else is considered lesser.“
	Someone could mistakenly think that bhŸmÄ is the living entity because in Chapter Seven of the ChÄndogya Upani§ad the sage NÄrada begins by gradual descriptions of truths leading up to the living entity designated as prÄºa. After explaining how the soul is different from the body and, therefore, the real identity or essence of a person, he says that one who knows this is an ativÄd", or speaker of superior things. Immediately following this, he begins the discussion that culminates in the conclusion that the blissful one is bhŸmÄ. Thus, one might conclude that the fully blissful bhŸmÄ is the living entity. There is, however, one key word which shows that the bhŸmÄ section is a different topic from the one preceding it about the individual soul. That word is tu, meaning „but“:
	„But he, indeed, speaks superiorly who speaks superiorly with truth (satya ).“
	This continues with the progressive statements already explained in the passage previously quoted from the Parama-sÄra. Having stated that one speaks superiorly who explains the superiority of the soul to the body, NÄrada then points out by using the word „but“ that one who can explain about God as the greatest of all and full of auspicious qualities is an even more superior speaker. Hence, bhŸmÄ means the all-perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SüTRA 1.3.10

ak§aram ambarÄnta-dh¨teú

	ak§aram-the imperishable; ambara-anta-the end of ether, up to ether; dh¨teú-because of supporting.

TRANSLATION
	The imperishable is the Supreme Lord because of His being the support of everything right up to ether.

PURPORT
	In the Eighth BrÄhmaºa  of the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad, there is a discussion between the Vedic philosopher YÄj-avalkya and the inquisitve lady Garg" VÄcaknav". She asks him to tell her on what the earth and heaven are established:
	„That which is above the sky and below the earth, that which is between these two and which people call the past, present and future-across what is it woven, warp and woof?“
	He replies that it is ether (space). Garg" thanks him for answering her questin and then repeats the same question. This time he answers, „Across ether alone is it woven, warp and woof.“ With this, she finally elicits the answer she wanted:
	„O Garg", the brÄhmaºas call that ak§ara (imperishable). It is neither coarse nor fine, neither short nor long, neither flaming like fire nor fluid like water, it is without shadow, without darkness, without air, without space, without stickiness, odorless, tasteless, without eye, without ear, without voice, without wind, without energy, without breath, without mouth, without measure, without inside or without outside. It consumes nothing whatsoever, and no one consumes it.“
	The confusion here is that this description could equally apply to the material nature (pradhÄna ), to the living entity, or to God. That theak§ara refers to God alone and not the material nature or the living entity is indicated by the mention that everything right up to ether (space) is resting on, or is supported by Him. Ether includes the entire cosmic manifestation. The finite living being cannot be considered the foundation upon which ether is established because of his limitation in size. The scriptures support the fact that the Personality of Godhead is the support of existence. 
ya u tridhÄtu p¨thiv"m uta
dyÄm eko dÄdhÄra bhuvanÄni vi1/2vÄ
	„It is He who supports the three elements, as well as the earth and heaven.“ (äg Veda 1.154.4)
yasmin idaµ sarvaµ saµ ca vi caiti
sarvaµ yasmin devÄ adhi vi1/2ve ni§eduú
tad eva bhŸtaµ tad u bhÄvyam Ä
idaµ tad ak§are parame vyoman
	„That in which the whole world exists together and dissolves, that in which all the demigods remain with their lordly powers-that is certainly whatever has been and whatever is yet to be. This is in that imperishable supreme sky.“ (MahÄ-nÄrÄyaºa Upani§ad 1.2)
mayi sarvam idaµ protaµ
sŸtre maºi-gaºÄ iva
	„The whole world is resting on Me, like pearls on a thread.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.7)

SüTRA 1.3.11

sÄ ca pra1/2ÄsanÄt

	sÄ-that [quality of supporting everything]; ca-and; pra1/2ÄsanÄt-because of the command.

TRANSLATION
	The supporting of everything must refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because it is from His command.

PURPORT
	The word sÄ in this sŸtra means dh¨ti or support. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the support of everything because He commands or controls all things:
	„By the command of the imperishable, O Garg", the sun and moon stand apart. By the command of the imperishable, O Garg", the heaven and earth stand apart. By the command of the imperishable, O Garg", the minutes, hours, days,  nights, fortnights, months, seasons and years all stand apart. By the command of the imperishable, O Garg", some rivers flow from the snowy mountains to the east, others to the west, in whatever directions they flow. By the command of the imperishable, O Garg", men praise those who give, the demigods are desirous of a worshiper and the forefathers of funeral offerings.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.8.9)
	Since this paragraph immediately follows the statement about the imperishable as the support of everything up to ether, that supporting is reflective of the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Matter is incapable of willing and commanding, and the living entity, although capable of these, is not able to command the whole universe. Therefore, this commanding of the universe indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead K¨§ºa. This is corroborated in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ:
mayÄdhyak§ena prak¨ iú
sŸyate sa-carÄcaram
hetunÄnena kaunteya
jagat viparivartate
	„This material nature is working under My direction, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. This is the reason, O Arjuna, why the world is revolving in cycles.“

SüTRA 1.3.24

1/2abdÄd eva pramitaú

	1/2abdad-because of the word; eva-certainly; pramitaú-what is measured [by the span of the thumb].

TRANSLATION

	The person measuring the span of a thumb is the Supersoul and not the living entity because of the epithet given Him in that text.

PURPORT

	That the Lord resides in the heart of the living entity is a constantly recurring theme in the Upani§ads. For this reason, those persons who have no bona fide spiritual master and who are given to mental speculation conclude that the Lord in the heart, because of His beind described as measuring the span of a thumb, is actually the finite individual soul. This is based on the following verses:
a›gu§ ha-mÄtraµ puru§o
madhya Ätmani ti§ hati
"1/2Äno bhŸta-bhavyasya
na tato vijugupsate
etad vai tat

a›gu§ ha-mÄtraµ puru§o
jyotir ivÄdhŸmakaú
"1/2Äno bhŸta-bhavyasya
sa evÄdya sa u 1/2vaú
etad vai vat
	„A person the size of a thumb stands in the middle of one’s self, the Lord of what has been and what is yet to be. No one shrinks away from Him. This verily is Him. The person the size of a thumbe is like a light without smoke, the Lord of what has been and what is yet to be. As He is today, so will He be tomorrow. This verily is Him.“(Ka ha Upani§ad 4.12-13)
	The argument is raised that because of his being the size of a thumb and within the heart, this person can only be the individual soul. That this is not so is established in this sŸtra by pointing out that there is an epithet which distinguishes this person as the Supreme Lord:
"1/2Äno bhŸta-bhavyasya
	„The Lord of whatever has been and whatever is yet to be.“ This cannot be the living entity because his past and future are influenced by his karma. The living entity can hardly master himself, what to speak of everything else. In the precedingsŸtra (1.3.22) it is stated:
anuk¨tes tasya ca
	„The living entity is not the Lord in the heard because it is stated that the living entity imitates God.“
	This is corroborated in the Muº¶aka Upani§ad (3.1.3):
yadÄ pa1/2yaú pa1/2yate rukma-varºaµ
kartÄram "1/2aµ puru§aµ brahma-yonim
tadÄ vidvÄn puºya-pÄpe vidhŸya
nira-janaú paramaµ sÄmyam upaiti
	„When a seer sees the golden-colored creator who is the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead, the source of the impersonal Brahman and of the demigod BrahmÄ, then such a wise man, abandoning both piety and sin, untinged by any mundane contamination, achieves the highest possible similarity with the Lord.“
	The living entity, upon achieving the Lord, becomes similar to Him in quality, though not in quantity. An imitation is never identical to the original. Besides meaning imitation, the word anuk¨ti in this aphorism also means to follow. Everything, including the living entities, follows the direction of the Lord:
tam eva bhÄntam anubhÄti sarvaµ
tasya bhÄsÄ sarvam idaµ vibhÄti
	„Everything shines in pursuance of His brilliance. This whole world is lit up by His effulgence.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.2.11)
yena sva-roci§Ä vi1/2vaµ
rocitaµ rocayÄmy aham
yathÄrko Ôgnir yathÄ somo
yathÄrk§a-graha-tÄrakÄú
	„I (Lord BrahmÄ) illuminate a universe that is already illuminated by the self-luminous Lord, just as the fire of the sun causes the moon, the influential planets and stars to shine.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 2.5.11)
bhayÄd asyÄgnis tapati
bhayÄt tapati sŸryaú
bhayÄd indra1/2 ca vÄyu1/2 ca
m¨tyur dhÄvati pa-camaú
	„Out of fear of Him does Agni, the deity of fire, burn; out of fear SŸrya, the deity of the sun, burns. Out of fear Indra, the deity of rain, VÄyu, the deity of the wind and death as the fifth run.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.3)

SüTRA 1.3.25

h¨dy apek§ayÄ tu manu§yÄdhikÄratvÄt

	h¨di-within the heart; apek§ayÄ-with reference to; tu-but; manu§ya-man, a human being; adhikÄratvÄt-because of the right to do.

TRANSLATION

	The Lord’s being compared to the span of a thumb is in reference to the size of the human heart because men have the right to meditate on Him in their hearts.

PURPORT

	Because the Lord is meditated upon in the heart, which in every human being is the size of the thumb or fist, He is said to be the length of a thumb. This is not a limitation of the Lord because, being all-pervasive, He fills the heart. There is no impropriety in meditating on the Lord as the size of the thumb, especially since it is stated that the Lord reveals Himself as that size for those who meditate on Him as so. The hearts of animals can be smaller or greater than the span of a thumb, but this measurement is given in respect to human beings because of the size of their hearts. This form is meant especially for humans to meditate upon. Thus, it is stated in the Ka ha Upani§ad (6.9):
na saµdr1/2e ti§ hati rŸpam asya
na cak§u§Ä pa1/2yati ka1/2canainam
h¨dÄ mani§Ä manasÄbhikÂpto
ya etad vidur am¨tÄs te bhavanti
	„His form does not come within sight. No one sees Him with the eye. He is framed by the heart, by thought, by the mind. Those who know Him become immortal.“
	The person of the size of a thumb cannot be the living entity because the living entity is described as much smaller:
bÄlÄgra-1/2ata-bhÄgasya
1/2atadhÄ kalpitasya ca
bhÄgo j"vaú sa vij-eyaú
sa cÄnantyÄya kalpate
	„If the tip of a hair were divided into one hundred parts and then one of those parts were divided into another one hundred parts, one of such parts would be comparable to the living entity, and he is meant for eternity.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 5.9)

SüTRA 1.3.30

samÄna-nÄma-rŸpatvÄc cÄv¨ttÄv apy avirodho dar1/2anÄt sm¨te1/2 ca
	samÄna-sameness; nÄma-rŸpatvÄt-because of name and form; ca-and; Äv¨ttau-in repetition (the re-creation of the universe); api-also; avirodhaú-no contradition; dar1/2anÄt-because it is seen [in üruti ]; sm¨teú- because of [evidence in] Sm¨ti;  ca-and.

TRANSLATION
	The Vedas are eternal because when there is a new creation following the total destruction of the previous one, all the same varieties of things are created again as they were before. There is no refutation of this because it is so stated in the üruti literature and in the Sm¨ti literature.

PURPORT
	Sometimes people object that the Vedic literature cannot be a perfect source of information about God because it is not eternal, but has a beginning and end limited to the span of time between the creation and destruction of the world. The Vedas,  however, have no material source. They are not products of this world. They are eternal because they are of the spiritual world and partake of the very essence of transcendental knowledge. Although the Vedas may seem to manifest or disapperar in this world, it is only like ths un being hidden behind a cloud and latter reappearing-such invisibility is only apparent for one in this world.
	When MahÄ-Vi§ºu re-creates the myriad of universes after having previously destroyed them, He enters into each one as Garbhodaka1/2Äy" Vi§ºu. He thereby sets the groundwork for the second stage of creation by giving birth to Lord BrahmÄ, a living beings specially empowered to engineer the universe. While BrahmÄ meditates on how to proceed, the Vedas are revealed to him by the Supreme Lord. By reciting the hymns of the Vedas, Lord BrahmÄ remembers the previous creation and fashions the present one according to that pattern, as a potter fashions a pot according to a preconceived idea in his mind. This is supported by the following üruti texts:
yo brahmÄnaµ vidadhÄti pŸrvaµ
yo vai vedÄm1/2 ca prahiºoti tasmai
	„He who first creates Lord BrahmÄ and entrusts the Vedas  to himÉ“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 6.18)
sŸrya-candramasau dhÄtÄ
yatra pŸrvam akalpayan
	„Lord BrahmÄ created the sun and moon as they were previously.“ (äg Veda 10.190.3)
	In the Sm¨ti literature it is stated:
nyagrodhaú sumahÄn alpe
yathÄ b"je vyavasthitaú
samyame vi1/2vam akhilaµ
b"ja-bhŸte tathÄ tvayi
	„As a great banyan tree is contained in a small seed, after the destruction of the world the whole universe is contained in you just like a seed.“ (Vi§ºu PurÄºa )
nÄrÄyaºaú paro devas
tasmÄj jÄta1/2 caturmukhaú
	„NÄrÄyaºa is the Supreme Godhead from whom Lord BrahmÄ was born.“ (VarÄha PurÄºa )
tene  brahma h¨dÄ ya Ädi-kavaye
	„He imparted the Vedic wisdom into the heart of BrahmÄ, the first demigod.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam )
	Since the  Vedas are eternal and are the expression of the transcendental knowledge of the Lord, they are a perfect source of information about Him.

SüTRA 1.3.34

1/2ug asya tad anÄdara-1/2ravaºÄt tadÄdravaºÄt sŸcyate hi

	1/2uk-grief; asya-his (JÄna1/2ruti’s); tat-that [grief]; anÄdara-disrespect [shown because of his lesser knowledge]; 1/2ravanÄt-because of hearing; tadÄ-then; ÄdravaºÄt-because of going [to the wise man Raikva]; sŸcyate-is referred to; hi-indeed.

TRANSLATION
	The wise man Raikva called JÄna1/2ruti a 1/2Ÿdra because he came to him after hearing a disrespectful remark how he, JÄna1/2ruti, was inferior in knowledge to Raikva, and thus was agrieved.

PURPORT
	In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (4.1.1-3) there is the story of JÄna1/2ruti, who had amassed a tremendous amout of pious merits by giving genersouly in charity. One night, as two swans flew overhead, JÄna1/2ruti heard them discuss the following:
	„ÔHo! Ho! You short-sighted fellow! The light of JÄna1/2ruti is spread like the sky. Do not touch it lest it destroy you!’ The other swan replied, ÔWho is this person you talk of as if he were Raikva, the man with the cart?’ The first swan asked, ÔNow, who do you mean by Raikva, the man with the cart?’ ÔAs the lower throws of dice all go to the highest throw, the number ten, so whatever good the living creatures do all goes to him. I say this also of him who knows what he knows.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 4.1.2-4)
	Hearing himself disparaged by the swan, JÄna1/2ruti was saddened and began searching for Raikva. Going to those places where brÄhmaºas frequent, he found him and approached him with six hundred cows, a gold necklace and a mule-drawn chariot:
	„Raikva, here are six hundred cows, a gold necklace and a mule-drawn chariot. Now, please tell me about that Deity, the Deity whom you worship.“
	Raikva retorted, „Let the necklace remain yours, O 1/2Ÿdra, along with your cows and chariot.“
	JÄna1/2ruti went away and returned with one thousand cows, a gold necklace, a mule-drawn chariot and his daughter and said: „Raikva, here are one thousand cows, a gold necklace, a mule-drawn chariot, a wife and this very village as your residence. Now, honorable sir, please teach me.“
	Then, lifting up the face of the girl toward himself, Raikva said: „You have brought these presents along, O 1/2Ÿdra. Merely by this face you wish to make me speak.“ Then Raikva taught him the saµvarga-vidyÄ or knowledge of God as self-appropriating all things.
	Raikva was a knower of Brahman and as such he could also understand the mind of JÄna1/2ruit. Thus he rebuked him twice as a 1/2Ÿdra, which is a contraction of 1/2uk, or grief, and drÄvayati, or driven by. He was driven by grief to find Raikva after hearing the swan ridicule him as lower than Raikva.
	JÄna1/2ruti was not really a 1/2Ÿdra, for it was mentioned how he was vastly wealthy and engaged in giving charity profusely. But he had become overwhelmed with the qualities of a 1/2Ÿdra, and so Raikva addressed him as such.

SüTRA 1.3.35

k§atriyatvÄvagate1/2 cottaratra caitrarathena li›gÄt

	k§atriyatva-the condition of [JÄna1/2ruit] being a k§atriya; avagateú-because of being understood; ca-and; uttaratra-in a latter text; caitrarathena-with a member of the Caitraratha family of k§atriyas; li›gÄt- because of the inferential sign.

TRANSLATION
	Although Jana1/2rjuti was called a 1/2Ÿdra, he is understood to be a k§atriya because of his position of wealth, etc., and because of a latter text about AbhipratÄr", who is ak§atriya, as indicated by an inferential sign.

PURPORT
	JÄna1/2ruti was  k§atriya because the story shows him as giving lavishly in charity. In order to have 1,000 cows and a village to give away he must have possessed extensive property. He also sends his chamberlain in search of Raikva. Thus, from the onset, it is apparent that JÄna1/2ruti was a k§atriya. Besides this there is also the final passage of the episode in which Raikva tells the story of üaunaka KÄpeya and AbhipratÄr" (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 4.3.5-8). The KÄpeyas are brÄhmaºas. In ancient times the brÄhmaºas never ate with the lower castes, except sometimes with the k§atriyas, with whom they were always somewhat intimate. How, then, can we determine for certain the caste of AbhipratÄr" KÄk§asemi? VyÄsadeva points out in this sŸtra that there is an inferential sign:
tasmÄc caitrartho nÄmaikaú k§atrapatir ajÄyata
	„From him was born a king of the name Caitraratha.“ (üatapatha BrÄhmaºa 2.5.3.13)
	Thus Caitrarathas are k§atriyas. Also the KÄpeyas have a special connection with the Caitrarathas:
etena caitrarathaµ kÄpeyÄ ayÄjayan
	„With this the KÄpeyas caused Caitraratha to execute a sacrifice.“ (Taº¶ya BrÄhmaºa 2.12.5)
	It should be noted that a family of brÄhmaºas only acted under the patronage of one k§atriya family. Therefore, since	the KÄpeyas are seen to be connected with Caitraratha k§atriyas, AbhipratÄr", the associate of üaunaka KÄpeya, must also be a Caitraratha k§atriya. As the saµvarga-vidyÄ was previously taught by üaunaka KÄpeya to AbhipratÄr", it was also taught by Raikva to JÄna1/2ruti. It is understood that Raikva is a brÄhmaºa because he could only be found in those places where brÄhmaºas frequent. Thus Raikva’s disciple, JÄna1/2ruti, is deduced in every instance to be a k§atriya. Raikva’s belittling of JÄna1/2ruti as a 1/2Ÿdra is there very significant, for it shows that 1/2Ÿdra, vai1/2ya, k§atriya and brÄhmaºa are not the effects of birth in particular families but are by qualification. In a similar fashion, it is seen in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ how Arjuna, a most qualified k§atriya, became overcome with the qualities of a 1/2Ÿdra  by becoming grief-stricken:
kutas tvÄ k1/2malam idaµ
vi§ame samupasthitam
anÄrya-ju§ am asvaryam
ak"rti-karam arjuna
	„My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy.“ (Bhagavad--g"tÄ 2.2)
a1/2ocyÄn anva1/2ocas tvaµ
praj-Ä-vÄdÄµ1/2 ca bhÄ§ase
gatÄsŸn agatÄsŸµ1/2 ca
nÄnu1/2ocanti paº¶itÄú
	„While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 2.11)
	The whole purpose in introducing this story of JÄna1/2ruti is to show how even though JÄna1/2ruti had become contaminated with the qualities of a 1/2Ÿdra, when he became free from these the brÄhmaºa Raikva did not hesitate to teach him the confidential teachings about God as the self-approriator of all things. In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam it is stated, kalau 1/2Ÿdra-sambhavÄú: „Everyone born in the age of Kali (the present age) is a 1/2Ÿdra.“ And it is a fact that all the different social classes have become and are becoming more and more degraded. Hence, mere birth in a high-caste family can no longer be accepted as the prerequisite for receiving instruction in the Vedantic knowledge.

sütra 1.3.36

saµskÄra-parÄmar1/2Ät tad abhÄvÄbhilÄpÄc ca

	saµskÄra-a purificatory rite, such as spiritual initiation; parÄmar1/2Ät-because of reference in scripture; tat-that [sacrament]; abhÄva-absence of; abhilÄpÄt-because of mention; ca-and.

translation
	Because the scriptures mention that one who wishes to study the Vedic literatures must undergo certain purificatory rites, those who have not undergone them do not have the right to study scriptures.

purport

	Some people claim that only caste brÄhmaºas have the right to study the VedÄnta texts, whereas others admit that k§atriyas who are disciples of brÄhmaºas may also, but vai1/2yas, 1/2Ÿdras, women and others have no right to such study. üŸdras are said to be sinful by nature and therefore there is no ceremony or sacrament that can purify them:
na 1/2Ÿdre pÄtakaµ ki-cin
na ca saµskÄram arhati
	„There is no sin in a 1/2Ÿdra [because all abominable things are permisable for him], and he is unfit to undergo any purifcatory sacrament.“ (Manu-sm¨ti 10.126)
	It is not true that vai1/2yas, 1/2Ÿdras and women cannot undergo any purificatory sacraments because the tantras specifically teach that they can receive d"k§Ä, or spiritual initiation, from a bonafide guru. Such spiritual initiation is the most purifying of all possible sacraments. Thus the Vi§ºu-yÄmala states:
brÄhmaºÄn k§atriyÄn vai1/2yÄn
sac-chŸdrÄn sat-striyo ‘pi vÄ
vi§ºu-bhakti-ratÄn sÄdhŸn
d"k§ayed vidhinÄ guruú
	„Those caste brÄhmaºas, k§atriyas, vai1/2yas, and even pious 1/2Ÿdras and women who are properly behaved and devoted to the Supreme Lord Vi§bu may be initiated by a guru according to the scriptural regulations.“
	Even the most sinful persons, upon receiving initiation from a powerful Vai§ºava guru,  can become purified of all contamination by the grace of the all-powerful Lord:
kirÄta-hŸnÄndhra-pulinda-pulka1/2Ä
abhiira-1/2umbhÄ yavanÄú khasÄdayaú
ye ‘nye ca pÄpÄ yad-apÄ1/2rayÄsrayÄú
1/2uddhyanti tasmai prabhavi§ºave namaú
	„The KirÄtas, Huns, Andhras, Greeks, Pulka1/2as, Arabs, üumbhas, Turks and Chinese-these and other sinful people can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, because He is so very powerful.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 2.18.18)
	When such peole are initiated by bonafide Vai§ºava spiritual masters they very quickly make advancement in spiritual life so that they outshine the ordinary caste brÄhmaºas. This is confirmed in the Padma PurÄºa:
antyajÄ api tad rÄ§ re
1/2a›kha-cakrÄnoka-dhÄriºaú
samprÄpya vai§ºav"µ d"k§Äµ
d"k§itÄ iva sambhubhuú
	„In the kingdom of Ambar"§a MahÄrÄja, even those born in the lowest position of society wore the symbols of the conchshell and cakra on their bodies. By accepting Vai§ºava initiation they became as good as those initiated in the higer castes.“
	Caste brÄhmaºas sometimes complain that the followers of Lord Caitanya give brahmaºa initiation to persons from non-brÄhmaºa families. But the reason we do htis is because at the present time there are no truly qualified brÄhmaºas. In such an emergency situation, we have to take the bold step of making brÄhmaºas out of the lower castes. So, the fault, if any, is with the puffed-up caste-conscious brÄhmaºas who ahve no understanding of God. The following stanza proves our stand on brahminical initiation is authorized.
jaghanyo nottamaµ v¨ttim
anÄpadi bhajen naraú
¨te rÄjanyam Äpatsu
sarve§Äm api sarva1/2aú
	„Except in time of emergency, lower persons should not accept the occupational duties of those who are higher. When there is such an emergency, of course, everyone but the k§atriyas may accept the means of livelihood of others.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 7.11.17)

sütra 1.3.37

tad abhÄva-nirdhÄraºe ca prav¨tteú

	tat-that [state of being a 1/2Ÿdra ];abhÄva- the absence; nirdhÄraºe-upon ascertaining; ca-and; prav¨tteú-because of the employment [of initiation].

translation
	The sage HÄridrumata Gautama initiated SatyakÄma JÄbÄla after first ascertaining that he did not have the low class nature of a 1/2Ÿdra.

purport
	Despite birth in a good family of higher caste, if one exhibits the qualities of a 1/2uudra, one should be considered a 1/2Ÿdra. Similarly, those who are free from the qualities of a 1/2Ÿdra, even those not from brÄhmaºa families, may be initiated as dvijas, or twice-born. It is not birth  in a family that makes one twice-born, but qualification and initiation. This is confirmed in both üruti and Sm¨ti:
	tarhi jÄtir brÄhmaºa iti cet tan na; tatra jÄty-antara-jantu§v aneka-jÄti-sambhavÄ mahar§ayo bahavas santi.
	„Then, if one says that birth makes one a brÄhmaºa, it is not so, for there are many species among creatures, other than human, many sages are of diverse origin.“ (VajrasŸcika Upani§ad 5.)
satyaµ dÄnaµ k§amÄ 1/2"lam
an¨1/2amsyam tapo gh¨ºÄ
d¨1/2yante yatra nÄgendra
sa brÄhmaºa iti sm¨tiú
	„O king of serpents, he in whom are found the qualities of truthfulness, generousity, forgiveness, good conduct, nonviolence, austerity and compassion is a brÄhamaºa, according to the Sm¨ti texts.“
(MahÄbharata, Araºya-parva 312.106)
yatraital lak§ate sarpa
vrttaµ sa brÄhmaºas sm¨taú
yatraitan na bhavet sarvaµ
taµ 1/2Ÿdram iti nirdi1/2et
	„One who exhibits these, o serpent, should be considered a brÄhmaºa. All those who do not exhibit  these should be considered 1/2Ÿdras.“ (MahÄbharata, Araºya-parva 180.20)
	ür"la J"va GosvÄm" mentions in his book, Hari-bhakti-vilÄsa, how one can become a brÄhmaºa:
yathÄ kÄ-canatÄµ yÄti
kaµsyaµ rasa-vidhÄrataú
tatha d"k§Ä-vidhÄnena
dvijatvaµ jÄyate n¨ºÄm
	„Just as bell metal becomes gold when combined with mercury according to the process of alchemy, by the process of initiation by a bonafide spiritual master all men can achieve the status of twice-born brÄhmaºas.“ (Tattva-sÄgara)
	Foolish person think that one’s qualities are simply the result of birth in a particular caste or family. In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ, however, the Supreme Lord ür" K¨§ºa points out:
catur-varºyaµ mayÄ s¨§ am
guºa-karma-vibhÄga1/2aú
	„The four classes of society are created by Me by dividing them according to quality and work.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 4.13)
	Hence, the key for determing one’s social position should be one’s characteristics and work, not birth. In this regards, NÄrada Muni says:
yasya yal-lak§aºaµ proktam
puµso varºÄbhiya-jakam
yad anyatrÄpi d¨1/2yeta
tat tenaiva vinirdi1/2et
	„If a person has the symptoms indicating a particular caste, even if he is born in another caste, he should be accepted as belonging to the cste whose symptoms he exhibits.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 7.11.35)
	The ChÄndogya Upani§ad (4.4) tells the story of a youth named SatyakÄma JÄbÄla who wanted to study the Vedas. For that purpose he approached the sage Gautama and requested to be accepted as a disciple. The sage asked SatyakÄma what his family lineage was. The boy replied, „Once I asked my mother that very question and she said that when she was yound she worked as a maid. While travelling around she had me, and so I am her son.“ Gautama then remarked, „Only a brÄhmaºa would speak so truthfully. I shall initiate you with the sacred thread. Therefore, even if one is from an obscure background, if one exhibits the qualities of a brÄhmaºa,  one can be initiated by the guru to study the Vedas.
	The proposition put forward by the story of Satyakama is further solidified by the story of the 1/2Ÿdra ¨§i Kava§a in the Aitareya BrÄhmaºa (2.3.19), which is attached to the äg Veda. There it relates how the ¨§is, when once holding a soma sacrifice on the banks of the Sarasvat" River, expelled Kava§a from their midst saying, „How can the son of a slave-girl, a gamester, who is not a brÄhmaºa, remain among us and become initiated?“ They exiled him to the desert, cursing him to die of thirst, being deprived of the ability to drink from the Sarasvat". After having been exiled, he, being stricken with thirst, envisioned the hymns beginning with the words: „May there be a way leading to the gods for this prayerÉ“Ê(äg Veda 10.30) By this means, he won the favor of the deities in charge of water, and the Sarasvat" River came flowing to him, surrounding him on all sides. When the sages saw this they said, „The godes have recognized him; let us call him back.“ When he was again in their midst, they also recited the mantras that were revealed to him and, thus, they also obtained the favor of the gods. The Aitareya BrÄhmaºa further adds that the brÄhmaºas made Kava§a the leader of their sacrifice, a post which a 1/2Ÿdra is never supposed to occupy.
	Despite Kava§a’s birth in a 1/2Ÿdra family, he had by his personal endeavor attained the status of a brÄhmaºa and had even discovered special mantras unknown to the ordinary caste brÄhmaºas. According to the PÄ-carÄtra literature of the Vai§ºavas, birth in a 1/2Ÿdra family is no disqualification for being initiated as a Vai§ºava brÄhmaºa:
1/2Ÿdraµ tu tantrajair mantrair
dÄsÄntaµ nÄma ca sm¨tam
upav"taµ ca vastraµ ca
guºa-mantreºa yojayet
	„For a 1/2Ÿdra the mantras used should be those prescribed in the tantras and they should be given names ending in dÄsa. They should be invested with the sacred thread and the upper cloth by reciting the guºa-mantra.“ (Parama-saµhitÄ 17.14)
na mantroccÄraºÄd do§aú
karma-yogasya sammataú
t"vra-bhakto bhaved yas tu
vidyÄ-dharma-rataú 1/2uciú

taµ 1/2Ÿdram api sarvatra
yojayed apramÄdanam
	„There is no fault in such an initiated 1/2Ÿdra’s chanting of mantras and it is permissable for him to engage in the Vedic duties. If he is an enthusiastic devotee eager for knowledge and good conduct, and is clean and not liable to err, such a 1/2Ÿdra should be allowed to take part in everything.“ (Parama-saµhitÄ 17.16-17)
brÄhmaºÄú k§atriyÄ vai1/2yÄ
d"k§Ä-yogyÄs trayaú sm¨tÄú
jÄti-1/2ila-guºopetÄú
1/2ŸdrÄ1/2 ca striya eva ca
	„The three groups-brÄhmaºas, k§atriyas, and vai1/2yas-are fit for initiation, and also those 1/2Ÿdras and women who have a good birth, good character and good qualities.“ (Parama-saµhitÄ 17.24)
	The spiritual master must examine every would-be disciple to see if he or she is qualified to be initiated as a Vai§ºava brÄhmaºa. Regardless of birth, whoever exhibits brahminical qualities can be initiated as a brÄhmaºa to study the Vedas and the VedÄnta-sŸtra.

SüTRA 1.3.38

1/2ravaºÄdhyÄyanÄrthaµ prati§edhÄt sm¨te1/2 ca

	1/2ravaºa-hearing [the Vedas ]; ahyayana-studying [the Vedas ]; artham-[knowing] the meaning [of the Vedas ]; prati§edhÄt-because of being prohibited; sm¨teú-because [there is confirmation] of [this in] Sm¨ti; ca- and.

TRANSLATION
	A 1/2Ÿdra is not qualified to learn the knowledge revealed in the Vedantic texts because he is forbidden to hear, study or know the meaning of the Vedas, and because there is confirmation of this in the Sm¨ti literature.

PURPORT
	A 1/2Ÿdra, or one who has no spiritual qualification, is considered unfit for study of VedÄnta because there is a rule against it in the üruti literature:
tasmÄc chŸdra-sam"pe nÄdhyetavyam
	„Therefore, the Vedas should not be studied in the presence of a 1/2Ÿdra.“
	This rule specifically mentions that 1/2Ÿdras are not to hear the recitation of the Vedas. The Sm¨ti literature also admonishes:
	atha hÄsya vedam upa1/2¨ºvatas trapu-jÄtubhyÄµ 1/2rotra-pratipŸraºam udÄharaºe jihvÄcchedo dhÄraºe 1/2ar"ra-bhedaú.
	„If a 1/2Ÿdra hears the Vedas, his ears should be filled with lead and lac, if he utters them, his tongue should be cut out; if he possesses them, his body should be cut up.“ (Gautama-dharma-sŸtra 2.12.3)
	Here 1/2Ÿdras refers to those who are fools and rascals. Such persons, being very ignorant and materially motivated, habitually misuse good instruction for bad purposes. This is seen in every religion of the world. Because everyone in the Kali-yuga is degraded, the devotees take the personal risk of preaching to the general masses of people. They try to find those rare few who are actually sincere and willing to reform themselves and thus elevate themselves to the Vai§ºava or brahminical platform. One one becomes elevated in this way, he is no longer liable blame-worthy for their previous social position, as confirmed in the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (5.18.12):
yasyÄsti bhaktir bhagavaty aki-cana
sarvair guºais tatra samÄsate surÄú
harÄv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guºÄ
manorathenÄsati dhÄvato bahiú
	„The demigods and all their good qualities reside in one who has unmotivated devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the other hand, what great qualities can one who is not a devotee of Lord Hari possibly have? He is simply running around according to the speculations of his mind outside of the Lord’s protection in this temporary material world.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 5.18.12)

SüTRAS 1.3.39-40

kampanÄt
jyotir dar1/2anÄt

	kampanÄt-because of trembling; jyotih-light; dar1/2anÄt-because of being seen.

TRANSLATION

The person of the size of a thumb is the Supersoul because the whole world trembles in fear of Him, because He is seen as the source of all light.

PURPORT

	These sŸtras give two more reasons why the person the size of a thumb cannot be a finite individual soul, but must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. First of all, the whole world trembles in fear of Him:
yad idaµ ki-ca jagat sarvaµ
prÄºa ejati niús¨tam
mahad-bhayaµ vajram udyataµ
ya etad vidur am¨tÄs te bhavanti

bhayÄd asyÄgnis tapati
bhayÄt tapati sŸryaú
bhayÄd indra1/2 ca vÄyu1/2 ca
m¨tyur dhÄvati pa-camaú
	„Whatever there is in this whole world was created from and moves in prÄºa (breath), the great fear, the upraised thunderbolt. Those who know Him become immortal.
	„Out of fear of Him does Agni, the deity of fire, burn; out of fear SŸrya, the deity of the sun, burns. Out of fear Indra, the deity of rain, VÄyu, the deity of the wind and death as the fifth run.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.2-3)
	He is described as vajram udyataµ, an upraised thunderbolt, because He strikes fear into the hearts of all. That this thunderbolt refers to the Supreme Lord is proven by the following verse:
cakraµ ca›kramaºÄd e§a
varjanÄd vajram ucyate
khandanÄt khadga evai§a
heti-nÄmÄ svayam hariú
	„Lord Vi§ºu is called cakra (discus) because He is never static but always in motion (ca›kramaºa) everywhere; He is called vajra (thunderbolt) because He destoys (varjana) everything; He is called kha¶ga (sword) because He cuts down (khaº¶ana) the wicked; certainly the Lord Himself is named by those weapons.“ (BrahmÄº¶a PurÄºa)
	Because Vi§ºu is depicted as carrying in His hands a cakra (discus), a vajra (thunderbolt), or a kha¶ga (sword), this indicates that He is the creator, controller, and destroyer of everything.
	Those who claim that the person the size of a thumb is the living entity, further conclude that the thunderbolt mentioned in the above verse refers to prÄºa, or life, and therefore, must be the living entity. However, prÄºa is also used to designate the Lord because He is the life of all living things-prÄnasya prÄºaú-as mentioned in the Kena Upani§ad (2), B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (4.4.18), ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.12.4) and in the Maitr" Upani§ad (6.31). This same person the size of a thumb is the source of all light in this world:
na tatra sŸryo bhÄti na candra-tÄrakaµ
nemÄ vidyuto bhÄnti kuto Ôyam agniú
tam eva bhÄntam anubhÄti sarvaµ
tasya bhÄsÄ sarvam idaµ vibhÄti
	„There the sun does not shine, nor do the moon and stars; neither do these lightning bolts shine, much less this fire. Everything shines in pursuance of His brilliance. This whole world is lit up by His effulgence.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 5.15)
	Since the living entity is definitely not the source of light, the person the size of a thumb must be the Supreme Lord.

SüTRA 1.3.41

ÄkÄ1/2o ÔrthÄntaratvÄdi-vyapade1/2Ät

	ÄkÄ1/2aú-ether; artha-meaning; antaratva-difference; Ädi-and so forth; vyapade1/2at-because of the designation.

TRANSLATION

	The word ÄkÄ1/2a (ether) refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not the liberated soul, because it is a designation of something other than the individual soul, and for other reasons also.

PURPORT

	In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.14) there is this text:
	ÄkÄ1/2o vai nÄma-rŸpa-yonir vihitÄ te yad antarÄ tad brahma tad am¨taµ sa Ätma.
	„It is ether, indeed, which effectuates the origination of names and forms. That in which they are, that is Brahman, that is the immortal. He is the Soul.“
	The doubt may arise whether this ÄkÄ1/2a, or ether, refers to the liberated soul or to the Supreme Lord. One might say that this ether is the liberated soul because of the evidence in the preceding paragraph.
	a1/2va iva romÄºi vidhŸya pÄpaµ candra iva rahor mukhÄt pramucya dhŸtvÄ 1/2ar"ram ak¨taµ k¨tÄtmÄ brahma-lokam abhisambhavÄm"ty abhisambhavÄmi.
	„Shaking off evil as a horse shakes off its hairs, abandoning the body as the moon frees itself from the mouth of an eclipse, I, a perfected soul, attain the uncreated world of God, yes, I attain it.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.13)
	Since this paragraph is about the soul attaining liberation, the paragraph that follows it, in which ether is said to be the cause of names and forms, must refer to the liberated soul. Before he was liberated, he was the cause of innumerable bodies in which he dwelt. This is indicated by his abiding within the names and forms. He is called Brahman the immortal because he has attained the state of liberation.
	VyÄsadeva refutes this interpretation in this sŸtra by explaining that the word ÄkÄ1/2a refers to something different from the liberated soul. The conditioned soul is not able to create his own name and form, for his birth in a particular body with its subsequent names and relationships is not by the purposive intention of that bound soul, but is the result of his karma. No one gets to choose the family into which they are born or the name they are given. The next birth is automatically determined by the actions one performs in this life. In that same ChÄndogya Upani§ad (6.3.2), it is stated that the Supreme Lord is the creator of all names and forms:
	seyaµ devataik§ata hantÄham imÄs tisro devatÄ anena j"venÄtma-nÄnupravi1/2ya nÄma-rŸpe vyÄkaravÄn"ti.
	„That Deity thought: ÔNow, then, after entering these three deities with this living soul, let Me evolve names and forms.“
	`The Supreme Lord as the Supersoul creates the names and forms of the conditioned souls. Even accepting that the Supreme Lord creates the names and forms of the conditioned soul, one might argue that the liberated soul is God by quoting the following text:
	sa vÄ e§a mahÄjana ÄtmÄjaro Ômaro Ôm¨to Ôbhayo brahmÄbhayaµ vai brahmÄbhayaµ hi vai brahma bhavati ya evaµ veda.
	„Certainly that great unborn soul who is ageless, deathless, immortal and fearless is Brahman. Fearless, indeed, is Brahman. Certainly one becomes fearless Brahman who knows this.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.25)
	This passage shows that the liberated soul who attains mukti, liberation, is identical with Brahman. Therefore, whenever the scriptures differentiate between the soul and Brahman, it must be understood as an upÄdhi, or limiting material adjunct, like the difference between the space inside a clay pot and the unlimited free space. There is no difference between these two, and this is practically realized when the pot is broken. Similarly, when the soul quits his body and attains liberation, he becomes one with the impersonal, qualitiless, infinite Absolute called Brahman. There is no difference between the liberated soul and God.
	This erroneous view is refuted in the following sŸtra.

SüTRA 1.3.42

su§upty-utkrÄntyor bhedena

	su§upti-in dreamless sleep; utkrÄntyoú-and on departing from the body; bhedena-by their difference.

TRANSLATION

	The Supreme Lord is different from the individual soul both in deep sleep and at the time of leaving the body.

PURPORT

	VyÄsadeva refutes the idea that the liberated soul is God by pointing out that scripture mentions their difference both in deep sleep and at the time when the soul is leaving the body:
	tad yathÄ priyayÄ striyÄ sampari§vakto na bÄhyaµ ki-cana veda nÄntaram evam evÄyaµ puru§aú prÄj-enÄtmanÄ sampari§vakto na bÄhyaµ ki-cana veda nÄntaraµ tad vÄ asyaitad Äpta-kÄmam Ätma-kÄmam akÄmaµ rŸpaµ 1/2okÄntaram.
	„Now, as a man, when in the embrace of his beloved wife, knows nothing without or within, even so this person, when embraced by the Intelligent Soul, knows nothing without or nothing within. This is certainly his form in which all desires are obtained, in which the Soul is his desire, in which he is without desire and sorrow.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.3.21)
	This text is from a section describing the condition of the soul in deep sleep. When one is in a state of dreamless sleep, or is completely unconscious, the senses are retracted like the appendages of a turtle. Since the self is not perceiving anything externally, but is retracted within himself, the soul must be in intimate communion with the Supersoul who abides with him in the heart. That the soul does not merge in the Supersoul, or even perceive Him in such a state of consciousness, is explained because in unconsciousness, the soul perceives nothing, neither externally nor internally. Obviously, the Supersoul and the individual soul are two distinct persons because the soul cannot be in his own embrace, as the example points out that the embracer is conscious while the embraced is unconscious. Moreover, when the soul leaves the body, there is also a difference between him and the Supersoul:
	tad yathÄ naú susamÄhitam utsarjad yÄyÄd evam evÄyaµ 1/2ar"ra ÄtmÄ prÄj-enÄtmanÄnvarŸ¶ham utsarjan yÄti yatraitad ŸrdhvocchvÄs" bhavati.
	„Now, as a heavily laden cart groans as it moves along, just so the embodied soul mounted by the Intelligent Soul goes along groaning when he is about to breathe his last.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.3.35)
	The embodied soul is mounted by the omniscient Supersoul in the sense that the Lord is dominating and directing him in his actions. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ (18.62):
"1/2varaú sarva bhŸtÄnÄµ
h¨d-de1/2e Ôrjuna ti§ hati
bhramayan sarva-bhŸtÄni
yantrÄrŸ¶hÄni mÄyayÄ
	„O Arjuna, the Supreme Lord is present in the heart of everyone, and is directing the wandering of all living beings, who are seated on machines made of material energy.“
	Vedic literature differentiates between the living entity and God in deep sleep and at the time of death. Agreeing with this, one might say that in deep sleep and during death the soul is different from God because he is at both these times still bound by the limiting adjuncts of a gross and subtle body. On the other hand, when the soul is completely free from all material designations, he is nondifferent and indistinguishable from God. This is refuted in the next sŸtra.

SüTRA 1.3.43

paty-Ädi-1/2abdebhyaú

	pati-Lord, protector; Ädi-and so forth; 1/2abdebyhyaú-because of the words.

TRANSLATION

	The liberated soul is not identical with God because words such as Lord, etc. distinguish God from him.

PURPORT

	In the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (4.4.22), it is stated:
	sa vÄ e§a mahÄjana Ätma yo Ôyaµ vij-Äna-mayaú prÄne§u ya e§o Ôntar-h¨daya ÄkÄ1/2as tasmin chete sarvasya va1/2" sarvasye1/2Änaú sarvasyÄdhipatiú sa na sÄdhunÄ karmanÄ bhŸyÄn no eva sÄdhunÄ kan"yÄn e§a sarve1/2vara e§a bhŸtÄdhipatir e§a bhŸta-pÄla e§a setur vidharaºa esÄµ lokÄnÄm asambedhÄya.
	„He is the great, unborn Soul, who is full of knowledge among the senses. In the ether within the heart lies the controller of all, the overlord of all, the ruler of all. He does not become greater by good action nor lesser by bad action. He is the Lord of everything. He is the overlord of all beings. He is the protector of all beings. He is the bridge that spans the chasm separating these worlds.“
	This text shows that the liberated soul is different from God, for a living entity never has lordship over all. Only if he were the creator, could he exercise absolute control over all, and the living entity does not have the power of creatorship, even in liberation, as explained in sŸtra 4.4.17. In addition, the Taittir"ya-Äraºyaka says that the Lord is present within all persons as their ruler:
antaú pravi§ haú 1/2ÄstÄ janÄnÄm
	„He is entered within as the ruler of all people.“
	The individuality of the soul is not a limiting adjunct caused by ignorance because the soul continues to have his individual existence even in liberation. This will be explained in sŸtra 2.3.41. Whenever scripture says that one who attains Brahman becomes Brahman, this means that one attains the qualities of Brahman, as is indicated in the Muº¶aka Upani§ad (3.1.3), kartÄram "1/2aµ puru§amÉnira-janaú paramaµ sÄmyam upaiti: „Free from material qualities, he achieves the highest possible similarityÉwith the Personality of Godhead who is the Supreme Lord and creator.“
	This is further confirmed in the same Upani§ad (3.2.8), parÄt paraµ puru§am upaiti divyam: „He draws near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“
	The ÄkÄ1/2a or ether said to evolve names and forms is not a soul in either a conditioned or liberated state, but is the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the Supersoul pervading all things, just as all things are also pervaded by ether.

SüTRA 1.4.14

kÄraºatvena cÄkÄ1/2Ädi§u yathÄ vyapadi§ okteú

	kÄraºatvena-by being the cause; ca-and; ÄkÄ1/2a-Ädi§u-in regards to ether and the others; yathÄ-thus; vyapadi§ a-described; ukteú-because of being stated.

TRANSLATION

	The source of the universe is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the scriptures describe Him as the cause of ether, etc.

PURPORT

	Rascals who want to undermine the authoritativeness of the scriptures claim that the scriptures are in disagreement as to whether God or something else is the cause of creation. They quote the following texts:
	tasmÄd vÄ etasmÄd ÄtmanÄ. ÄkÄ1/2aú sabhŸtaú. ÄkÄ1/2Äd vÄyuú. vÄyor agniú. agner Äpaú. adbhyaú p¨thiv". p¨thivyÄ ausadhayaú. au§adhayo Ônnam. annÄd retaú. retasaú puru§aú.
	„From the Soul arose ether; from ether, air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth, plants; from plants, food; from food, semen; from semen, man.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.1.1)
	asya lokasya kÄ gatir itit. ÄkÄ1/2a iti hovÄca sarvÄºi ha vÄ imÄni bhŸtÄny ÄkÄ1/2Äd eva samutpadyanta ÄkÄ1/2aµ pratyastaµ yanty ÄkÄ§o hy evaibhyo jyÄyÄn ÄkÄ1/2aú. parÄyaºam.
	„ÔWhat is the goal of this world?’ He answered, ÔEther. All these beings certainly arise from ether, and go to set in ether. Ether is greater than these. Ether is the refuge.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 1.9.1)
	asad vÄ idam agra Äs"t. tato vai sad ajÄyata. tad ÄtmÄnaµ svayaµ kuruta. tasmÄt tat suk¨tam ucyate iti.
	„In the beginning there was just nonbeing. From it was produced being. That made itself a self. Therefore it is called well-made.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.7.1)
	katamÄ sÄ devateti. prÄºa iti hovÄca sarvÄºi ha vÄ imÄni bhŸtÄni prÄºam evÄbhisamvi1/2anti prÄºam abhyujjihate.
	„ÔWho is that Deity?’ He answered, ÔBreath. All these beings certainly enter into breath and emerge from breath.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.2.1)
	tad-dhedaµ tarhy avyÄk¨tam Äs"t. tan nÄma-rŸpÄbhyÄm eva vyÄkriyate Ôsau.
	„At that time all this world was undifferentiated. It became differentiated by name and form.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 1.4.7)
sad eva somyedam agra Äs"t
	„In the beginning there was only being, my dear.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.2.1)
	From the above information it would appear that there are numerous causes of existence proposed in the scriptures such as ÄkÄ1/2a (ether), asat (nonbeing), prÄºa (breath), sat (being), and avyÄk¨ta (the undifferentiated).
	This aphorism states that material things like ether cannot be the cause of creation because the scriptures specify that these things are created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This was already established in sŸtra 1.1.2. Therefore, whenever terms such as ether, being, or breath are said to be the causes of creation, these are not indicative of material entities but of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since creation is the sign of the action of intelligence, nonintelligent material things cannot effect any creation, nor can they create intelligent living entities.

SüTRA 1.4.15

samÄkar§Ät

	samÄkar§Ät-because it is drawn out [from the context].

TRANSLATION

	The words „nonbeing“ and „undiferrentiated“ also denote the Supreme Lord as the creator because that meaning is drawn out from the context.

PURPORT

	„In the beginning there was just nonbeing. From it was produced being. That made itself a self. Therefore, it is called well-made.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.7.1) How can nonbeing be considered an appellation of God, the Supreme Person? Let us, therefore, examine the context:
	„He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I beget. He contemplated. Having contemplated, He created this whole world, whatever is here. Having created it, he entered it. Having entered it, He became both being and what is beyond, both the defined and the undefined, both the foundation and what is not the foundation, both the conscious and the nonconscious, both the real and the false. The real became what there is here. That is what is called the real.“ There is also this verse:
	In the beginning there was just nonbeing. From it was produced being. That made itself a self. Therefore, it is called well-made.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.6.1-2.7.1)
	Because of the use of terms such as satyam (the real) and many others, it is evident that the passage is not talking about actual nonbeing as the source of creation but about the Supreme Lord. In the Brahma-tattva, He is designated as asat (nonbeing).
	agamyatvÄd asan nÄma
brahma nÄrÄyaºÄbhidam
pralaye vÄsudevÄkhyaµ
gamyaµ sad abhavÄd vidÄm
	„The Absolute Truth called NÄrÄyana is known as asat (nonbeing) during the dissolved state of the world because He is unknowable [for the conditioned souls caught up in that annihilation]. For the wise, He is knowable as VÄsudeva.“
	The term avyÄk¨ta (undifferentiated), mentioned in the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (1.4.7), also denotes the Supreme Soul. This is understood by the descriptions in the remainder of the passage, these being only applicable to Him:
	„At that time this world was undifferentiated. It became differentiated by name and form, just as when it is said, ÔHe has such a name and such a form.’ Even now this world is distinguished by name and form, as when it is said, ÔHe has such a name and form.’ He entered these bodies right up to the tips of the fingernails, like a razor hidden in its case, or fire in a fire-pan. Him they see not, for He is not complete. When breathing, He becomes breath by name; when speaking, speech; when seeing, the eye; when hearing, the ear; when thinking, the mind. These are merely the names of His acts. Whoever worships one of these-he knows Him not, for He is not realized completely by anyone of these. One should worship that Soul alone because all the different features are united in Him.“
	From the context we can see that the undifferentiated is connotative of the Supreme Lord. As this chapter of the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad continues, it clarifies that the undifferentiated is to be understood the Supreme:
brahma vÄ idam agra Äs"d ekam eva.
	„In the beginning this world was just Brahman, one only.“ (1.4.11)
atho ayaµ vÄ ÄtmÄ sarve§Äµ bhŸtÄnÄµ lokÄú.
„Now, this Soul is verily the world of all beings.“ (1.4.16)

SüTRA 1.4.23

prak¨ti1/2 ca pratij-a d¨§ ÄntÄnuparodhÄt

	prak¨tiú-the material (cause); ca-and; pratij-a-the proposition; d¨§ Änta-illustrations; anuparodhÄt-because of not being in opposition.

TRANSLATION

	God is also the material cause of creation because this does not oppose the illustrations given nor the proposition which the scriptures seek to establish.

PURPORT

	From previously quoted texts one might question whether God is the efficient or operative cause of creation, or whether He is also the material cause. It may be argued that He is only the efficient cause and not the material cause, as is revealed in the following texts:
	sad eva somyedam agra Äs"d ekam evÄdvit"yam. sa aik§ata. bahu syÄm prajÄyeya.
	„In the beginning there was only being, my dear, one only without a second. He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I procreate.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.2.1)
	This shows that by His mere thought the creation occurs. Whenever it says that matter is generated from Him, this must be understood metaphysically. God is the creator of the universe in the way that the potter is the creator of the pot. He gives shape and form to the matter that was already existing. Thus, prak¨ti, the material nature, is the ultimate source of all beings, since they are fashioned out of her substance. How can the efficient cause also be the material cause? In this world, the material cause, or inert matter, is always distinct from the efficient cause, or the living entity, as in the example of the clay and the potter. Similarly, the creation is brought about by the mere glance or thinking of the Lord upon the material nature. This is also corroborated in the Vi§ºu PurÄºa:
yathÄ sannidhi-mÄtreºa
gandhaú k§obhÄya jÄyate
manaso nopakart¨tvÄt
tathÄsau parame1/2varaú

sannidhÄnÄd yathÄkÄ1/2a-
kÄlÄdyaú kÄraºaµ taroú
tathaivÄpariºÄmena
vi1/2vasya bhagavÄn hariú

nimitta-mÄtram evÄsau
s¨§ ÄnÄm sarga karmaºi
pradhÄna-kÄraºi-bhŸtÄ
yato vai s¨jya-1/2aktayaú
	„Just as fragrance, by mere contact with the olfactory sence, produces an experience in the mind without the mind doing anything, so does the Supreme Lord create. As the contact of space, time and other material factors are the cause of a tree, just so does the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari create this universe without undergoing any transformation. In the act of creation He is the nimitta or efficient cause. It is the creative energies that are the primary causes.“
	Consequently, whenever the scriptures describe God as the upadÄna or material cause of creation, such statements must be interpreted as meaning otherwise. VyÄsadeva’s reply to this contention is that the Lord is also the material cause because this is not refuted by the illustrations in scripture, but is supported in them:
	yato vÄ imÄni bhŸtÄni jÄyate. yena jÄtÄni j"vanti. yat prayanty abhisamvi1/2anti. tad vijij-Äsasva. tad brahmeti.
	„That from which these beings are born, by which, being born, they live, and into which, when dying, they enter-thay you should desire to know. That is Brahman.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 3.1)
	This shows that God is also the material cause because all beings are literally produced from Him. The statement from the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (6.2.1), „In the beginning there was only being,“ shows that the material ingredients for creation were not existing separately from Him. „He made Himself a self, that is why it is called well-made.“ „He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I procreate.’“
	That He is the material cause is in accordance with the proposition of the scriptures that God is He by whom everything else becomes known:
	„O honorable one, by knowledge of what can this entire material existence possibly be understood?“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.1.3)
	„O Maitreya, it is the Supreme Soul who should be seen, heard, thought of and meditated upon. In fact, by seeing, hearing, thinking of and understanding the Supersoul, this entire material existence becomes understood.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.4.5)
	„Did you also ask for that teaching whereby what has not been heard becomes heard, and what has not been thought becomes thought, what has not been understood becomes understood?“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.1.3)
	If God is not the material cause or source from which everything has proceeded, then how can everything be understood when He is understood? The fact that by knowing Him everything else becomes known proves that they are all produced from Him and are, therefore, directly related to Him as His creations. This argument is further strengthened by the fact that as an explanation of the above-quoted passage the sage introduces the analogy of how by knowing clay everything made of clay can be understood, or how by knowing gold everything made from gold can be understood. By knowing God, everything else can be understood.

SüTRA 1.4.25

sÄk§Äc cobhayÄmnÄnÄt

	sÄk§Ät-directly; ca-and; ubhaya-both (the efficient and material causes); ÄmnÄnÄt-because of the scriptural statement.

TRANSLATION

	God is the efficient and material cause of creation because both are stated in scripture.

PURPORT

	In the Taittir"ya-brÄhmaºa (2.8.9) of the äg Veda it is stated:
kiµ svid vanaµ ka u sa v¨k§a Äs"t
yato dyÄvÄ-p¨thiv" ni§ atak§uú
man"§iºo manasÄ p¨cchataitat
yad adhyati§ had bhuvanÄni dhÄrayan

brahma vanaµ sa v¨k§a Äs"t
yato dyÄvÄ-p¨thiv" ni§ atak§uú
man"§iºo manasÄ pravrav"mi vo
brahmÄdhyati§ had bhuvanÄni dhÄrayan
	„What was that forest, what the tree from which they fashioned heaven and earth? You thoughtful ones, inquire with your minds, where did He stand while supporting these worlds. Brahman was the forest, Brahman the tree from which they fashioned heaven and earth; you thoughtful ones, I tell you, it stood on Brahman who supports the worlds.“
	Brahman is depicted as both the efficient and material cause of the world. The tree refers to the material cause, and the worlds are the effects. The Lord created the heavens and the earth from Himself because He is Himself the tree. The plural sense of „they fashioned heaven and earth“ is Vedic poetic license for the singular. The one Lord fashions the worlds from the „tree“ which is Himself. This is also stated in the Ka ha Upani§ad (6.1):
Ÿrdhva-mŸlo ÔvÄk 1/2Äkha
e§o Ô1/2vatthaú sanÄtanaú
tad eva 1/2ukraµ tad brahma
tad evÄm¨tam ucyate
tasmil lokÄú 1/2ritÄh sarve
tad u nÄty eti ka1/2cana
etad vai tat
	„Its root is upwards, its branches down-this eternal figtree. That is pure. That is Brahman. That is certainly called immortal. All the worlds are resting on Him and no one at all goes beyond Him. This is Him.“

SüTRA 1.4.26-27

Ätma-k¨teú pariºÄmÄt
yoni1/2 ca hi g"yate

Ätma-k¨teú-because of making Himself; pariºÄmÄt-due to the modification or transformation; yoniú-the source; ca-and; hi-indeed; g"yate-is declared.

TRANSLATION

	God is the efficient and material cause of the world because it is said that He makes Himself into the world by transforming Himself.
	And because He is declared to be the source of all existence.

PURPORT

	In the Taittir"ya Upani§ad (2.6.), it is stated:
	„He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I beget.’ He contemplated. Having contemplated, He created this whole world, whatever is here.“
	The same Upani§ad further states (2.7.1): „He made Himself a self. Therefore it is called well-made“ The self He made for Himself was the material world. This shows that the Lord was the agent and the object. One may object that it is impossible for someone to be simultaneously the agent and the object, the maker and the artifact, the potter and the pot, the creator and the creation. To say that God is the material cause is to attribute all the imperfection and evil of the world to Him. Thus, He cannot be the material cause.
	This fear is totally unwarranted. That God is the material cause of the creation does not endanger Him with material imperfection because, as stated in this aphorism, He becomes the world by 1/2akti-pariºÄma, or the transformation of His energies. Because only His energy is transformed into the creation, He does not undergo any modification but remains always whole and unaffected.
	If the Lord did not possess energies, He would be inert like a stone and would be powerless. He could not have created the world, and He would be defenseless, even agains an ordinary living being. The Lord’s possession of energy is vital to His position as the Supreme. Thus, the scriptures declare:
parÄsya 1/2aktir vividhaiva 1/2rŸyate
svÄbhÄvik" j-Äna-bala-kriyÄ ca
	„The energy of the Supreme is said to be manifold. It is intrinsic to Him and comprises knowledge, power and action.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 7.8)
vi§ºu-1/2aktiú parÄ proktÄ
k§etraj-ÄkhyÄ tathÄ parÄ
avidyÄ-karma-saµj-ÄnyÄ
t¨t"ya 1/2aktir "1/2yate
	„Lord Vi§ºu’s internal potency is called parÄ, or superior, and so also is that potency to which the living entities belong. The third potency is known as avidyÄ, or ignorance, which manifests material activities.
bhŸmir Äpo Ônalo vÄyuú
khaµ mano buddhir eva ca
aha›kÄra it"yaµ me
bhinnÄ prak¨tir a§ adhÄ

apareyam itas tv anyÄµ
prak¨tiµ viddhi me parÄm
j"va-bhŸtaµ mahÄ-bÄho
yayedaµ dhÄryate jagat
	„Earth, water, fire, air, ether. mind, intelligence and false ego-these eight comprise My separated material nature. O strong-armed Arjuna, besides this inferior nature, you should know My superior nature, which consists of all living beings who are maintaining this world.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.4-5)
	The Lord has three basic categories of energies: antara›gÄ 1/2akti, the internal potency, or superior spiritual energy; bÄhira›gÄ §akti, the external potency, or inferior and inert material energy; and. ta asthÄ 1/2akti, the marginal spiritual potency consisting of living entities.
	That the Lord creates by His energies is indicated in the following verses:
ya eko Ôvarºo bahudhÄ 1/2akti-yogÄt
varºÄn anekÄn nihitÄrtho dadhÄti
vicaiti cÄnte vi1/2vam Ädau devaú
sa no buddhyÄ 1/2ubhayÄ saµyunaktu
	„He who is one, without color, by the manifold employment of His energies, has distributed many colors for His hidden purpose. Into Him, as the beginning and end, the whole world merges-He is God. May He grant us clear intelligence.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 4.1)
	This also establishes that, being a transformation of one of the Lord’s energies, the world is not an illusion or a hallucination is also confirmed by perception, for it is seen that one entity or substance always acts as it is and does not act as or become something else except in accordance with those laws natural to it. That the things of this world follow a definite order shows that they are energies under the control of their possessor, the Supreme §aktimÄn:
mayÄdhyak§ena prak¨tiú
sŸyate sa-carÄcaram
hetunÄnena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
	„This material nature is working under My direction, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. This is the reason, O Arjuna, why the world is revolving in cycles.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.10)
	To be a controller of energy indicates intelligence, and intelligence is always of a personality. But personality is always the property of a person, and there is no such thing as a formless person. Therefore, the proposal of this sŸtra that the Lord creates the world by transforming some of His energy also indicates that He has a transcendental form. SŸtra 1.2.23 stated that His form is distinct and different from ours. Here it is explained that although He has a form, because it is entirely transcendental, it is not affected when He creates the world, for He does so through the transformation of His energies.
	The second sŸtra  in this text confirms  the Lord to be the material cause of creation.
yad bhŸta-yoniµ paripa1/2yanti dh"rÄú
	„The wise see Him as the source of all beings.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.1.6)
kartÄram "§aµ puru§aµ brahma-yonim
	„He is the creator, the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, the source of the universe.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.3)
mamÄtmÄ bhŸta-bhÄvanaú
	„I am the source of creation.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.5)
etad yon"ni bhŸtÄni
sarvÄn"ty upadhÄraya
ahaµ k¨tsnasya jagataú
prabhavaú palayas tathÄ
	„Know that all embodied living beings have two sources-the material nature and the spiritual nature-and that I am the origin as well as the destruction of the whole world.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.6)

SüTRA 1.4.28

etena sarve vyÄkhÄtÄ vyÄkhÄtÄú

	etena-by this (accepting the Lord as the source of everything); sarve-all; vyÄkhÄtÄú vyÄkhÄtÄú-thoroughly explained.

TRANSLATION

	By accepting that the Lord is the source of everything, all names are explained.

PURPORT

	This sŸtra actually follows sŸtra 1.3.24, but in the abridged form of this book, it fits better here. The sŸtras preceding it state that God creates the world by transforming His energy, so that He is the actual source of existence. This sŸtra also establishes that all names ultimately designate God. Since everything is a transformation of the Lord’s energy, all names belong to Him. All names describe His attributes. When the Vedas prase Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuºa, AryamÄ, Bhaga, Pu§an, üiva, Rudra, Soma, U§Ä, etc., they actually intend to directly draw our attention to God’s specific attributes exemplified by these names. It is only secondarily that these names designate the empowered demigods.
	When discussing the holy name, it should be noted that there are two classes of names: general and specific. Some of the general names for God in English are: God, Lord, Master, Almight, and King of kings. In Sanskrit, there are Brahman, ParamÄtmÄ, BhagavÄn, Prabhu, and é1/2vara. A general name is good for general purposes. For example, if you do not know someone but wish to call his attention, you say, „mister,“ or „sir.“ Such names are good for general purposes, but if you want to develop a closer relationship with that person, you must learn his personal name. If you always address a person as „sir“, you will maintain the most general and formal relationship. But, when you address him by his personal name, he relaxes and becomes his usual self. The Lord also has specific or personal names, such as Govinda, K¨§ºa, MÄdhava, Ke1/2ava, etc. Of all the Lord’s personal names, the Upani§ads mention three as most important:
	harati h¨daya-granthiµ vÄsanÄ-rŸpam iti hariú. k¨§iú smaraºe tac ca nas tad-ubhaya-melanam iti k¨§ºaú. ramayati sarvam iti rÄma Änanda-rŸpaú.
	„Because He takes away (harati ) the knot of the heart which consists of material conditioning, He is called Hari (He who takes away). Upon remembering His attractiveness (k¨§i ) and His blissfulness (ºa ), joining them together one gets K¨§ºa. Because He pleases (ramayati ) everyone, He is RÄma, who is the form of bliss.“ (Caitanya Upani§ad 12)
	By chanting Hare K¨§ºa, Hare RÄma, the devotees are able to develop a more personal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Vai§ºavas are very fond of calling God by the name K¨§ºa, for which they are often criticized as being sectarian. The name K¨§ºa, however, is universal, not sectarian. K¨§ºa means „the all attractive one.“ Everyone is attracted to God in either a positive or negative manner. Pious persons are attracted to Him with feelings of love and devotion; whereas, materialistic persons are attracted to Him with feelings of hate and aversion. Therefore, His attractiveness’ being His main feature, how can His name K¨§ºa, the all-attractive one, be considered sectarian. As much as He is the Father, He is also all-attractive. Consequently, how can someone who believes in God refuse to admit that He is also K¨§ºa? One should not be prejudiced against the name K¨§ºa because of its Sanskrit derivation; for, if that were the case, any other name for God in any other language would be just as sectarian. The real lover of God does not care in what language the Lord’s name appears. He appreciates all names of God, although he is certainly entitled to have his favorite.

Chapter Two
Second Storm
Refutation of Opposing Theories

	The concordance of Vedic literatures establishes that the ultimate source of creation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although the Vedic literature unanimously supports this theory, there are innumerable other theories about the origin of the world, such as those propounded by SÄ›khya philosophers, Vai1/2e§ikas, Buddhists, and Jainas. In this chapter, these other theories are briefly examined according to their main doctrines; and, by logic and reasoning, they are shown to have no philosophical basis. If a theory has no basis in the standard revealed scriptures and is not based on sound reasoning, it cannot be accepted as plausible. In the following sŸtras, VyÄsadeva shows that the original conclusion of the Vedas  is the only acceptable explanation of creation.

SüTRA 2.1.1

	sm¨ty-anavakÄ1/2a-do§a-prasa›ga iti cen na anya-sm¨ty-anavakÄ1/2a-do§a prasa›gÄt

	sm¨ti-the literature of SÄ›khya philosophy; anavakÄ1/2a-no place; do§a-fault; prasa›gaú-result; iti-result; cet-if; na-not; anya-other; sm¨ti-literature; anavakÄ1/2a-no place; do§a-fault; prasa›gÄt-because of the result.

TRANSLATION

	If it be said that the view that God is the efficient and material cause of the world leaves no room for the literature of the SÄ›khya school of philosophy founded by Kapila, therefore the Vedic literature should be reinterpreted according to it, we say no because accepting the SÄ›khya literature would simultaneously exclude that other literature which is in consonance with the version of the Vedic literature.

PURPORT

	By the samanvaya, or reconciliation of all apparently contradictory Vedic texts regarding the creatorship of the world by God, there is left no scope for the literature of the SÄ›khya school of philosophy. Thereafter, their literature is left completely valueless. Since the founder of this school, Kapila, is mentioned in the Vedic literature as a sage, his literature should be used to understand the Vedic texts.
	The SÄ›khya literature cannot be accepted as authoritative because its views are in conflict with the unanimous version of the Vedic scriptures about the nature of God’s creatorship. If we accept the SÄ›khya literature, we automatically reject literatures, such as those of Manu and others, which are in accordance with the Vedic view. Here we are presented with a choice: to interpret the Vedic texts with literature in agreement with them or to do so with literature contradictory to them, thereby requiring that they be interpreted in a  twisted and unnatural manner. This is why the SÄ›khya literature cannot be accepted.
	According to SÄ›khya philosophy, there are two principles involved in the creation: pradhÄna and puru§a. PradhÄna is the primordial material nature. She is uncreated and, therefore, eternal. From her are manifested the sixteen factors of creation. These are both created from her and creative in themselves. The puru§a is neither created nor creative. Although he is conscious, he is inactive. By the proximity of pradhÄna and puru§a, the insentient material nature assumes forms and bodies that appear sentient. The inactive puru§a appears to be active due to the activity of the material nature. By the contact of puru§a with the pradhÄna, she becomes agitated and reacts in such a way as to produce the creation. The living entities are separated portions of the primordial puru§a  and are, therefore, finite quanta of consciousness. The material nature works automatically for the liberation of the living entities, even though she is nonintelligent, just as milk automatically nourishes a baby. Liberation occurs when an individual puru§a thoroughly discerns the nature of matter. When he has ascertained matter, he thinks, „I have seen her,“ and she thinks, „He has seen me.“ Thus, material nature never again entangles the living entity, and he attains a state of kaivalya, or absolute isolation as pure undifferentiated consciousness.
	This theory of creation is contrary to the Vedic view. Therefore, the Vedic literatures should be interpreted with the help of the Sm¨tis, which include the writings of Manu and the sÄttvika PurÄºas, such as the Vi§ºu PurÄºa, the Padma PurÄºa, and the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam.
	Kapila, the founder of the SÄ›khya philosophy, is not spoken of favorably in the Vedic literature. There are actually two Kapilas, one being the author of the materialistic SÄ›khya, and the other being the propounder of a fully theistic SÄ›khya in harmony with the Vedic version. The latter Kapila is spoken of favorably in the Vedic literature.

SüTRA 2.1.2

itare§Äµ cÄnupalabdheú

		itare§Äµ-of other [points]; upalabdheú-because of not being found [in the Vedas].

TRANSLATION

	The SÄ›khya literature must be rejected because it contains many doctrines that are not found in the Vedic literature.

PURPORT

	It is not just the theory that the pradhÄna is the source of creation that makes SÄ›khya unacceptable, it also teaches many other things not found in the Vedic literatures. SÄ›khya teaches that souls are ultimately pure consciousness and that they eventually attain all-pervasiveness. Their material bondage and liberation is the sole work of the material nature, for the soul is always inactive. The material nature is coeternal with the puru§a, who is pure, isolated consciousness. They are eternal and mutually independent. Time is not a principle of existence, but only exists in relation to the awareness of the mind. SÄ›khya does not accept the existence of the prÄºas, except as forms of the function of the five senses. It rejects the idea of God as the supreme controller and creator. Its concept of puru§a is amorphous awareness. Kapila’s views are rejected by Manu and all other sages who have written literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.

SüTRA 2.1.3

etena yogaú pratyuktaú

	etena-by this [refutation of SÄ›khya]; yogaú-the philosophy of yoga propounded by Pata-jali; pratyuktaú-refuted.

TRANSLATION

	The yoga philosophy of Pata-jali is refuted by the same arguments used against the SÄ›khya philosophy.

PURPORT

	For reasons similar to those used to defeat the SÄ›khya philosophical position, the yoga philosophy of Pata-jali is also refuted. Although yoga techniques, such as postures and meditation, are employed in the Vedic system for achieving concentration of the mind on God, the philosophy of yoga as propounded by Pata-jali is at variance with the conclusion of the Vedas. According to Pata-jali, although there is a God, He is not the creator of the world, for prak¨ti herself independently executes creation. The living entities and God are both pure consciousness and are, therefore, ultimately identical and all-pervading. The result of mukti is the cessation of all pain by the attainment of undifferentiated consciousness, which is free from all perceptions.
	Since these views contradict the doctrines of VedÄnta and are not supported by any of the Vedic literatures, the yoga texts of Pata-jali also must be rejected as a means of interpreting the VedÄnta texts. There are points of agreement between VedÄnta and the philosophies of SÄ›khya and yoga, but that does not mean that we must accept either of them as equal to the VedÄnta merely because of some similarities. However, whatever their supporters say which is correct according to VedÄnta, we can openly consent to.

SüTRA 2.1.4

na vilak§aºatvÄd asya tathÄtvam ca 1/2abdÄt

	na-not; vilak§aºatvÄt-because of distinctiveness; asya-of this [the Vedic literature]; tathÄtvam-suchness [eternity]; ca-and; 1/2abdÄt-from the Word [the Vedas  ].

TRANSLATION

	The Vedas are not unauthoritative like the scriptures of SÄ›khya, yoga, etc. because of their distinct character and because their eternity is established from the Vedic revelation itself.

PURPORT

	The Vedas are not unauthoritative like the scriptures of SÄ›khya, yoga, and other heterodox philosophies because the Vedas are of an entirely different character. Every human endeavor is liable to be sullied by four defects:
	bhrama-the tendency to make mistakes.
	pramÄda-the tendency to become illusioned.
	vipralipsÄ-the tendency to cheat.
	karaºa-pÄtava-the tendency to perceive things wrongly due to imperfect senses.
	These imperfections have not tarnished the Vedas because they are apauru§eya-not of human authorship. Their „suchness“ or actual condition is eternal, and this is learned from the holy writ itself:
tasmai nŸnam abhidyave
vÄcÄ virŸpa nityayÄ
v¨§ºe codasy su§ utim
	„Now, O VirŸpa, rouse Him, the Strong, who is contented and well-praised, with the eternal word.“ (äg Veda 8.75.6)
	This is also confirmed by Sm¨ti:
anÄdi-nidhinÄ nityÄ
vÄg uts¨§ Ä svayambhuvÄ
Ädau veda-may" divyÄ
yataú sarvaú prav¨ttayaú
	„In the beginning of creation the self-existing Lord sent forth the eternal, beginningless word-the divine Veda-from which all other scriptures proceed.“
	One may object that the Vedas cannot be eternal by pointing out that they speak of themselves as having a particular beginning, as in the following text:
tasmÄd yaj-Ät sarva-huta
¨caú sÄmÄni jaj-ire
chandÄµs" jaj-ire tasmÄd
yajus tasmÄd ajÄyata
	„From that sacrifice in which everything was offered were born the hymns of the äg Veda and the chants of the SÄma Veda ; from it were born the metric chants; from it was born the Yajur Veda .“ (äg Veda 10.90.9)
	Every Vedic hymn is written by a ¨§i. How, then, can the Vedas be considered authorless and eternal?
	In reply to this, we say that the Vedas are vÄk, the divine word of God. They exist eternally as the expression of the Lord’s greatness. They exist before, during and after the creation and destruction of this world. Thus, although they may sometimes be revealed to certain persons in this world, they are eternally existing in the spiritual world with the Lord. The ¨§is are the „seers“ of the hymns because they were able, by dint of their spiritual development, to realize those divine truths-they are not their authors. This is confirmed in the following passage from the BrahmÄnda PurÄna :
nityÄ vedaú samastÄ1/2 ca
1/2Ä1/2vatÄ vi§ºu-buddhigÄú
sarge sarge Ômunaivaita
udg"ryante tathaiva ca

tat krameºa ca tair varºais
tais svarair eve nÄnyathÄ
ataú 1/2rutitvam etÄsÄµ
1/2rutÄ eva yato Ôkhilaiú

janmÄntare 1/2rutÄs tÄs tu
vÄsudeva-prasÄdataú
muninÄµ pratibhÄsyanti
bhÄgenaiva na sarva§aú

yatas tÄ hariºÄ d¨§ Äú
1/2rutÄ evÄparair janaiú
1/2rutayo d¨§ aya1/2 ceti
tenocyante purÄtanaiú

	„All the Vedas are eternal, everlasting and in accordance with the intelligence of the Supreme Lord Vi§ºu, and in each and every creation they are breathed forth by Him. In that way, the consonants and vowels of the words of the Vedas come to be, not by any other means. Therefore, in them there is the possibility of being audible, and so they were heard [within the heart of BrahmÄ]. When there is a secondary creation after a partial universal destruction, however, by the mercy of the Supreme Lord VÄsudeva the Vedas are then revealed to the sages in certain divisions, not in whole. Since it was by the arrangement of the Supreme Lord Hari that these were revealed and realized by other people, the ancient ones called them d¨§ is (realizations) and §rutis (revelations).“
	There are many results said to be achieved by chanting of the Vedic mantras which cannot be validated by actual demonstration nowadays. This is not because of their unauthoritativeness, but due to a lack of qualified brÄhmaºas with the skill and knowledge of how to execute them, just as the inability of an untrained person to run a computer does not invalidate the effectiveness of the machine.
	From the authoritativeness of the Vedas, which includes their corrolaries, such as the Upani§ads, follows the simultaneous authoritativeness of Sm¨ti, or literature of human authorship which is in agreement with the Vedas. This includes the RÄmÄyaºa, MahÄbhÄrata, the Pa-carÄtras, the Sm¨tis of Manu, ParÄ1/2ara, B¨haspati, üaº¶ilya and NÄrada, and all other writings-even up to the present day-that faithfully expound the purpose of the Vedas. Thus, it is said:
¨g-yajuú-sÄmÄtharvÄkhyÄ
vedÄ1/2 catvÄra uddh¨taú
itihÄsa-purÄºaµ ca
pa-camo veda ucyate
	„The Vedas are divided into four sections: äg, Yajus, SÄma and Atharva. Moreover, the MahÄbhÄrata and the PurÄºas are said to constitute the fifth Veda .“(ürImad-BhÄgavatam 1.4.20)
¨g-yajuú-sÄmÄtharva§ ca
bhÄrataµ pa-carÄtrakam
mŸla-rÄmÄyaºaµ caiva
veda ity eva 1/2abditÄú
	„By the word Veda it is understood the äg, Yajus, SÄma and Atharva Vedas, the MahÄbhÄrata, the Pa-carÄtra literature, and the original RÄmÄyaºa.“ (Bhavi§ya PurÄºa )
	Of all these Vedic literatures, the most important is the BhÄgavata PurÄºa, or êr"mad-BhÄgavatam. This conclusion is based on the following evidence:
sarva-vedetIihÄsÄnÄµ
sÄraµ sÄraµ samuddh¨tam
	„The very essence of all the Vedas and the MahÄbhÄrata is contained in the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam .“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.3.42)
sarva-vedÄnta-sÄrÄm hi
1/2r"mad-bhÄgavatam "§yate
tad-rasÄm¨ta-t¨ptasya
	„The ür"mad-BhÄgavatam is accepted as the essence of all VedÄnta philosophy. Whoever tastes the transcendental mellow of the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam is never attracted to other literature.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 12.13.15)
artho Ôyaµ brahma-sŸtrÄnÄµ
bhÄratÄrtha-vinirºayaú
gÄyatr-bhÄ§ya-rŸpo Ôsau
vedÄrtha-parib¨µhitaú

purÄºÄµ sÄma-rŸpaú
sÄk§Äd-bhÄgavatoditaú
dvÄda1/2a-skandha-yukto Ôyaµ
1/2ata-viccheda-samyutaú
grantho Ô§ ada1/2a-sahasraú
1/2r"mad-bhÄgavatÄbhidhaú
	„In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam is found the meaning of the VedÄnta-sŸtra, the full purport of the MahÄbhÄrata, a commentary on the gÄyatr" mantra and the fully explained meaning of the Vedas. It is the SÄma Veda among the PurÄºas and is spoken by the partial incarnation of God VyÄsadeva. This ür"mad-BhÄgavatam has ten Cantos, seven hundred and thirty-five chapters and fifteen thousand verses.“ (Garu¶a PurÄºa )
	That the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam is the natural commentary on the VedÄnta-sŸtra is also gathered from the story behind the compilation of the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam itself. In Chapters Four and Five, it is related how VyÄsadeva, after having already completed the Vedas, Upani§ads, VedÄnta-sŸtra, PurÄºas, and MahÄbhÄrata, still felt as if he had not fully explained the nature of the Absolute Truth in a way comprehensible for people in our present age of Kali. At this time, his spiritual master NÄrada appeared and instructed VyÄsa to compose ür"mad-BhÄgavatam by fully and openly delineating everything about the Supreme Personality of Godhead ür" K¨§ºa. ür"mad-BhÄgavatam is considered to be the fully ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic literatures. That it is a commentary on the VedÄnta-sŸtra is evident from its opening verse, which is an explanation of the second aphorism of the VedÄnta-sŸtra as janmÄdy asya yataú :
janmÄdy asya yato ÔnvayÄd itarata1/2 cÄrthe§v abhij-aú svarÄ 
tene brahma h¨dÄ ya Ädi-kavaye muhyanti yat sŸrayaú
tejo-vÄri-m¨dÄµ yathÄ vinimayo yatra tri-sargo Ôm¨§Ä
dhÄmnÄ svena sadÄ nirasta-kuhakaµ satyaµ paraµ dh"mahi
	„I meditate on Lord ür" K¨§ºa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of BrahmÄ, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord ür" K¨§ºa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth. (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.1.1)
	In the third aphorism of the VedÄnta-sŸtra, it is stated:
1/2Ästra-yonitvÄt
	„The scriptures are the source of information about the Supreme Lord.“
	The word 1/2Ästra or scripture is interpreted in the broad sense to include not only the Vedas, but also the RÄmÄyaºa, MahÄbhÄrata, Puraºas, Pa-carÄtras, and any other literature which is in harmony with the Vedic purpose:
¨g-ÄdyÄ bhÄrataµ caiva
pa-carÄtram athÄkhilam
mŸla-rÄmÄyaºaµ caiva
purÄºaµ caitad Ätmakam

ye cÄnuyÄyinas tv e§Äµ
sarve te ca sad-Ägamaú
dur-Ägamas tad anye ye
tair na j-eyo janÄrdanaú

j-eya etaiú sadÄ yuktair
bhaktimadbhiú suni§ hitaiú
na ca kevala-tÄrkena
nÄk§ajena na kenacit

kevalÄgama-vij-eyo
bhaktair eva na cÄnyathÄ
	„The right scriptures include the four Vedas beginning with the äg, the MahÄbhÄrata, the whole body of Pa-carÄtra literature, the original RÄmÄyaºa, the PurÄºas that corroborate these [as opposed to those which do not] and all those literatures which are in pursuance to these. Any other literatures are bad texts, for one cannot know the Supreme Lord JanÄrdana through them. The Lord can be known through the right scriptures by those who diligently study them with devotion. In contrast, He can never be known by mere argumentation or logic, nor by sense perception. He is only known through the right scriptures and by the devotees and not by any other means.“ (BrahmÄº¶a PurÄºa )
	One may argue that because someone writes a book that is in agreement with the Vedic teachings, it should not be accepted as equal to the Vedas because it is not eternal like them. Such writing cannot be on par with the Vedas because the Vedas are revealed within the minds of the sages; they are not a product of intellectual activity. In reply, it must be pointed out that when the great saints, sages, and ÄcÄryas speak or write about God, this is based on the authoritative texts of the Vedas themselves. Whatever realization they give in explanation of those texts is not the result of mental speculation but is intuited by them on the basis of their spiritual development. BrahmÄº¶a PurÄºa states:
viµ1/2al-lak§aºato ÔnŸnas
tapasv" bahu-veda-vit
veda ity eva yaµ pa1/2yet
sa vedo j-Äna-dar1/2anÄt
	„If one who has twenty of the twenty-eight godly qualities, is devoted to penance and knows many Vedic literatures, sees by the power of his intuitive vision some text as being Vedic, it must be accepted as such.“
	„In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (11.11.29-31), the twenty-eight godly qualities are listed as follows (1) merciful, (2) harmless, (3) forgiving, (4) truthful, (5) humble, (6) equal to all, (7) concerned about the welfare of everyone, (8) with the intelligence undisturbed by material desires, (9) self-control, (10) tender-hearted, (11) clean, (12) without possessiveness, (13) desireless, (14) moderate in eating, (15) peaceful, (16) steady, (17) surrendered to the Lord, (18) does not talk more than necessary, (19) cautious, (20) earnest, (21) resolute, (22) victorious over the six qualities of hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, disease, and death, (23) free from false prestige, (24) respectful to everyone, (25) expert, (26) friendly, (27) compassionate, and (28) poetic.

SüTRA 2.1.6

	d¨1/2yate tu

	d¨1/2yate-it is seen; tu-but.

TRANSLATION

	One might object that the Vedic view that God is also the material cause is incorrect because matter is so entirely different from Him. But it is seen that one thing can produce a totally different effect.

PURPORT

	Previous sŸtras established God as the efficient and material cause of the world and refute those philosophies, like SÄ›khya and yoga, which do not accept the Lord to also be the material cause. One may logically argue that the Vedic version is incorrect because it is impossible for one thing to produce a totally different effect. This is an invalid argument contradicted by daily experience, such as the state of intoxication originating from sugar, medical cures from herbs and chemicals, bodily energy from food, and fire from coal and wood. How matter is generated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained in the Atharvaºa-1/2ruti:
yathorºa-nÄbhiú s¨jate g¨hºate ca
yathÄ p¨thivyÄm o§adhayas sambhavanti
yathÄ sataú puru§Ät ke1/2a-lomÄni
tathÄk§arÄt sambhavat"ha vi1/2vam
	„As a spider spins out a thread and then draws it in, as plants sprout out of the earth, as hair grows from the head and body of a living person, so everything within this material world has sprung from the Imperishable Godhead.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.1.7)
	The Lord creates by the manifestation of His energies from within Himself.

SüTRA 2.1.7

asad iti cen na prati§edha-mÄtratvÄt

	asat-unreal; iti-thus; cet-if; na-no; prati§edha-a denial; mÄtratvÄt-merely because of.

TRANSLATION

	If it is objected that the world is therefore unreal, we say no, because it was merely denied that God and His creation do not have the same nature, and not that they are substantially different.

PURPORT

	One may contend that if God is essentially different from His creation, then, since the cause and effect are essentially different, and since the world did not exist prior to its creation, it is, therefore, not a real effect as we say. This is rebutted by pointing out that the previous aphorism merely denied the sameness of nature between God and the creation, not that they are substantially different. Our position is that God manifests the world by transforming it from some of His energy.
	When you acknowledge a difference between the cause and the effect, or between God and His creation, do you mean because all the qualities of God are not found in the creation that, therefore, it could not have originated from Him, or that because only some of His qualities are found in it, but not others, is why it could not come from Him? This first proposition cannot be true, for thereby there could be no such thing as cause and effect. Not all causes and effects are identical in all circumstances. The nature of cause and effect warrants that there be a difference between them, as the lumpiness of clay being absent in the pot, or the fluidity of water being absent in ice. The second proposition is wrong because God’s first feature is sat or existence, and this quality has been carried over from Him into the creation. Because not all of the qualities of cause need reappear in the effect, the fact that not all of God’s qualities are exhibited by the creation does not prove that it did not originate from Him. If the world is accepted as an effect, since, according to the Vedas, only the Lord existed prior to the creation, He must be the material cause.

SüTRA 2.1.8-9

ap"tau tadvat prasa›gÄt asama-jasam
na tu d¨§ Änta-bhÄvÄt

	ap"tau-reabsorption [of the world]; tadvat-being just like that; prasangÄt-because of the consequences; asama-jasam-inappropriate;  na-not; d¨§ a-anta-illustrations; bhÄvÄt-because of the existence of.

TRANSLATION

	One may say that if God is the material cause of the world, then when He reabsorbs the world into Himself, He thereby suffers the consequences of being tainted by the defects of the world. But this is not so because there are illustrations that prove otherwise.

PURPORT

	The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not become contaminated by the effects of the material world when He reabsorbs it within Himself. Instances illustrate that a cause is not necessarily tainted by the defects of its effect. As the different colors of a painting remain each in their own places and do not overlap while forming the whole picture, similarly, when the Lord absorbs the world, that material energy remains in its own proper place within Him, without imparting defects to Him. This is nicely illustrated by the example in the Muº¶aka Upani§ad (1.1.7) of a spider spinning and retracting its web. We cannot think that when the spider retracts its thread that it thereby becomes tainted with the qualities of the thread, for the spider would, thereafter, have to exhibit the qualities of the thread in some way, such as in thinness or tenuosity. In conclusion, all the defects of matter belong to matter itself as its attributes, while matter belongs to the Lord as His inferior energy.

SüTRA 2.1.12

etena 1/2i§ ÄparigrahÄ api vyÄkhyÄtÄú

	etena-by this; 1/2i§ a-the remaining [philosophies]; aparigrahÄú-not accepted; api-also; vyÄkhyÄtÄú-they are explained.

TRANSLATION

	By the same reasoning used against the philosophies of SÄ›khya and yoga, all the remaining philosophies which are not acknowledged in the Vedas are equally explained as unacceptable.

PURPORT

	The word 1/2i§ a means „remaining“ and aparigraha means „not accepted or acknowledged“. This sŸtra refers to all those philosophical systems that do not accept the revealed scriptures as the authority for understanding the nature of God and His role in creation. This aphorism states that by the refutation of the position of SÄ›khya, all other speculative theories, such as those of KaºÄda, Ak§apÄda, Gautama and others, are also refuted.
	According to these philosophers, the material manifestation is reducible to single finite atoms called paramÄºus. When two atoms combine, they form an aºu or diad. By more atoms’ joining onto these, there result tryaºus or hexads. By combinging further, they form all the complex molecules. It is by these various combinations of atoms that all the things of the world have manifest.
	The school of NyÄya (logic) founded by Gautama, recognizes an infinite God, and argues that the infinite God could not have produced the finite atoms. Since God ia all-pervading, each atom would have had to originate from Him in all places, therefore the atoms would have to be all-pervading instead of finite. It should be noted, however, that the theory of origination (Ärambhaºa-vÄda ) does not necessarily imply identicalness of spaciosity between the effect and the cause, for a drop of water condenses from the air, a crystal from a liquid, and a gas from a solid substance.
	Although KaºÄda, Gautama, MahÄv"ra, Buddha and others all agree that the world is the result of a combination of atoms, that unanimity of opinion is not in itself indicative of some authority for that view because they are all in conflict as to the nature of such primary atoms. KaºÄda and Gautama say that the atoms are real; MahÄv"ra says they are real and unreal; the VaibhÄ§ika Buddhists say they are momentary and, therefore, nonpermanent; the YogÄcÄra Buddhists say they are merely the creations of the mind: the MÄdhyamika Buddhists say they are essentially void.
	None of these schools of thought can adequately explain why atoms should ever combine in the first place, or why they should consistently combine in such a way as to occasion all the different species of things in this world. Since ancient times, no propounder of such philosophies of atomism has ever been able to observe atoms randomly combining to form a house, a tree, a rose or a man. Even today it is only by the exertion of great amounts of energy, money, and time that atomist scientists are able to artificially synthesize new elements. Therefore, prior to any combination of elements, there must have been an intelligent and powerful Being to assemble them. As the modern scientists have forged new atomic elements from old ones, the Lord has created the original material elements by transforming some of His energy that was appropriate for that purpose. In this way, even the theistic view of Gautama that there is a supremely intelligent God who assembles the original atoms, but who does not create them, becomes refuted.

SüTRA 2.1.13

bhoktrÄpatter avibhÄga1/2 cet syÄl lokavat

	bhoktrÄ-with the enjoyer [the living entity]; apatteú-because of becoming; avibhÄgaú-nondifferent; cet-if; syÄt-it may be; lokavat-as in ordinary worldly affairs.

TRANSLATION

	One may argue that if God is the cause of the world, then there would be no difference between God and the living entity, for both would be enjoyers of the pleasures and pains of the world. To this, we reply that it is as in ordinary worldly life.

PURPORT

	The objection may be raised that if God, as the possessor of subtle energy, is the material cause, and as the possessor of gross energy, He is transformed as the effect, then, since the energy is nondifferent from its energetic, the living entity which is a subtle energy of God, thereby, becomes nondifferent from God. The Vedic texts, such as the example of two birds in a tree, become voided.
	To this,  VyÄsadeva replies that even in ordinary life the possessor and the possession are two distinct entities, like a man and his sword. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses innumerable energies. He is not complete except as possessing them. Still, because those energies are not identical to God Himself, they are different from Him. This is what is meant by acintya-bhedÄbheda, or inconceivable simultaneous difference and oneness. That the Lord and His energies are one and yet different is incomprehensible to our finite human minds. According to üa›kara, the state of reality is that there is an impersonal oneness in all the variegatedness of existence. But the followers of the Gau¶"ya school of Vai§ºavism maintain that there is acintya-bhedÄbheda, or an inexplicable variegatedness in the oneness due to the very nature of the Lord. By üa›kara’s view, the variegatedness of the world becomes sublated by the impersonal oneness, and such variegatness is a mere illusion having no value. But, by our view, the reality of the variegatedness is reassured by its substratum-God-and, thus, the variegatedness possesses its own particular wholesome value.

SüTRA 2.1.14

tad ananyatvam Ärambhaºa-1/2abdÄdibhyaú

	tat-that [cause of the world as God]; ananyatvam-nondifference; Ärambhaºa-the term Ärambhaºa; 1/2abda-Ädibhyaú-from the words begiining with.

TRANSLATION

	The nondifference of the world from God is understoond from the phrases beginning with the word Ärambhaºa.

PURPORT

	The followers of KaºÄda say that the effect is always different from the cause. They give these reasons: (1) difference of ideas-the cause and the effect are two different ideas, (2) difference of words-the word pot is never applied to the lump of clay, (3) difference of utility-the pot can be used to fetch water, but not the lump of clay, (4) difference of form-the clay is a mere lump, whereas the pot has its own distinctive form, (5) difference in time-the cause is always prior to the effect. For these reasons the effect can not be the same as the cause. If the effect is the same as the cause, the work of the potter becomes meaningless, for the pot would come into existence without the potter. Furthermore, if the effect is nondifferent from the cause, then it was existing prior to the activity that supposedly manifested it and should, therefore, always be perceivable. Hence, all distinction between eternal and noneternal things would be abrogated.

	In reply to these arguments, ür"la VyÄsadeva directs our attention to the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (6.1.3-7, 2.1-3). In this passage, the words corresponding to the term Ärambhaºa are underlined:
	„üvetaketu, since you are now self-conceited and think yourself so learned, did you ask for that teaching by which one hears what has never been heard, thinks of what has never been thought of, or understands what has never been understood?“
	„No, sir, what exactly is that teaching?“
	„Just as by one lump of clay everything made of clay can be understood, their modification having arisen from speech, the truth is they are just clay; and as by one nugget of gold everything made of gold can be understood, their modification having arisen from speech, the truth is they are just gold; and as by one nail-clipper everything made of iron can be know, their modification having arisen from speech, the truth is they are just iron.“
	„Surely my honorable teachers did not know that, for if they had known it, why would they not have told me it? Therefore, sire, please do tell me that.“
	„Alright, my son,“ said the father. „In the beginning this was just being, one only without a second. Regarding that, some people say, ÔIn the beginning this was just nonbeing, one only without a second. From that nonbeing was being produced.’ But how indeed could it be so, my dear child? How could being be produced from nonbeing? Therefore, in the beginning, my dear, this was just being, one only without a second. Then He thought, ÔMay I be many, may I procreate.’“
	This passage shows that the effect is just a modification arising from its cause, so that in the beginning there was nothing else but the Lord, one only without a second. Then, when He thought to make this world, He created it from Himself. Thus, it originates or arises from Him.

SüTRA 2.1.16

sattvÄc cÄvarasya

	sattvÄt-because of the existence; ca-and; avarasya-of the later one.

TRANSLATION

	An effect is nondifferent from its cause because it exists in the cause even before its manifestation, though it appears after it.

PURPORT

	As an explanation of this sŸtra, I quote the following passages from my commentary on the Muº¶aka Upani§ad (2.2.1):
	„Sometimes it is objected that if an effect is present in its cause, then there is no question of its being produced because it is already existing. Thus, there is never a possibility of any kind of creation. On the other hand, some people argue that if an effect did not exist in the cause, it could never exist at all because something cannot arise out of nothing. The answer is that the activity of the agent occasions the action of manifestation, but does not produce the effect because the effect is different from the action of manifestation. The effect is proved by the cause or substrate of which it is a manifestation. For example, the phenomenal world is an effect manifested by its substrate or cause which is the sum total of material energy. If the effect is absent in the cause, the following chaos would ensue: since the effect is nonexistent before the activity that manifests it, anything could be the effect of any other thing, and everything could produce the same effect. Since nonexistence is not limited to any specific place, any effect could be produced anywhere at any time. This would lead us to conclude that from mustard seeds we should not only be able to extract mustard oil, but cow’s milk too, or as the saying goes „to draw blood from a stone.“ If the effect does not exist in the cause but is originally nonexistent, then mustard oil, milk, and everything else should be able to simultaneously and spontaneously manifest themselves from thin air.“
	„The effect is nondifferent from the cause because it exists in the cause before its own manifestation, although, in time, it appears after its cause. Before its manifestation, the effect exists in its cause in latency. In a barley seed the root, stem, leaf, bud, flower, juice, grain and husk are latent. These manifest from the barley seed under favorable conditions. We can extract oil from mustard seeds because oil is latent in mustard seeds; whereas, we can not extract oil from sand because oil is not latent in sand. In the material energy and in the Absolute, the principle of existence is one, and because everything exists in Brahman, everything can come out of Him. Therefore, there is no contradiction in the statement, ÔIn the beginning this was just being, one only without a second,’ or ÔIn the beginning this was just nonbeing,’ because both texts indicate that prior to the creation the world was in an unmanifested condition latent within the Lord. Prior to creation, the world did not exist in a gross form-only the Lord existed. Thus, it is concluded that the Lord is sat and asat, being and nonbeing or cause and effect.

SüTRA 2.1.21

itara-vyÄpade1/2Äd dhitÄkaraºÄdi-do§a-prasaktiú

	itara-the others [who say that the living entity creates the world]; vyÄpade1/2Ät-because of that designation; hita-beneficial; akaraºa-not making; Ädi-and so forth; do§a-fault; prasaktiú-the consequences.

TRANSLATION

	If one claims that the living entity creates the world, the result would be the fault that the living entity creates that which is not beneficial for himself.

PURPORT

	Those who believe that the living entity creates the world for himself are faced with the dilemma that he has created something which is not beneficial for himself. If human beings are masters of their own destiny, and there is no Supreme Lord to award the results of good and bad actions, then certainly, they, would not create what they knew would cause themselves suffering. Nobody willingly wants to be made to toil hard or suffer tribulations. Do people willingly enter prisons to experience the hardships there? You might compare it to a silk worm that covers itself with a cocoon, but that is a different situation. The cocoon does not react upon the silk worm: whereas, the body is a constant source of difficulties for the soul. The prisoners do not willfully build themselves a prison. Similarly, the sould do not create the material world that binds them to a life of material suffering.
	It may be argued that because the soul has free will, he chooses to leave the spiritual world and creates the material world to live in. This assumption is incorrect because when the living entity exercises his free will by choosing not to be in the spiritual world, the place for Him to be is supplied by the Lord, as the prison is supplied by the government for those who ignore the authority of the government.
	Nor has it been seen, nor will it ever be seen, that the living entity can create the primary material elements. They may be able to produce new elements by synthesis of already existing elements, but they cannot produce the primary substance of matter.

SüTRA 2.1.22

	adhikam-greater [than the living entity]; tu-but; bheda-difference; nirde1/2Ät-because of pointing out.

	One may argue that since God has entered into the creation, He must suffer just like the living entities. But God is greater than the living entities because that difference is pointed out in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The word tu, or „but“ dispels the doubt as to whether God suffers like the ordinary entities when He enters the world. Because He is greater than the living entities, the difference between the Lord and the living entities is like the difference between the prisoners and the warden. Even though both are within the prison, the warden is not suffering imprisonment like the prisoners. The Lord is the possessor of infinite power; whereas, the world is a limited creation. Therefore, He is more powerful than the whole world put together. Furthermore, since the world is just one of God’s own energies, when He enters it, He is unaffected by it, being its controller. This is also understood from the scriptures:
samÄne v¨k§e puru§o nimagno
Ôn"sayÄ 1/2ocati muhyamÄnaú
ju§ am yadÄ pa1/2yanty anyam "1/2am
asya mahimÄnam iti v"ta-1/2okaú
	„Sunken within the same tree, a person, bewildered by his helplessness, laments. But when he sees that the other one, who is the Supreme Lord, is satisfied and beholds His greatness, he becomes free from sorrow.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.2)
dvÄv imau puru§au loke
k§ara1/2 cÄk§ara eva ca
k§ataú sarvÄºi bhŸtÄni
ku astho Ôk§ara ucyate

uttamaú puru§as tv anyaú
paramÄtmety udÄhrtaú
yo loka-tryam Ävi1/2ya
bibharty avyaya "1/2varaú
	„There are two classes of persons in this world-the perishable and the imperishable. All embodied beings are perishable; whereas, their sould are imperishable. Other than these two, however, there is the greatest person, the Supersoul, who has entered into the three wordls and, as the Supreme Lord, is maintaining them.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 15. 16-17)
pradhÄna-puru§a-vyakta
kÄlÄnÄµ paraµ hi yat
pa1/2yanti sŸrayaú 1/2uddhaµ
tad vi§ºoú paraµ padam

pradhÄna-puru§a-vyakta
kÄlas tu pravibhÄga1/2aú
rŸpÄºi sthiti-sargÄnta-
vyakti-sad-bhÄva-hetavaú

vi§ºoú svarŸpÄt parato hi te Ônye
rŸpe pradhÄnaµ puru§a1/2 ca vipra
tasyaiva te Ônyena dhrte viyukte
rŸpÄntaraµ yat tad dvija kÄla-saµj-am
	„He who is superior to umanifested matter (pradhÄna ), the living entity (puru§a ), the manifested world (vyakta ) and time (kÄla ) is Lord Vi§ºu, whose position the wise see as completely pure and transcendental. Unmanifested matter, the living entity and manifested matter-these are the causes of all the forms manifested from creation upto the final annihilationÉThe essential form of Vi§ºu, however, is far superior to any of these. The means by which He combines the living entity and matter until the end of that form is called time.“ (Vi§ºu PurÄºa 1.2.16-17, 24)
	Not only is the Supreme Lord unaffected by the world when He enters it, but as the prisoners can be pardoned by the consent of the warden, the Lord can ensure that those living entities who surrender themselves to Him are unaffected by the pangs of worldly life:
etad "1/2anam "1/2asya
prak¨ti-stho Ôpi tad-guºaiú
na yujyate sudÄtmÄ-sthair
yathÄ buddhis tad Ä1/2rayÄ
	„This is the divinity of the Supreme Lord: even though He is present in the world, He is not affected by its qualities. Similarly, those whose minds have taken shelter of Him are also not affected by the material qualities.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.11.38)
	That the Lord is not liable to suffer the effects of the world while He is in it is also proven in sŸtra 1.2.8:
sambhoga-prÄptir iti cen na vai1/2e§yÄt
	„If it be objected that if God abides in the heart with the soul, then He will also experience all the suffering and enjoyment of that body, we say no, because there is a specific difference between God and the living entities.“
	The impersonalists reject these views. Believing the living entity to be identical with God, they conclude that there is no difference between God and the living entity. Since there is an apparent difference in this world between them, they present many examples to illustrate how their difference has no reality.
	For example, as the space inside a jar is nondifferent from the space outside the jar, the difference only abiding in the jar itself, so that when the jar is broken that oneness is realized, similarly, the living entity is nondifferent from God and by surrendering his individuality he can regain oneness with God. This, however, is an incorrect explanation of the living entity. Space is not sentient and cannot think, „I am the space in a jar different from the space in other jars and from the all-pervading, uninhibited space.“ If God is impartite and indivisible, He cannot be broken up into individual selves by the containers of material bodies. How can you explain the fact that each individual self has independent experiences not experienced by the other individual selves? Obviously, then, they are distinct individuals. If not, then the Lord Himself becomes responsible for the evil acts performed by the living entities. Therefore, He must be evil-minded. If it is only His illusory form as individual selves that He does evil acts, then what is it that is great enough to cover Him and cause Him to act evilly? If He has been overcome by ignorance and illusion, then there is no sense bothering with Him any further. One might as well recognize ignorance and illusion as the supreme.
	Another example used by the impersonalists is the reflection of the moon on water. As the reflection of the moon appears to tremble, although it is only water that is trembling, so God reflected as the living entity appears to be suffering the effects of material encumbrance. However, there are various faults in this illustration. The reflection of the moon does not have consciousness, therefore, it does not experience the trembling of the water, nor can it imagine that it is doing so. Neither can it be expected that the reflection can surrender its individual existence and become one with the moon because there is no similarity of essence between them. The reflection cannot think itself to be anything, either as a reflection or as the moon itself. Since the moon is a limited object, it is possible that it appears to be contained in the pot of water. But since God is infinite, how can He appear as a limited reflection? If the living entity were just a reflection of God, then there being really nothing of the essence of God in him, he cannot be ultimately nondifferent from God. Therefore, this example disproves itself.
	If God is impersonal, what is there of Him that could be reflected? In the reflection of the moon, we only see the mirroring of those qualities actually possessed by the moon. If, therefore, the personal individuality of the soul is a reflection of God, we must assume that God is also a personal individual.
	Another example used is that of mistaking a snake for a rope. As the false conception of a snake is superimposed over a rope due to the imagination of the viewer, so also individuality is an illusion imposed over God. As when one realizes the falsity of the imagined perception of the snake, that false perception and the fear arising from it cease, so when one realizes the falsity of individuality, only God will remain. This example is inappropriate for illustrating the illusoriness of individuality and the identicalness of the soul with God for the following reasons: (1) Although one may at some time mistakenly think that a rope is a snake, one never mistakens oneself for a snake; (2) The imagined snake has no sense of identity, either as a snake or a rope; (3) When the perception of the illusory snake is removed the viewer does not become one with it, neither does the rope merge into the viewer; (4) The perception of an illusory snake does not disprove the existence of real snakes, as an illusory appearance is always based on a factual prototype; (5) Whether there is a valid or invalid perception, the mere fact of perception substantiates that the viewer is different from the object viewed,
	Thus, when we speak of someone imagining a rope to be a snake, we must accept the following points: (1) that there is a rope; (2) that there is such a thing as a real snake with which the rope was mistaken, and (3) the person who has correct knowledge of what a snake and rope are, but due to imperfect perception, has mistaken the rope for a snake. The mistaken identification of the rope with a snake does not negate the existence of real snakes nor does it invalidate the real existence of the rope. The removal of this illusion occurs when the viewer realizes, „Because there are such things as snakes and this rope had an apparent similarity to them, I took it to be a snake. However, upon closer examination, I saw that it was only a rope. Although at first I was afraid, now my fear is gone.“ Thus, when the illusion was dispelled, correct perception established the separateness of four entities: (1) the viewer, (2) the rope, (3) the mistaken perception of a snake, and (4) a real snake. Consequently, this example only serves to prove the difference of the soul from God, not their identicalness.
	Sometimes the impersonalists say that when one reaches God, one loses one’s identity, just as rivers lose their identity upon entering the sea. This is a misinterpreted example from the Upani§ads. Rivers do not cease to exist when they merge with the sea. If one foolishly believes that a river becomes the ocean upon reaching it, then one will have to consider the Ga›gotr" (the source of the Ganges) to be identical with the vast Indian Ocean. If we accept the impersonalist view, since all rivers eventually merge with the ocean, there can no longer be any such thing as a river. Although the water of a river merges with the sea, by the power of the sun’s heat, the molecules of water become separated from the apparently homogenous ocean and are poured down as rain on the heights of mountains. This shows that the water of the rivers is never exactly identical with the ocean, otherwise, it would not be possible for water to be separated from the ocean by the process of evaporation. The molecules of water that were in the rivers are in the ocean, although we are unable to perceive them due to our imperfect senses. When, however, we walk along the ocean shore, as the ocean spray touches our skin, we can understand the composite nature of the ocean. The texts in the Upani§ads concerning rivers’ merging into the ocean say nothing about loss of individuality, but instead confirm the true spiritual individuality after liberation from the material identity:
yathÄ nadyaú syandamÄnaú samudre
Ôstaµ gacchanti nÄma-rŸpe vihÄya
tathÄ vidvÄn nÄma-rŸpÄd vimuktaú
parÄt paraµ puru§am upaiti divyam
	„As rivers flowing into the sea vanish, giving up their names and forms, so does the wise man, liberated from name and form, draw near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.8)
	Similarly, the Kau§"taki Upani§ad (3.9) states:
	„As these flowing rivers advancing towards the sea, on reaching the sea, vanish, their names and forms being separated, and they are simply called Ôthe ocean,’ even so these sixteen parts of this seer (the individual soul) advance towards the Person (God) and, reaching Him, vanish, their names and forms being separated, and are simply called Ôthe Person.’ That one is without parts and is immortal. Regarding this, there is the following verse:
In whom the parts are established
Like spokes on the hub of a wheel-
Know Him as the Person to be known,
So that death may not afflict you!“
	When the water of a river enters the ocean, it loses the name and form it had as a river, although the water itself still exists. Similarly, when one attains the Supreme Lord, one loses one’s material name and form. As the water of the river appears to vanish into the sea, so those who enter the spiritual world appear to vanish because they are no longer visible to those in this world, though they do not literally vanish. 
In whom the parts are established
Like spokes on the hub of a wheel-
Know Him as the Person to be known.“
	This shows that there is a simultaneous difference and oneness between the parts and the support upon which they are established. The Kau§"taki Upani§ad further confirms this interpretation in text 3.8:
	„This is not a diversity, but as of a chariot wheel, the felly is fixed on the spokes and the spokes are fixed on the hubÉ“
	The felly and the spokes are not the same as the hub, yet they are united together on it. Similarly, ür" K¨§ºa is the Supreme Person who is the hub of the wheel of existence.

	Another example employed by them is as follows. Once there was a prince who was raised among cowherders. For this reason, he did not know his own glorious lineage. One day a sage happened to come by and tell him that he was the son of a king. When he heard this, his illusion vanished, and he realized his original greatness. Similarly when one learns that he is God, he automatically remembers his own greatness and is, thereby, freed from the delusion of individuality. It should be noted, however, that when the prince learned his true nature, he did not merge into the identity of the king, but went to live with him. We are all sons and daughters of the greatest king of all, ür" K¨§ºa, and liberation means to abandon the idea of trying to be God, either by merging into Him or by acting in imitation of Him in this world, but to instead become His faithful and submissive servants in the spiritual world.

SüTRA 2.1.27

1/2rutes tu 1/2abda-mŸlatvÄt

	1/2ruteú-from the revealed scriptures; tu-however; 1/2abda-the word of God; mŸlatvÄt-because of being the basis.

TRANSLATION

	If it be said that if God were to create the world from Himself, then He could not be considered indivisible, we say no because from the revealed scriptures we learn otherwise, and the word of God is the only basis for understanding these matters.

PURPORT

	In the sŸtra preceding this (2.1.26) it is stated:
k¨tsna-prasaktir niravayavatva-1/2abda-vyÄkopo vÄ
	„To say that the living entity is the creator of the world is in contradiction to the scriptural statement that he is indivisible.“
	The soul is atomic in size and not reducible to any smaller components:
bÄlÄgra-1/2ata-bhÄgasya
1/2atadhÄ kalpitasya ca
bhÄgo j"vaú sa vij-eyaú
sa cÄnantyÄya kalpate
	„If the tip of a hair were divided into one hundred parts and then one of those parts were divided into another one hundred parts, one of such parts would be comparable to the living entity, and he is meant for eternity.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 5.9)
	Being finite and impartite, he could not create a world that had a separate existence from himself, especially since the world is greater in size than he is. One might argue that since God is supposed to be impartite and indivisible, it is contradictory to say that He creates a world which is other than Himself by employing only a portion of His energy. Our response to this challenge is that there is no contradiction to God’s indivisibility when He creates because this is learned from the revealed scriptures, and since these are the word of God, they are the final authority for understanding the matter. It is not necessary that everything about God should be comprehensible to us, and this is exactly the message He has given us through the scriptures:
b¨hac ca tad divyam acintya-rŸpaµ
sŸk§mÄc ca tat sŸk§mataraµ vibhÄti
durÄt sudure tad ihÄntike ca
pa1/2yatsv ihaiva nihitaµ guhÄyÄm
	„He is immense, transcendental and possesses an inconceivable form. He is subtler than the subtle and farther than the far, yet He is here close by. In fact, He is located within the core of the heart of those who behold Him.“  (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.7)
eko va1/2i sarva-gaú k¨§ºa i¶ya
eko Ôpi san bahudhÄ yo vibhÄti
	„K¨§ºa is the one controller, all-pervading and the object to be worshiped. Although one, He appears as many.“ (GopÄla-tÄpÄn" Upani§ad 1.21)
amÄtro Ônanta-mÄtra1/2 ca
	„He is partless and with infinite parts.“ (Gau¶apÄda KÄrikÄ 1.29)
Äs"no duraµ vrajati
1/2ayÄno yÄti sarvataú
	„While seated in one place, He goes far away. While lying down, He goes everywhere.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.21)
etasmÄj jÄyate prÄºo
manaú sarvendriyÄni ca
khaµ vÄyur jyotir Äpaú
p¨thiv" vi1/2vasya dhÄriº"
	„From Him are produced the life air, the mind and all the senses, as well as ether, air, fire, water and earth, which is the support of all these.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.3)
na tasya kÄryaµ karaºaµ ca vidyate
na tat-sama1/2 cÄbhyadhika1/2 ca d¨1/2yate
parÄsya 1/2aktir vividhaiva 1/2rŸyate
svÄbhÄvik" j-Äna-bala-kriyÄ ca
	„God does not have any action to perform, nor does He have any organs. No one is seen to be equal to or greater than Him. His supreme energy is said to be manifold and is intrinsic to Him as knowledge, power and action.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 6.8)
aºor aº"yÄn mahato mah"yÄn
ÄtmÄ guhÄyÄµ nihito Ôsya jantoú
tam akratuµ pa1/2yati v"ta-1/2oko
dhÄtuú prasÄdÄn mahimÄnam "1/2am
	„Smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest is the Supersoul situated in the heart of the creature. When one sees Him as untainted by material activity, he becomes free from sorrow.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 3.20)
sahasra-1/2ir§Ä puru§aú
sahsrÄk§aú sahasrapÄt
sa bhŸmiµ vi1/2vato v¨tvÄ
aty ati§ had da1/2Ä›gulam
	„The Personality of Godhead has thousands of heads, thousands of eyes and thousands of feet. After covering the worlds on all sides, He surpassed it by ten inches.“ (äg Veda 10.90.1)
	From these texts it appears that the Lord possesses naturally contradictory qualities. Since He has innumerable energies (parÄsya 1/2aktir vividhaiva 1/2rŸyate ) and His form is transcendental and inconceivable (divyam acintya-rŸpam ), we must accept that mutually contradictory qualities are harmonized in the transcendental body of the Lord by His inconceivable power. One may object that by relying wholly on scripture as the final authority on this issue leaves no room for logic and reasoning. If scripture says that instead of burning the wood, the fire dampened it, are we to accept this? For this reason, the Vedic scriptures should not be made the ultimate authority for understanding spiritual questions. To this ür" VyÄsadeva replies, 1/2rutes tu 1/2abda-mulatvÄt, because the Vedas are not the invention of imperfect beings but are the word of God, they are the infallible means of understanding all spiritual matters. If we think that some parts of the scriptures are true, but others may not be, then we are faced with the dilemma that God has revealed some truths and some falsehoods. Thus, He becomes a liar! If we suppose that some parts may be wrong due to original error given by God or by later meddling by men, we find ourselves in the predicament of trying to ascertain which parts are authentic without having a norm or standard by which to do so.
	It is logical that things should have powers beyond the comprehension of our minds. In chemistry, mathematics, physics, biochemistry, astronomy and other branches of science, there are innumerable things which are inexplicable. No one can explain why axioms are true and absolute. How is a whole body preplanned and contained in a DNA molecule? Why does the color green produce the psychological effect of calmness, whereas red stirs up the passions? That there are inconceivable things which have to be accepted as they are is, therefore, a very real part of our existence. Of the three pramÄºas or means of verifying truth, namely pratyak§a or direct sense perception, anumÄna or inference and 1/2abda or the revealed scriptures, the revealed scriptures are the most authoritative and reliable because they are the word of God given by Him.

SüTRA 2.1.28

Ätmani caivam vicitrÄ1/2 ca hi

	Ätmani-in the Supreme Spirit; ca-and; evam-thus; vicitrÄú-varieties; ca-and; hi-indeed.

TRANSLATION

	And thus contradictory qualities coexist in God because He actually possesses variegated energies.

PURPORT

	The Lord is able to embody mutually conflicting attributes by His inconceivable potencies. If we were to deny Him the ability to do so, we would place limitations upon Him. God can do anything, whether comprehensible or not, because He has infinite power. If He cannot do some things, such as possessing contrary qualities, then He cannot be infinitely potent. The impersonalist followers of üa›kara say that God is attributeless, qualitiless and formless. Yet, they themselves describe Him as sac-cid-Änanda, or eternity, consciousness, and bliss. If we are to understand these as the nature of their impersonal, qualitiless Absolute, we are faced with the difficulty that It apparently has three attributes: sac-cid-Änanda. Since this is the cornerstone of their concept of the nature of the Absolute, we wonder why they describe God as qualitiless. It is obvious that eternity, consciousness and bliss are not identical, but are different; otherwise, why not use one term rather than three terms? The impersonalists often use just one term to describe their impersonal Absolute, that is sat, or being. Yet, an entity consisting of only being is not qualitiless, for its quality is being. Without the distinct quality of being, there would be nothing to distinguish it from nonbeing. Therefore, a qualitiless, characterless, attributeless, nameless, formless God could not exist.

SüTRA 2.1.30

sarvopetÄ ca tad-dar1/2anÄt

	sarva-all [persons]; upetÄ-possessed of; ca-and [only]; tat-that [possession of powers]; dar1/2anÄt-because it is seen in the scriptures.

TRANSLATION

	Only the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses all powers because it is seen in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The Lord possesses all powers:
te dhyÄna-yogÄnugatÄ apa1/2yan
devÄtma-1/2aktiµ sva-guºair nigu¶ham
	„While absorbed in meditation, they saw the self-energy of God hidden by its own qualities.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 1.3)
ya eko Ôvarºo bahudhÄÄ 1/2akti-yogÄt
varºÄn anekÄn nihitÄrtho dadhÄti
vicaiti cÄnte vi1/2vam Ädau devaú
sa no buddhyÄ 1/2ubhayÄ samyunaktu
	„He who is one, without color, by the manifold employment of His energies, has distributed many colors for His hidden purpose. Into Him, as the beginning and end, the whole world merges-He is God. May He grant us clear intelligence.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 4.1)
yad yad vibhŸtimat sattvaµ
1/2r"mad Ÿrjitam eva vÄ
tat tad evÄvagaccha tvaµ
mama tejo-’µ1/2a-sabhavam
	„Know that whatever is opulent, beautiful or glorious has sprung from just a spark of My splendor.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 10.41)
	God is the possessor of infinite energy. Those texts of the Vedas that describe God as eternity, knowledge and bliss reveal His nature; whereas, those that describe Him as the possessor of self-energy reveal His manifold powerfulness. God is one unitary Being whose nature is distinguished by its infinite qualities, such as eternity, knowledge and bliss, and who is omnipotent because of His possession of innumerable potencies. Scriptural statements such as, „He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I procreate.’“ show that He possesses willpower and the power of procreation. Thus, the Vedic literatures teach us that God has transcendental qualities and infinite potencies.

SüTRA 2.1.32-33

na prayojanavattvÄt
lokavat tu l"lÄ kaivalyam

	na-not; prayojanavattvÄt-because of having some particular motive; lokavat-as in the world; tu-however; l"lÄ-pastime; kaivalyam-only.

TRANSLATION

	One may say that God cannot create the world because He can have no motive for such activity.
	But His motive for doing so is merely as a pastime, as in ordinary worldly life.

PURPORT

	In the revealed scriptures is stated:
na tasya kÄryaµ karaºaµ ca vidyate
	„He has no activity and no organs of action.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 6.8)
	God is inactive and lacks the usual organs for activity, such as a material body. Since God is all-perfect, He can have no motive in creating the world. The motivation for some action must be either for oneself or for others. The Lord cannot be self-motivated; because, being all-perfect, He can have no desire that is unfulfilled. Nor can it be said that He creates the world for the living entities, for it is not beneficial for them. On the contrary, it is very harmful for them. Why would the Lord want to make His children suffer the pains of birth and death? Being all-merciful, even if the living entities were culpable for punishment due to some misdeeds, surely He would not want to inflict endless suffering upon them; and, being all-perfect, He could correct those souls in a less drastic manner. It must be concluded that God could have no ulterior motive for creating the world.
	In answer to these arguments VyÄsadeva states: „The Lord’s creating the world is merely as a sport, just as in ordinary life.“ 	The Lord’s desire to create the world is of a different nature from the desires of ordinary living creatures, for He has none of their imperfections. He is Äpta-kÄma and satya-sa›kalpa-all His desires are fulfilled according to His will. The desire of the Lord to create is not to be compared to the desire of a pauper for wealth, or of a hungry person for food. Gau¶apÄda expresses this view in his KÄrikÄ to the Muº¶aka Upani§ad:
bhogÄrthaµ s¨§ im ity anye
kr"¶Ärtham iti copare
devasyai§a svabhÄve Ôyam
Äpta-kÄmasya kÄ sp¨hÄ
	„Some people say that the creation is for the enjoyment of God, and others, that it is for His recreation. The act of creation, however, is the very nature of God, for how can He whose desires are all satisfied have any desires?“ (KÄrikÄ 1.9)
	The above verse does not establish that the Lord has no enjoyment or recreation, but that His pleasure and recreation are free from the material reasons that motivate ordinary living creatures. The great sage BÄdarÄyaºa thus declared:
Änanda-mayo ÔbhyÄsÄt
	„The Supreme Lord is full of all bliss because of repeated reference to this fact in scripture.“ (VedÄnta-sŸtra 1.1.12)
	The Hari-vaµsa further elaborates on the creation:
tasyÄpi vi§ºoú s¨§ iµ tu
kecid Ähur anaipuºÄú
at¨ptasyaiva bhogÄrthaµ
kr"¶Ärthaµ tu vipa1/2citaú
sÄ ca kr"¶Ä svabhÄvo Ôsya
kuto Ôt¨ptyÄ sp¨hÄ vibhoú
	„Those who are not expert in philosophy say that Lord Vi§ºu created the world in order to satisfy some unfulfilled desire which He had. But the wise say that it was as a sport. That sport is His nature, for how can the Almighty have any unfulfilled desire?“
	The Lord can desire, but His desire is always fulfilled exactly when He wills it to be. His desire and His sportiveness are intrinsic to His nature as the Supreme Being. Since He is a wholly spiritual entity, His desire and sportiveness partake of that nature.
	When VyÄsadeva says that the Lord’s sportiveness in creation is as in ordinary worldly life, he does not mean that the Lord acts in a mundane way. The reference to worldly life is explained in the following passage from the NÄrÄyaºa-saµhitÄ:
s¨§ y-Ädikaµ harir naiva
prayojanam apek§ya tu
kurute kevalÄnandÄd
yathÄ mattasya nartanam

pŸrºÄnandasya tasyeha
prayojana-matiú kutaú
muktÄ apy Äpta-kÄmaú syuú
kim u tasyÄkhilÄtmanaú
	„The Lord’s act of creation and so forth is not for the sake of any motive. He does so out of sheer bliss, like the dancing of an inebriated person. What is the question of motivation for one who is already full of bliss? When even the liberated souls have all their desires fulfilled, what desire could the Supreme Lord have that would not already be fulfilled?“
	The blissfulness of the Lord is not to be compared with the inebriety of a drunkard. The blissfulness of the Lord is the culmination of full knowledge, but the inebriety of the drunkard produces only delusion. The comparison to worldly life means that as the drunkard will spontaneously begin to dance because of the sense of euphoria, or as a person in whom great jubilation arises may become very playful, so the Lord, because of His own inherent blissful nature, sometimes creates the material world. The impersonalists liken the Lord’s act of creation to the natural and effortless breathing of a sleeping man, but in that case we would have to assume that God creates the world because, due to exhaustion, He fell asleep, or else He was overcome by ignorance. The followers of RÄmÄnuja say that „as in ordinary worldly life“ refers to how a prince amuses himself by playing with a ball; but, this is inaccurate, because the prince does have a motive; he plays for his own amusement.

SüTRA 2.1.34

vai§amya-nairgh¨ºyena na sÄpek§atvÄt tathÄ hi dar1/2ayati

	vai§amya-unequal or partial to; nairgh¨ºyena-with cruelty; na-not; sa-apek§atvÄt-because of the consideration of [individual karma ]; tathÄ-so; hi-indeed; dar1/2ayati-it is illustrated.

TRANSLATION

	Although some souls are born into good situations and others into bad situations, it is not that God has created them that way, being partial to some and cruel to others. It is due to their individual karma, for it is shown to be so in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The argument may be raise that if God is the creator of the world, since some beings are born with abundany enjoyment and others are born into a miserable situation, He must be partial to some and cruel to others. If God is equal to all, as the scriptures declare, then He cannot be the creator of the world. The scriptures state:
	e§a hy evainaµ sÄdhu karma kÄrayati taµ yamanvÄnunve§aty e§a evainam asÄdhu karma kÄrayati taµ yamebhyo lokebhyo nunutsate.
	„He actually makes one whom He wishes to lead up from these worlds do good deeds, He makes one whom He wishes to lead down to hell do bad deeds.“ (Kay§itak" Upani§ad 3.8)
	Scripture shows that God is partial to some and hateful of others. Therefore, we see that your God who creates is biased and hateful. For this reason, He cannot be all-perfect, but is a wicked being, full of malice and partisan feelings.
	To this, we emphatically reply that God is equal to all. TÄratamya, or gradation of living conditions into which the living entities are born, is not due to the partiality of God towards some and hatred towards others. It is the natural consequence of individual responsibility for actions. We are responsible for everything we do. If we act piously, good merit automatically accrues to us; conversely, if we act sinfully, bad merit accrues to us. If the soul is eternal, then his present condition must be the fruit of previous actions. Therefore, if he is born in a good condition, it is due to good acts performed in previos lives, and if he is born in a bad condition, it is due to bad acts performed in previous lives. When the soul leaves the eternam atmosphere of the spirtual world, his first birth is as Lord BrahmÄ, the topmost living being in each universe. The soul’s falldown is by his own choice. But, because he has just left the spiritual atmosphere, he is untainted by the effects of previous activities (karma ). Therefore, he automatically takes the highest possible birth. Thereafter, the living entity’s actions determine his future births. The Lord elevates some souls and demotes others, in accordance with their karma:
punya-pÄpÄdikaµ vi§ºuú
kÄrayet pŸrva karmaºÄ
anÄditvÄt karmaºa1/2 ca
na virodhaú katha-cana
	„Lord Vi§ºu makes the living entities enjoy piety or sin according to their previous actions. And this is not conflicting because their karma is from time immemorial.“ (Bhavi§ya PurÄºa )
	In the above-quoted verse, the word anÄditvÄt means „because of beginninglessness [of karma ]“. Similarly, in the sŸtra following this one, it is stated:
na karmÄvibhÄgÄd iti cen nÄnÄditvÄt
	„If one says that karma cannot explain the inequality of status between the living entities because they are all covered equally, we say no because of the beginninglessness of karma .“ (VedÄnta-sŸtra 2.1.35)
	„Beginninglessness“ is to be understood as „from time immemorial.“ Karma is sometimes said to be beginningless, as one cannot determine which came first, the chicken or the egg. The Vedas  recognize the Lord as the original cause of all causes. (See sŸtra 1.1.2)
"1/2varaú paramaú k¨§ºaú
sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaú
anÄdir Ädir govindaú
sarva-kÄraºa-kÄraºam
	„K¨§ºa, who is the Supreme Lord, has a form full of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He has no beginning, but is the first and the cause of all causes.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.1)
	Since no one bound by karma can determine when it begain, we must accept it as beginningless, though it does have a definite beginning. The living entity originates in the spiritual atmosphere; and, therefore, originates outside the limits of time. Hence, his present karma, which exists with time as its referent, must have a particular beginning. The gradation of living entities in different conditions is due to their karma which begins from their first misuse of free will.

SüTRA 2.1.36

upapadyate cÄpy upalabhyate ca

	upapadyate-it is reasonable; ca-and; api-also; upalabhyate-it is found [in scripture]; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	God is partial to His devotees because it is reasonable for Him to do so and because it is also found in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	God is partial to His devotees because He favors them in many ways:
te§Äµ j-Än" nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir vi1/2i§yate
priyo hi j-Änino Ôtyartham
ahaµ sa ca mama priyaú
	„Of these, the wise one who is in full contact with Me through pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is very dear to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.17)
samo Ôhaµ sarva-bhŸte§u
na me dve§yo Ôsti na priyaú
ye bhajanti tu mÄµ bhaktyÄ
mayi te te§u cÄpy aham
	„I am equal to all living beings; I do not hate or favor anyone. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am in them.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.29)
	The Lord is equal to all, but the receptivity of the living entities establishes the relation of loving reciprocation. The rain falls equally on all things; but some things, according to their nature, repel the water, while others absorb it. The Lord is always ready to love everyone, but there is no possibility of fructification of that love unless the living entity responds. That is why the Lord can be equal to all and partial to His devotees. Although the Lord possesses contradictory attributes, these are always harmonized by His inconceivable power:
ai1/2varya-yogÄt bhagavÄn
virŸddhÄrtho Ôbhidh"yate
tathÄpi do§aú parame
naivÄhÄryaú katha-cana
guºÄvirŸddhÄ samantataú
	„The Supreme Personality of Godhead can contain within Himself conflicting attributes because of His lordly power. There is no question of any defect’s being transposed on the Supreme because these conflicting attributes are fully harmonized in Him.“ (KŸrma PurÄºa )
	VedÄnta-sŸtra concludes the issue by stating:
sarva-dharmopapatte1/2 ca
	„All attributes are thus proven to be present in Him.“ (2.1.37)

SüTRA 2.2.1-2

racanÄnupapatte1/2 ca nÄnumÄnam
prav¨tte1/2 ca

	racanÄ-construction; anupapatteú-because of being impossible; ca-and; na-not; anumÄnam-the inferred[pradhÄna ]; prav¨tteú-because of activity; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	The inferred concept of pradhÄna, or primordial undifferentiated matter, cannot be the cause of the world because it is impossible for her to create.
	And because matter only becomes active when there is intelligence to direct it.

PURPORT

	PradhÄna is the concept of an originally undifferentiated state of matter. This primordial material nature is called „inferred“ because her existence is hypothesized by certain philosophers, such as the SÄ›khya school, to explain the source of the world. Since pradhÄna is purely hypothetical, she cannot be taken as either the material or efficient cause of the world. Everything in this world, even the atoms, shows a wonderful design and intentional purposiveness. It is absurd to conclude that the world has evolved randomly from the undifferentiated and chaotic nature of primordial pradhÄna. The world comprises intelligible combinations of material elements. If there is an intelligible combination of atoms, there must have been an intelligence behind that combination. If there is no intelligence behind the combinations, then there should always be contrary and unintelligible results.
	Even accepting the existence of pradhÄna, her presence alone does not verify her being the cause of the world, just as the presence of whiteness in some cows does not mean that white is the distinguishing feature in all cows. One may argue that although a quaility may not be a cause, a substance such as clay, can be the cause of an effect, such as a pot. Therefore, the substance of the three modes-sattva, rajas and tamas-inherent in all things, must be the cause. Since sattva, rajas and tamas are manifested out of the pradhÄna, she must be the ultimate source of everything.
	In reply, we say that the three modes of nature are not substances but qualities, as their designation as guºas indicates. These modes are not the substance of any object, such as a clay pot or a person; they are merely the nature or character of its quality. Being different from the clay of a pot, they cannot be considered the cause of any effects. Is that pradhÄna one or is it threefold because of her three modes? If she is threefold, then there are three different causes and not one absolute cause, as the scriptures state. If pradhÄna is one whole entity, still, she is not the cause because according to SÄ›khya philosophy, from pradhÄna come the three modes; and, from these, manifests everything else. Since it was already proven that the three modes, being only qualities, cannot be the source of substances, they cannot be the cause of the material manifestation.
	Prav¨tti, or activity also disproves that pradhÄna is the cause of the world. Marble does not decide to become a statue, nor clay a pot. The activity of matter is instigated and directed by intelligence. The car does not drive itself, and even the automaton can only act according to instructions which are programmed by intelligent beings. The Supreme Lord directs matter and life to behave in their particular ways.
	According to SÄ›khya, the creation is generated by the combination of pradhÄna and puru§a. When they unite, there results a mutual superimposition of each other’s qualities. If this is the case, then the SÄ›khya concept of liberation as kaivalya, or absolute isolation of consciousness, becomes impossible because their qualities have become mixed up and confused by their combination. It must be the inherent nature of puru§a or original pure consciousness to become mixed up with matter. If this is inherent, then the state of absolute isolation must be an unnatural state. Being unnatural, it cannot be eternal; and, being unnatural, it cannot be good. Hence, this concept of creation by the puru§a and pradhÄna as proposed by SÄ›khya philosophers is unacceptable.

SüTRA 2.2.6

abhyupagame Ôpy arthÄbhÄvÄt

	abhyupagama-upon admitting; api-even; artha-purpose; abhÄvÄt-because of absence.

TRANSLATION

	Even admitting the spontaneous activity of matter, it is useless because it serves no purpose.

PURPORT

	According to Carvaka’s philosophy of materialism, when the proper elements combine by their own inherent energy, they form a living body endowed with consciousness. Thus, the consciousness and intelligence that activate and direct the body have no other origin than the body itself. When the bond holding these elements is dissolved, consciousness and self-identity cease to exist. ür"man MadhvÄcÄrya gives the following appraisal of Carvaka’s materialism in his commentary on the VedÄnta-sŸtra:
	„The followers of Carvaka say that the only means of validating truth is sence perception. The body is what is understood as the self, and there is no other purpose to life except the fulfillment of the desires for sense gratification. But, when propositions are set down in this way by a philosophy, who is its target? Since everyone is already endowed with valid instruments of sense perception, what illusion can they have which needs to be dispelled by their literature? By not admitting any super-sensory goals, their philosophy renders itself barren. [In other words, if there is no truth beyond what is perceived by the senses, no philosophy, including their own, and no information contained in any books can have any value, since ideas and concepts are never objects of sence perception.] What, therefore, is the use of a deranged literature that vainly babbles to itself?“ (Brahma-sŸtrÄnuvÄkhyÄna 2.2.39-40)
	If only what can directly be perceived by the senses can be accepted as valid, all ideas, concepts, and theories, not being objects of perception, are unverified by the senses. Carvaka’s philosophy of materialism renders itself invalid. If everything not perceived by the senses is therein unverified and useless, then all the information contained in all literature, including that produced by Carvaka, is valueless.
	In sŸtra 2.1.27 is stated:
1/2rutes tu 1/2abda-mŸlatvÄt
	„One should learn about God from the scriptures because, being the word of God, they are the basis for understanding Him.“
	The authority of the revealed scriptures is so strong because the scriptures are the word of God. Their position of authority cannot be eliminated by merely denying them. When the Buddhists, CÄrvakas, Vai1/2e§ikas and others rejected the Vedic literature, they had to validate their own positions by introducing new scriptures. Even the capitalists and communists have scriptures that expound their ideas. Although they all claim that it is fanaticism to adhere to the authority of the Vedas, they just as fanatically stress the authority of their own philosophies and literatures. It is the unshakable position of the Vedic literatures as being the revelation, or word of God Himself which necessitates that those who reject them should produce a substitute literature. That is why the original revelation is called the mŸla-veda, for it is the root (mŸla ) of all other literature (veda ).
	This sŸtra also defeats the modern theory that the cosmic manifestation is a result of the inherent self-activity of matter. If one rejects the guidance of an independent intelligence, the motion and activity of matter are left without any purpose. Being the result of chance, life can have no need to follow any particular standard, such as morality, nor can it have any goal, such as the enjoyment of the senses, the acquisition of knowledge or spiritual perfection, except that of chance and uncertainty. In this way, to lead a successful life or to die miserably become equal ends. It is all by chance.

SüTRA 2.2.11

mahad-d"rghavad vÄ hrasva-parimaº¶alÄbhyÄm

	mahat-large; d"rghavat-like that which is long; vÄ-or; hrasva-short [the term for a binary compound]; parimaº¶alÄ-bhyÄm-and from a spheroid [an atom].

TRANSLATION

	The theory that the complex molecules are produced from atoms and binary compounds is also incorrect.

PURPORT

	The word vÄ, meaning also, shows that this sŸtra is a continuation of the previous sŸtra (2.2.10) As a frog jumps from one lily pad to another, this sŸtra derives a negative sense from the preceding one. This is just as when it is said, „This is not good, and the same regarding that,“ the last phrase acquiring its negativity from what precedes it.
	According to the Vai1/2e§ika doctrine or atomic theory propounded by KaºÄda, matter consists of minute atoms called paramÄºus. They are described as parimaº¶alas or spheroids to indicate that they are dimensionless. These are partless and indivisible. They are of four distinct kinds: terrene, aqueous, igneous and aerial. According to their kind, they have a particular color, texture, taste and smell. Within each atom is a soul, and by the influence of the soul’s ad¨§ a, or unseen influence of destiny, these atoms are combined to form binary molecules called aºus. The size of an aºu is described as hrasva, or small, in the sense that these are sizeless. There are three causes involved in producing these binary elements: (1) two atoms, (2) their union, and (3) the ad¨§ a, or destiny of the soul inside each atom. Three of these aºus, or binary compounds combine to form a tryaºu, or ternary molecule [though it actually consists of nine atoms]. Their size is called mahat, or large. The paramaºus cannot account for the form of things since, being spheroidal, there is no possibility of cohesion between them because they have no plane sides to stick to. When two atoms combine, the result is a linear configuration. But, when three aºus combine to form a tryaºu, the result is an octagonal configuration. Since this has sides, it can easily combine with other tryaºus to form solid substances. By the force of the a¶¨§ a of all the different souls in the different atoms, the four kinds of atoms combine into binary compounds (aºus ) and then into hexads (tryaºus ). When the hexads stick to each other, they form solid objects that exhibit mass and substance. This is what is perceived by the sense of sight. When the force combining the atoms (paramaºus ) into binory compounds (aºus ) is withdrawn, the hexads (tryaºus ) and the perceptible form of matter disintegrates.

	From the modern viewpoint, this atomic theory seems naive and laughable, but in several hundred years, the present theories will be equally maligned. The principal objection to this theory is that if atoms (paramaºus ) are dimensionless and their binary compounds are sizeless, then no number of them combined could ever amount to anything. Even by combining billions of them, we would be unable to produce one visible molecule. Their being dimensionless and sizeless, we could fit a whole world full of them into the space of one of them, and they would still have no perceptible mass. Therefore, this sŸtra says that the molecules which compose all things could not have originated from elements without mass. Hence, this doctrine cannot account for the existence of the world.

SüTRA 2.2.13

ubhayathÄpi na karmÄtas tad abhÄvaú

	ubhayathÄ-on both [assumptions]; api-also; na-not; karma-action [or motion]; ataú-therefore; tat-that; abhÄvaú-absence of.

TRANSLATION

	On both assumptions, whether the force of destiny is from the atoms themselves or from the souls inside them, there is no action of combination, and therefore there is the absence of the possibility of creation.

PURPORT

	According to the molecular theory of the Vai1/2e§ikas, the world is produced by the combination of atoms into binary compounds, then these into hexads. Here we may ask, what caused these atoms and binary compounds to combine? Was it the ad¨§ a, or force of destiny of the atoms themselves, or that of the souls within them? The ad¨§ a of the atoms could not have been responsible for their combination. Having no intelligence, they can’t do anything by choice. Therefore, they can’t do anything that would imbue them with karma. If you attribute the motion of atoms to the force of the destiny of the souls within them, then the difficulty is that the karma, or destiny of the soul, cannot be transferred to an atom because each individual soul must experience his particular karma. Insentient and inert matter cannot become liable for the karma of a living entity. Since this doctrine is defeated on both accounts, the Vai1/2e§ikas are left without a means of propelling their atoms; and, hence, these cannot combine to produce anything.
	VedÄnta does not deny the motion of atoms: it only points out that the Vai1/2e§ika theory cannot account for their motion. According to VedÄnta, the first motion of atoms is brought out by the directive will power of the Lord, and they remain in motion for the same reason. Modern scientists are studying this motion; but, since the Supreme Lord is the director of this motion, He may illuminate or bewilder the scientists in their research as He wills.

SüTRA 2.2.18

samudÄya ubhaya-hetuko Ôpi tad aprÄptiú

	samudÄya-the aggregate [of all objects]; ubhaya-hetukaú-having both causes; api-also; tat-that [theory]; aprÄptiú-not established.

	TRANSLATION

	To say that the aggregate of all things has as its cause two things-mental and physical-disproves the aggregate.

PURPORT

	This and the following six sŸtras are a refutation of Buddhist and Jaina theories. Since VyÄsadeva wrote the VedÄnta-sŸtra 5,000 years ago, one may wonder how he could contest Buddhist and Jaina theories when these date from only 2,500 years ago. As we saw in previous sŸtras’ dealing with atomic theories, the philosophies of the world have been in vogue in India since remotest times. Just as there were many Buddhas after the original Gautama Buddha, it is also known from both Buddhist sources and from the Vedic literature that there were Buddhas who preceded him. As Shakespeare surpassed his contemporaries to such a degree that their works have hardly survived, Buddha and MahÄv"ra gained such notoriety as the propounders of their systems that they eclipsed their predecessors.
	There are four main schools in Buddhism: VaibhÄ§ika, SautrÄntika, YogÄcÄra and MÄdhyamika. The VaibhÄ§ikas believe that the things of the world are external objects perceptible to the senses. The SautrÄntikas say that there is no way of verifying whether an object exists; only their ideas exist, and objects are only inferred from them. The YogÄcÄras believe that only the ideas of things exist in the mind without any corresponding external objects. The MÄdhyamikas claim that even such ideas are unreal, there is only 1/2Ÿnya-the void. One thing the four Buddhist schools agree on is that all objects are only momentary. The two schools, VaibhÄ§ika and SautrÄntika, categorize all things within two categories, internal or external, or mental and physical. According to them, there are five skandhas, or sheaths that form the shell constituting an individual: (1) The first is form consisting of the four categories of atoms as terrene, aqueous, igneous and aerial. These imbue the body with different attributes such as solidity, cohesion, energy, and mobility. From these elements, the senses and their organs originate. (2) The second sheath is the stream of consciousness that gives rise to the sense of selfhood. This is what is known as the self, the enjoyer, and the agent of actions. (3) The third sheath consists of the awareness of pleasure and pain. (4) The fourth sheath consists of the identification with designations and names. (5) The fifth sheath consists of the mental attributes such as love, hate, delusion, morality and immorality. The first sheath is the external category, and the last four are the internal or mental categories. The whole world is, thus, the result of these two categories.
	As ür"la VyÄsadeva points out, the reduction of everything to the two categories of external and mental things does not prove that these two categories are the cause of the world. Rather, it disproves itself. This theory supplies no clue as to how these categories originally combined. They could not combine themselves because, according to Buddhist doctrine, there is no permanent sentient entity. For this reason, even the mental categories, consisting of momentary thoughts and impressions, could not supply an external force existing long enough to effect their combination. If their combination were due to some inexplicable quirk or fate, the nature of existence being mere happenstance and chance, no one should be concerned about a purposeful goal like the attainment of nirvÄºa.
	A Buddhist might reply thus, „We hold that the cause of the combination of the sheaths is due to the concatenation of cause and effect, beginning with illusion. Ignorance gives rise to the fifth sheat of emotions, such as desire and aversion; this gives rise to the fourth, this to the third, this to the second, this to the first and this again to ignorance. As a perpetual cycle it is closed to arguments about its origination or first combination. The rotation of this cycle produces all the effects and perceptions of this world in the form of good and bad, happiness and distress, life and death, etc.“
	This theory is refuted in the following text.

SüTRA 2.2.19-20

itaretara-prayayatvÄd iti cen notpatti-mÄtra nimittatvÄt
uttarotpÄde ca pŸrva-nirodhÄt

	itara-itara-one another, mutual; pratyayatvÄt-because of being the cause of; iti-thus; cet-if; na-not; utpatti-mÄtra-because of being the efficient cause; uttara-the subsequent; utpÄde-on the production; ca-and; pŸrva-nirodhÄt-because of the previous.

TRANSLATION

	If it is said that the world is produced by the mutual causality of ignorance and the five sheaths, we say no because they are only efficient causes of the successive items.
	And because when one thing is produced, the previous is destroyed, there can be no causal relation between them.

PURPORT

	The fallacy of the theory of concatenation is that each phase is only the efficient cause of the subsequent one. Since none of them are the material cause, their concatenation cannot explain their aggregate existence. As the theory of concatenation states, ignorance gives rise to the first sheat of emotions like desire and aversion. From its opening statement the theory is rendered invalid. Being nonintelligent, insentient and devoid of any power for action, ignorance cannot manifest desire and aversion. The theory of concatenation denies the existence of any permanent self or soul, and in its place postulates that what is perceived as an individual is merely the concatenation of the sheaths’ passing through time, like the effect of a line of dominoes or the successive passing of the frames of a film. To explain individuality and its motion through time in this way presents various problems. Accepting the Buddhist proposition that all things have no permanency but only exist momentarily, each being followed by a similar momentary entity, we cannot explain how one individuality should suffer the consequences of action performed by his preceding individuality. Secondly, there is no explanation of memory in which one clearly remembers activities and things from the past. Thirdly, there is no anticipation of future events by intuition. Fourthly, there can be no planning for the future, either for one’s preservation from danger and happy existence or for one’s extinction in nirvÄºa. If everything has only momentary existence, a thing cannot exist long enough to produce any other effect as proposed in the theory of concatenation.
	The reason they say everything is momentary is because when a cause produces an effect, since the effect originated from the cause, its permanent or substantial identity has been changed. Thus, the cause ceases to exist and gives way to its effect. Since time is in motion and all things are in time, nothing can be changeless. As such, all appearances are the flowing of momentary entities arising from the concatenation of the five sheaths and ignorance.
	According to their theory of momentariness, nothing exists in the next moment. In such a case, there can be no effort to achieve something desired or to ward off something undesireable. Thus, the VedÄnta-sŸtra declares:
udÄs"nÄnÄm api caivaµ siddhiú
	„If all things are actually momentary, then persons could achieve their goals even without doing anything.“ (2.2.27)
	There can be no effort to do these things because they are achieved without the effort of the presently existing momentary entity. It follows that all one’s desires can be achieved effortlessly. As goals have been accomplished by the present momentary beings, certainly all future momentary beings shall similarly accomplish their goals.
	While doing nothing, one could, by simply willing it, negate the past, obliterate karma  and, thus, change the future. This is the philosophy of ostreches and hares-“just stick your head in the sand, or close your eyes and change things by wishful thinking.“ The final result of this theory is that we cannot explain the purposeful exertions of living beings.
	No doubt the greatest difficulty of k§aºa-bha›ga-vÄda, or the doctrine of momentariness, is in explaining exactly what is meant by „a moment“. When it is said that a thing only exists for a moment, is that moment half a minute, a second, or a millisecond? If the moment is a measure of time, then what determines that measurement? Time cannot be the standard for determining its own measurement into moments. Who is to say that the momentary things must all exist for equal lengths of time? Why can’t the moment of one momentary thing be a tiny millisecond and of another, one billion years? If the moment is of no measurement, then the supposedly momentary thing does not exist. If it exists with no measurement of time, it must exist outside of time; and is, therefore, eternal. If the sense of a moment is determined by the impressions of the mind, then we are again left with the same lack of standard, for I may decide to make the momentariness of the momentary things be the measure of eternity, thereby rendering them nonmomentary. From the above discussion, it appears that the doctrine of momentariness is like a boat made of chicken wire or a bottomless bucket.

SüTRA 2.2.26

nÄ Ôsato d¨§ atvÄt

	na-not; asataú-of the nonexistent; ad¨§ atvÄt-because it is not perceived.

TRANSLATION

	It is not that a momentary thing, on ceasing to exist, persists in the mind as an idea that produces the successive momentary thing because this is never seen to be so.

PURPORT

	According to the SautrÄntikas, when a momentary entity ceases to exist, its qualities are preserved in the mind as an idea. Since all things are only momentary, and then they sink into oblivion, the only real or permanent things are ideas. Their manifoldness is due to the manifoldness of external things.
	In reply, this sŸtra points out that it is not experienced that when something ceases to exist its qualities become transformed into ideas that continue existing in the mind. When something is destroyed, its qualities are simultaneously destroyed, and cannot pass on to something else. An object like a pot cannot be considered unreal and only inferred for the reason that, when one perceives a pot, one does not say, „I have the idea of a pot in my mind; therefore, there must be such a pot existing in front of me.“ Rather, one says, „I see the pot.“ Thus, this view is disproven by the certainty of our conscious perception. It is concluded that external objects like the pot are not inferred from ideas in the mind, but are real external objects perceived by the observing self.

SüTRA 2.2.29

vaidharmyÄc ca na svapnÄdivat

	vaidharmyÄt-because of their different natures; ca-and; na-not; svapna-Ädivat-like dreams and so forth.

TRANSLATION

	The things perceived in wakefulness are not like the things in dreams, hallucinations and so forth because of their different natures.

PURPORT

	In this sŸtra, we examine the views of the YogÄcÄras. According to this school of Buddhism, the second sheath called vij-Äna-skandha, which consists of mere cognition, is the only reality. What is perceived as a clay pot is actually nothing more than cognition. This subtle transformation of cognition produces the belief that the clay pot exists, when actually there is nothing. This vij-Äna-vÄda, or philosophy of pure consciousness, was later borrowed by the monist philosopher üa›karÄcÄrya in the eighth century. Vij-Äna-vÄda holds that all the external things which we perceive as real do not exist, but are like dreams and hallucinations. As the pleasures, pains and objects of a dream dissolve when the dream dissolves, by practice in meditation, one eventually achieves a state of thoughtlessness which results in the extinction of individuality and its preceptions. The YogÄcÄra school’s world view is partially self-centered, in the sense that I create the world by my own imagination, but it is not really self-centered because the self who creates the world does not actually exist. Because in dreams one can have relationships with persons and things and experience emotions, this school of Buddhism concludes that the experiences of wakefulness are no more real than a dream.
	The perceptions in a dream and the perceptions in wakefulness differ in that they have two distinct natures. In dreams and hallucinations we almost always realize that things are not as they should be, and sometimes we even realize that we are dreaming, or hallucinating. Sometimes we even manage to direct or control our dreams. Our experiences and perceptions in wakefulness are never like this. In dreams, things can assume any shape and act whimsically, but the objects of wakefulness remain the same even over hundreds of years. They always act according to predictable ways because they are always following definite laws which govern existence. The illusions of dreams and hallucinations are dispelled by the experiences of wakefulness, but if wakefulness is also another illusion, what is that state which when attained will dispel this illusion? It cannot be the Buddhist nirvÄºa because, according to Buddhists, in that state there is nothing. There is no individual in nirvÄºa who can realize, „I was imagining that there was a material world, but now I have returned to the actual reality.“ NirvÄºa cannot be the reality sublating the material world because there is nothing of it to be real. Therefore, it cannot be the norm for determining the world to be an illusion with no existence. The actual norm for determining whether the world is real or nonexistent is the concept of sÄk§", the witnessing self. This is the subject matter of sŸtra 2.3.17.

SüTRA 2.2.32

sarvathÄnupapatte1/2 ca

	sarvathÄ-in every way; anupapatteú-because of not being proven; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	The theory of the void is also disproven in every way.

PURPORT

	This sŸtra examines 1/2Ÿnya, or the void, as propounded by the MÄdhyamika school of Buddhism. This school claims that Lord Buddha taught the existence of external objects only for those disciples who were unable to comprehend the concept of emptiness called the void. All these preceding teachings concerning external objects, ideas and mental hallucinations are steps leading up to the ultimate theory of vacuity. The external objects, ideas and mental states do not exist because there is nothing other than the void. That this is the true teaching of Buddha, and is unsurpassable by other theories is proven by the following: üŸnyatÄ, or nothingness is self-proven because it requires no cause to explain it. Only an existing entity requires an explanation. An existing entity must originate either from another entity or from nonbeing. A tree does not originate from a seed because only after the seed has disintegrated can the tree become manifested; the tree and the seed cannot exist simultaneously. A tree cannot originate from nothing; if there is no seed, no tree can arise. Nothing can originate from itself, as this is logically impossible. One thing cannot arise indiscriminately from anything else. In this way, words such as origination, destruction, being and nonbeing are all fallacious, and the only reality is the void.
	At this point we would like to direct a query to the 1/2ŸnyavÄd"s, or voidist philosophers. What exactly is this void? Is it being, or nonbeing, or being and nonbeing, or neither being nor nonbeing? If it is being, then it is an existing entity liable to become an object of perception. If it is nonbeing, then it is nonexistent, and there is no need to be concerned about it. If it actually is nonbeing, then everything is nonbeing. The result is that you are nonbeing and so is your proposed philosophy. If everything is nonbeing, why bother others with your nonexisting philosophy when they also do not exist? If you do not exist, why are you still here? Obviously, you have not realized your nonexistence because you are becoming annoyed by my pointed attack against you nonsubstantial philosophy. If your void is both being and nonbeing, then either the nonbeing will negate the being aspect, and will give rise to all the difficulties discussed above, or else the being aspect will sublate the nonbeing by filling it, with the result again that your void is an existing entity. If you say that it is neither being nor nonbeing, then do you mean to propose there is a third category besides being and nonbeing? If I ask you to define this third category, you cannot merely answer that it is neither being nor nonbeing, for that is not a sufficient definition to fully distinguish it from being and nonbeing and thereby establish it as a valid third category. If you ask me what I hold hidden in my hand, and I merely reply that it is neither the earth nor the sky, this is not enough information for you to determine what it is and what its relation might be with the earth and sky. If you say that the void is unexplainable, then you must be either a rascal or a fool for trying to explain it. Since you cannot explain it, you must not know what it is. If you do not know what it is, the philosophy you propose must be foolishness. It would be a sign of foolishness on our part to accept foolishness as a philosophy. Since you have no philosophy, you have no position for further discussion. Therefore, this sŸtra states: „The theory of the void is also disproven in every way.“

SüTRA 2.2.33

naikasminn asmabhavÄt

	na-not; ekasmin-in one [substance]; asambhavÄt-because of the impossibility.

TRANSLATION

	The philosophy of the Jainas cannot be accepted because it is impossible that in one substance there be qualities such as real and unreal, etc.

PURPORT

	This aphorism examines Jaina philosophy. The jina known as MahÄv"ra lived about the time of Buddha, but he was preceded by ä§abhadeva and others who lived before the present age of Kali, or prior to 5,000 years ago. The Jaina doctrine begins with the idea of dravya, or substance, which is of two kinds: jiva, or the living substance (soul); and, ajiva, or nonliving substance. There are five kinds of nonliving substance: (1) piety, (2) impiety, (3) bodies, (4) time, and (5) space. By body, the Jainas mean either the single atom, or a combination of any number of atoms. Thus, air, water, fire, earth, the bodies of living beings and the different worlds are compound bodies consisting of singular atomic bodies. The atomic body has color, taste, smell and texture. All atoms are of one kind, and by the modification of their nature, they assume the identity of earth, water, fire and air. Time is an atomic substance, which is why it can cause the distinctions of past, present and future. Thus, the living substance and the five nonliving substances constitute the world. There are seven factors involved in the discussion of liberation: (1) the jiva or living substances, (2) ajiva or the five nonliving substances, (3) Ä1/2rava or the channels through which the living substances flow towards external objects, (4) nirjara or the exhaustion of passions, (5) samvÄra or obscuration, (6) bandha or bondage, and (7) mok§a or liberation. The living substance has already been explained. The five nonliving substances are the objects of enjoyment for the living substance. 1/2rava is the aggregate of senses. SamvÄra  is the obscuration of discernment, desire for dispassion, etc., by their opposites. Nirjara, or exhaustion destroys the source of lust, anger and greed, and consists of austerities, such as plucking out one’s hairs or sitting on hot stones. Bondage is the result of karma. According to Jaina scriptures, liberation occurs when the living being in his essential form ascends to the free space beyond all worlds. This may be as stationary or as perpetual ascension. Liberation is achieved due to the practice of the three jewels: right knowledge, right perception and right discrimination.
	The Jainas establish the existence of their substances by the reasoning called sapta-bha›g"-nyÄya, or syÄd-vÄda, the theory of uncertainty: (1) perhaps a thing is, (2) perhaps it is not, (3) perhaps it is determinable, or perhaps it is indeterminable, (4) perhaps it is and is not, (5) perhaps it is and is indeterminable, (6) perhaps it is not and is indeterminable, (7) perhaps it is and is not and is indeterminable.
	Sapta-bha›g" refers to the seven rules to be refuted: (1) existence, (2) nonexistence, (3) existence-nonexistence, (4) something different from existence-nonexistence, (5) something in existence which is different from it, (6) something in nonexistence that is different from it, (7) something in existence-nonexistence which is different from it. Thus, there are seven possible theories about reality, that it is real, unreal, real-unreal, etc. The system of reasoning called sapta-bha›g"-nyÄya serves to refute all these theories. These theories of reality must be refuted for the following reasons. If a thing exists, then it exists always, everywhere, in every manner and cannot be acquired or abandoned. If one already has a thing, one cannot acquire it, nor can one abandon it, just as no one can acquire space or abandon it because it is existing everywhere eternally. If things only partially exist, then they may possibly exist somehow, at sometime, somewhere for someone. In such a case only, is it possible to attemt to acquire a thing or abandon it. Therefore, all exertion and cessation of exertion is only possible in relation to things which are not real. All objects are either substances, which are real, or modifications of these, which are unreal. A modification is unreal because it is the state of the possibility of the existence of a substance. These modifications exhibit the conditions of permanency and impermanency, origination and destruction, and so forth. Substances are real, but their modifications are unreal. A substance has no origination or destruction, but its modification does.
	If you thought the above philosophical exposition was confusing, you are right. The previous aphorism examined the plausibility of the void as a third category apart from being and nonbeing. It was rejected because it was found to be unnecessary. When a thing exists, it has with other things the relationship of being. But if a thing does not exist, the relationship is of nonbeing. There are no relationships other than these to be found. Hence, to propose a third category is unnecessary; then, the Jaina proposal of seven categories is even less necessary. According to the Jaina theory, substance has as its qualities both being and nonbeing, reality and unreality, difference and nondifference. The Jaina proposition is blocked by the argument presented in this sŸtra , that it is impossible for there to be such contradictory things as being and nonbeing, reality and unreality or existence and nonexistence in one thing. This should not be confused with the Gau¶"ya Vai§ºava doctrine of acintya-bhedÄbheda, inconceivable difference and oneness, which states that diversity is validated by the inconceivable power of God who is also its basis. In this way, diversity has its own distinctiveness, and yet is nonseparate from God, and therefore nondistinct, thus validating their difference and oneness. In the Jaina theory there is no God who is the underlying basis, nor can the six substances have anything in common, as they do not originate from a common primary substance.
	If we accept that substance has both being and nonbeing, existence and nonexistence, etc., then we are faced with all the difficulties discussed in relation to the void as both being and nonbeing. If, in the substances there is being, then nonbeing has been automatically excluded; and, if there is nonbeing, then being must be absent. Therefore, the Jaina proposition is impossible.
	According to the Jainas, the living substance or soul assumes the size of whatever body it occupies and fills it completely. Thus, when the soul occupies the body of an ant, it has one size; and, when it occupies the body of an elephant, it has a larger size. If we accept this theory, then we are admitting the mutability of the soul. Since it undergoes modification, it is impermanent. One cannot attain liberation from impermanence.
	The Jaina concept of liberation consists of eternal ascension of the soul in space or eternal fixation in regionless space. This concept of liberation does not provide a definite distinction between material bondage and release. By making space, which is also a material substance, the base in which liberation occurs, they blurr the difference between material bondage and liberation. Their liberation is merely the attainment of a region of rarer atmosphere between the different planets. Since space is everywhere, the attainment of space is already accomplished even by the bound soul. For all these reasons, the Jaina theories are untenable.

SüTRA 2.2.37

patyur asÄma-jasyÄt

	patyuú-of Pa1/2upati (üiva); asÄma-jasyÄt-because of inappropriateness.

TRANSLATION

	The concept that God is Pa1/2upati (üiva) is unacceptable because of its inappropriateness.

PURPORT

	The worshipers of Pa1/2upati, or üiva, can be broadly divided into four groups: üaiva, PÄ1/2upata, KÄlamukha and KÄpÄlika. The üaiva and PÄ1/2upata groups have various subgroups such as Dualistic üaiva-siddhÄnta, Nondualistic üaiva-siddhÄnta, LÄkul"1/2a-pÄ1/2upata, üivÄdvaita and V"ra-1/2aivism. The divergence of philosophical ideas between these different groups is extremely great; and, in many instances, they may mirror concepts propounded by the various schools of Vai§ºavism. Because of this diversity of opinion among the different üaivite schools, it is impossible to examine all their views in the short space alotted them in this book; although in previous sŸtras , different aspects of those views have already been discussed. All of üaivite schools, however, have one thing in common-the acceptance of üiva as the chief principle-and, that is the topic of this sŸtra . According to this sŸtra , their acceptance of üiva as the supreme principle constitutes their impropriety.
	Vedic literatures conclude that üiva is not the supreme principle, but occupies a subordinate position to the original, Supreme Personality of Godhead, VÄsudeva. For example, in the äg Veda , there is the famous Puru§a-sŸkta, which is a creation hymn. There it states:
puru§a evedaµ sarvaµ
yad bhŸtaµ yac ca bhÄvyam
	„That Person (puru§a ) is this whole world, whatever has been and whatever is yet to be.“ (äg Veda 10.90.2)
	Who is this Person from whom everything has come? In the üatapatha-brÄhmaºa of the äg Veda it states:
	puru§o ha nÄrÄyaºo ÔkÄmayata. atiti§ heyaµ sarvÄºi bhŸtÄny aham evedaµ sarvaµ syÄm iti.
	„The Person NÄrÄyaºa desired, ÔMay I surpass all beings; may I verily be this whole world.“ (üatapatha-brÄhmaºa 13.6.1)
	Thus, when the Upani§ads, which historically follow the üatapatha-brÄhmaºa, declare, „He thought, ÔMay I be many; may I procreate,’“ this recognition of God as the creator of the world refers to NÄrÄyaºa. Since the whole world has originated from Him, everyone is secondary to Him. Thus, we find in the NÄrÄyaºa Upani§ad:
	nÄrÄyaºÄd brahmÄ jÄyate. nÄrÄyaºÄd rudro jÄyate. nÄrÄyaºÄd indro jÄyate. nÄrÄyaºÄt prajÄpatiú prajÄyate.
	„From NÄrÄyaºa BrahmÄ was born. From NÄrÄyaºa Rudra (üiva) was born. From NÄrÄyaºa Indra was born. From NÄrÄyaºa PrajÄpati was born.“ (NÄrÄyaºa Upani§ad 1)
	The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called NÄrÄyaºa because He is the source of all other personalities (naras ). Another name for Lord NÄrÄyaºa is VÄsudeva, as indicated in the Fourth PrapÄ haka of the Taittir"ya-Äraºyaka:
nÄrÄyaºÄya vidmahe
vÄsudevÄya dh"mahi
tan no vi§ºuú pracodayÄt
	„We know NÄrÄyaºa and meditate on Him as VÄsudeva so that Lord Vi§ºu may inspire us in our meditation.“
	VÄsudeva is one of the famous epithets for ür" K¨§ºa. Because üiva along with all the verious demigods was produced from Lord NÄrÄyaºa, he cannot be considered as equally worshipable as Lord NÄrÄyaºa. One may argue that, since all the demigods come from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are ultimately identical with Him and equally worshipable, as indicated in the following text:
	atha nityo nÄrÄyaºaú. brahmÄ nÄrÄyaºaú. 1/2iva1/2 ca nÄrÄyaºaú. 1/2akra1/2 ca nÄrÄyaºaú.
	„Therefore, NÄrÄyaºa is eternal. BrahmÄ is NÄrÄyaºa. üiva is NÄrÄyaºa. Indra is NÄrÄyaºa.“ (NÄrÄyaºa Upani§ad 2)
	If we are to understand that all these demigods are entirely identical with NÄrÄyaºa and, therefore, as worshipable as He; then, what conclusion are we to draw from the rest of that same passage? It states:
nÄrÄyaºa evedaµ sarvaµ
yad bhŸtaµ yac ca bhÄvyam
	„NÄrÄyaºa is this whole world, whatever has been and whatever is yet to be.“ (NÄrÄyaºa Upani§ad 2) 
	Is the whole world, therefore, entirely equal to God and to be worshiped as He? Surely this is not the intention of the passage. It merely points out that since Lord K¨§ºa (NÄrÄyaºa) is the material source of the creation-everything’s being manifested from the transformation of His particular energies-they do not exist independently of Him. Because they have originated from Him, their names and titles, such as Brahma, üiva, etc. are originally applicable to Him, and that is how they are used in the Vedas.
	That all the powerful demigods like BrahmÄ, üiva, Indra and others are all subordinate to someone else is revealed in the following hymn of the äg Veda (10.125.1-8)
ahaµ rudrebhir vasubhi1/2 carÄmy
aham Ädityair uta vi1/2vadevaiú
ahaµ mitrÄ-varuºobhÄ vibharmy
aham indrÄgn" aham a1/2vinobhÄ

ahaµ somam Ähanasaµ vibharmy
ahaµ tvastÄram uta pŸ§aºaµ bhagam
aham dadhÄmi draviºaµ havi§mate
suprÄvye yajamÄnÄya sunvate

ahaµ rÄstr" sagaman" vasŸnÄµ
cikitu§" prathamÄ yaj-iyÄnÄm
tÄµ mÄ devÄ vyadadhuú purutrÄ
bhŸri-sthÄtrÄµ bhŸry-ave1/2ayant"m

mayÄ so annam atti yo vipa1/2yati
yaú prÄºiti ya iµ 1/2rnoty uktam
amantavo mÄm ta upa k§iyanti
1/2rudhi 1/2ruta 1/2raddhivaµ te vadÄmi

ahaµ rudrÄya dhanur Ä tanomi
brahma-dvi§e 1/2arave hantavÄ u
ahaµ janÄya samadaµ k¨ºomy
ahaµ dyÄvÄ-p¨thiv" Ä vive1/2a

ahaµ suve pitaram asya mŸrdhan
mama yonir apsv antaú samudre
tato vi ti§ he bhuvanÄnu vi1/2vÄ
utÄmuµ dyÄm var§manopa sp¨1/2Ämi

aham eva vÄta iva pra vÄmy
ÄrambhamÄnÄ bhuvanÄni vi1/2vÄ
paro divÄ para enÄ p¨thivyÄ
etÄvat" mahinÄ saµ babhŸva
	„I travel with the Rudras, with the Vasus, with the dityas and with all the demigods. I support both Mitra and Varuºa, Indra and Agni and the two A1/2vins.
	„I support the pressed soma, as well as Tvast¨, PŸ§Ä and Bhaga. I bestow wealth upon the sacrificer who offers oblations in the fire.
	„I am the ruler, the gather of treasures, pensative and the first of those to be worshiped. The demigods have established Me widely with many places and abodes.
	„Through Me one eats food, sees, breathes and hears what is spoken. They do not know this even though they dwell beside Me. Listen, you who can hear, I speak to you what is worth believing.
	„I Myself speak this word which is approved by both the demigods and men. Whomsoever I will, I make mighty; I make him a brÄhmaºa, a ¨§i, a sage.
	„I bend the bow for üiva, that his arrow may slay the hater of godliness. I set up the battle for people. I pervade heaven and earth.
	„I give birth to the patriarch (BrahmÄ) at the head of the world. My source is in the waters within the sea (Vi§ºu). From there I spread through all worlds and touch the heavens with My body.
	„I breathe forth like the wind, while producing all the worlds (Vi§ºu). Beyond heaven and beyond this earth, I have become this much by My greatness.“ ( See Puru§a-sŸkta )
	It is evident from this hymn that there is someone greater than the demigods. His description fits that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vi§ºu. The introduction to this hymn states that the Deity herein described is ParamÄtmÄ, or the Supersoul. Since BrahmÄ, üiva, Indra, and the other demigods were mentioned as being supported by the Supersoul, obviously they are not He. In the Agni PurÄºa it is stated:
taj-jyotir bhagavÄn vi§ºur
jagaj-janmÄdi-kÄraºam

1/2ivaµ kecit pa hanti sma
1/2akti-rŸpaµ vadanti ca
kecit sŸryaµ kecid agniµ
daivatÄny agni-hotriºaú
agny-Ädi-rŸp" vi§ºur hi
vedÄdau brahma g"yate
	„The dazzling light of the brahmajyoti is the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu, who is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world. Some people interpret üiva to be so, while others say that it is DurgÄ. Dome say that it is SŸrya, others that it is Agni, while still others propose all the demigods that are worshiped with fire sacrifices. Vi§ºu, however, is actually the very essence of Agni and the others and therefore He is praised in the Vedic literature as the Supreme Brahman. One should remember that supreme position of the Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu, who is the God of the sun-god.“ (Agni PurÄºa (216.8-10)
	Therefore, to worship BrahmÄ, üiva, Indra or any other demigod as the Supreme cannot give one the same result as directly worshiping the Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu or K¨§ºa. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ (7.22):
ye Ôpy anya-devatÄ-bhaktÄ
yajante 1/2raddhayÄnvitÄú
te Ôpi mÄm eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pŸrvakam
	„Those who are devoted to particular demigods, worshiping them with faith, are also worshiping Me, O son of Kunti, but in an incorrect manner.“
	According to the standard Vai§ºava literature, üiva’s position is quite different from the position of the other demigods:
k§iraµ yathÄ dadhi vikÄra-vi1/2e§a-yogÄt
sa-jÄyate na hi tataú p¨thag asti hetoú
yah 1/2ambhutÄm api tathÄ samupaiti kÄryÄt
govindam Ädi-puru§aµ tam ahaµ bhajÄmi
	„Just as milk becomes transformed into yogurt by the action of specific acids so that the yogurt is not different from its cause, even so Lord Govinda (K¨§ºa) accepts the condition of being üambhu (üiva) for activities in contact with matter. I worship that original Personality of Godhead.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.45)
	As yogurt is a transformation of milk, but is different from milk, so üiva is a transformation of K¨§ºa and is, therefore, not wholly K¨§ºa. As the application of certain acids in milk produces the effect of yogurt, K¨§ºa assumes the form of üiva when He comes in contact with matter. The Supreme Personality of Godhead can never be touched by matter. Therefore, at certain times in the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the world, when some kind of direct contact is required, the Lord assumes the identity of üiva. For this reason, üiva is not prophylactic and unimpugnable like the Supreme Lord ür" K¨§ºa. Yet neither is he an ordinary living entity; he is in an intermediate position. Because of his involvement with the material energy, he is not to be worshiped as the all-perfect Lord.
	As üiva performs his material duties in accordance with the will of Govinda, he is considered the greatest of Vai§ºavas, as confirmed in the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam: vai§ºavÄnÄµ yathÄ 1/2ambhuú. Because of his exalted position, he is never to be blasphemed. A Vai§ºava should be respectful even to an ant, what to speak of the great demigods like üiva. It is one thing to be respectful to all living beings, but it is something entirely different to worship one such being as the Supreme Lord. To worship someone other than God as God amounts to atheism because one denies God of His supreme position. This includes polytheists who recognize no supreme God. The impersonalists and monists are also atheists because they say that we are God covered by illusion, thus making Him a deluded being. All these different forms of atheism are popular today, both in the West and the East.

SüTRA 2.2.42

utpatty-asambhavÄt

	utpatti-origin of creation; asambhavÄt-because of being impossible.

TRANSLATION

	üakti is not the source of the world because it is impossible for her to create on her own.

PURPORT

	Although somewhat related to the üaiva religious systems, the üakta school is distinct because it designates the supreme principle as üakti, the Goddess. She is energy (1/2akti ), and since there can be no activity without energy, she is the ultimate source and cause of the world. The male principle of puru§a, being inactive, has only a secondary role in creation. The Divine Mother is the womb from which all things are born.
	This theory of the üÄkta school is not supported by the Vedas, Upani§ads, or the VedÄnta-sŸtra, as previous sŸtras have already discussed the untenability of matter’s causing the creation on its own. Although a female becomes and experiences labor pains before giving birth, she must first be impregnated with the semen from a male. Similarly, it is impossible for the material nature to give birth to the creation unless she is impregnated or activated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the conclusion of this sŸtra.

SüTRA 2.3.12

tad-abhidhyÄnÄd eva tu tal-li›gÄt saú

	tat-His; abhidhyÄnÄt-because of contemplation; eva-certainly; tu-but; tat-His; li›gÄt-because of an indicatory sign; saú-He.

TRANSLATION

	The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of the world because of the indication that it was accomplished by His mere contemplation.

PURPORT

	SŸtras 2.3.1-11 discuss whether the world might have naturally evolved from some material element, such as ether, air, fire or water. The conclusion was that these, being themselves effects, cannot be the original source. This aphorism establishes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only source of the world because by His will, the world manifested. That Supreme Lord ia all-powerful because He has infinite powers, or energies. Therefore, He does not require another entity, such as the material nature, to help Him create. A muscle man requires no assistance to lift a fifty pound weight; he has the energy to lift it on his arm. Similarly, the Lord requires no help to create the world because His inherent energies are more than sufficient for that. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not require the cooperation of the material nature. The material nature is His energy. She must do whatever He wills, just as when I will my limbs to move, the energy to do so automatically acts.
	sad eva somyedam agra Äs"d ekam evÄdvit"yam. sa aik§ata. bahu syÄm prajÄyeya.
	„In the beginning there was only being, my dear, one only without a second. He though, ÔMay I be may, may I procreate.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.2.1)
	Everything occurs by the Lord’s mere thought or willing.

SüTRA 2.3.13

viparyayena tu kramota upapadyate ca

	viparyayena-by the reverse; tu-but; kramaú-order; ataú-therefore; upapadyate-is possible; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	It is logical that the material elements should be created in one order. But if God is omnipotent, it is, therefore, possible for Him to create them in the opposite order also.

PURPORT

	In the Muº¶aka Upani§ad we find the following order for the creation of the elements:
etasmÄd jÄyate prÄºo
manaú sarvendriyÄºi ca
khaµ vÄyur jyotir Äpaú
p¨thiv" vi1/2vasya dhÄriºi
	„From Him are produced the life air, the mind, and all the senses, as well as ether, air, fire, water and earth, which is the support of all these.“ (2.1.3)
	In another verse the same Upani§ad states:
tasmÄd agniú samidho yasya sŸryaú
somÄt parjanya au§adhayaú p¨thivyÄm
pumÄn retaú si-cati yo§itÄyÄµ
bahviú prajÄú puru§Ät samprasŸtÄú
	„From Him comes fire, whose fuel is the sun, rain comes from the moon and vegetation from the soil. The Personality of Godhead impregnates the material nature. In that way, many living creatures are engendered from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.“ (2.1.5)
	Because God is the Supreme, He does not have to follow any order, for by His mere will, He determines order and law. The differences in order between different lists of elements created by the Lord does not mean that each list is intended to be the actual order of creation, but that many may just be random listings with no intention of establishing any particular order. The Supreme Lord indwelling in the elements causes them to evolve from the simpler to the more complex forms. Hence, He is the actual force working through matter.

SüTRA 2.3.15

carÄcara-vyapÄ1/2rayas tu syÄt tad vyapade1/2o ÔbhÄktas tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitvÄt

	cara-acara-moveable and immoveable; vyapa-Ä1/2rayaú-abiding within; tu-but; syat-perhaps; tat-that; vypade1/2at-designation; abhaktaú-not secondary; tat-bhÄva-the occurence of that [primary designation]; bhÄvitvÄt-because of happening in the future.

TRANSLATION

	One may say that words do not directly designate God, but He does abide in all things, whether moving or nonmoving, and so that primary designation of Him may become manifested in the future.

PURPORT

	From the previous text (sŸtra 2.3.13) one may argue that if God were actually the moving force within matter and is in all things, the words that designate them must, therefore, be names for Him. Since we do not see that this is so, for the word water always conveys the idea of water, and the word stone that of stone, we must admit that they can only indirectly connotate the Lord, and that only because they are His creations, or effects. We do not call the pot „clay“, nor the tree „seed“. Similarly, we cannot designate the Lord by calling Him „earth“, „fire“, etc.
	The Lord is the central pivot around which all things are related. Without Him, they could have neither existence nor namewsw to designate them. That a word may not directly designate the Lord does not mean that it may nod do so in the future. When one becomes fully absorbed in God consciousness, one only incidently notices the things, but primarily observes the Lord who is dwelling within them. In the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-g"tÄ, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord K¨§ºa, in order to impress upon Arjuna His infinite majesty and power, describes Himself as the sea, mountains, fire, air, ether, trees, plants, formidable beasts, notable persons and the lumiaries. Then He says:
athavÄ bahunaitena
kiµ j-Ätena tavÄrjuna
vi§ abhyÄham idaµ k¨tsnam
ekÄµ1/2ena sthito jagat
	„What need is there for you, Arjuna, to know all these many details? By just one portion of Myself, I pervade this whole world and am present in it.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 10.42)
	The Lord’s presence as the Soul of existence in things cause them to have substance, identities, and names. The immenent Lord is designated by the names of His many containers.

SüTRA 2.3.16

nÄtmÄ 1/2ruter nityatvÄc ca tÄbhyÄú

	na-not; ÄtmÄÐthe soul; 1/2ruteú-because of the scriptural statement; nityatvÄt-because of the eternity [of the soul]; ca-and; tÄbhyÄú-from both [statements].

TRANSLATION

	One may say that if God is the source of everything, since the souls also come from God, they cannot be eternal for they have a birth. In reply, we say that from scripture, we learn that the soul has no birth, and his eternity is established by this and by the scriptural statement that he is eternal.

PURPORT

	The VedÄnta-sŸtra recognizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the source of everything, both material and spiritual. The temporality of material things is established by their clearly perceptible beginnings, intermediate transformations and final ends. In the case of the soul, we do not have such perceptions, but if we accept that he has originated from God, then we must accept that he also must be undergoing certain transformations that will eventually result in his destruction.
	The scriptures state that the soul has no birth, as in the following, na jÄyate m¨yate vÄ vipa1/2cit: „The intelligent soul is neither born nor dies.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.18) The scriptures also say that the soul is eternal, ajo nityaú 1/2Ä1/2vato Ôyam: „The soul is unborn, eternal, and everlasting.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.18) On the basis of these two statements, the eternality of the soul must be accepted.
	One may still object that this does not coincide with the scriptural statements that God is the origin of even the souls. When we establish Him as the origin, the supposedly eternal souls are found to have an origin and are rendered noneternal. If we persist in making God the origin of the souls, then we should give up the obsession of their eternality. The problem cannot be solved unless we take a side.
	The relation of souls and matter to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is their source is intricate and subtle and should not be likened to the spouting of water from a fountain or the breaking off of chips from a brick. Because matter and souls are different energies of God, it is more appropriate to compare them to the interrelationship of the sun and its effulgence. We may designate the outer penumbra as the external potency or material energy, the glowing effulgence as the marginal energy constituting the living entities and the inner ball of light as the internal, or superior potency of God. At its highest possible intensity, energy comprises the superior spiritual potency as manifested in the transcendental realm. At its medium intensity, it manifests as the conscious but limited and, therefore, error-prone living entities. At its lowest intensity, it manifests as insentient inert matter. The sun always possesses its light in all its intensities. Similarly, the Lord always possesses His three energies. Sometimes the external energy, or matter may be displayed in an elaborate way as the cosmic manifestation, but at times it may be retracted within the Lord in an umanifested state, as a spider retracts its web. Due to this emission and retraction of matter, the forms and identities of material things are temporary. The energy itself never ceases to exist because it always remains with the Lord in possibility as one of His potencies. Thus, after the annihilation of the world, matter has only a subtle existence as a latent potency within God.
	The marginal energy constituting the living entities is a different situation. Because of its greater intensity and close proximity to the sun globe itself, the immediate effulgence bears more resemblance to the sun than does the more rarified penumbra. Similarly, the marginal energy which comprises the living entities partakes more closely of God’s own qualities. As God is the supreme conscious being, the marginal energy is the conglomerate of innumerable finite quanta of individual consciousness. Because the are quanta, they are not just pure consciousness but have a permanent, finite individuality which distinguishes them from both God and each other. As the immediate effulgence of the sun bears the greatest similarity to the sun globe but lacks the fullness of its identity as a globe and completeness of power, the marginal individual entities resemble the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that they are conscious and have will power; but, because they are only marginal, they are finite in size and potency and, therefore, not equal or identical with Him.
	Who can say at which moment the effulgence of the sun is emanating from the sun? We never see that the sun is devoid of its effulgence, and then suddenly effectuates it at some moment. The sunlight is existing simultaneously with the sun, and yet, we are certain that the sunlight originates from the sun. Actually, the sunlight is constantly emanated and, therefore, supported by the sun. Each energy of the Lord has its particular place within the Lord, and they do not become confused because He is always the controller. The material and the marginal energies of the Lord have two distinct natures. When the material energy manifests, it establishes its distinction by its restriction  within its own self-limitation of time and space. The marginal energy is always distinct from the material energy, therefore, its manifestation by the Lord has nothing to do with the manifestation of matter and its limits of time and space. Since the marginal energy is a manifestation occurring outside the confines of time and space. If the finite spirit souls originate from God, the nature of their origination cannot be compared to the origination of material things tainted by time and space. Since the individual souls have their particular origination outside time and space, by material standards, they are eternal; but, in relation to the Lord, they are originated.

SüTRA 2.3.17

j-o Ôta eva

	j-aú-a knower; ataú eva-therefore.

TRANSLATION

	Because the soul is eternal, he is, therefore, a knower.

PURPORT

	In the previous sŸtra, the eternality of the soul was established. The different energies of the Lord all exist at least as eternal potentialities in Him, even though all may not be manifest. Potentiality for variegatedness is the inherent characteristic of the material energy, even though the particular identities as forms are subject to transformation and destruction. Thus, all material things have a pure, irreducibale material energy as their ultimate substrate. By nature, the marginal energy is variegated in the sense that it is composite, consisting of quantumized consciousness or individuated sentient entities. These are not produced from a field of pure consciousness, or cosmic consciousness as the impersonalist philosophers imagine. The quantumization of the marginal energy, or conscious energy into individualities is not by the artifice of illusion or ignorance as the impersonalists claim. It is by the design and will of the Supreme Lord who is the controller of all energies. The composite character of the marginal energy is, therefore, natural and unalterable. It is eternally composite. It consists of innumerable sentient individual souls. The sentient and individualized character of the spirit soul is established in the revealed scriptures:
	e§a hi dra§ Ä spra§ Ä 1/2rotÄ ghrÄtÄ rasayitÄ mantÄ boddhÄ kartÄ vij-ÄnÄtmÄ puru§aú. sa pare Ôk§are Ätmani samprati§ hate.
	„He is, indeed, a seer, toucher, hearer, smeller, taster, thinker, conceiver, doer, a sentient soul, and a person. He takes shelter in the sumpreme imperishable Soul.“ (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 4.9)
	According to the impersonalist school of üa›kara, there are no individual souls, only pure consciousness. They explain this by resorting to mÄyÄvÄda, or the theory of illusion. This states that individual knowing selves are illusory and the only reality is pure consciousness. Because a self is prone to have inaccurate perceptions, the conclusions drawn on those perceptions are also invalid. Since his perceptions may be valid or invalid, there is no way of verifying what is a valid object of perception. Since all objects are reduced to uncertainty, they are all liable to be illusory. In this way, the self also invalidates his position as a knower because, although sometimes he may seem to know a valid thing, he cannot verify beyond all doubt that it may not be another illusory perception. Knowledge corresponds to a knower, but illusion only corresponds to ignorance. Since the nature of the self is to have illusions, he must be a product of ignorance. Awarerness is common to both valid perception (knowledge) or illusion. Since awareness persists in both cases, awareness or pure consciousness is the ultimate reality. An individual knowing self is formed when a part of pure consciousness is covered by ignorance. Pure consciousness is like the sky, and ignorance is like a cloud. The part of pure consciousness that becomes covered by ignorance results in the individual selves. When one fully realizes the illusoriness of individuality, the covering of ignorance is removed and one reverts to the state of pure consciousness. There is no knower nor anything to be an object of knowledge, only consciousness itself.
	This theory of illusion has many defects and is, therefore, untenable. It has no basis in the authoritative Vedic literatures; rather, it seems to have more in common with the vij-Äna-vÄda of the YogÄcÄra school of Buddhism. The vedic version recognizes the individual soul as a seer, toucher, hearer, smeller, taster, thinker, conceiver, doer, a sentient soul, and a person whose ultimate resort and support is the Supreme Soul. God is also designated as an ÄtmÄ, but He is the paramÄtmÄ, or Supreme Soul. As the individual soul abides in the body, the Lord abides in the world as paramÄtmÄ, or Supreme Soul of existence. The difference between the Lord as the Soul and the individual as the soul is that the individual soul is bound by the body and suffers the consequential defects. The Lord, however, is not bound by the world when He enters it. Being infinite, He is greater than the world and transcends it in every way. He is the basis and support of the material energy and the marginal energy consisting of individual souls. Hence, neither matter nor the souls are illusions, but have factual existence. Each soul is distinct from all other souls and from God by the fact that it is a seer or perceiver. In the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-g"tÄ, the soul is described as k§etra-j-a, or the knower of a field. Each soul is the knower of a particular field of experience. These fields of experience do not overlap. I cannot directly feel the same experience you do, even when we have the same object of perception. Each of our experiences is unique to us and cannot be known to anyone else, except through inference based on external evidence, such as facial expression, etc.
	If, as the mÄyÄvÄd"s claim, there is only pure consciousness, where does the ignorance that covers a part of it come from. If pure consciousness is to be accepted as the Absolute, it must be indivisible. If it is fracturable, it cannot be the ultimate reality. MÄyÄvÄd"s compare it to the sun being seemingly covered by a cloud; we only think the sun is covered, though actually it is not. This is not a very good illustration because it implies that because we are separated from the sun by the covering of a cloud, we see ourselves as different from the sun, when, actually, we are the sun. The cloud separating us dissipates when we realize this. If the covering of ignorance over a part of pure consciousness is what gives rise to individual selves, then the example of the sun would have to be presented in this way. When a cloud crosses the sky and seeminly covers the sun, the side of the sun covered by the cloud will suddenly generate tiny photons of light who will think, „We are tiny photons of light.“ When they realize they are not tiny photons of light, the cloud will dissipate, and they will become identical with the sun. Since the photons do not independently exist when a cloud is in the sky but are inherent in the sun, and since photons cannot think that they are either separate from or identical with the sun, this example of a cloud only illustrates the irrationality of its propounder.
	If ignorance can overwhelm a part of pure consciousness, then pure consciousness cannot be absolute. If pure consciousness is indivisible and partless, which part of it gets covered by ignorance? If there is only pure consciousness, where does the ignorance that covers pure consciousness come from, except from pure consciousness itself? Since pure consciousness is the origin of its own ignorance and illusion, it is impure. The concept that pure consciousness gets covered by ignorance is pure nonsense.
	In the epistemology of Gau¶"ya Vai§ºavism, the knowerhood of the soul is explained by the concept of sÄk§". The soul is described as a sÄk§", or witness of reality. The principle of sÄk§" is not a separate insturment or organ of the soul, like the senses or mind. It is the function of the soul as a perceiver. The condition of being a sÄk§i is the intrinsic characteristic of the soul to perceive, or know. Thus, the observorship (sÄk§"tva ) of the soul is the natural exhibition as well as verification of his own knowerhood.
	The three norms for verifying a fact are 1/2abda, or verbal testimony, anumÄna, or inference, and pratyak§a, or perception. Since these are all understood according to the mind, which is also prone to error, all conclusions are susceptible to doubt and misunderstanding. When one evidence fails to establish a truth, we require another evidence, but if this is also doubtful, we require another. Since the mind is by nature imperfect, where do we set the limit on the number of proofs required to verify a truth? There is certainty of truth. There are certain things of which we are so sure that nothing can change our opinion, such as in the matter of pleasures or pains. Nothing can convince me that I am not here because my own perception of the statement that I am not here is the proof that I am here. This element of perception is incontrovertible by anything else. SÄk§", or the perceptiveness of the soul, in the ultimate issue, determines whether or not something is factual. One could challenge this position by saying that if the soul possesses such a faculty as a sÄk§", then why can’t he always have valid cognition instead of the actual frequent misapprehensions? The discussion of epistemology applies to souls embodied in this world. In the spiritual world, everything is factual. Although the sÄk§", or uninihibited perceptiveness of the soul is unalienable, it can be contracted, as when the awareness of a sleeping person is retracted, and it can be withheld, as in cases of psychological disorder or shock. Actually, the embodied soul is in a state of shock about his true identity and, therefore, his pure perceptive faculty is not fully functioning. For this reason, the embodied soul has innumerable misapprehensions and invalid perceptions. That he does have correct apprehensions sometimes shows that the perceptive faculty is only partly functioning. This malfunction of the sÄk§" is not due to any deficiency in itself but is caused by the soul. The sÄk§i will automatically resume its normal function when the soul returns to his normal healthy state of consciousness. How this can be done is the subject matter of Chapter Three entitled Means of Realizing God.

SüTRA 2.3.18

utkrÄnti-gaty-ÄgatinÄm

	utkrÄnti-passing out [of the body]; gati-moving about; ÄgatinÄm-of the return.

TRANSLATION

	The soul must be atomic in size because of his passing out of the body, travelling about and entering into another body.

PURPORT

	The previous text established the soul as a knower. Being a knower implies that he must be situated in one place from which he observes. He must have a particular size. One may say that the soul should, therefore, not be considered a knower, but only pure consciousness because otherwise, the soul, which is just spirit, cannot be considered all-pervasive. But the soul is a knower. He is not all-pervasive but has a definite size because of scriptural references. There are numerous passages that describe the departure of the soul from the body, his attainment of different regions, and entering new bodies. For example:
	tasya haitasya h¨dayasyÄgraµ pradyotate tena pradyotenai§a ÄtmÄ ni§krÄmati cak§u§Ä vÄ murdhno nÄnyebho vÄ 1/2ar"ra-de1/2ebhyaú.
	„The point of his heart becomes illuminated. By that light the soul departs, either through the eye, from the top of the head, or from any other part of the body.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.2)
anandÄ nÄma te lokÄ
andhena tamasÄv¨tÄú
tÄµs te pretyÄbhigacchanty
avidvÄµso Ôbudho janÄú
	„Those worlds covered with the darkness of ignorance are called joyless. After dying, those who are ignorant and unintelligent go to them.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.9)
tad eva saktaú saha-karmaºaiti
li›gaµ mano yatra nisaktam asya
prÄpyÄntaµ karmaºas tasya
yat ki-ceha karoty ayam
tasmÄl lokÄt punar ety
asmai lokÄya karmaºaú
	„Wherever the subtle mind is attached to one verily goes to along with one’s karma. After the karma of what one does in this world reaches its end, one comes again from that world to this world of action.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.6)
	The above quoted verses from the Upani§ads show how the soul passes out of the body, travels and enters another body. In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam, it is similarly stated that the soul is not all-pervading but is atomic:
aparimitÄ dhruvÄs tanu-bh¨to yadi sarva-gatÄs
tarhi na 1/2Äsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathÄ
ajani ca yan-mayam tad avimucya niyant¨ bhavet
samam anujÄnatÄm yad amataµ mata-du§ ayÄ
	„If the innumerable eternal souls who are presently embodied are accepted as all-pervading there would be no question of the relationship of the controller and the controlled, the ruler and the ruled. If they do not give up their spiritual nature as born from the Lord (in other words, as finite living beings who are parts and parcels of God), then it is possible that some could be rulers and others controlled. To think that the living entities are equal to God is an inconclusive idea arrived at by faulty reasoning.“ (10.87.30)
	In the material world, some living entities are dominated and controlled by other living entities. If the soul were infinite and all-pervading like God, no loving creature could ever be controlled by another. That they are all capable of being dominated is proof that they are finite and, ultimately, subject to God’s supreme control.
	One argument given as to why the soul cannot have an atomic size is that consciousness is found to pervade the whole body. If the soul were limited to one place in the body, he could not directly experience the pains and pleasures occurring in other parts. Whether we receive a loving caress on our cheek or a heavy stone dropped on our toe, we are equally perceptive. Therefore, the soul must be all-pervading. But the pervasive awareness of the soul throughout the body may be illustrated by the example of a lamp which, when placed in a room, illumines the entire room by expanding its light. Similarly, the scriptures describe the soul as svaprakÄ§a, or self-luminous because he illumines or reveals objects by the expansion of his consciousness, while he himself is seated in one place in the heart.

SüTRA 2.3.20-21

nÄºur atac chruter iti cen netarÄdhikÄrÄt
sva-1/2abdonmÄnÄbhyÄµ ca

	na-not; aºuú-atomic; atat-not that [namely, nonatomic]; 1/2ruteú-because of the scriptural statement; iti-thus; cet-if; na-not; itara-the other [the Supersoul]; adhikÄrÄt-because of the topic; sva-1/2abda-the word itself; unmÄnÄbhyÄm-because of the measurement; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	If one says that the soul is not atomic because there is a scriptural text to that effect, we reply that it is not so because in that text the topic is not the individual soul but the Supreme Soul.
	Furthermore, the very word atomic is applied to him and he is given that measure also.

PURPORT

	It may be argued that the individual soul is identical with the all-pervading Supersoul because there is one passage in the Upani§ads which describes him so:
yasyÄnuvittaú pratibuddhaú ÄtmÄ
asmin sandehye gahane pravi§ aú
sa vi1/2va-k¨tsa hi sarvasya kartÄ
tasya lokaú sa u loka eva
	„The Soul entered within the depths of one’s body and who is found to be fully conscious, He is the creator of the universe, He is the maker of everything, His is the world. Indeed, He is the world itself.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.13)
	That this refers to the individual soul within the body is apparent from the question which starts off this section of the Upani§ad in which Janaka asks YÄj-avalkya, „This person who is full of knowledge among the senses and is the light within the heart, he, remaining the same, wanders along both worlds, seeming to think, seeming to waver. Having fallen asleep, he certainly transcends this world and the forms of death.“ Janaka obviously asks about the soul of the individual person, and as the discussion continues, it is revealed that the soul is the creator of the universe, the maker of everything and the world itself, as stated in the passage quoted at the beginning of this purport. Since the soul within the body is the creator of the universe and the world itself, he must also be all-pervading. Therefore, the scriptures do not teach that the soul is atomic.
	Although the discussion begins with a question about the individual soul, the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (4.4.1-6) begins with a description of what happens to the embodied soul at death, then section 4.4.7-9 discusses how the soul destined for liberation attains it. In texts 4.4.10-11, it relates what happens to those who culture knowledge but do not properly realize the Supreme. Such persons who misuse their knowledge enter into the darkest regions of hell:
„Into blind darkness enter they
That worship ignorance;
Into seemingly greater darkness go
They who delight in knowledge.“ (4.4.10)
	„Those worlds covered with the darkness of ignorance are called joyless. After dying, those who are ignorant and unintelligent go to them.“ (4.4.10)
	Then it states just what the erroneous knowledge is:
	„If a person knew the Supersoul thinking ÔI am He,’ then desiring what and for whose desire would the body continue to burn?“ (4.4.12)
	The great misuse of knowledge is to think that the tiny individual soul is identical with the finite all-pervasive Supersoul. After stating this fact, it continues the topic of the Supersoul to show His distinctive superiority to the finite soul:
	„The Soul entered within the depths of one’s body and who is found to be fully conscious, He is the creator of the universe, He is the maker of everything, His is the world. Indeed, He is the world itself.“ (4.4.13)
	Then the next two verses warn:
	„While being right here, we know this. If this is not known, great is the destruction. Those who know this become immortal, whereas others go only to grief.“ (4.4.14)
	„When one rightly sees this Soul as God, the Lord of what has been and what is yet to be, one does not shy away from Him.“ (4.4.15)
	From the context, it is evident that the text declaring the Soul to be great and all-pervasive, is actually a description of the Supersoul and not the finite soul.
	An even stronger argument for the finite size of the soul is that the word atomic is used to describe his size:
e§o Ôºur-ÄtmÄ cetasÄ veditavyaú
	„By the presence of consciousness one understands the existence of the atomic soul.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.9)
bÄlÄgra-1/2ata-bhÄgasya
1/2atadhÄ kalpitasya ca
bhÄgo j"vaú sa vij-eyaú
sa cÄnantyÄya kalpate
	„If the tip of a hair were divided into one hundred parts and then one of those parts were divided into another one hundred parts, one of such parts would be comparable to the living entity, and he is meant for eternity.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 5.9)

SüTRA 2.3.27

tad-guºa-sÄratvÄt tad-vyapade1/2aú prÄj-avat

	tat-that; guna-quality; sÄratvÄt-because of being essential; tat-that; vyapade1/2aú-designation; prÄj-avat-like the name PrÄj-a [Intelligence].

TRANSLATION

	The soul can be designated as knowledge because that is his essential quality, just as God is designated by the term Intelligence.

PURPORT

	If the soul is a knower, then why are there many instances in scripture where he is designated by the terms knowledge and consciousness? For example: „Certainly other than and within he who consists of mind is the soul that consists of knowlidge. By that this is filled. It is this that has the form of a person.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.4) From this passage, it is clear that the soul is nothing more than knowledge or consciousness.
	The soul is not just knowledge but a knower because of the arguments presented in previous sŸtras. That he is also sometimes designated as knowledge is not a contradiction because since he is a knower, knowledge and awareness are his essential attributes. To name him by his principal attribute is not worng, for all names portray the qualities of the thing they designate in order to distinguish it. Thus, the soul is designated as knowledge or consciousness to distinguish him from matter which is insentient and the object of knowledge. This is so even in the case of the Lord. In the scriptures, He is designated as PrÄj-a or Intelligence because, as previous sŸtras have shown, He is the intelligence behind the cosmic manifestation.

SüTRA 2.3.31-32

kartÄ 1/2ÄstrÄrthavattvÄt
vihÄropade1/2Ät

	kartÄ-a doer or agent; 1/2Ästra-scripture; arthavattvÄt-because of having a purpose or goal; vihÄra-diversion or enjoyment; upade1/2Ät-because of the teaching.

TRANSLATION

	The soul is also a doer because the scriptures indicate that he has goals to accomplish.
	He is a doer because of the teaching that he has diversions.

PURPORT

	Accepting that the soul has a specific size and is a knower, one may say that he is seated in the body as an observer and does nothing. The activity of the body is the natural result of the working of the three modes of material nature. This is apparent from the following verses of the Bhagavad-g"tÄ:
prak¨teú kriyanÄºÄni
guºaiú karmÄºi sarva1/2aú
aha›kÄra-vimŸ¶hÄtmÄ
kartÄham iti manyate
	„All activities are carried out by the three modes of material nature, but the soul deluded by false ego thinks himself the doer.“ (Bhagavad-g"ta 3.27)
kÄrya-kÄraºa-kÄrt¨tve
hetuú prak¨tir ucyate
puru§aú sukha-duúkhÄnÄµ
bhokt¨tve hetur ucyate
	„Nature is said to be the cause of material causes and effects, whereas the living being is the cause in the experience of happiness and distress.“ (Bhagavad-g"ta 13.21)
	From the above verses, it is clear that the living entity does nothing; everything is done by the material nature. The soul is just an observer, the enjoyer of happiness and distress.
	This view is rejected in this aphorism because the scriptures repeatedly emphasize that the soul is a doer or agent by enjoining him to strive for different goals: „Perform sacrifice for the fulfillment of desires; follow religiosity; do penance; speak truth; give in charity; etc.“ If he is not a doer, then he cannot do any of these, and scripture has shown itself foolish. If the soul is not the agent in the bodily activities, then he cannot be held responsible for the actions of that body. In such a case, there is no reason why he should be in the material world, for there is no cause for his bondage. The scriptures furthermore state that the soul is a doer by their teachings about his having diversions even in the state of liberation. Thus, it is stated in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.12.2):
	„Clouds, lightning, thunder-these are bodiless. So, as these rise up from yonder space and, on reaching the supreme light, become apparent by their own corresponding forms, even so, this blessed one, on rising up out of the body and reaching the supreme light, becomes apparent by his own form. He is the best person. There one goes about laughing, playing and enjoying with women, vehicles, or with relatives, not remembering this originated body. As an animal is yoked onto a cart, so is life yoked onto this body.“
	Thus, even in liberation the soul enjoys himself by different kinds of transcendental activity. If the soul is transcendentally active in liberation, then surely he is the actual doer or agent of his material activities. It is senseless to try to become inactive as many impersonalists and meditators think. One has to act, but in such a way so as to get out of the material world and enter into the real and eternal activities of the spiritual world.

SüTRA 2.3.41

	aµ1/2o nÄnÄ vyapade1/2Äd anyathÄ cÄpi dÄsa-kitavÄditvam adh"yata eke

	aµ1/2a-part; nÄnÄ-many; vyapade1/2Ät-because of the scriptural declaration; anyathÄ-otherwise; ca-and; api-also; dÄsa-slave; kitava-Äditvam-the condition of being a gambler and so forth; adh"yate-it is stated; eke-some [texts].

TRANSLATION

	The soul is a part and parcel of God because of the many ways scripture indicates it, otherwise also because some texts state that the soul is nondifferent from God, as in the example of slaves and fishermen.

PURPORT

	The soul must be understood to be an inseparable and yet distinct part and parcel of God. This is surmised from the scriptural statements describing such a relationship between them:
avaú pareºa pitaraµ yo
asyÄnuveda para enÄvareºa
	„He knows his father as an inferior with a superior and as a superior with an inferior.“ (äg Veda 1.164.18)
dvÄ suparºÄ sayujÄ sakhÄyÄ
	„Two birds, fast bound friendsÉ“ (äg Veda 1.164.20)
yo naú pitÄ janitÄ yo vidhÄtÄ
	„He who is our father, progeniotor and creatorÉ“ (äg Veda 10.82.3)
gatir bhartÄ prabhuú sÄk§"
nivÄsaú 1/2araºaµ suh¨t
prabhavaú pratayaµ sthÄnaµ
nidhÄnaµ b"jam avyayam
	„I am the goal, the supporter, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the friend. I am the source, the destruction, the basis, the resting place and the imperishable seed.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.18)
	The above texts speak of the Lord and the subjects, the Master and the servants, the Father and the offspring, the Lover and the beloved, the Support and the supported, the Cause and the effects. On the other hand, in some texts it declares the identicalness of the living entities with God, such as in the Brahma-sŸkta of the Atharva Veda:
brahma dÄsÄ brahma dÄ1/2Ä brahmaiveme kitavÄú
	„God is these slaves, God is these gamblers, God is these fishermen.“
	Because some texts differentiate between God and the souls as the Lord and His servants; whereas, others teach their identicalness, the only conclusion to be drawn is that the scriptures wish to teach the simultaneous difference and oneness of the souls with God as His parts and parcels. In this way, if the scriptures say the soul is different from God there is no contradiction, and if they say he is nondifferent from God, there is no contradiction. The final conclusion of all the Vedic literatures is that God has infinite transcendental variegatedness. It is beyond the capability of the attribute to understand why it is an attribute and why its possessor should have any attribute. Therefore, we must admit the inconceivability of the Lord’s possession of attributes. Why He has them is known only to Him. For this reason, the doctrine of acintya-bhedÄbheda, or inconceivable difference in oneness is the only plausible explanation of the mysterious relationship between the manifold world and its support, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the VarÄha PurÄºa:
putra-bhrÄt¨-sÄk§itvena
svÄm"tvena yato hariú
bahudhÄ g"yate vedair
j"vo Ôµ1/2as tasya tena tu

yato bhedena tasyÄyam
abhedena ca g"yate
ata1/2 cÄµ1/2atvam uddi§ aµ
bhedÄbhedau na mukhyataú
	„By the relations as a son, brother, friend or master the Vedas manifoldly declare the soul to be a part and parcel of Lord Hari. The soul is declared to be different from the Lord and also nondifferent. Hence is taught the nature of the soul as a part and parcel of God. Neither difference nor nondifference is primary.“
	One may wonder how the soul could be different and simultaneously nondifferent from God. How this is possible is illustrated in the following verse:
yatholmukÄd visphuli›gÄd
dhumÄd vÄpi sva-sambhavÄt
apy ÄtmatvenÄbhimatÄd
yathÄgniú p¨thag ulmukÄt
	„A blazing fire is differnt from the flames, from the sparks, and from the smoke, although all are intimately connected because they are born from the same blazing wood.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.28.40)
	That the living entities are only a part of God is illustrated in the äg Veda (10.90.3):
etÄvÄn asya mahimÄ
ato jyÄyÄµ1/2 ca pŸru§aú
pÄdo Ôsya vi1/2vÄ bhŸtÄni
tripÄd asyÄm¨taµ divi
	„Such is His greatness, and the Personality of Godhead is greater still. All beings constitute one fourth of Him; His three fourths are what is immortal in heaven.“
	When we say that the soul is a part and parcel of God, we do not mean that he is like a piece broken off from a stone. This was already discussed in the text accompanying sŸtra 2.3.17. The following verses are also illustrative of their interrelationships:
vi§ºu-1/2akti parÄ proktÄ
k§etraj-ÄkhyÄ tathÄ parÄ
avidyÄ-karma-saµj-ÄnyÄ
t¨t"yÄ 1/2aktir "§yate
	„Lord Vi§ºu’s internal potency is called parÄ, or superior, and so also is the potency to which the living entities belong. The third potency is known as avidyÄ, or ignorance, which manifests material activities. (Vi§ºu PurÄºa 6.7.61)
mamaivÄµ1/2o jiva-loke
j"va-bhŸtah sanÄtanaú
	„The living entities in this world of conditioned life are eternally My parts and parcels.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 15.7)
j-ÄnÄ1/2rayo j-Äna-guºa1/2
cetanaú prak¨teú paraú
na jÄto nirvikÄra1/2 ca
eka-rŸpah svarŸpabhÄk

aºur nityo vyÄpta-1/2ila1/2
cid-ÄnandÄtmakas tathÄ
aham artho Ôvyayaú sÄk§"
bhinna-rŸpaú sanÄtanaú

adÄhyo Ôcchedyo Ôkledyo
Ô1/2o§yo Ôk§ara eva ca
Ôevam Ädi guºair yuktaú
1/2e§a-bhŸtaú parasya vai

ma-kÄreºocyate j"vaú
k§etraj-aú paravÄn sadÄ
dÄsa-bhŸto harer eva
nÄnyasyaiva kadÄcana
	„The soul is the support of knowledge and therefore has the quality of knowledge. He is consciousness which is transcendental to matter. He is unborn and is not subject to transformation. He has one form which partakes of his essence. He is atomic, eternal, possesses the quality of pervasion and is full of knowledge and bliss. He is designated by the word „I“, is unchanging and the witness, and has his own separate form which is eternal. He cannot be burned, cut, dampened or dried. He is also imperishable. Endowed with these qualities, he is verily a part of the Supreme. By the letter m of oµ is indicated the living entity who is the knower of his body and always subject to another. He is verily a servant of the Lord and never of anyone else.“ (Padma PurÄºa )
	The nature of the soul as different from and one with the Lord as His eternal part and parcel is also the import of the famous phrase tat tvam asi: „You are that.“ This is from the following passage:
	sa ya e§o Ônimaitad Ätmyam idaµ sarvaµ tat satyaµ sa ÄtmÄ tat tvam asi 1/2vetaketo.
	„That which is most subtle, this whole world has that as its Soul. That is the Truth. He is the Soul. You are that, O üvetaketu.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.8.7)
	The first point made in this verse is that the Lord is the Soul of all existence. This is also corroborated in Bhagavad-g"tÄ:
mayÄ tatam idaµ sarvaµ
jagad avyakta-mŸrtiºÄ
mat-sthÄni sarva-bhŸtÄni
na cÄhaµ te§v avasthitaú

na ca mat-sthÄni bhŸtÄni
pa1/2ya me yogam ai1/2varam
bhŸta-bh¨n na ca bhŸta-stho
mamÄtmÄ bhŸta-bhÄvanaú
	„This whole world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifested form. All beings are situated in Me, but I am not in them. And yet all beings are not situated in Me. Behold My lordly power! Although I am the sustainer of all beings, I am not situated in them, for My Self is their very source.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.4-5)
	The Lord also pervades the individual souls. Because they are parts and parcels of the Lord and are pervaded by Him, they are all dependent on Him as the support of their existence. That is why the sage said: That which is most subtle, this whole world has that as its Soul. That is the Truth. He is the Soul.“ This indicates that the boy üvetaketu is also pervaded by the Supersoul. The sage adds, „You are that, O üvertaketu,“ to show üvetaketu’s organic relation to the Lord. The impersonalists interpret this to mean that the individual soul is the Supersoul who is the source of the world. If the individual self is the source of the world, there being innumerable individuals, we would have to assume the existence of innumerable sources of the world. This is a mathematical absurdity. If the sage is the Supersoul who is the source of everything, he would have spoken in the plural saying, „We are all the self-same Supersoul who is the source of everything.“ If the intention of this passage is to teach that the individual soul is God, then by saying, „You are that, O üvetaketu,“ it appears as if the sage is singling out üvetaketu as the source of the world because he does not mention himself or others as also God. Hence, this passage plainly teaches the natural difference and oneness of the part and parcel living entities with the Complete Whole Absolute Truth.
	The force of the statement tat tvam asi is illustrated by the expression „butter rice“. This does not mean that the rice is butter or that the rice will become butter, but that the rice has an intimate contact with butter due to being suffused with butter. Similarly, „milk curds“ does not mean that the curds are milk, for they are characteristically different from milk. Although they originate from milk and possess some of its qualities, they can never become milk, because they are permanently a product of milk. Even the foremost of the impersonalists, üripÄda üa›karÄcÄrya, confirms this view in his writings:
tvam satos tulya-nidatvÄn
n"lÄ1/2vavad idaµ bhavet
	„The statement ÔYou are that’ shows that the entities expressed by Ôyou’ and Ôthat’ have the same dwelling place, as when one speaks of the simultaneous cohabitation of blueness and a horse in one entity by saying, ÔIt is a blue horse.’“ (Upade1/2a-sahasr"  170)
	In ordinary human dealings we recognize a valiant person by saying, „You are a lion,“ and who is slovenly by saying, „You are a pig,“ and one who is despicable by saying, „You are a dog.“ By saying „You are that [a lion, a pig or a dog],“ we mean to establish the similarity of the one with the other, not their exact identity. Thus, when one who knows the Absolute Truth sees a living entity, he recognizes the similarity in quality between the individual soul and the Supersoul. Therefore, he declares, „You [the individual soul] are [similar in quality to] that [Supersoul who is your source and support].“
	There is one more important meaning to tat tvam asi. In Sanskrit there is a compound word called tat-puru§ah, meaning, „the attendant of the king.“ This same expression may also be converted into a compound word as rÄja-puru§aú, „the king-attendant.“ This may be further reduced to tat-puru§a, meaning „that person“, or in other words, „his person“. Since the soul is a product of the Supreme Lord, the phrase „You are that“ means „You are His (God’s)“, „You are His creature“, „You are His eternal part and parcel“, „You are His eternal servant“, etc. Thus, the meaning of tat tvam asi is that we are  by constitutional nature servants of the Supreme Lord. This is substantiated by many verses in the Vedas:
bhŸri ta indra viryam tava asmi
	„Great is Your power, O Lord. We are Yours.“ (äg Veda 1.57.5)
m¨dhayÄ naú svasti tava §masi vratyÄs tasya viddhi
	„Be merciful and bless us: we are Your devotees, of this be mindful.“ (äg Veda 8.48.8)
vayaµ ghÄ te tve id v
indra viprÄ api §masi
na hi tvad-anyaú puruhŸta
ka1/2cana maghavann asti mÄrditÄ
	„O Lord, we are truly Yours, thus we depend on You. Other than You, O much-invoked One, there is no giver of happiness.“ (äg Veda 9.66.13)
tvam asmÄkam tava §masi
	„You are ours and we are Yours.“ (äg Veda 8.93.32)
tvam idaµ sarvaµ
tava vayaµ smaú
tvam asmÄkam asi
	„You are all this world. We are Yours. You are ours.“ (Aitareya-Äraºyaka 2.1.4)
	The sage UddÄlaka ruºi taught üvetaketu his relationship with the Lord using eight different analogies. The final analogy is as follows:
	„Also, my dear, they bring a man forward by the hand and declare, ÔHe has stolen! He has committed a theft! Heat the ax for him!’ If he was the doer of that deed, he thereupon proves himself untrue. Being a speaker of untruth and having covered himself with untruth, he takes hold of the ax and is burned. Then he is killed.
	„But if he is not the doer of that deed, he thereupon proves himself true. Being a speaker of truth and having covered himself with truth, he takes hold of the ax and is not burned. Then he is released.
	„As in this case he would not be burned, this whole world has that as its Soul. That is the Truth. He is the Soul. You are that, O üvetaketu.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.16.1-3)
	The theft described above is the unrightful attempt of vain persons to claim that the world and the things in it are theirs, thus, trying to usurp the position of God as the supreme proprietor of everything. The impersonalists who claim to be God, are therefore, thieves who want to appropriate God’s position for themselves. Hence, it says, „If he is a doer of that deed, having covered himself with untruth, he takes hold of the ax and is burned. Then he is killed.“ He who commits theft of God’s position grabs the heated ax of judgment, having covered himself with untruth, he is burned, proving that he is not God. He is thereafter punished for his unlawfulness by being forced to undergo repeated birth and death in this world.
	„He who is not the doer of the deed“ means he who does not consider himself to be God, rather the eternal servant of God. He is a speaker of truth. When he takes hold of the heated ax of judgment, having covered himself with truth, he is not burned, thus proving that his view is true. After that, he is released from the bondage of material existence and enjoys the loving association of the Lord who is the Soul of this world. Thus, the sage declares, „That is the Truth. He is the Soul. You are [the servant of] that [Supreme Lord], O üvetaketu. [Do not try to become a thief of God’s position.]“
	Accepting that the living entities are parts and parcels of God and not God in whole, one might conclude that the different avatÄras, being only expansions or parts of the original Personality of Godhead, are, therefore, also living entities. If all dogs are animals, and all humans are animals, would it be correct to conclude that all dogs are humans? Similarly, one should not hastily conclude that the expansions and incarnations of the Lord are ordinary living entities. That is the significance of the following sŸtra:
ÄbhÄsa eva ca
	„It is also a fallacy in reasoning to consider that the living entities are the same as the incarnations.“ (2.3.48)
	The basis for this conclusion is in the sŸtra preceding it:
asantate1/2 cÄvyatikaraú
	„Because the living entities are not full with the power there is no possibility of confusing them with the avatÄras. „ (2.3.47)
	There is a difference in potency between the living entities, who are described as being like a ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 5.9) and the avatÄras, who are described as possessing the full potency of the original Personality of Godhead:
pŸrºam adaú pŸrºam idaµ
pŸrºÄt pŸrºam udacyate
pŸrºasya pŸrºam ÄdÄya
pŸrºam evÄva1/2i§yate
	„That original Personality of Godhead is full and His avatÄra in this world is also full. From that full Personality of Godhead this full avatÄra has expanded. Upon taking away that plenary expansion from the original Personality of Godhead, He remains full.“ (é1/2a Upani§ad, Invocation)
	The scriptures also uphold that the Supreme Lord has the ability to expand Himself unlimitedly:
eko va1/2" sarvagaú k¨§ºa "dya
eko Ôpi san bahudhÄ yo vibhÄti
	„K¨§ºa should be worshiped as the one controller and is all-pervading. Although He is one, He manifests Himself in many ways.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 1.21)
	The scriptures clearly define the difference between the two:
svÄm1/2a1/2 cÄtha vibhinnÄµ1/2a
iti dvedhÄµ1/2a "§yate
aµ1/2ino yat tu sÄmarthyaµ
yat svarŸpaµ yathÄ sthitiú

tad eva nÄnu-mÄtro Ôpi
bhedaú svÄµ1/2Äµ1/2inoú kvacit
vibhinnÄµ1/2¿ Ôlpa-1/2aktiú syÄt
ki-cit sÄmarthya-mÄtra-yuk
	„The word aµ1/2a has two senses: svÄµ1/2a or that part whis identical with oneself, and vibhinnÄµ1/2a or that part which is separate frome oneself. A svÄµ1/2a is exactly the same as that of which it is a part. Therefore there is never the tiniest difference between the svÄµ1/2a and that of which it is a part. On the other hand, a vibhinnÄµ1/2a or separated part has very little power and is only like that of which it is apart.“ (MahÄ-varÄha PurÄºa )

SüTRA 2.3.49-50

ad¨§ ÄniyamÄt
abhisandhy-Ädi§v api caivam

	ad¨§ a-destiny or karma; aniyamat-because of irregularity; abhisandhi-Ädi§u-in regard to inclinations and so forth; api-also; ca-and; eva-thus.

TRANSLATION

	The souls cannot be accepted as identical because of the dissimilarity of their karma.
	And they are also different in regards to their inclinations and so forth.

PURPORT

	This sŸtra offers a further reason why souls are parts and parcels of God and not one without individuality-they each have a different destiny according to the effects of their individual karma. The avatÄras of Godhead have no karma. They are completely transcendental and always situated as the controllers of destiny. The finite spirit souls in material bondage are in a different situation. Each one suffers differently according to the reactions of their activities. The only wat to explain the different destinies of the living entities is to accept that they are distinct. Because they are distinct, they are individually responsible for the actions they perform. If they were one, then the karma of one soul should automaticaly accrue to all others. Since this does not happen, we must admit they are not one in identity.
	Because they are real individuals, they have different inclinations, wills and desires. The difference in their inclinations and tastes is due to their being different personalities. Everyone does not have the same personality because everyone is a distinct individual. Although they are distinct as far as their identities are concerned, they are similar in substance in that they all belong to the same marginal potency and, therefore, partake of the same spiritual essence. Among the qualities of that marginal spiritual essence are eternality, consciousness, multi-individuation and free will. Though the individual souls are of the same spiritual essence, because they possess free will, they diverge from each other in inclination and choice. In different situations they choose differently, and this results in their taking independent courses of action. Their inherent difference in identity and will power accounts for their diverse karma and destiny. This is why there is such a diversity of living conditions for the soul, from that of the great demigod BrahmÄ down to the tiniest microbe. How the soul achieves births in different bodies will be discussed in the Third Chapter of this book.

SüTRA 2.4.1

tathÄ prÄºÄú

	tathÄ-in the same way; prÄºÄú-the prÄºas (life airs and senses).

TRANSLATION

	The life airs and senses are also created in the same way as the gross material elements.

PURPORT

	Although it has been established by scriptural evidence that God is the source of the physical elements, such as earth, water, fire, air and ether, this is not so in the case of the prÄºas which consist of the life airs and senses. Scriptural evidence shows that the prÄºas are not created.
	asad vÄ idam agra Äs"t. tad Ähuú, ke tad asad Äs"d iti. ¨§ayo vÄva te Ôgre Ôsad Äs"t. tad Ähuú, ke ta ¨§aya iti. prÄºÄ vÄ ¨§ayaú.
	„In the beginning this world was just nonbeing. Then they said, ÔWhat was that nonbeing?’ ÔThese ¨§is are what was in the beginning.’ Then they said, ÔWhat were those ¨§is?’ ÔThey were the prÄºas.’“ (üatapatha-brÄhmaºa, MÄdhyandina Recension 6.1.1)
	This shows that the prÄºas existed prior to the creation and are, therefore, eternal like God.
	The above speculation, though interesting, is not supported by the concordance of scripture. According to this aphorism, this is a misjudgment due to hastiness. The scriptures confirm that the prÄºas are created by God just like the other material elements. For example:
etasmÄj jÄyate prÄºo
manaú sarvendriyÄni ca
khaµ vÄyur jyotir Äpaú
p¨thiv" vi1/2vasya dhÄriº"
	„From Him are produced the life air, the mind and all the senses, as well as ether, air, fire, water and earth, which is the support of all these.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.3)
	There are numerous statements in the scriptures elucidating how prior to the creation, there was only the Lord: „In the beginning there was just being, one only without a second.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.2.1)
	In the text accompanying sŸtra 1.4.14, it was previously explained that when the scriptures state that in the beginning there was only prÄºa from whom all beings emanated and into whom they enter, the word prÄºa does not refer to the life air but to the Supreme Lord, who is the Life of all life. This transference of names to the Lord is possible because He is the source and support of the world and the sanction-giver of all action. In this regards, the Kena Upani§ad declares:
yat prÄºena na prÄºiti
yena prÄºah prÄº"yate
tad eva brahma tvaµ viddhi
	„That which does not breathe with breath, by which breath is breathed, know that as Brahman.“ (1.8)
sa u prÄºasya prÄºaú
	„He is the breath of breath.“
	When the scriptures declare that there was nothing existing in the beginning but the Lord, this means that everything within the world has originated from Him. It does not mean that God is the only thing in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, the Lord is always accompanied by His associates and eternally liberated souls. This is evident from the texts which speak of the liberated soul as having eternal activities in the spiritual world. This will be clearly established in Chapters Three and Four.
	In the commentary to Verse 2.1.8 of the Muº¶aka Upani§ad, prÄºa is explained in the following way:
	The life airs are subtle pneumatic humors which facilitate the various functions of the bodily organs. This is purely a mechanical function, just as in the hydraulic lift or a pneumatic pump. These life airs are symptomized by their corresponding movements by which we recognize them as the breath of life. They are not the substance of life, but are the handmaids of life who serve their mistress in her inner chambers within the core of the heart. When she is present there, as the soul of the body, her handmaids also remain to maintain the household of the mistress.
	Technically, there is only one breath of life called mukhya-prÄºa, but for practical reasons, it divides itself into five. The Maitr" Upani§ad (2.6) explains it thus:
	„In the begining the Lord of Creatures was alone, but He was not happy being alone. Then, by meditating on Himself, He created offspring, but He saw that they were standing like posts, unconscious and lifeless like a stone. As such, He was still not happy, so He though, ÔLet Me enter within them in order to animate them.’ He then made Himself like the wind and tried to enter inside, but because He was one He could not. Therefore He made Himself fivefold, and so He is called prÄºa, apÄna, samÄna, udÄna and vyÄna. The breath which rises upwards is prÄºa, that which moves downwards is apÄna. Now, that by which these two are supported, that is vyÄna. Now, that which conducts the grossest elements of food into the apÄna and which distributes the subtlest part into every limb, that is known as samÄna. It is a higher form of the vyÄna, and between them occurs the production of udÄna. Then that which throws up or pushes down whatever has been eaten or drunk, that is udÄna.“
	PrÄºa is synonymous with life because it is always present with the soul in a body as one of his vital organs or instruments. A further characterization of the symptoms of life is the existence of the sense organs and their functions. The sense organs are: ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose, and their corresponding sensory functions are: hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling. The mind is called antaú-karaºa, or the inner sense organ because it coordinates the function of the senses and sorts out the information acquired through the senses. This enumeration of eleven senses is also stated in the Upani§ads:
	„Who are the Rudras?“ „These ten prÄºas in a person, and the mind as the eleventh. When they go out from this mortal body, they make us cry. Because the make us cry (rodayanti ), therefore, they are Rudras.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.9.4)
	Although in different places in the Upani§ads there are said to be five senses or seen, the above passage gives the fullest interpretation as eleven. The eleventh or inner sense has four different functions as (1) manas, or mind, whose function is associative coordination; (2) buddhi, or intelligence, whose function is discernment; (3) aha›kÄra, or egoity, whose function is self-identification; and, (4) citta, or the thinking faculty. This multiple applicability of the internal organ is also established in the scriptures:
	„As a person might say, ÔMy mind was elsewhere; I did not see; my mind was elsewhere; I did not hear,’ it is with the mind that one sees; it is with the mind that one hears. Desire, will, doubt, faith, faithlessness, steadfastness, steadfastlessness, shame, intelligence, and fear-all are in the mind.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 1.5.3)
	Here, mind is used in a general sense to indicate the antaú-karaºa or internal sense organ consisting of mind, intelligence, false ego and consciousness.
	The prÄºas may be either the sense and their organs or the various life airs. Or all the prÄºas, the mukhya-prÄºa is most important. This mukhya-prÄºa is the life force manifested by the soul when he is within a material body. The superiority of this prÄºa over the other prÄºas is revealed in the following texts:
	„Now the five prÄºas disputed among themselves as to who was the better, each saying: ÔI am better.’ ÔI am better.’ Those prÄºas went to their father, the Lord of Creatures, and said, ÔO mighty one, who among us is the best?’ He said to them, ÔHe whose departure makes the body look worst, he is the best among you.’ Speech left, but after having stayed away for a year it returned and asked, ÔHow have you been able to live without me?’ They replied, ÔAs the dumb without speaking breathe with the breath, see with the eye, hear with the ear and think with the mind, so did we.’ Speech entered again. Now the eye left, but after having stayed away for a year it returned and asked, ÔHow have you been able to live without me?’ They replied, ÔAs the blind without seeing breathe with the breath, speek with speech, hear with the ear and think with the mind, so did we.’ Then the eye entered again. Now the ear left, but after having stayed away for a year it returned and asked, ÔHow have you been able to live without me?’ They replied, ÔAs the deaf without hearing breathe with the breath, speak with speech, see with the eye and think with the mind, so did we.’ Then the ear entered again. Now the mind left, but having stayed away for a year it returned and asked, ÔHow have you been able to live without me?’ They replied, ÔAs children without thinking breathe with the breath, speak with speech, see with the eye and hear with the ear, so did we.’ Then the mind entered again.
	„Now, when the life force was about to leave-as a fine horse might pull out the pegs that tether its feet, so did he pull out the prÄºas. At that time they all came to him and said, ÔO mighty one, please stay! You are the best among us, do not leave.’
	„Then speech said to him, ÔIf I am the most prosperous, so are you the most prosperous.’ Then the eye said to him, ÔIf I am a foundation, so are you a foundation.’ Then the ear said, ÔIf I am success, so are you success.’ Then the mind said, If I am an abode, so are you an abode.’ Indeed, they do not call them speeches, nor eyes, nor ears, nor minds. They call them prÄºas, for prÄºa has become all these.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.1.6-15)

Chapter Three
Third Storm
Means of Realizing God

	The first two Chapters establish the Absolute as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the source of everything and full of auspicious and transcendental qualities. This chapter will delineate the means of attaining God. In order to convince one of the importance of the proposition, it first shows the inferiority and futility of other goals-how they all ultimately end in further entanglement in the complexities of material existence. Then, it gradually examines the principles of devotional life to show their specific efficacy for facilitating God realization. Specific questions are raised and answered concerning the nature of devotional service and the status of different kinds of devotees. This is just to show the superiority of spiritual life to material life.

SüTRA 3.1.1

	tad-antara-pratipattau raµhati samparisvaktaú pra1/2na-nirŸpa-ºÄbhyÄm

	tat-that [body]; antara-another; pratipattau-in the obtainment of; raµhati-goes; samparisvaktaú-enveloped [by the subtle body]; pra1/2na-from the questions; nirŸpaºÄbhyÄm-and from the answers.

TRANSLATION

	After death, in the process of attaining another body, the soul goes accompanied by the subtle body, as this is learned from a series of questions and answers on this topic in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	In the previous chapters, we learned how the Supreme Personality of Godhead created the material world and that some souls are free, and others are bound by matter. The free souls live eternally in the spiritual world; whereas, the bound souls are entrapped in material bodies in this world. One may wonder what happens to the soul at death. Being perishable, the body returns to its constituent elements, but what happens to the eternal soul? Does he go to heaven or hell or someplace else? These questions are answered in this and the next chapters.
	In all cases, when the soul leaves the gross material body, he is accompanied by his subtle body consisting of false ego (aha›kara ), intelligence (buddhi ), mind (manas ) and life air (prana ), which includes the sensory functions like touch, taste and smell. The accompaniment of the disembodied soul by the subtle body is deduced from the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (5.3-10). The questions referred to in our present sŸtra were regarding the following topics: (1) the destination of those who perform sacrifices, (2) the manner in which they return, (3) those who do not attain that world, (4) the two paths, one leading to God and the other leading to the world of the forefathers, and (5) how a soul becomes reborn as a human. The Upani§ad uses the example of oblations offered into five different sacrificial fires. In the first fire, the senses procure for the soul a body fit for dwelling on the planets of the upper firmament (svarga ). In the second fire, the senses procure the passage of the soul from the heavenly world through the atmosphere in a rain drop. In the third fire, the senses procure for the soul an abode in grains, vegetables, and other foodstuffs. In the fourth fire, the senses procure for the soul his fixation in the semen of a man. In the fifth fire, the senses procure for the soul his presence in a fetus within the womb of a woman. Thus, the subtle body accompanies the soul through all five stages.
	The subtle body which accompanies the soul through the different stages of reincarnation is not a permanent or eternal substance like the soul. However, while the soul is in bondage in the material world, he will have a subtle body. The subtle body’s character is impermanent but is subject to change according to the nature of the soul’s materially oriented consciousness. By this we mean that stat of the soul’s consciousness when, instead of directing itself to God, the true object of knowledge, the consciousness concerns itself with the enjoyment of matter. This perverted consciousness manifests the subtle body with its different component elements.
	According to how one acts, one develops particular moods of consciousness. If one wants to be a wrestler, he must work out everyday; then, automatically, he will develop the necessary body and frame of mind. If one wants to become a poet, one must also practice in order to develop the particular skill and frame of mind. Similarly, the activities that we perform during our lives produce a certain state of consciousness in us, thereby altering the subtle body involved in creating our next body. Therefore, the Bhagavad-g"tÄ (8.6) states:
yam yam vÄpi smaran bhÄvaµ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taµ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadÄ tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitaú
	„Whatever state one remembers when giving up the body at death, to that very state does he go, O son of Kunt", because of having continuously thought of it.“
	According to the consciousness at death, whether of a particular place or condition, the subtle body carries the soul to that place or such a condition and serves as the framework for the next body.

SüTRAS 3.1.8-9

k¨tÄtyaye Ônu1/2ÄyavÄn d¨§ a-sm¨tibhyÄm
yathetam anevaµ ca

	k¨ta-what has been done [referring to karma ]; atyaye-on the exhaustion of; anu1/2ÄyavÄn-remainder; d¨§ a-sm¨tibhyÄm-from the üruti and Sm¨ti texts; yathÄ-in that way; itam-he went; anevam-not in that way; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	From both üruti and Sm¨ti it is learned that when the karma of the soul to be in the higher planets is exhausted, he returns to earth with the remnant of his karma.
	As he descends, he follows partly the path by which he ascended and partly by another.

PURPORT

	This chapter opened with the topic of how the soul is accompanied by a subtle body when he leaves the gross material body. This was illustrated by referring to a passage in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad. The question was raised as to the different destinations that people attain when they die. In this regards, there were mentioned two paths, one leading to God and the other, called pit¨yÄna, leading to the world of the forefathers. The following texts elucidate what happens to those who do not tread the path leading to God.
	Many people are not interested in God, but are inclined towards goodness and piety. For them, the highest goal is the attainment of some type of material utopia. This may be in this world or on another planet. For instance, the ancients conceived that the gods, or as in the case of monotheistic religions, God, lived in the upper regions of the sky. They called that place heaven. Similarly, in Vai§ºava philosophy, we often talk about the heavenly planets referring to a place in the sky or the planets in the far reaches of space. These are not spiritual places, but are, nevertheless, more highly developed materially than our earth. This is also the case in regards to the living beings there. The Vai§ºava concept of the spiritual world is not to be confused with the concept of heaven in the sky. Vaikuº ha, the spiritual world, is trans-cosmic, far beyond all matter, space and time.
	The heavenly planets are attained by two classes of people: those who follow the Vedas by performing fire sacrifices and other rituals and ceremonies enjoined in them, and those who practice austerity, truthfulness, charity, and other acts of material piety. The path which the soul follows to reach those heavenly planets is called pit¨yÄna, or the path of the forefathers, because materialistic people hope that all their ancestors have reached those planets to enjoy there. Just how the soul ascends the pit¨yÄna is described in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (5.10.3-4):
	„Those who perform different kinds of i§ ÄpŸrta, or pious activities like performing fire sacrifices, giving alms and doing works for the wellbeing of the public, they pass on to the smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the dark fortnight of the moon, from the dark fortnight of the moon to the six months of the southern course of the sun, but they do not reach the year. From those months they go to the world of the forefathers, from the world of the forefathers to ether, from ether to the moon.“
	When it says that the soul ascending the pit¨yÄna passes on to smoke, night, the dark fortnight of the moon, the six months of the southern course of the sun, the world of the forefathers, and the ether, it does not mean that the soul simply reaches these things. The ascending soul is actually conducted by the deities presing over these. Thus, he is led successively from one stage to another. This is the conclusion of the VedÄnta-sŸtra:

ativÄhikas tal li›gÄt
	„These are conductors who lead the soul because there is an indication of that.“ (4.3.4)
	When the soul reaches the moon and other heavenly planets, he assumes a heavenly form:
	„This is King Soma, the food of the demigods. The demigods eat him.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.10.4)
	The title „King Soma“ is used to indicate the nature of the body which the soul acquires on reaching the moon. On the moon, which is a heavenly or superior planet, everything is more highly developed or advanced than on the earth. The beings who inhabit heavenly planets do not have gross bodies; their bodies are composed of subtle elements of ether, mind, intelligence, egoity and prÄºa. Because they lack physical density, they are imperceptible to the gross senses and material instruments of mundane scientists. The word soma indicated the subtlety, superbness and enjoyableness of such subtle lunar bodies, and rÄja stresses the superiority, majesty, and power which such a body possesses. Despite all these auspicious qualities, there are certain major drawbacks for those who achieve a heavenly body as King Soma. On the heavenly planets, the demigods enjoy the right of primacy. They view new arrivals as intruders and maintain them in constant subjection as „third class citizens.“ That is why it is said, „He is the food of the demigods; the demigods eat him.“ Because the demigods enjoy the services rendered by the newcomers, it is said that the demigods eat them. In the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad, it is also stated:
	„Having reached the moon, they become food. There, just as the demigods say to King Soma, ÔIncrease! Decrease!“ even so do the demigods eat them. (6.2.16)
	Here we find another reason why the body which the soul receives on reaching the moon is called King Soma. In certain sacrifices, the brÄhmaºas enjoy the intoxicating beverage known as soma-rasa, and in the heavenly planets like the moon, the demigods indulge in drinking Soma juice as a regular pastime. Because the transient souls are also meant for the enjoyment of the demigods, their bodies are designated as Soma. As the sacrificers and demigods command the Soma juice, apyÄyasva, apak§"yasva: „Increase! Decrease!“ So, also, do the demigods order the subjected souls to engage in their service. The fact that the demigods do not literally eat the souls as they do the Soma juice is clarified in the same B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad. There it states that one who does not understand the nature of God „is like an animal for the demigods. As many animals serve a man, so does each person serve the demigods. If even one animal is taken away, it is unpleasant, what to speak of may. Therefore it is not agreaable to the demigods that men should know this.“
	In other words, the demigods would rather see the human beings elevate themselves to the heavenly planets than to return to Godhead because on the heavenly planets they can exploit the humans as servants. To a certain degree the servants of a king also enjoy the facilities of royal life. Similarly, even though they are being exploited by the demigods, those who reach the heavenly planets also enjoy innumerable facilities for heavenly enjoyment. This is experienced practically in Americ, where refugees from other countries consider themselves fortunated compared to life in their homeland; whereas, they are living below the American standard. The life of so-called heavenly enjoyment does not last indefinitely.
te taµ bhŸtvÄ svarga-lokaµ vi1/2Älaµ
k§"ne puºye martya-lokaµ vi1/2anti
	„Having greatly enjoyed in the heavenly planets, when their pious merits are exhausted, they return to this mortal world.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.21)
	When foreigners request permission to visit a country, they are required to possess a certain amount of money as solvency for the period of time they wish to stay. When that money is exhausted, they are forced to leave by the government and by their own inability to maintain themselves. Similarly, when the living entity’s pious credit expires, he is unable to remain in the heavenly planets. The administrative authority expels him from the heavenly planets, and he is forced to surrender his subtle heavenly body known as King Soma. Then the subatomic soul, encased within the shell of his own mind, intelligence and false go, falls from the heavenly planets. His descent is described thus:
	„Having dwelt there as long as their merit lasts, they return again by the way they came, to the ether, from ether to air. Having become air, he becomes smoke; having become smoke, he becomes mist. Having become mist, he becomes a cloud; having become a cloud, he rains down. Then they are born here as rice and grains, herbs and trees, sesame seeds and beens.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.10.5-6)
	When a soul falls from the heavenly planets, he first enters the ether or space. Traversing space, he enters the air or atmosphere of this planet. Because the soul is invisible to the naked eye and is floating suspended in the air, he is said to become air. After his submersion in the currents of air, the soul’s subtle body becomes sullied by dust and soot from smoke. Therefore, it was said, „Having become smoke, he becomes mist.“ As more such drops combine, the soul finds himself incorporated into a cloud, and from there he descends when it rains. Rain drops are not caused by souls falling from the heavenly planets, but are the vehicles in which those souls return to earth. If the rain falls on the ground, the fallen soul is absorbed into plants where he cohabits in the leaves, fruits, or seeds of his host. If the rain drop enveloping the soul falls on the external surface of leaves, fruits, flowers, or seed, the soul will remain stranded, unless he is washed off by a new rain or is consumed by some living creature. Regarding such cohabitation with plants, the scriptures state:
	„From there, indeed, it is difficult to emerge; for only when someone or other eats him in food and emits him in semen, does he become that.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.10.8)
	When a soul falls from the heavenly planets after his pious credits are exhausted, this does not mean that all his karma is exhausted. If that were so, instead of falling back down into the difficulties of earthly existence, he would immediately achieve liberation. The soul may not have sufficient piety to remain in the heavenly planets, and for that reason he has to leave. Thus, he still has a small residual of good or bad karma. According to that karma, he will quickly achieve a good birth in the higher sections of society or a bad birth in a miserable form of life. If he takes birth in the human species, he is again presented with the opportunity to elevate himself. Whatever course of action he chooses depends partly on his conditioning and partly on his own willful choice. The Upani§ads teach that for a materialistic person devoid of God consciousness there is no other prospect than such continual elevation and descent.“
	„On reaching the earth they become food. Again they are offered in the fire of man. Thereafter, they are born in the fire of woman. Rising up in the world they rotate around in this way again.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 6.2.16)
	The destiny of those who tread the pit¨yÄna is to perpetually spin around in the cycle of birth and death. VyÄsadeva has introduced this detailed examination of the pit¨yÄna to impress upon us the purposefulness and futility of such a destiny and thereby encourage us to desire to ascend the devayÄna path back to God. By returning to the spiritual world, the fallen soul can avoid all the difficulties of material existence and enjoy a life full of eternity, knowledge and bliss while serving the Lord.

SüTRA 3.1.18

vidyÄ-karmaºos tv iti prak¨tatvÄt

	vidyÄ-knowledge; karmaºoú-and of action; tu-but; iti-thus; prak¨tatvÄt-because of these being the topic.

TRANSLATION

	Because the topic of the passage describing the two paths-that leading to God and that leading to the forefathers-mentions the attainment of knowledge or the practice of acts of piety, those who do not do either of these, or the sinful, go to another place.

PURPORT

	The passage from the ChÄndogya Upani§ad concerning the attainments of people after death only mentions two possibilities-the pit¨yÄna and the devayÄna. One might conclude that sinful people, though they cannot attain God, do attain the moon and the world of the forefathers. This is proven by the statement from the Kau§itak" Upani§ad: „Those who depart from this world, verily to the moon do they all go.“ (1.2)
	This is an incorrect conclusion because the above quoted verse contradicts the standard scriptural version that those who ascend the devayÄna pass through the sun instead of the moon. Sinful persons cannot ascend either the devayÄna or the pit¨yÄna because those who go by these paths must have the prerequisite of either knowledge or pious activities. Since sinful persons do not follow these two paths, when they leave their bodies, where do they go? The scriptures state:
anandÄ nÄma te lokÄ
andhena tamasÄv¨tÄú
tÄµs te pretyÄbhigacchanty
avidvÄµso Ôbudho janÄú
	„Those worlds covered with the darkness of ignorance are called joyless. After dying, those who are ignorant and unintelligent go to them.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.9)
steno hiraºyasya surÄµ pibaµ1/2 ca
guros talpam Ävasan brahma-hÄ
caite patanti catvÄraú
pa-cama1/2 cÄcaraµs taiú
	„The stealer of gold, the drinker of wine, the violator of the guru’s bed and the killer of a brÄhmaºa-these four fall down, and the fifth, one who associates with them.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.10.9)
	Those who foolishly ignore the fact that everyone is responsible for the actions they perform, sink down at death to the lower planetary regions of the universe. On these planets are the various hells so vividly described in the scriptures of different religions. Together they constitute the realm of Yama, the Lord of death. Yama judges the souls according to their activities and pronounces the punishment. The terrifying punishments afflicted upon the soul in hell are experienced through the subtle body, which even there envelops the soul. Because the soul suffers through the medium of the subtle or psychic body, millions of years of horror can be condensed into a moment, and a moment of excruciating pain can be stretched into an eon. Yama is able to inflict such punishments on the sinful souls only because he is authorized to do so by the Lord. The horrors of hell, though real, are experienced through the subtle body and are, therefore, something like the effect created by a three-dimensional horror movie. It is only our imagination that causes us to fear the terror of the movie screen. The reason the Lord gives the fallen souls such a fright in the first place is only out of concern for them, just as the loving mother punishes the mischievous child for its own benefit in order to dissuade it from improper behavior. Confinement to hell is not for eternity as some religions fear. Hell is not really as much punishment as it is a corrective measure. When the sinful soul has spent his time in hell in accordance with his karma, he regains entry into the earthly planetary system. Once the soul attains a human birth, which is endowed with intelligence and free will, he is again completely responsible for all his actions. Thus, it is up to him whether he remains in the same place, rises to a higher planet, descends to a lower planet, or goes back to Godhead.

SüTRA 3.1.19

na t¨t"ye tathopalabdheú

	na-not; t¨t"ye-in the third; tathÄ-thus; upalabdheú-because of the observation [in the scriptures].

TRANSLATION

	Those who when dead go by the third way need not take birth by sexual union, for this is observed in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad it is stated:
	„But on neither of these two paths [the devayÄna or the pit¨yÄna ] pass the small continually returning beings, of whom it is said, ÔBe born or die.’ Theirs is a third state.“ (5.10.8)
	In the analogy of the five fires, the fifth oblation represented the placement of the male seed in the womb. This is the way of birth for all those souls destined to have a human body. But for those souls who take birth in the lower species, this is not necessarily so. There are many forms of life that procreate by cell division, by seeds, by tubers and other methods. The animal species are born, die and automatically progress to the next higher species of life by the impetus of the karma they accumulated as human beings. When the soul reaches the human species, he becomes responsible for every action. Such actions determine his next birth.

SüTRAS 3.2.5-7

parÄbhidhyÄnÄt tu tirohitaµ tato hy asya bandha-viparyayau
deha-yogÄd vÄ so Ôpi
tad-abhÄvo nÄ¶i§u tac chruter Ätmani ca

	para-of the Supreme; abhidyÄnÄt-due to the will; tu-but; tirohitam-disappearance; tataú-from Him; hi-indeed; asya-his [the soul’s]; bandha-viparyayau-bondage and release; deha-yogÄt-due to connection with the body [in other words, wakefulness]; vÄ-or; saú-that [removal of dream]; api-also; tat-abhÄvaú-absence of that [dream]; nÄ¶i§u-in the arteries; tat-that; 1/2ruteú-from the revealed scriptures; Ätmani-in the Soul; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	By the mere will of the Supreme Lord, the images of dreams vanish because it is from Him, indeed, that the bondage and liberation of the soul come.
	Even in wakefulness in contact with the body, that is from Him.
	According to the scriptures, the state of unconsciousness, which is the absence of dreams, occurs in the arteries of the heart and in the Supersoul.

PURPORT

From sŸtras 3.2.5-7 until sŸtras 3.3.39-40, the topics dealt with are related to the development of bhakti, or pure unalloyed devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is done by showing how the Lord is so skillful that He can create the images seen in dreams, and is the support who makes possible the other states of consciousness also. His personal form is shown to be completely transcendental, and His different qualities and attributes to have no material limitation. Out of kindness, He allows Himself to be seen by His devotees. The original pure conscious awareness of the Supersoul becomes manifested in various ways according to the material conditioning of the living entity. Daily, the living entity experiences three states of consciousness as a result of his contact with the three modes of material nature. They are: (1) wakefulness or consciousness of external things, (2) sleep in which one sees dreams and (3) dreamless sleep or total unconsciousness. These states of consciousness are directly manifested by the Lord Himself:
svepnÄntaµ jÄgaritÄntaµ
cobhau yenÄnupa1/2yati
mahantaµ vibhum ÄtmÄnaµ
matvÄ dh"ro na 1/2ocati
	„Knowing that is by the agency of the great, all pervading Supersoul that he perceives both the dreaming state and the waking state, the wise man does not fear.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 4.4)
	In the Upani§ads it is repeatedly mentioned that there are arteries that perforate the heart. They are not the same as the arteries and vessels of the cardiovascular system. Their description is as follows:
	„The soul is truly in the heart. There are located those hundred and one arteries. Each of these has a hundred lesser arteries, and each of these has a hundred lesser arteries. Within them moves the diffused breath (vyÄna ).“ (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 3.6)
	Their measurement is as follows:
	„To him, indeed, belong those arteries called hita. Like a hair divided a thousandfold, so minute are they and filled with white, blue, reddish brown, yellow and red.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.3.20)
	The multi-colored substance that fills these arteries is their very essence:
	„Now, these arteries of the heart are of a most fine substance which is bron, white, blue, yellow and red, so they say.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.6.1)
	Along the inside walls of the heart are openings to the hundred and one arteries. These extend through the tissue of the heart to the pericardium surrounding the heart:
	„The arteries of a person which are called hita spread out from the heart to the pericardium.“ (Kau§"taki Upani§ad 4.19)
	Having reached the pericardium, each of these one hundred arteries branches off into one hundred sub-arteries. As each of these sub-arteries extends past the pericardium they subsequently become further divided into seventy-two thousand lesser arteries. These then traverse the entire body, like the fibers in the stem of a lotus. These arteries do not end at the external tissue of the body but continue, like rays of light, heading towards different destinations. When the time comes for the soul to leave his present body for its next destination, he exits through one of these according to the merit he has earned:
„Unending are the rays of Him
Who stands in the heart like a lamp.
They are white, black and dark blue,
Reddish brown and light red hue.

„Of those, one stands upright,
Which, having pierced the solar orb,
Passes on to the world of BrahmÄ,
By which men go to the highest goal.

„Those other hundred rays of His
Are upwards even so arrayed,
By means of which one does arrive
At the abode where dwell the gods.

„But manifoldly downward go
His dimly shining rays.
By these one wanders helplessly
For the enjoyment of karma here.“
								(Maitr" Upani§ad 6.30)
	The origin of these arteries is not the heart, but the Supersoul residing within it. These rays emanate from the Supersoul in the heart, and when they pass through the solid parts of the body they cause the appearance of their arteries. The darker rays lead to the nether regions, and the lighter rays lead to higher destinations. Of the hundred and one arteries, one goes straight up without any side branches. This is the one which leads on to the devayÄna pathway to the spiritual world. All these arteries are fixed on the Supersoul like spokes on a hub. The individual spirit soul who also dwells in the heart with the Supersoul enters one of the arteries at the time of death in accordance with the activities of his life.
	The scriptures indicate that the soul in unconsciousness is situated in these arteries, in the pericardium of the heart and in the bosom of the Lord within the heart. All three versions are correct. They are like the statement, „Entering the door, the man sleeps in the house on a bed.“ Similarly, the soul withdraws his external awareness through the arteries and into the heart. Then, he sleeps in the bosom of the Lord in the heart.
	The B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad gives the following description of dreamless sleep: „As a falcon or any other bird, having flown around in the sky, becomes tired, folds its wings and glides down to its nest, even so this person hastens to that condition where he desires no desire and sees no dream.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.3.19)
	Like wakefulness and dream, the state of dreamless sleep is also created by the Lord: „Now, when one is asleep, composed, tranquil, he knows no dream; then he has crept into the arteries. No evil touches him; indeed, he is endowed with brilliant power [by the Lord].“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.6.3)
	The dream state is the junction point between deep sleep and wakefulness. As the soul leaves the condition of conscious awareness and descends into total unconsciousness, or vice versa, it passes through the state of dreamy sleep. This expansion and retraction of consciousness by the living entity is performed from his dwelling place in the heart. In the condition of retracted consciousness or deep sleep, the soul withdraws the senses, mind and intelligence into himself and lies in the bosom of the Lord in the heart. In this state, the soul is completely under the Lord’s protection, though he is unaware of it due to his retracted consciousness. The Lord, therefore, is the tur"ya or fourth state of consciousness as unconditioned by the three modes of material nature. This is called VÄsudeva or vi1/2uddha-sattva, the original pure consciousness. Since the Lord is the source of pure consciousness, He is the hub from which the retracted consciousness of the living entity spreads throughout the body. In the Upani§ads the return from deep sleep to consciousness is described as folows: „When he wakes up, just as from a blazing fire sparks would disperse in all directions, even so, from the soul the life airs disperse to their respective places, followed by the senses.“ (Kau§"taki Upani§ad 4.20)
	In ordinary wakefulness, we are not aware of the Absolute, but of external sense objects. In sleep, we experience only dreams, and in deep sleep, we perceive nothing. Beyond these is the fourth state of consciousness called tur"ya. In this state of consciousness, the soul is favorably disposed towards the Supersoul and is, thereby, able to directly perceive Him.

SüTRA 3.2.11

na sthÄnato Ôpi parasyobhaya-lingam sarvatra hi

	na-not; sthÄnataú-because of place; api-although; parasya-of the Supreme; ubhaya-lingam-having a two-fold character; sarvatra-everywhere; hi-indeed.

TRANSLATION

	The Supreme Lord does not have a two-fold character when He is manifested in different places at the same time because He is everywhere.

PURPORT

	From the understanding of the Lord as Änanda-maya, or full of bliss, it is understood has different transcendental qualities constitute His transcendental form. The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s form is not like the material forms in this world. The form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has none of the limits and defects of material form, even though it appears to be like other forms. God is one, as the eternal autocrat of the spiritual world; yet, He is omnipresent by His expansion as the Supersoul. In the material world, one person can only be in one place at a time. If we see two forms, even though they be identical, because of their simultaneous abiding in two different places, we understand that they are different entities. In the Vedic literatures, however, we find the Lord attributed with the ability to be in many places simultaneously:
eko Ôpi san bahudhÄ yo ÔvibhÄti
	„Although one, He is manifested in many ways.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 1.21)
	He is able to do this due to His acintya-1/2akti, or inconceivable energy. Thus, even when He manifests Himself simultaneously in many places, He remains one, undivided and complete. This is the nature of God as the Complete Whole Absolute Truth:
pŸrºam adaú pŸrºam idaµ
pŸrºÄt pŸrºam udacyate
pŸrºasya pŸrºam ÄdÄya
pŸrºam evÄva1/2i§yate
	„The Absolute Truth is complete and so is this world. From that Complete Whole Absolute Truth is produced the complete unit which is this world. When this complete unit is taken away from that Complete Whole Absolute Truth, He still remains complete.“ (I1/2a Upani§ad Invocation)
	The word sthÄna, or place, used in this sŸtra, refers to the different planets of the spiritual world. In each planet, there are devotees of different devotional moods and aptitudes. Although the Lord is present in each planet in different ways, according to the devotion of the devotees, He remains fully and essentially one and undifferentiated as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SüTRAS 3.2.12-13

na bhedÄd iti cen na pratyekam atad vacanÄt
api caivam eke

	na-not; bhedÄt-because of difference [stated in scripture]; iti-thus; cet-if; na-not; pratyekam-each one; atat-not that [affirmation of difference]; vacanÄt-because of the statement; api-also; ca-and; evam-thus; eke-some.

TRANSLATION

	If one says that the forms manifested by the Lord are not all identical with the Lord because the scriptural statements show them to be different, we say no because in every case there is a counter-statement that they are not different.
	And also some texts do teach that the Lord and all His forms are one.

PURPORT

	One might argue that the different forms manifested by the Lord are not all equal with the Lord because there are scriptural references indicating that there is a difference between them. In every case where the scripture states that the forms of the Lord are different from each other, it also establishes that they are identical in essence and nondifferent from the Lord. For example:
rŸpaµ rŸpaµ pratirŸpo babhŸva
tad asya rŸpaµ praticak§aºÄya
indro mÄyÄbhiú puru-rŸpa "yate
yuktÄ hy asya harayaú 1/2atÄ da1/2eti
	"He became the duplicate of each form. This is to be seen as His form. The Lord by His energies goes about in many forms; for His ten hundred steeds are joined." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.5.19)
	This verse apparently establishes that the various forms of the Lord are different and not identical with Him. But the verse ends by saying, "for His ten hundred steeds are joined," thus indicating that although He manifests Himself in many forms, He remains always one and indivisible. This is also apparent from the rest of the passage:
	ayaµ vai harayo 'yaµ vai da1/2a ca sahasrÄºi bahŸni cÄnantÄni ca tad etad brahmÄpŸrvam anaparam anantaram abaúyam ayam ÄtmÄ brahma sarvÄnubhur ity anu1/2Äsanam.
	"He is certainly the steeds. He is certainly ten and thousands, many and endless. This is Brahman, without a prior, without a later, without an inside, without an outside. This Soul is the omniscient Brahman. Thus is the teaching." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.5.19)
	Every expanded form of the Lord is not partially the Lord but inconceivably and entirely Him. Thus, the scriptures declare:
amÄtro 'nanta-mÄtra1/2 ca
	"He is partless and of infinite parts." (Gau¶apÄda KÄrikÄ 1.29)
	This indicates that the Lord is one partless whole who has infinite variegated forms which are simultaneously and inconceivably whole and identical. This is further explained in the Matsya PurÄºa:
eka eva paro vi§ºuú
sarvatrÄpi na saµ1/2ayaú
ai1/2varyÄd rŸpam ekaµ ca
sŸryavad bahu dheyate
	"The Supreme Lord Vi§ºu is one only, although He is undoubtedly everywhere. By dint of His divine power His one form is conceived manifoldly, as in the case of the sun."
	The sun is one, but it appears simultaneously in the skies of many different lands. Similarly, the vaidurya gem is one, but according to how the light hits it, it appears sometimes red, sometimes green, sometimes yellow, etc. The stage actor is one person, but according to the play, he assumes different roles. Thus, the Lord is definitely one. His plurality of form is also nondifferent from Him or one with Him. Every plenary form of the Lord is non¶ifferent from every other form of Him. His different forms are adopted in conformity with the mood of His devotees:
maºir yathÄ vibhÄgena
n"la-p"tÄdibhir yutaú
rŸpa-bhedam avÄpnoti
dhyÄna-bhedÄt tathÄcyutaú
	"As a jewel by its facets appears to be blue, yellow and so forth, even so does the Infallible Lord acquire different forms due to the different meditations of His devotees." (NÄrada-pa-carÄtra )
	How the Lord assumes these forms is revealed in the following verse from the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (8.18.12):
yat tad vapur bhÄti vibhŸ§anÄyaudhair
avyakta-cid-vyaktam adhÄrayad dhariú
babhŸva tenaiva sa vÄmano vatuú
sampa1/2yator divya-gatir yathÄ nataú
	"The Lord who is usually unmanifested made Himself manifest in a transcendental form decorated with beautiful ornaments. Then, as both Ka1/2yapa and Aditi watched, He became a small dwarf boy. His divine movements are like the activities of an actor."
	The Lord, who is the possessor of inconceivable powers and the abode in which all contradictory attributes become harmonized, becomes manifold in form, although He is always just one. This seeming paradox in His transcendental nature further heightens His greatness in the eyes of the devotees and thus becomes a stimulus for loving devotion to Him.

SüTRA 3.2.14

arŸpavad evÄhi tat-pradhÄnatvat

	arŸpavat-like that which is formless; eva-certainly; hi-indeed; tat-it [His form]; pradhÄnatvÄt-because of being the principal [essence].

TRANSLATION

	God is like that which is formless because His form is His principal essence.

PURPORT

	There are two main impersonalist views of God. The first view describes God as formless but all-pervading like space or the sky, and the second view maintains that although God may have a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss, as stated in the scriptures, He is an ineffable essence beyond that form. This view is rejected and disproven in this and the following two texts. God is not impersonal, and that is why scripture repeatedly refers to Him as the Supreme Personality:
divyo hy amŸrtaú puru§aú
sa bÄhyÄbhyantaro hy ajaú
aprÄºo hy amanaú 1/2ubhro
hy ak§arÄt parataú paraú
	„The Personality of Godhead is transcendental and without any material form. He is within and without and is unborn. He is not an ordinary living being nor is He just a mind-He is pure spirit. He is even higher than the impersonal Absolute.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.2)
paraµ brahma paraµ dhÄma
pavitraµ paramaµ bhavÄn
puru§aµ 1/2Ä1/2vataµ divyam
Ädi-devam ajaµ vibhum
	„You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode, the most pure. You are the eternal, divine Person, the original Godhead, unborn and almighty.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 10.12)
abhyÄsa-yoga-yuktena
cetasÄ nÄnya-gÄminÄ
paramaµ puru§aµ divyaµ
yÄti pÄrthÄnucintayan
	„One who regularly practices contemplating the supreme, divine Person with an unwavering mind attains Him by such constant thinking.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.8)
advaitam acyutam anÄdim ananta-rŸpam
Ädyaµ purÄºa-puru§aµ nava-yauvanaµ ca
vede§u durlabham adurlabham Ätma-bhaktau
govindam Ädi-puru§aµ tam ahaµ bhajÄmi
	„I worship Govinda (K¨§ºa), who is the original Personality of Godhead. He is free from all material duality, infallible, without beginning and expanded into unlimited forms. Although He is the first and therefore the oldest person, He always has the appearance of an ever-fresh youth. It is very difficult to attain Him by merely following the rituals of the Vedas, but He is easily attained by one who is devoted to Him. (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.33)
	Athough the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a form, that form is nondifferent from Himself, unlike the finite soul in the material body. This sŸtra states that as something formless has no form that can be removed or separated from it, so the transcendental form of the Lord, being identical with Him, is inseparable from Him. That is why the scriptures sometimes refer to God as formless. His form is His own essence.
"1/2varaú paramaú k¨§ºaú
sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaú
anÄdir Ädir govindaú
sarva-kÄraºa-kÄraºam
	„The Supreme Lord K¨§ºa has a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He has no beginning, but is the first and the cause of all causes.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.1)
	The Lord and His form are nondifferent from the texts in the scriptures that teach how meditating on His form affords one liberation and enables one to reach the Lord. If the Lord was formless, or if His personal form was a lower aspect of Him, we could not attain supreme perfection by worshiping or meditating on the Lord’s form. The transcendental nature of the Lord’s form is revealed in the following verse:
a›gÄni yasya sakalendriya-v¨ttimanti
pa1/2yanti pÄnti kalayanti ciraµ jaganti
Änanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam Ädi-puru§aµ tam ahaµ bhajÄmi
	„I worship the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth and substantiality and thus shines with the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in itself the full-fledged functions of all the organs and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the innumerable universes.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.32)
	The scriptures sometimes describe the Lord in negative terms to free us from all material conceptions of Him, not to establish Him as impersonal.
yÄ yÄ 1/2rutir jalpati nirvi1/2e§aµ
sÄ sÄbhidhatte savi1/2e§am eva
vicÄra-yoge sati hanta tÄsÄµ
prÄyo bal"yah savi1/2e§am eva
	„Whenever the Vedas describe the Lord as impersonal, that actually denotes His personal aspect. Whenever these two are examined, the personal aspect is always stronger.“ (Haya1/2ir§Ä Pa-carÄtra )
	Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest of the high and completely transcendental, His spiritual form is sometimes described as unmanifested. This does not diminish the importance of His personality. On the contrary, it establishes the preeminence of His personal identity above everything else.
pra¨teú parm "1/2Änaµ
nirguºaµ nitya-vigraham
Ädyaµ puru§am avyaktaµ
puru-hŸtaµ puru-sthutam
	„The Supreme Lord who is above the material nature is without any material qualities, even so, He does have an eternal form. He is the original Personality of Godhead who is always unmanifest and is widely invoked and praised.“ (Brahma-vaivÄrta PurÄºa 1.2.25)

SüTRA 3.2.15

prakÄ1/2avac cÄvaiyartyam

	prakÄ1/2avat-like the brightness of the sun; ca-and; avaiyarthyam-is not meaningless.

TRANSLATION

	The form of the Lord is nondifferent from Him, like the brightness of the sun, and, therefore, it is not meaningless.

PURPORT

	Some people argue that if we attribute a form to God, we limit Him. Since He is infinite and unlimited, it is useless to consider Him as having a form. Such a form can have no utility or meaning.
	If we accept this viewpoint, then all the declarations in the Vedic literatures about God’s form become meaningless. Therefore, the only course to take is to accept those statements on their face value, i.e., that He has a form. Since it is also stated that He is formless, we must conclude that as He has no material form. He is formless, but He has a spiritual form. The reason that God’s form can be accepted as spiritual is because it is nondifferent from Him, just as the brightness of the sun is nondifferent from the sun. We cannot conceive of the sun without its brightness, and this brightness is as much its internal aspect as its external. This is exactly the position with the Lord and His transcendental form of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
	In sŸtras 2.1.28,30 we learned how God has transcendental variegatness by His possession of diverse energies. The three energies of God-external, marginal and internal-manifest themselves in three different ways. The external eergy manifests as the material creation, the marginal energy as the living entities, and the internal energy manifests as 1/2r"-tattva consisting of RÄdha and Her expansions, such as S"ta and Lak§m". The 1/2r"-tattva is also known as hlÄdin" 1/2akti, or the pleasure potency. The internal potency in the form of RÄdhÄ is the manifestation of the Lord’s own potentiality for enjoying His blissfulness. When we enter the center of the sun, we cannot distinguish the internal brightness from the sun globe itself. Similarly, ür" RÄdhÄ is inseparable from ür" K¨§ºa. The concept of God is incomplete without His pleasure potentiality. ür" RÄdhÄ is often described as the other half of the Supreme Lord’s personality. Together they comprise one complete, whole, indivisible Absolute Truth as the transcendental Enjoyer and His Enjoyed, the Lover and His Beloved. By His pleasure potency ür" RÄdhÄ, the Lord increases His blissfulness unlimitedly.
	ür" Caitanya MahÄprabhu is the most confidential aspect of the Lord because He is the combination of both K¨§ºa and RÄdhÄ as one identity. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead K¨§ºa, He acts in the mood of RÄdhÄ.

SüTRAS 3.2.16-17

Äha ca tan-mÄtram
dar1/2ayati cÄtho api smaryate

	Äha-[scripture] says; ca-and; tat-mÄtram-merely that [His form is merely Himself]; dar1/2ayati-[the üruti ] shows; ca-and; atho-and so; api-also; smaryate-the Sm¨ti states.

TRANSLATION

	The scriptures say that God’s form is just Himself. This is seen in the üruti and in the Sm¨ti literature.

PURPORT

	In the Padma PurÄºa, it is said:
deha-dehi-bhidÄ caiva
ne1/2vare vidyate kvacit
	„In the Supreme Lord there is no difference whatsoever between His body and Himself.“
	Instead of denying the form of God, scripture confirms it:
"1/2varaú paramaú k¨§ºaú
sac-cid-Änanda-vigrahaú
	„The Supreme Lord K¨§ºa has a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.1)
	In the GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad, some sages ask Lord BrahmÄ, „What is the form of God? How does one realize Him? How should one worhsip Him? We wish to know all these things.“ In reply, BrahmÄ says, „He has the appearance of a cowherd boy, the color of a cloud, a tender youth standing under a desire tree. Regarding this there are the following verses:
„K¨§ºa has eyes as beautiful as white lotuses, He has two arms and with His hand makes the sign of knowledge. He is the Supreme Lord and wears a garland of forest flowers. He is accompanied by cows, cowherders and cowherdesses, and stands under the transcendental desire tree; He is adorned with dazzling ornaments, and is posed in the middle of a jewel-like lotus flower, and He is fanned by breezes from the waves of the YamunÄ River. Whoever uses the mind to think of K¨§ºa will become freed from material existence.“
	This transcendental form of the Lord is trans-empirical because it cannot be perceived with the material senses. It can, however, be directly perceived by the pure perceptive faculty of the soul as sÄk§".
	When the scriptures speak of God as vij-Äna-ghana and Änanda-ghana, they refer to His transcendental form. Ghana means a mass. But a mass is a mess. God is not a mess, He is a coherent form of knowledge and bliss, and that is what the word ghana implies in His case. Because of its transcendental composition, His form does not have the limitations of material form which is confirmed in the verse below:
etat tvayÄ na vij-eyaµ
rŸpavÄn iti d¨1/2yate
icchan muhŸrtÄn nÄ1/2yeyam
"1/2o Ôhaµ jagato guruú
	„O NÄrada, do not think that I have this form because you can see it. Being the Supreme Lord and master of the world, when I wish to I can make it vanish in a moment.“ (Mok§a-dharma of the MahÄbhÄrata )

SüTRAS 3.2.18-19

ata eva copamÄ sŸryakÄdivat
ambuvad agrahaºÄt tu na tathÄtvam

	ataú eva-therefore; ca-and; upamÄ-similarity; sŸryaka-Ädivat-like reflections of the sun and so forth; ambuvat-like [a reflection in] water; agrahaºÄt-because it is not perceived; tu-however; na-not; tathÄtvam-the state of being thus.

TRANSLATION

	Therefore, the soul is also said to be like a reflection of sunlight because of his similarity with God.
	However, the soul is not like the reflection of the sun in water because there is no perception of him being thus.

PURPORT

	In previous aphorisms, it was discussed how the form of God is nondifferent from Him, like the sun and its light. Sometimes the scriptures also describe the living entity as being like a reflection of the sun. This is to show the similarity between the living entity and God. Where there is similarity, there is not complete identity. Therefore this example shows the relationship of the soul to God. The reflection is similar to the sun in that it is also bright, but its strength is far less than that of the sun. The brightness of the reflection is derived from and dependent upon the sun.
	The impersonalists think that this comparison of the living entity to a reflection of the sun proves the illusoriness and unreality of the individual existence of the soul. However, it does not at all establish such a view. If the soul is like a reflection of God, then he could not become one with God because there is no equality of substance between a reflection and its original. You can never expect to see the reflection of the sun in water suddenly give up its individual identity by merging into the sun. When we see the sun reflected in a pool of water, we do not think, "This is a reflection of the sun. Therefore this sun which I see in the pool can, upon getting free from the illusoriness of being a reflection, reunite itself with the sun." Rather, we think, "This is a reflection of the sun in water. It is not the same as the sun in substance; but only a similarity of certain qualities. If the sun's light is blocked, or the water is removed, then the reflection will cease to exist." Furthermore, the sun is at a distance from the water and therefore, it can be reflected on the water; but, in the case of the Lord, He is omnipresent. In the center of the sun there can be no reflections of light. Similarly, since God is all-pervading, it is not possible that the living entities who are situated in and pervaded by Him are simultaneously His reflections. Therefore, as these two sŸtras point out, the example of a reflection of the sun illustrates the similarity and difference of the living entity with God, not his equality and oneness.
	There is also scriptural evidence against such an idea of the soul being a mere reflection of God.
	tad acchÄyam a1/2ar"ram alohitam 1/2ubhram ak§aram vedayate.
	"He knows God to be without any reflection, without any material body, without any material color, pure and imperishable." (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 4.10)
	The actual reality of the living entity is substantiated in the following passage:
	"As a spider springs forth by its thread, as small sparks come out of a fire, in the same way, from the Supreme Soul come forth all living creatures, all worlds, all demigods, all beings. The esoteric meaning of this is 'the Real of the real.' The living entities are indeed real, yet He is their Real." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.1.20)
	The example of a reflection does not illustrate the identicalness of the soul with God, but instead illustrates his difference with slight similarity. It is also used to show the relation of the soul to the body:
yathÄ jale candramasaú
kampÄdis tat-k¨to guºaú
d¨1/2yate 'sann api dra§ ur
Ätmano 'nÄtmano guºaú
	"As the moon reflected on water appears to the seer to tremble due to being associated with the quality of water, so the soul in association with the body appears to be qualified as matter." (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.4.11)

SüTRA 3.2.22

prak¨taitÄvattvaµ hi prati§edhati tato brav"ti ca bhŸyaú

	prak¨ta-the statement made; etÄvattvam-the condition of being so much; hi-indeed; prati§edhati-disavow; tataú-than that [which is described]; brav"ti-it states; ca-and; bhŸyaú-more.

TRANSLATION

	The passage that describes God as having a particular limit in fact denies it by saying that He is even more than that.

PURPORT

	One may argue that the scriptures say that His form is His lower aspect and that His higher aspect is formless. This is based on the following passages:
	„There are two kinds of Brahman: with form and without form, the mortal and the immortal, the stationary and the moving, the existential and that which is transcendent. This is the Brahman with form: anything other than air and ether. This is mortal; this is stationary; this is existential. The essence of that form, of the mortal, of the stationary, of the existential is the sun which produces warmth; that is the essence of the existential. Now the formless is air and ether. This is the immortal; this is the moving; this is the transcendent. The essence of this formless, of this immortal, of this moving, of this transcendent is that person who is resent within the orb of the sun. This is the essence of the transcendent.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.3.1-3)
	„Now, the formless is the breath and the space which is within the heart. This is the immortal; this is the moving; this is the transcendent. The essence of this formless, immortal, moving, transcendent is that person who is present within the right eye. He is indeed the essence of the transcendent. The form of that person is like a saffron-colored cloth, like whitish wool, like a red bug, like a flame of fire, like a white lotus flower, like a sudden flash of lightning. For this reason, then, is there the teaching, neti, neti: ÔNot this, not this.’ Than this there is nothing, indeed, nothing which is higher. Thus His title is Ôthe Real of the real’. The living beings are real and He is their Real.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.3.5-6)
	Here it states clearly that the essence of the formless is a person in the right eye with a particular shape, color, description, etc. Then it ends by saying, „neti, neti: Not this, not this.“ There is nothing higher than the teaching that God has no form. Whatever form is ascribed to Him is not real. Only He is real: other things only appear real.
	The scriptures never intend to say that God is limited to any form, such as that within the heart or the right eye. By saying „neti, neti“ the scriptures show that God is not limited to the extent described; He is even greater still. The part in question may thus be construed: „For this reason, then, is there the teaching Ôneti, neti: Not just this. Not just this.’ Thus, His title is Ôthe Real of the real.’ The living beings are real individual forms because He is their Real creator who gives form to them.“
	God does not have just one form or one name as some people believe. He is infinite, and His forms, names and qualities are innumerable and equally transcendental.
	According to the impersonalist school of thought, the personal God is a lower and, therefore, material manifestation of the formless impersonal Absolute. When people worship the personal God, the get no transcendental benefit but only material merit. The scriptures recommend such worship for people who are unable to understand the impersonal. By such worship, they are gradually purified over many births, but by realizing the impersonal aspect of God, one can quickly become free from one’s individuality and merge into the Absolute. Such conclusions are not supported by the scriptures, but are the concoctions of those who do not want to be subordinate to God as His servants. In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ, it is clearly stated that the impersonal Brahman is subordinate to the Personalaty of Godhead.
brahmaºo hi prati§ hÄham
	„I am the basis of the impersonal Absoulute.“ (14.27)
	This is also supported in the Upani§ads:
divyo hy amŸrtaú puru§aú
sa bÄhyÄbhyantaro hy ajaú
aprÄºo hy amanaú 1/2ubhro
	„The Personality of Godhead is transcendental and without any material form. He is within and without and is unborn. He is not an ordinary living being nor is He just a mind-He is pure spirit. He is even higher than the impersonal Absolute.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.2)
avyaktÄt tu paraú puru§o
vyÄpako Ôli›ga eva ca
yaj-j-ÄtvÄ mucyate jantur
am¨tatvaµ ca gacchati

na saµdr1/2e ti§ hati rŸpam asya
na cak§u§Ä pa1/2yati ka1/2canainam
h¨dÄ mani§Ä manasÄbhikÂpto
ya etad vidur am¨tas te bhavanti
	„But higher than the unmanifest is the Personality of Godhead who is all-pervasive and without any material trait. Knowing Him, a living creature becomes liberated and achieves immortality. His form is not within the purview of the senses, nor is it seen by anyone Ôs eye. Apprehended by the heart, thought and mind, those who know Him become immortal.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.8-9)
	The impersonalists object to this by saying that the scriptures also teach that to become immortal is to merge in God like the rivers entering into the ocean. The text concerned, however, does not support this contention:
gathÄ nÄ¶yaú syandamÄnaú samudre
Ôstaµ gacchanti nÄma-rŸpe vihÄya
tathÄ vidvÄn nÄma-rŸpÄd vimuktaú
parÄt paraµ puru§am upaiti divyam
	„As rivers flowing into the sea vanish, giving up their names and forms, so does the wise one, liberated from name and form, draw near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.8)
	When the soul is free from all material contamination, he relinquishes his material name and form just as the molecules of water in the river relinquish their names and forms when the river enters the ocean. As the individual molecules of water are present in the ocean, so the individual liberated souls are present in God because the spiritual world is filled by His presence, though He also has His personal form with which the liberated souls associate. For those in material existence to attain the spiritual world is like merging in the ocean. We cannot see where such liberated souls have gone. The finite souls vanish upon attaining liberation as baby chicks vanish from sight upon taking shelter under the mother hen.
	As the form of the Lord is nondifferent from Him because it is His essence, so also the different incarnations of the Lord are nondifferent from the Lord because they are of the same essence. The sun appears to rise and set daily, when, in actuality, it is motionless. Similarly, the Lord is one, although He appears to manifest in this world, and then unmanifest. His transcendental form is eternally manifest in the spiritual world. Therefore, the Ka ha Upani§ad (4.10) admonishes:
yad eveha tad amutra
yad amutra tad anviha
m¨tyos sa m¨tyum Äpnoti
ya iha nÄneva pa§yati
	„Whatever is here, that is there. Whatever is there, that indeed is here. He obtains death after death who seemingly sees any difference here.“
	Whether the Lord is in His original abode in the transcendental realm, or whether He manifests in this world, in both circumstances, He is identical. Brahma-saµhitÄ explains:
goloka eva nivasaty akhilÄtma-bhŸtaú
	„The Supreme Lord dwells in His own abode of Goloka and is also the Supersoul within all things.“ (5.37)
	Therefore, if one considers that the manifestations of the Lord in this world are different from Hime, one is surely committing a great blunder. The Lord’s inconceivable ability to manifest Himself in different forms is often compared to the shimmering effect of the vaidurya gem. Momentarily, it appears to be yellow, then green, then red, then blue, yet ir remains the same stone. Similarly, the Lord is one, but He appears differently according to different circumstances. In this connection, the VedÄnta-sŸtra (3.2.35) points out:
sthÄna-vi1/2esÄt prakÄ1/2Ädivat
	„There are differences between the manifestations of the Absolute on account of their having a particular place, time and circumstance for manifestation, as in the case of the light of the sun.“
	The appearance of the light of the sun at dawn, noon, and sunset varies because of the difference of time, place and atmospheric conditions. These differences are only apparent; the sun is always one, as is its light. Similarly, the Lord appears in different ages, in different places, under different circumstances; but, despite the apparent differences, He is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. The incarnational manifestations of the Lord as Matsya, KŸrma, VarÄha, N¨siµha, VÄmana and RÄma are not inferior to the Lord in His original form in the spiritual world.
	In the transcendental realm of Vaikuº ha there are infinite spiritual planets, and the Lord presides over each of these in different expanded manifestations such as VÄsudeva, Sa›kar§aºa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, NÄrÄyaºa, PadmanÄbha, Puru§ottama, etc. All these different Vaikuº ha expansions are identical in essence with the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, ür" K¨§ºa.

SüTRA 3.2.23

tad avyaktam Äha hi

	tat-that [form of the Lord]; avyaktam-unmanifested; Äha-is said; hi-indeed.

TRANSLATION

	The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unmanifested because it is said so in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The true form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can not be seen by material senses. Thus, the Upani§ads declare:
na sand¨1/2e ti§ hati rŸpam asya
na cak§u§Ä pa1/2yati ka1/2canainam
	"His form is not within the purview of the senses, nor is it seen by anyone's eye." (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.9)
ag¨hyo na hi g¨hyate
a1/2"ryo na hi 1/2"ryate
	"He is imperceptible because He is not perceived, He is imperishable because He does not perish." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.9.26)
avyakto 'k§ara ity uktas
tam Ähuú paramaµ gatim
	"That which is said to be unmanifested and imperishable, that they call the supreme destination." (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.21)
	In reference to the material world, the Lord is described as unmanifested. For us, His form is unmanifested because, due to our envelopment in matter, we are unable to see His eternal form of bliss. For Him, there is no question of His form being manifested. He is inseparable from His form because He is His form. Even when the Lord descends to this world, the form that He manifests is completely transcendental, not material as some grossly foolish persons believe. 
avajÄnanti mÄµ mŸdhÄ
mÄnu§"µ tanum Ä1/2ritam
paraµ bhÄvam ajÄnanto
mama bhŸta-mahe1/2varam
	"Fools deride Me when I appear in My human-like form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be." (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.11)

SüTRAS 3.2.26-27

prakÄ1/2a1/2 ca karmaºy abhyÄsÄt
ato Ônantena tathÄ hi li›gam

	prakÄ1/2aú-manifestation; ca-and; karmaºi-in activities [of devotional service]; abhyÄsÄt-because of constant practice; ataú-therefore; Änantena-by the Infinite Lord; tathÄ-in this regards; hi-indeed; li›gam-an indication [in scripture].

TRANSLATION

	And the Lord becomes manifest for the devotee because of his constant practice of devotional service.
	Therefore, it is by the grace of the Infinite Lord that one attains such perfection, for there is an indication to that effect in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	In the preceding text, it is shown how God’s form is completely transcendental with no material limitations. The sŸtras of this text state that the Lord’s form, though not perceptible through the material senses, can be perceived by the soul. The major question in all religions is how can one realize God. The sŸtra immediately preceding these two states:
api saµrÄdhane pratyak§ÄnumÄnÄbhyÄm
	„Even though God’s form is unmanifest in this world, He can be seen upon worshiping Him fully. This is learned from statements in both üruti  and Sm¨ti.“  (VedÄnta-sŸtra 3.2.24)
	From the above aphorism, it is understood the karmaºy abhyÄsÄt, or constant practice in activities means saµrÄdhana or worshiping the Lord with full devotion. There are many statements in the various Vedic literatures about how the Lord’s form, even though unmanifested in this world, can be seen by the devotee:
parÄ-ci khÄni vyat¨ºat fvayambhus
tasmÄt parÄ› pa1/2yati nÄntarÄtman
ka1/2cid dh"raú pratyag-Ätmanam aik§ad
Äv¨tta-cak§ur am¨tatvam icchan
	„The self-existent Supersoul directed the senses of the individual soul outward, therefore one looks outwards, not within oneself. A certain wise man who desired immortality turned his eyes inwards and saw the Supersoul face to face.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 4.1)
na cak§u§Ä g¨hyate nÄpi vÄcÄ
nÄnyair devais tapasÄ karmaºÄ vÄ
j-Äna-prasÄdena vi1/2uddha-sattvas
tatas tu taµ~pa1/2yate ni§kalaµ dhyÄyamÄnaú
	„He is not grasped by sight, speech, nor the other senses, neither by austerity nor material activities. By the gift of knowledge one attains transcendental purity. After that, however, one sees the indivisible Supersoul by meditating.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.8)
nÄhaµ vedair na tapasÄ
na dhyÄnena na cejyayÄ
1/2akya evam-vidho dra§ uµ
d¨§tavÄn asi mÄµ yathÄ

bhaktyÄ tv ananyayÄ 1/2akya
aham evam-vidho Ôrjuna
j-Ätuµ dra§ uµ ca tattvena
prave§ uµ ca parantapa
	„I cannot be seen by studying the Vedas, by the practice of austerities, nor by charity or worship, in the same way that you are seeing Me. But it is by undivided devotional service, O Arjuna, that one can truly know, see and commune with Me as I am, O conqueror of the enemies.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 11.53-54)
	A soul cannot attain God by his own power, as this is indicated by the statement that He canot be attained by such things as austerity, knowledge, etc. Even the devotional activities performed by the devotee do not really reveal Him. It is only by His will to do so that He becomes manifested before someone:
nÄhaµ prakÄ1/2aú sarvasya
yoga-mÄyÄ-samÄv¨taú
mu¶ho Ôyaµ nÄbhijÄnÄti
loko mÄm ajam avyayam
	„I am not manifest to everyone because I am covered by My own creative potency (yoga-mÄyÄ ). Thus the deluded world does not know Me who am unborn and imperishable.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.25)
nÄyam ÄtmÄ pravacanena labhyo
na medhayÄ na bahunÄ 1/2rutena
yam evai§a v¨ºute tena labhyas
tasyai§a ÄtmÄ viv¨ºute tanŸµ svÄm
	„This Supreme Soul cannot be attained by mere instruction, intellectual endeavor, nor by much study of the revealed scriptures. He is attainable only by one whom He chooses; to him the Lord reveals His own form.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.3)
	Nevertheless, as stated in this section of the VedÄnta-sŸtra, if one wants to see God, then the surest way to win His favor is by fully engaging in the regular activities of devotional service. This is called sÄdhana-bhakti. The details of how to execute devotional service have already been given by my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C BhaktivedÄnta SvÄm" PrabhupÄda in his book entitled Nectar of Devotion. Because of its  conciseness, the VedÄnta-sŸtra does not elaborate the details of devotional service, especially since the details are already fully elaborated in the PurÄºas, Pa-carÄtras, and the writings of the great ÄcÄryas.

SüTRAS 3.2.30-31

pŸrvavad vÄ
prati§edhÄc ca

	pŸrvavat-like that which is prior [and that which is later]; va-or; prati§edhÄt-because of the prohibition; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	God is both blissful and bliss, as in the case of time being one and yet divisible into earlier and later periods.
	And there is also a prohibition in the scriptures against considering God and His attributes as separate.

PURPORT

	In previous sŸtras, it was established that the Lord's form is nondifferent from Him. In these two sŸtras, it is established that the Lord's transcendental attributes are also nondifferent from Him. In the Taittir"ya Upani§ad (2.8), the Supreme Lord is described as Änanda-maya, or full of bliss. In many places, He is described as sarva-j-a, or omniscient. But at other times He is described as mere attributes, as in the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (3.9.28)
vij-Änam Änandaµ brahma
	"Brahman is knowledge and bliss."
	This interchangeablity of determinatives as either the possessor of attributes or the attributes themselves is possiible in the case of the Lord because, like His form, His attributes are also nondifferent from Him. They constitute His essence. The VedÄnta-sŸtra illustrates this interrelationship in this way:
ubhaya-vyapade1/2Ät tv ahi-kuº¶alavat
	"The Lord is both blissful and bliss, or the possessor of attributes and the attributes, because of the scriptural indication to that effect, just as the coils of a snake are identical with the snake." (VedÄnta-sŸtra 3.2.28)
	As the present text points out, though time is one, it is divisible into earlier and later periods. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one and yet discernible in different ways, according to His different attributes:
Änandena tv abhinnena
vyavahÄraú prakÄ1/2avat
pŸrvavad vÄ yathÄ kÄlaú
svÄvacchedakatÄµ vrajet
	"Although bliss is not separate from the Lord, it is conventionally considered so, as the light of the sun is sometimes considered as something separate from the sun, or as time, though one, divides itself up as earlier and later." (BrÄhma PurÄºa )
	Numerous scriptural passages teach that the Lord's attributes are nondifferent from Him, and should never be considered as different from Him:
manasaivedam Äptavyam
neha nÄnÄsti ki-cana
m¨tyoú sa m¨tyuµ gacchati
ya iha nÄneva pa1/2yati
	"By the mind alone can this realization be obtained, that there is no difference here [between the Lord and His attributes]. From death to death goes he who sees apparent difference here." (Ka ha Upani§ad 4.11)
yathodakam durge v¨§ am
parvate§u vidhÄvati
evaµ dharmÄn p¨thak pa1/2yaµs
tÄn evÄnuvidhÄvati
	"As rain water falling on the summit of a mountain dashes down the slopes, even so, one who sees the qualities of the Lord as separate from Him, considering them so, he dashes downwards." (Ka ha Upani§ad 4.14)
	That the Lord's attributes are not different from Himself is indicated in the following passage:
nirdo§a-pŸrºa-guºa-vigraha Ätma-tantro
ni1/2cetanÄtmaka-1/2ar"ra-guºai1/2 ca h"naú
Änanda-mÄtra-kara-pÄda-mukhodarÄdiú
sarvatra ca svagata-bheda-vivarjitÄtmÄ
	"The Lord's form is faultless and full of auspicious qualities. He is self dependent and devoid of the qualities of a body of insentient matter. His hands, feet, mouth, stomach, and other parts are composed merely of bliss. He is all-pervading and devoid of any internal difference." (NÄrada-pa-carÄtra )
	All these texts prove that the Lord's attributes and qualities are not separate from Him but are His essential nature. He is designated as BhagavÄn because this name shows Him to be the form of transcendental attributes:
j-Äna-1/2akti-balai1/2varya-
v"rya-tejÄµsy a1/2e§ataú
bhagava-chabda-vÄcyÄni
vinÄ heyair guºÄdibhiú
	"BhagavÄn indicates absence of undesirable qualities, such as the three modes of nature, and presence of unlimited knowledge, power, strength, opulence, prowess, and splendor." (Vi§ºu PurÄºa 6.5.79)
	The attributes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not separate from Him and therefore the above attributes are collectiviely called BhagavÄn. The Lord is not like a tree consisting of separable parts as a root, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, etc. Rather, He and His attributes are inseparably one like the condition of a diamond. The Lord and His attributes may sometimes be spoken of separately, though they are, in essence, one and the same. This is like when water and waves are spoken of as separate, though they both constitute the same thing. All entities are distinguished from each other by their own respective vi1/2e§as, or attributes. A thing may have various attributes. Since each attribute is different from the other attributes of a thing, each of them appears to be something other than and separate from the thing itself. In reality, however, they are not separate from it. This is proven by the fact that a thing loses its identity and corresponding nature when its attributes are altered, as when the liquidity of water is negated by freezing. Similarly, one cannot take the luminosity out of light, nor the heat out of fire. Because the vi1/2e§as, or attributes of the Lord, are inseparable and nondifferent from the Lord, they are also eternal and free from material defect like Him. Hence the form which they constitute must also be eternal and free from material defect.
	Although the Lord and His attributes are inseparably one, it is not at all wrong to enumerate and analyze His attributes individually. One may argue that since the Lord and His attributes are one, it becomes a useless repetition to equate the Lord with them, or vice versa. If this is so, then expressions such as "time always is" could have no value. The fact is that statements such as, "time always is," "being exists," and "space is everywhere," are common expressions of practical value for defining these, even though, according to the strict rules of logic, they are simply redundancies.  It cannot be said that the statement "being exists" has no value, as it conveys information every bit as valid as the statement "a jar exists." Indeed, the knowledge conveyed by the statement, "being exists" is not subject to sublation by another experience, as in the case of the statement "John is a lion," in which it is later learned that John is not a lion. No one can deny that being exists, though one could argue that John is not a lion. The fact that the statements "being exists," "time always is," and "space is everywhere," are natural and incontrovertible only proves that these substances and their attributes are inseparable.
	Vedic literature forewarns that those who see the attributes of the Lord as something other than the Lord, concluding that He is impersonal, and that these attributes are material or illusory, will sink down into the depths of material existence as water rushes down the slopes of mountains into valleys.
	There is no sense in asking what are the qualities that distinguish the Lord's attributes from each other, as this leads to infinite regress. Each attribute is inseparable from the Lord; yet, each one is its own particular quality or function that distinguishes it from the others.

SüTRAS 3.2.35-36

sthÄna-vi1/2e§Ät prakÄ1/2Ädivat
upapatte1/2 ca

	sthÄna-place; vi1/2e§Ät-because of a particular; prakÄ1/2a-Ädivat-as in the case of light, etc.; upapatteú-because of appropriateness; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	There is a difference between the manifestations of the Lord due to the place and purpose of that manifestation, as in the case of light, etc.
	And for this reason the scriptural statement about attaining different goals according to one's resolution is appropriate.

PURPORT

	When it is said that the Lord's form consists of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, one should not conclude that His person is therefore, monotonous. The variegatedness of His attributes has eternity, knowledge, and bliss as its essence, and yet, they are all inconceivable manifested as different and distinct. Thus, the forms of the Lord are different, due to being in different places and due to the distinct moods of the devotees. The question may arise as to whether, when the Lord manifests His different forms, are they all equal or are some greater and some lesser. This sŸtra  states that all God's forms are equal, the difference only being in their place or purposes of manifestation, in reciprocation with the moods of the devotees. The Lord associates with the devotees in five primary relationships: 1/2Änta, dÄsya, sÄkhya, vÄtsalya, and mÄdhurya. üÄnta is a neutral relationship, as in the case of the yog" and his object of meditation, the Supersoul. DÄsya is servitude or the relationship of God as the Lord and the devotee as the servant. SÄkhya is friendship, in which the Lord and the devotee act as intimate equals. VÄtsalya is parental affection, in which the Lord acts like the child of the devotee. And mÄdhurya, or sweetness, is the relationship in which the Lord acts as the lover, and the devotee acts as the beloved. When the Lord manifests a form to reciprocate with the devotee in one of these moods, He is identically the same as when He is in any other of them. Each form of the Lord is not less than or greater than Him but is completely and indistinguishably Him.
	When a lamp is placed in the center of a room, the one light appears different according to the different places it illumines. It appears one way due to a shiny surface, another way due to a rough surface, and another way according to the color of the object it hits. The Lord Himself has two moods in which He manifests His various forms: ai1/2varya, or lordliness, and mÄdhurya, or sweetness. When He manifests His forms in the mood of lordliness, they instill a feeling of awe and reverence in the devotees. But when He manifests His forms in sweetness, that is, in rustic, human-like simplicity, they instill a feeling of intense intimacy in the mood of worship of the devotees. When a devotee is serving a form of the Lord manifested in lordliness, he does so strictly according to all the rules and regulations listed in the scriptures. But when a devotee is serving a form of the Lord manifested in sweetness, he does so according to the moods that spontaneously swell up within his heart. When love of God is tightly regulated by the mandates of scripture, it is brilliant and dazzling like the light of a lamp shining inside a white marble temple. But when God's lordliness is overshadowed by His sweet loveliness, the resultant love of God is like the light of a lamp burning inside a temple made of red rubies-it is less brilliant, but more relishable due to its special mellow quality.
	Another example is that of air which vibrates with a high, medium, or low sound according to whether it is vibrated by a flute, horn, or drum.
	As this sŸtra points out, the different forms of the Lord are identical in substance but different in mood. If this were not so, there would be no question of the devotees in different moods attaining the same Supreme Lord as the scriptures claim:
	atha khalu kratur-mayaú puru§aú, yathÄ kratur asmil loke puru§o bhavati tathetaú pretya bhavati; sa kratuµ kurv"ta.
	"Now, indeed, a person possesses resolution. As is his resolution in this world, so does he become on departing from here. Therefore, let him become resolute." (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.1)

SüTRAS 3.2.39-40

phalam ata upapatteú
1/2rutatatvÄc ca

	phalam-fruit; ataú-from Him; upapatteú-because of being reasonable; 1/2rutatvÄt-because of the statement in üruti; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	The fruits of activities are given by the Lord because it is reasonable.
	The revealed scriptures also confirm this.

PURPORT

	The Supreme Personality of Godhead is worthy to be worshiped by all because He bestows the rewards of all actions upon the performers. Those who follow the karma-kÄº¶a section of the Vedas are not interested in worshiping God because they say there is no need to. All desired results are achieved automatically by performing the necessary activity, just as the activity of eating satiates hunger, or the activity of construction provides one with the shelter of a home. Therefore, if one is desirous of attaining the heavenly planets, one simply has to perform the required ceremonies and rituals as outlined in the Vedas, and it will be accomplished.
	We will now show how this is an unreasonable assumption. Rituals and sacrifices are nonintelligent and momentary. After their performance, they no longer exist. For these two reasons, they cannot be efficient causes of anything. Rather they are themselves only incidental. It is therefore more reasonable to assume that the all-intelligent Lord is the efficient power that brings all actions to fructification. It is He who metes out the appropriate rewards according to one's deeds. This is the conclusion of the revealed scriptures:
puºyena puºyaµ lokaµ nayati
	"He leads one to the world of piety by pious deeds." (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 3.7)
	vij-Änam Änandaµ brahma rÄtir dÄtuú parÄyaºaµ ti§ hamÄnasya tad-vida iti.
	"God is knowledge, bliss, and the ultimate goal of the liberal giver of gifts and of one who stands still and knows Him." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.9.28)
	sa vÄ e§a mahÄn aja ÄtmÄnnÄdo vasudÄno-vindate vasu ya evaµ veda.
	"This is that great, unborn Soul who eats the food [that we eat], and who is the giver of wealth. He finds wealth who knows this." (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.24)

SüTRA 3.3.1

sarva-vedÄnta-pratyayaµ codanÄdy-avi1/2esÄt

	sarva-all; vedÄnta-the VedÄnta literature; pratyayam-the firm conviction; codana-Ädi-injuctions and so on; avi1/2esÄt-because of not being distinct.

TRANSLATION

	It is the firm conviction of all the Vedic literatures that one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead because all their injuctions and so forth are not really different in purpose.

PURPORT

	Among brÄhmaºas, there are various schools of Vedic tradition. Each school studies particular sections of the Vedas. Therefore, sometimes brÄhmaºas may say that it is not necessary for them to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead because that is not enjoined in their section of the Vedas. Such persons are usually content with karma-kÄº¶a, or the parts of the Vedas dealing with ritualistic activities to fulfill one’s desires for a happy material life. They think that by performing such rituals they will achieve all their life’s material goals. Here, however, VyÄsadeva stresses that the ultimate object to be known is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout the different sŸtras, VyÄsadeva shows how the Vedic literature is consistent about the supreme position of the Personality of Godhead, and that He is, therefore, worthy to be worshiped by everyone. Here he emphasizes that the worship of the Supreme Lord is the ultimate purpose of all sections of the Vedas. All of the Vedic literatures are trying to bring us to the point of surrendering to the Lord and becoming His servants. The Vedas directly state this in injuctions, appeal to us by direct and indirect reasoning, or lead us gradually to the point of surrender through the rituals and pious activities which they recommend. This is confirmed by the Supreme Lord Himself:
vedai1/2 ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedÄnta-k¨d veda-vid eva cÄham
	„I am that which is to be known through all the Vedas. Indeed, I am the compiler of VedÄnta and the knower of the Vedas.“  (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 15.15)
kiµ vidhatte kim Äcaste
kim anŸdya vikalpayet
ity asyÄ h¨dayaµ loke
nÄnyo mad veda ka1/2cana

mÄµ vidhatte Ôbhidhatte mÄµ
vikalpyapohyate tv aham
etÄvÄn sarva-vedÄrthaú
1/2abda ÄsthÄya mÄµ bhidÄm
mÄyÄ-mÄtram anŸdyÄnte
prati§idhya pras"dati
	„What is the instruction of the Vedas ? On what do they focus? What is the aim of their explanations and deliberations? Besides Myself no one in this world knows the heart of this matter. The Vedic literature ordains Me, it denotes Me and determines Me by its explanations and deliberations. This is the full meaning of the Vedas. Taking their stand on Me, the Vedas reiterate that any difference of opinion in this matter is simply illusion and, having ultimately forbidden such deviation, they are satisfied.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.21.42-43)

SüTRA 3.3.6

upasaµhÄro ÔrthÄbhedÄd vidhi-1/2e§avat samÄne ca

	upasaµhÄraú-combination; artha-abhedÄt-because of the nondifference of the goal; vidhi-1/2e§avat-like an injunction [performed by combining] remainders [from other sources]; samÄne-in the case of what is common; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	Since all the forms of the Lord described in the many Vedic literatures are identical, one can combine all of them in a common worship, as when one performs a ritual by combining details from various sources.

PURPORT

	All the forms of the Lord are of identical substance and only seemingly differ according to the mood of reciprocation between the Lord and the devotee. SŸtra 3.3.1 states:
sarva-vedÄnta-pratyayaµ codanÄdy-avi1/2e§Ät
	„It is the firm conviction of all the Vedic literatures that one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead because all their injuctions and so forth are not really different in purpose.“
	In certain ceremonies injoined in the Vedas, it is necessary to combine details from a number of sources, as in the case of a general fire sacrifice, whereas sacrifices for specific purposes are strictly regulated in every detail. This is also true in the worship of the Supreme Lord. In different places, He is described as father, friend, lover, or as different incarnations. Since all of these are equally the selfsame Lord, a devotee may worship any one of them or combinedly worship them as he chooses. As a matter of fact, the Vedic scriptures do combine the different forms of the Lord for common worship:
	oµ yo vai 1/2r"-rÄmacandraú sa bhagavÄn ye matsya-kŸrmÄdy-avatÄrÄ bhŸr bhuvaú svas tasmai vai namo namaú.
	„I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead RÄmacandra, who is identical with the other avatÄras,  such as Matsya, KŸrma, and so forth.“ (RÄma-tÄpan" Upani§ad )
	Similarly, in the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (10.40.17-22), AkrŸra prays to Lord K¨§ºa by addressing Him with the names of the principal incarnations. Thus, he says:
namas te raghu-varyÄya
rÄvanÄnta-karÄya ca
	„I offer my obeisances to RÄma, the best of the Raghu dynasty and slayer of the demon RÄvana.“ (10.40.20)
	These combinations of the different forms of the Lord are specifically for worshiping the Lord as the Supreme by recognizing all of His forms as nondifferent from Him. But when a devotee worships the Lord according to a particular mood of devotion, he should only worship those forms which are compatible with his mood. A devotee who has parental affection for K¨§ºa will not find worship of the Lord as Narasiµha, the half-man, half-lion incarnation, to be compatible with his mood. Similarly, a devotee who is inclined to worship the Lord as the all-powerful sovereign of the spiritual kingdom will not be able to relate to K¨§ºa’s childhood pastimes. Therefore, both manners of worship-in a common way or in a specific way-are equally valid for the devotee according to his purpose and mood of devotion.
	Certain features of the Lord should not be meditated upon by the devotee during worship. Thus, the VedÄnta-sŸtra admonishes:
vedhÄdy-artha-bhedÄt
	„God should not be worshiped as the piercer of enemies, etc. because the goal is different from that of developing lov of God.“ (3.3.26)
	In the Atharva Veda, there are prayers such as these:
saµvatsar"ºam paya usriyÄyÄs
tasya mÄ1/2"d yÄtudhÄno n¨cak§aú
pÄyŸsam agne yatam asti t¨psÄt taµ
pratya-cam arci§Ä vidhya marmaºi
	„The cow gives milk every year; let not the sorcerer ever taste it, O You who watch all men! If anyone, O Lord, should satisfy him with milk, pierce his innerds with Your flame!“ (Atharva Veda 8.3.17)
agne tvacaµ yÄtudhÄnasya bhindhi
hiµsrÄ1/2anirharasÄ hantv enam
pra parvaºi jÄtavedaú 1/2¨º"hi
kravyÄt kravi§ºur vicinotv enam
	„Pierce the sorcerer’s skin, O Lord; let the destructive fire of Your dart kill him. Tear apart his joints; let the fiend who desires to eat raw flesh satisfy that desire by destroying him!“ (Atharva Veda 8.3.4)
	Since petitioning the Lord to pierce and destroy one’s enemies does not lead to the development of love of God, the VedÄnta-sŸtra prohibits such worship. This kind of prayer is for the most degraded and materialistic people, not for those who desire liberation from this world. The practice of nonviolence has been specifically mentioned in the Vedic literatures (See Bhagavad-g"tÄ 13.8) as a prerequisite for self-realization. A Vai§ºava devotee is para-duúkha-duúkh", always saddened by the misfortune of others. Therefore, how can a devotee wish for the destruction of his enemies. Rather, the devotee prays that his enemies become enlightened about their real welfare-loving service to God. Besides, the scriptures recommend for the spiritual aspirant only those activities conducive to the attainment of spiritual realization:
kÄyena manasÄ buddhyÄ
kevalair indriyair api
yoginaú karma kaunteya
sa›gam tyaktvÄtma-1/2uddhaye
	„Abandoning attachment, the yog"s act with body, mind, intelligence, and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 5.11)
jarÄ-maraºa-mok§Äya
mÄm Ä1/2ritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduú k¨tsnam
adhyÄtmaµ karma cÄkhilam
	„Those who strive for liberation from old age and death by taking shelter of Me-they are actually Brahman because they know everything about spiritual and material activities.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.29)

SüTRAS 3.3.8-10

na vÄ prakaraºa-bhedÄt parovar"yastvÄdivat
saµj-Äta1/2 cet tad-uktam asti tu tad api
vyÄpte1/2 ca sama-jasam

	na-not [to be combined]; vÄ-certainly; prakaraºa-the topc or object [of devotion]; bhedÄt-because of the difference; paraovar"yastva-Ädivat-as in the case of attributes like „highest“ and „best“; saµj-Ätaú-a common term; cet-if; tat-that; uktam-said; asti-there is; tu-but; tat-that; api-also; vyÄpteú-because of pervasion; ca-and; sama-jasam-proper.

TRANSLATION

	One who is exclusively devoted to one form of the Lord should not combine all the forms of the Lord in his worship because of the difference in his devotional aptitude, just as when the udg"tha is worshiped as the „golden person“ one does not combine the same feature of the udg"tha as the „highest of the high“.
	One may say that since all the Lord’s names are represented by the common term bhagavÄn, therefore it is more proper to worship the Lord by combining all His forms, this has already been answered in the above sŸtra and there is also a scriptural reference to such combination.
	To worship the Lord as just one of His forms is proper because, being all-pervading, He is equally present in all forms.

PURPORT

	Although fully conversant with all the different attributes of the Lord as presented in all the Vedic literatures, some devotees feel an exclusive attraction to a particular form of the Lord. Thus, they worship Him in that way only. Such exclusive devotees are called ekÄnt"s. Exclusive dedication to only one aspect of the Lord is sanctioned by the scriptures in regards to the worship of the Lord by the udg"tha mantra. In text 1.9.1 of the ChÄndogya Upani§ad, it is stated that while worshiping the Lord with the udg"tha, one should think of Him as ether. The description of the Lord as ether is to impress upon us His all-pervasive aspect as the support and foundation of existence. In this aspect, He is described as the highest and most excellent. On the other hand, in texts 1.6.6-7 of the same ChÄndogya Upani§ad, the udg"tha is described as a golden person with brilliant personal features and eyes like lotus flowers. Although the goal in both forms of worship is designated by the same term-udg"tha-one cannot mix the two together, as they are two different instructions. One who has become accustomed to worshiping the Lord as the Supreme Person will not find transcendental satisfaction in thinking of Him only as all-pervading and the basis of existence. Similarly, onw who is attached to thinking of God as impersonal and all-pervading will not be able to appreciate the Lord’s transcendental form as the Supreme Person. The same principle applies to those who are attached to a particular feature of the Lord’s personality, such as Vi§ºu, K¨§ºa, RÄma, N¨siµha, or VarÄha. By dedicating oneself wholly to one aspect of the Lord, one achieves a partial realization of God. Because He is infinite and all-pervading, He is equally present in each of His transcendental forms. Thus, worship of any one of them confers the same supreme benefit of liberation.
	There are two classes of devotees-svani§ ha and ekÄnt". The svani§ ha devotee has an equal attraction for all the different forms of the Lord. He is as content to worship one form as he is to worship any other. When praising the Lord, he will invoke the Lord’s names indiscriminately: K¨§ºa, RÄma, VÄmana, GopÄla, NÄrÄyaºa. PÄrthasÄrathi, etc. By combinedly worshiping different features of the Lord, the devotee’s appreciation for the great power and supreme majest of the Lord is enhanced.
	EkÄnt"s, or exclusivists, dedicate themselves to worshiping just one form of the Lord. Because their love is concentrated on just one form of the Lord, it is much more intense than that of the svani§ ha devotee. Of the two classes of devotees, the ekÄnt" is superior. Moreover, since the attributes and forms of the Lord are innumerable, it is not possible for the svani§ ha devotee to worship all of them in a fully combined way. He can, at best, only worship a certain number of them at once. By dedicating himself to worshiping just one feature of the Lord’s personality, the ekÄnt" devotee develops a very deep and intimate relationship with the Lord. Therefore the position of the ekÄnt" is superiorfrom every angle of vision.

SüTRA 3.3.11

sarvÄbhedÄd anyatreme

	sarva-abhedÄt-because all [the Lord’s pastimes] are nondifferent; anyatra-elsewhere; ime-the (the Lord and His devotees).

TRANSLATION

	The Lord’s pastimes are eternal because He is performing the same pastimes again and again in other places with the same devotees.

PURPORT

	Having established the nondifference of the Lord and His attributes, features, and forms, this sŸtra proposes that the pastimes of the Lord are eternal like Him. When people hear that the Lord’s pastimes are eternal, they often become bewildered. The problem is that when a pastime is performed, it consists of a series of actions and events. When the end of the pastime is reached, the beginning no longer exists. And, when the next pastime begins, the previous one no longer exists. Therefore, it seems unreasonable to propose that a pastime could be eternal. The Lord performs His pastimes in relation with His devotees. Now, if His pastimes were eternal, then every act in them would also be eternal. If an act is eternal, then the devotee connected with it must be so eternally. Thus, he cannot have any contact with the other acts constituting the pastime. The result is that there is no possibility for the pastime to unfold. That is why the Lord’s pastimes cannot be eternal. If K¨§ºa is eternally in the form of a sixteen-year-old boy dancing with the gop"s, He cannot at the same time be in the lap of Mother Ya§odÄ. If it is accepted that every act is eternal, then, being petrified in time, there can be seen no flowing from one action to the next. When all acts are existing simultaneously, their motion becomes stultified. This stagnation of motion results in monotony, not bliss. For all these reasons, the Lord’s pastimes cannot be eternal.
	In reply to these objections against the eternality of the Lord’s pastimes, we must first point out that they are of two kinds: those taking place in the spiritual world, and those occurring in the material world. The Lord’s pastimes in the material world are said to be eternal for two reasons: either they are originally, and therefore, eternally taking place in the spiritual world, or else they are only taking place eternally in the material world. When a person says the word cow two times, it is not that he has said two different words, but the same word. He has simply repeated it. In the same way, the Lord repeats His pastimes again and again in the material world. The example given is the sun. At the same time that the sun is gradually disappearing from one place, it is simultaneously reappearing in another place. Thus, there is only an apparent beginning and end to the Lord’s pastimes. The Lord travels from planet to planet and from universe to universe with His intimate devotees, performing the drama of His pastimes like the actor of a transcendental road show. Even in those cases where the same person is not available, the role is filled by someone else, so that there is no difference in the execution of the pastime. And after the whole material world is annihilated and again created, the Lord reperforms the same pastimes with a new cast of actors. Since the material world undergoes cycles of creation and destruction by the Lord, His pastimes have also been performed in the material world since beginningless time.
	In this world, everything is limited by material time and space. Events always occur successively, and things are confined to a particular space. In contrast, in the spiritual world, there is no linear time or constricting space:
nime§ÄrdhÄkhyo vÄ vrajati na hi yatrÄpi samÄyaú
	„In the spiritual world time does not pass away even for half a moment.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.56)
eko devo nitya-l"lÄnurakto
bhakta-vyÄp" h¨dy antar-ÄtmÄ
	„The one Lord is eternally engaged in transcendental pastimes with His devotees and is present in their hearts as the Supersoul.“ (Puru§a-bodhin" Upani§ad )
	In the spiritual world, the circumstances under which the Lord performs His pastimes are entirely different from those in the material world. If a person were to pass his whole life living in a thatched hut somewhere in a jungle, he would not know about the workings of thinks like telephone, television, radio, airplane, space ship, computer, atomic energy, etc. because all these things are outside of his experience. Similarly, at the present time our only experience is that of the material world. Therefore, when we hear that in the spiritual world there is transcendental time in which everything is eternally present, and yet, there is also a succession of events constituting the eternal pastimes, we should not scoff at this as unreasonable or impossible.  The possibility of the eternality of all moments in the spiritual world should not be rejected simply because we have never experienced it. In fact, it is because of our inexperience in these matters that we cannot comprehend them. Hence, if one wants to understand the eternal nature of activities in the spiritual world, one should go there, then one will be satisfied by seeing for one’s self.
	Because the Supreme Lord really is omnipotent, it is not impossible for Him to make the eternal acts of the spiritual world appear in a successive order to the devotees. Since the pastimes serve to release the feelings of love between the Lord and the devotees, the activity of the pastimes is only of secondary significance. The real thing is the exchange of love. Besides, it is not true that a soul eternally associated with one act cannot also be associated with another act. The president of the land is simultaneously related to every citizen as the leader, though at any given time, he may ber personally in touch with certain citizens. It is not that he can have a relationship with only one person at a time. The one sun is simultaneously related with everything upon which it shines. Similarly, the one soul is simultaneously connected with all his respective acts in the spiritual world. Although every act is eternal, they seemingly flow from one to the other due to the desire of the devotee to relish a particular relationship with the Lord. The Lord makes this all possible by His inconceivable potency. The Lord can make the soul simultaneously connected with all his eternal acts in the spiritual world. This is illustrated in the following passage from the revealed scriptures:
	„That released soul is onefold, threefold, fivefold, sevenfold, and also ninefold. Again, he is said to be elevenfold, one-hundred-and-elevenfold, and also twenty-thousandfold.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 7.26.2)
	Thus there is nothing impossible for the Lord. All contradictions are reconciled in Him by His inconceivable potency.

SüTRA 3.3.12

ÄnandÄdayaú pradhÄnasya

	Änanda-Ädayaú-bliss and so forth; pradhÄnasya-of the main or principal one (God).

TRANSLATION

	One who is aspiring to attain full God realization should think of the Lord as possessing different qualities such as bliss and so forth.

PURPORT

	So far, the VedÄnta-sŸtra has discussed the different forms of the Lord, the different classes of devotees, their different relationships with the Lord, and their different moods of service. Hearing all these things, it is expected that one will now wonder how to become situated as one of those devotees. The discussion of how to raise oneself to the status of a perfect devotee is begun in this sŸtra. To realize God means to be fully conscious of Him, and to be conscious of God means to think of Him. But it is not such an easy thing to immediately start thinking of God. One has to know how to think of Him. If God were actually impersonal, there would be no means by which we could think of Him, but since He is a person with innumerable auspicious attributes, it is possible to think of Him. This aphorism says that we should think of God as possessing His different attributes such as bliss, omniscience, infinity, omnipotency, creatorship, mercifulness, fatherly affection for His surrendered devotees, and certainty of His fulfilling His devotees’ desires. This is to fix in the mind the propriety of worshiping the Lord. Even a sincere beginner in spiritual life can be overcome by desires for sense gratification or by doubts. Therefore, the scriptures direct us to think how great God is, and how beholden we are to Him. Another reason for this regulated manner of thinking about God is to prevent the beginner from falling into the error of sahajiyÄ practices. As we discussed previously, there is one class of devotees who are situated in spontaneous attraction for the Lord. SahajiyÄs are those who falsely claim to be on that level. The spontaneous devotees serve the Lord according to the natural feelings of pure love that swell up in their hearts. Therefore, sometimes their service is not exactly in accordance with the standard scriptural regulations about how devotional service should be executed. Regarding their service, one thing is certain-they never do anything that is sinful. Sometimes their service may be in accordance with the rules and sometimes it may not be. They are simply trying to please the Lord with their service and are oblivious to the question of following or ignoring a set of rules. In contrast, the sahajiyÄs make it the rule of their service to disregard all rules. They carry this to the extent of even performing sinful activities and considering it their spontaneous service to God. The sahajiyÄs perform their whimsical service according to a particular concocted philosophy which they have adopted, but the spontaneous devotees are guided by a pure unalloyed love for God that is free from all material motivation. These teachings about how to think of God are therefore helpful to prevent one from becoming contaminated with the sahajiyÄ mentality.
	This sŸtra specifically refers to the teachings presented in the BrahmÄnanda-vall" of the Taittirya Upani§ad. In that section, the Lord is described as the source of creation, sustenance, and destruction; all blissful; omniscient; and, the source and support of all life. By continually remembering all these features of the Lord, one will ultimately become convinced that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate reality and insurpassable Truth. All these teachings help us realize the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, not all the teachings in the BrahmÄnanda-vall" are of equal value for this purpose. In this connection, the VedÄnta-sŸtra points out:
priya-1/2irastvÄdy-aprÄptir upacayÄpacayau hi bhede
	„A devotee who wishes to realize the Personality of Godhead should not think of Him according to the description of God as a bird whose head is bliss, etc.; because, in that form, there is the imperfection of greater and lesser abundance.“ (3.3.13)
	In addition to the various teachings about the transcendental attributes of the Supreme Lord, the BrahmÄnanda-vall" also presents a description of the Lord as a bird of bliss:
	„His head is pleasure; His right wing, joy; His left wing, delight; His body, bliss; Brahman, the tail, the support.“
	From this description, it appears that some parts of the Lord’s body have a greater abundance of bliss than others. Therefore this is not an accurate description of the transcendental nature of the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Why, then is it included in the BrahmÄnanda-vall"? The following sŸtra explains:
ÄdhyÄnÄya prayojanÄbhÄvÄt
	„Because this analogy of a bird of bliss does not serve the purpose of revealing the all-blissful nature of the Personality of Godhead, it is for those who are unable to accept His personal form.“ (3.3.15)
	This analogy of a bird of bliss is meant for those who are unable to comprehend how God can have a personal form. That this is so is apparent from its context. The BrahmÄnanda-vall" draws the reader through a gradual series of realizations. The first is anna-maya, or the body consisting of food. The first realization is that we are a body, and therefore, we try to satisfy it by feeding it. The next higher realization is prÄna-maya, that we are living beings. We do not wish to become dead bodies, and so we struggle to avoid all sorts of danger. Higher still is mano-maya, the realization that we have a mind. The mind is the seat of emotions such as desire, aversion, love, hope, hate, and depression. But we are more than just a bundle of emotions. Above this is vij-Äna-maya, the conscious self, or soul. By properly utilizing his intelligence, the soul can realize his true identity as something completely other than the gross body and subtle mind. Higher still than this realization of our own identity as pure spirit souls, is the concept of God as the Supreme all-blissful person. At this point, the BrahmÄnanda-vall" presents the analogy of the bird of bliss. This analogy is a preparation for those who are not yet ready or able to understand that God has a transcendental form. By thinking of God in this manner, as a bird whose bodily limbs are bliss, joy, pleasure, etc., one gradually becomes accustomed to the idea that God could have some kind of blissful form. After this analogy, the Upani§ad then goes on to describe how God created the world:
	„He thought, ÔLet Me be many; Let Me procreate.’“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.6)
	In this way, God is indicated to be very much a person, but not an ordinary person, for by His mere thinking, He is able to create the world.

SüTRA 3.3.20

samÄna evam cÄbhedÄt

	samÄnaú-the same; evam-thus; ca-and; abhedÄt-because they are not different.

TRANSLATION

	When one worships the Lord by serving one part of Him, such as His feet, it is the same as worshiping His whole Self because it is nondifferent from the rest of Him.

PURPORT

	The conclusion of the previous texts was that everyone should worship the Supreme Lord. Now arises the question that if on worshiping Him we devote all our attention to just one part of Him, such as the service of His lotus feet, do we get a partial result, or do we get the full benefit of worshiping God? If we only fix our minds on His lotus feet at death, do we attain Him fully in the spiritual world or do we attain some lesser goal designated by His feet? There is absolutely no difference between the different parts of the Lord’s transcendental body. As the Supreme Person, He has the most wonderful and auspicious attributes and features. He has a beautiful lotus-like face, a charming, youthful figure and is decorated with ornaments that bedazzle the mind. Although each of His features is individual, He is entirely one. This is possible due to His inconceivable potency. Therefore, whether we direct our minds to His feet or to His lotus face, we achieve the same benefit. For the personal servitors of the Lord, the greatest enjoyment is to relish the Lord’s face by kissing Him upon the lips. Because the mood of a devotee is extreme humility, however, he chooses to take the lower position of serving the Lord’s feet. Both positions are equally enjoyable, though there is a difference in sentiment.
	One class of devotees are particularly attached to serving ür" RÄdhikÄ. These devotees attain the same supreme benefit as those who worship K¨§ºa Himself because She is the transcendental moiety of His personality. When we speak of RÄdhÄ and K¨§ºa, we do not imply that God is dual. He is indivisibly one, yet, by His very nature, He is an endless fountainhead of immeasurable variegatedness. ür" RÄdhÄ is the Supreme Pleasure Potential Personality of Godhead, and ür" K¨§ºa is the Supreme Pleasure Enjoyer Personality of Godhead. As there is no supported without its support, and the support has no meaning without that which it supports, RÄdhÄ and K¨§ºa are inseparably one. Therefore, whether one worships Them singly, together or in the combined form of ür" Caitanya, the result is the same. Because RÄdhÄ is the pleasure potency of K¨§ºa, it is transcendental etiquette and logic to never worship Her alone, but always in conjuction with K¨§ºa. One shouls always be aware that the potency belongs to the all-potent Lord. RÄdhÄ’s position is directly dealt with in sŸtras 3.3.39-40.

SüTRAS 3.3.21-23

sambandhÄd evam anyatrÄpi
na vÄvi1/2e§Ät
dar1/2ayati ca

	sambandhÄt-because of relationship with; evam-thus; anyatra-in other [persons]; api-also; na-not; vÄ-or; avi1/2e§Ät-because of no distinction [from other living entities]; dar1/2ayati-it is shown by the scriptures; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	The transcendental attributes of the Lord are also sometimes present in the persons of living entities who have an intimate relation with the Lord and thus one may think of them as exemplifying those traits.
	Or, because they are not really any different from other living entities, one may not.
	And this is illustrated in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	In the previous sŸtra, it was explained how worshiping any one of the Lord’s features gives one the same transcendental benefit. But what about when one or more of His qualities are invested in an ordinary living entity? This question arises in regards to a certain class of avatÄras. Usually when we speak of avatÄras, we mean the kind called svÄµ1/2a, or the plenary expansions of the Lord. These are in no way different from the Lord and fully possess all His transcendental potency. Sometimes, however, the Lord specially imbues a living entity with certain powers in order for him to carry out a specific service for the Lord. This is called Äve1/2a-avatÄra, or an empowered incarnation. When we wish to meditate on certain qualities of the Lord that are invested in these Äve1/2a-avatÄras, is it proper to meditate on the Äve1/2a-avatÄras as the possessors of those qualities? Does one achieve the same result by worshiping them as by directly worshiping God?
	Due to their intimate relationship with the Lord, He has empowered them to execute certain missions on His behalf in this world, somewhat similar to the function of ambassadors and charges d’affaires. Thus, they may sometimes be referred to as BhagavÄn. When a piece of iron is placed in fire, due to prolonged contact, it becomes imbued with the qualities of fire, such as heat and luminosity. Similarly, the Lord fully pervades and possesses the Äve1/2a-avatÄra. In that sense, therefore, it is not improper to think of them as possessing God’s attributes. But red-hot iron is still a piece of iron, despite the assimilation of the qualities of fire, so these Äve1/2a-avatÄras are still of the same category as the other finite living entities, and this is copiously illustrated in the Vedic literatures. For example, NÄrada Muni, the Äve1/2a-avatÄra of devotion to the Lord, often approaches BrahmÄ and the KumÄras for instruction, thus showing that he does not possess all the attributes of the Lord such as omniscience, omnipotence, etc. The KumÄras were also instructed by BrahmÄ, and even BrahmÄ, who is the most elevated of all created beings, had to obtain his enlightenment from the Lord within his heart. Therefore, such Äve1/2a-avatÄras must always be considered j"vas, or finite souls. This is confirmed in the following aphorism of the VedÄnta-sŸtra:
sambh¨ti-dyu-vyÄpty api cÄtaú
	„One should not think of the Äve1/2a-avatÄras as entirely equal with the Lord because they do not possess all His attributes, such as omniscience and omnipotence, nor can they create by spreading out the skies.“ (3.3.24)
	This is in reference to the following verse from the Atharva Veda (19.22.21)
brahma jye§ hÄ v"ryÄ sambh¨tÄni
brahmÄgre jye§ ham divam ÄtatÄna
	„In God the greates potencies are assembled. In the beginning God spread out the great sky.“
	An Äve1/2a-avatÄra may thus possess one or several of the Lord’s qualities, but not all of them, nor can he create the world as the Lord does. One may worship the Äve1/2a-avatÄras in the way of offering them great respect because they are the intimate servitors of the Lord. By properly honoring these elevated representatives of the Lord, we endear ourselves to Him. But if we disparage them or consider them as ordinary and, therefore, unworthy of our attention, the Lord may become annoyed with us.

SüTRA 3.3.30

gater arthavattvam ubhayathÄnyathÄ hi virodhaú

	gateh-of the goal [of reaching God]; arthavattvam-having a purpose; ubhayathÄ-by both ways [by majesty and sweetness]; anyathÄ-otherwise; hi-indeed; virodhaú-contradiction.

TRANSLATION

	Whether one worships the Lord in awe and reverence or in simple intimacy, the goal achieved is the same, for otherwise there would be a contradiction with the scriptural statement that all His devotees reach Him.

PURPORT

	There are two different underlying moods in which devotional service is executed: ai1/2varya, or majesty in which one worships the Lord as the King of kings with awe and reverence, and mÄdhurya, or sweetness in which one worships Him as a child, friend, or lover in a simple manner, as in ordinary life. According to the mentality of the devotees, they choose to worship the Lord in one of these two ways. They can never be combined as they are incompatible and contradictory. Because of the great difference between these two moods, their methods also vary as far as details are concerned. Since they both have the same ultimate object, both classes of devotees attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead and associate with Him in the eternal spiritual world according to their particular inclinations. If this were not so, then the statement in the scriptures that all thos who worship the Lord attain Him would be contradicted:
man-manÄ bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yÄj" mÄµ namaskuru
mÄm evai§yasi yuktvaivam
ÄtmÄmaµ mat-parÄyaºaú
	„Think of me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer obeisances to Me. Being fully engaged in that way and devoted to Me, surely yuu will come to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.34)
	Whether one chooses to worship the Lord in awe or in intimacy, one hs to have a practical outlet for that devotion. Devotional service is ninefold and is outlined below:
1/2ravaºaµ k"rtanaµ vi§ºoú
smaraºaµ pÄda-sevanam
arcanaµ vandanaµ dÄsyaµ
sakhyam Ätma-nivedanam

iti puµsÄrpitÄ vi§ºau
bhakti1/2 cen nava-lak§aºÄ
kriyeta bhagavaty addhÄ
tan manye Ôdh"tam uttamam
	„(1) Hearing and (2) chanting the glories of the Lord, (3) remembering Him, (4) serving His lotuse feet, (5) offering Him respectful worship, (6) offering prayer to Him, (7) becoming His servant, (8) considering Him one’s best friend and (9) completely surrendering oneself to Him-if a person worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu by this ninefold process of devotional service, I consider him to be most intelligent.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 7.5.23-24)
	The doubt may now arise as to whether one must practice all of these or whether one can practice whichever ones one wishes to. In regards to this, ür"la VyÄsadeva states:
aniyamah sarvesam avirodhÄt 1/2abdÄnumÄnÄbhyÄm
	„There is no rule about performing all of the methods of devotional service because there is no conflict between doing one or all of them. This is learned from both üruti and Sm¨ti.“ (VedÄnta-sŸtra 3.3.32)
	From the Vedic literatures, we learn how some people, such as King Par"k§it,Êattained perfection by just listening to the glorification of the Lord; others, such as üukadeva, attained perfection by reciting His glories; and others, such as PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, attained perfection by remembering. Of the nine processes of devotional service, chanting the Lord’s name, especially as the Hare K¨§ºa mahÄ-mantra, affords one the effects of all nine. This is because the Lord and His name are nondifferent for the same reasons as His form is nondifferent from Him. (See sŸtras 3.2.16-17) In this regards, the Padma PurÄºa says:
nÄma cintÄmaniú k¨§ºa1/2
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaú
pŸrºaú 1/2uddho nitya-mukto
ÔbhinnatvÄn nÄma-nÄminoú
	„The holy name is like a transcendental touchstone because it is K¨§ºa Himself, the form of transcendental essence. It is not a partial form of the Absolute, it is full. It is pure and always free from material imperfection. This is because there is no difference between the holy name and the Lord who possesses it.“
	Of all the names of the Lord which one can chant, the most effective is the transcendental mahÄ-mantra, as recommended in the Upani§ads:
Hare K¨§ºa, Hare K¨§ºa,
K¨§ºa K¨§ºa, Hare Hare;
Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma,
RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare.
	„These sixteen names destroy all the evil of the Age of Kali. In all the Vedas is not seen any other means than this.“ (Kali-santaraºa Upani§ad )

SüTRA 3.3.31

upapannas tal-lak§anÄrthopalabdher lokavat

	upapannaú-has achieved [superiority]; tat-lak§aºa-the characteristic of that [devotee]; artha-the goal or object; upalabdheú-because of obtaining; lokavat-as in worldly life.
TRANSLATION

	The devotee who serves the Lord out of spontaneous affection has achieved the highest position because he has obtained the Lord’s affection for him, just as in worldly life.

PURPORT

	There are two classes of devotees. One strictly executes devotional service according to the regulations in the scriptures; the other, having spontaneous affection for the Lord, does not always observe all the rules but performs his service according to the moods of love that arise in his heart. The first is called vaidhi-bhakti, or regulated devotional service. The second is called ruci-bhakti, or spontaneous attraction for the Lord. Laws exist in a state to curb those citizens who would otherwise not recognize the authority of the government. Similarly, the first kind of devotees cannot remain on the devotional platform unless they are strictly regulated by the scriptures. When the restraints of the scriptures are removed, such devotees are unable to control their senses and minds and return to a life of material enjoyment. The second kind of devotee serves God out of their natural spontaneous love for Him. Because of his spontaneity, he cannot always be made to conform to scriptural regulation. The devotees who execute devotional service strictly according to scriptural regulation are not necessarily superior to the devotees who act out of spontaneous love. Their love is so great that it overrides the rule of law. Spontaneous love for the Lord is so attractive that the Lord is famous as Bhakta-vatsala. He is so affectionate to His pure devotees that He wants to personally serve them. Although the Lord is the object of love for the ruci-bhaktas, these very devotees become the objects of love for the Lord by dint of their pure devotion. This principle is explained in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ in the following way:
ye yathÄ mÄµ prapadyante
tÄµs tathaiva bhajÄmy aham
	„According to how one surrenders to me, I reciprocate with him.“ (4.11)
	Though the Lord becomes controlled by the intense love of His devotees, He never loses His supreme independence. Whether He wields lordly power, or whether He submits Himselft to His devotees is by His own will. Even when He is conquered by the affection of His devotees, He remains the omnipotent, and unrivaled Supreme Lord. In his commentary on this aphorism, Baladeva VidyÄbhŸ§aºa explains that the phrase „as in worldly life“ refers to the fact that by his devotion an ordinary citizen is able to win the affection of the king, who is therafter, always ready to offer his assistance to that citizen. This is also illustrated by a verse in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ (9.22):
ananya1/2 cintayanto mÄµ
ye janÄú paryupÄsate
tesÄµ nityÄbhiyuktÄnÄµ
yoga-k§emaµ vahÄmy aham
	„Those who worship Me without thinking of any other thing-to those ever-engaged souls I bring what they lack and preserve what they have.“

SüTRA 3.3.38

vyatihÄro vi1/2iµsanti h"taravat

	vyatihÄraú-interchange; vi1/2iµsanti-they are specified [in the scriptures]; hi-indeed; itaravat-as in other [aphorisms].

TRANSLATION

	The revealed scriptures specify that the Lord and His abode are mutually worshipable, just as in other aphorisms it was established that the Lord and His attributes are nondifferent.

PURPORT

	Sometimes it is stated in scripture that one should meditate on the abode of the Lord:
yaµ yaµ lokaµ manasÄ samvibhÄti
vi1/2uddha-sattvaú kÄmayate yÄµ1/2 ca kÄmÄn
taµ taµ lokaµ jÄyate tÄµ1/2 ca kÄmÄµs
tasmÄd Ätma-j-aµ hy arcayed bhŸti-kÄmaú
	„Whatever worlds a transcendentalist envisions with his mind, as well as whatever desires he cherishes, those worlds does he attain, and those desires. Therefore, whoever is concerned about his own well-being should worship a person who knows the Soul.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.10)
	If one meditates on the abode of the Lord, does this give the same result as meditating on the Lord? In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ, it is stated:
yaµ yaµ vÄpi smaran bhÄvaµ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taµ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadÄ tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitaú
	„Whatever state one remembers when giving up the body at death, to that very state does he go, O son of Kunt", because of having continuously thought of it.“ (8.6)
	Since it is the state of consciousness at the time of death that determines one’s next existence, K¨§ºa advises:
oµ ity ekÄk§araµ brahma
vyÄharan mÄm anusmaran
yaú prayÄti tyajan dehaµ
sa yÄti paramÄµ gatim
	„He who leaves the body while uttering the sacred syllable oµ and remembering Me, achieves the supreme destination.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.13)
mÄm upetya punar mohaµ
duúkhÄlayam a1/2Ä1/2vatam
nÄpnuvanti mahÄtmanaú
saµsiddhim pramÄµ gatÄú
	„Having attained Me, the great souls never take birth again in this miserable place of impermanence because they have achieved the supreme destination.“ (8.15)
	In this verse from the Bhagavad-g"tÄ it is seen that to attain the Supreme Lord is the same as attaining the supreme destination, or the spiritual existence, because the Lord and His transcendental abode are nondifferent:
brahma vÄ idam agra Äsd ekam eva
	„In the beginning this world was just Brahman, one only.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 1.4.11)
	This point is also clearly expressed in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.1.6) where the word brahma-pura is used to indicate both the place where the Lord dwells and the Lord Himself. This is also supported by the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (1.4.15):
	„Now, whoever departs from this world without having seen his own world, not knowing it, he does not enjoy it, as in the case of the Vedas when unrecited or an action not performed. If one, not knowing this, performs in this world an act of great piety, in the end that act of his merely perishes. One should worship the Supreme Soul as one’s world. The action of one who worships that Soul as one’s world does not perish. Out of that very Soul is created whatever one desires.“
	Therefore, when it says, „Whatever worlds a transcendentalist envisions with his mind,“ it does not mean that the meditator concocts or dreams up in his mind some fictional worlds where he would like to be. It means that whatever transcendental form of the Lord one meditates on along with His particular abode, paraphernalia, entourage and so forth, one actually achieves the association of that particular form of the Lord in His corresponding spiritual planet. Thus, those who worship the Lord in His form as NÄrÄyaºa go to Vi§ºuloka and serve Him there. Similarly, those who worship the Lord as N¨siµha, Trivikrama, Ke1/2ava, RÄma and so on, go to Their respective abodes. And those who worship K¨§ºa go directly to the highest spiritual planet, Goloka V¨ndÄvana.

SüTRAS 3.3.39-40

saiva hi satyÄdayaú
kÄmÄd"taratra tatra cÄyatanÄdibhyaú

	sÄ-She [RÄdhÄ]; eva-certainly; hi-certainly; satya-Ädayaú-truth and so forth; kÄma-Ädi-desires and so forth; itaratra-in other places; tatra-there; ca-and; Äyatana-Ädibhyaú-because of being the abode and so forth.

TRANSLATION

	RÄdhÄ is identical with the Lord because She has His same qualities such as truth and so on.
	RÄdhÄ is not an ordinary soul because it is She who fulfills the Lord’s desires for enjoyment wherever He may be and because She is the abode of all auspicious qualities, and so forth, as is the Lord.

PURPORT

	Some schools of Vai§ºavism believe that RÄdhÄ or Lak§m" is an ordinary living being who was tenderly espoused by the Lord due to Her unequaled devotion. In this sŸtra, VyÄsadeva rejects this idea. She is here said to partake of the same transcendental nature as the Lord. This the scriptures confirm:
sÄ tu sÄk§Än mahÄ-lak§miú
k¨§ºo nÄrÄyaºo prabhuú
naitayor vidyate bhedaú
svalpo Ôpi muni-sattama
	„RÄdhÄ is identical with MahÄ-Lak§m" and K¨§ºÄ is Lord NÄrÄyaºa. O best of the sages, there is no difference between Them. (Padma PurÄºa, PÄtÄla-kÄº¶a 50.55)
yathÄ brahma-svarŸpa1/2 ca
1/2r"-k¨§ºaú prak¨teú paraú
tathÄ brahma-svarŸpa sÄ
nirliptÄ prak¨teú parÄ
	„Just as ür" K¨§ºa is identically the Supreme Absolute and beyond the effect of matter, so ür" RÄdhÄ is identically the Supreme Absolute and beyond the effect of matter.“ (NÄrada-pa-carÄtra 2.3.51)
tattvaµ vi1/2uddha-sattvÄsu
1/2aktir vidyÄtmikÄ parÄ
paramÄnanda-sandohaµ
dadhat" vai§ºavaµ param

kalayÄ1/2cÄrya-vibhave
brahma-rŸdrÄdi-vibhave
yog"ndrÄºÄm dhyÄna-patham
na tvaµ sp¨1/2asi karhicit

icchÄ-1/2aktir j-Äna-1/2aktiú
kriyÄ-1/2aktis tave§ituú
tavÄµ1/2a-mÄtrÄm ity evaµ
mantsÄ me pravartate

mÄyÄ-vibhŸtayo Ôcintyas
tan-mÄyÄrbhaka-mÄyinaú
pare§asya mahÄ-vi§ºos
tÄú sarvÄs te kalÄú kalÄú
	„Among all the transcendental principes, You (RÄdhÄ) are the chief. You are the superior potency and the embodiment of knowledge. You are the holder of the transcendental bliss milked from Lord Vi§ºu. O You who are not even understood by BrahmÄ, RŸdra nor other demigods, every bit of Your splendor is wonderful. You never touch the paths of the minds of the great yog"s in their meditation. The Lord’s power for will, knowledge, and action is just a fragment of You. You are the controller of all energies. You are the holder of the yogamÄyÄ potency and all the inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Lord are just Your different portions.“ (Padma PurÄºa, PÄtÄla-kaº¶a 40.53-56)
	Because RÄdhÄ is the pleasurable essence of K¨§ºa’s own self,  worship of Her is not inferior to worship of the enjoyer aspect of the Absolute as K¨§ºa. This is concluded in the VedÄnta-sŸtra (3.3.20):
samÄna evam cÄbhedÄt
	„The same effect is achieved by worshiping any part of the Lord because each part is nondifferent from the rest of Him.“
	Therefore, the Vai§ºava devotees worship RÄdhÄ and K¨§ºa together, and this is recommended in the Upani§ads:
	yena bhajanena rasikÄnandaú 1/2r"-rÄdhikayÄ saha d¨§ i-patham Äpadyeta yo Ô1/2ma-mayaµ vÄ dhÄtu-mayaµ vÄ rasikÄnanda-svarŸpaµ 1/2r"-rÄdhikayÄ yutaµ vidhÄya 1/2ayyÄ-bhojana-1/2¨›gÄrai rÄjopacÄraiú sneha-bhÄvena bhajanaµ karoti ahorÄtraµ tad-bhÄvenÄpanno bhajanaµ karoti sa tÄµ l"lÄµ prÄpnoti.
	„That worship by which the all-blissful Lord along with ür" RÄdhikÄ becomes visible to one, which is of one essence through and through, like an artifact of stone or metal, by worshiping affectionately the all-blissful form of Lord K¨§ºa who is united with ür" RÄdhikÄ, by offering the paraphernalia for the incitement of the loving mood, such as bedding, food, garlands, scents, and other regal accouterments, by doing so day and night one attains that selfsame pastime.“ (SÄma-rahasya Upani§ad )
	RÄdhÄ is not just a part of the Lord, She is His internal potency. In this connection, the VedÄnta-sŸtra points out:
prakÄ1/2avac cÄvaiyarthyam
	„The form of the Lord is nondifferent from Him, like the brightness of the sun, and therefore, it is not meaningless.“
	If we penetrate the center of the sun, we cannot expect to find anything other than its internal energy of inconceivable brilliance. Similarly, although the Lord has many energies, because RÄdhÄ is His internal potency, She is most intimately connected with Him. As we cannot consider the internal brilliance of the sun to be something other than the sun, RÄdhÄ is not something separate from K¨§ºa. To consider K¨§ºa without RÄdhÄ is like considering the sun to be without its brightness.
	ür"mat" RÄdhikÄ is the loving potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since there is no greater object of love than Him, She directs all Her ineffable potential towards Him. She is the epitome of love of God. That is the significance of Her name, as indicated in the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam (10.30.28), namely, that She is the most perfect worshiper of the Lord. For these reasons, the VedÄnta-sŸtra declares:
ÄdarÄd alopaú
	„Her love for the Lord never ceases.“ (3.3.41)
	This is the highest standard of love of God. generally, we think of God only when some circumstance gives rise to the occasion. But, for those who have reached the stage of full God consciousness, pure love of God is as constant an activity of the soul as breathing is to a living body. The soul has no other purpose than to please the Lord. In the material world, souls give up this natural tendency to love God to instead enjoy themselves in material ways. All RÄdhÄ’s activities, however, are aimed at giving K¨§ºa transcendental bliss. This is because She is His own internal pleasure potency called hlÄdin" 1/2akti:
dev" k¨§ºa-may" proktÄ
rÄdhikÄ para-devatÄ
sarva-lak§m"-svarŸpÄ sÄ
k¨§ºÄhlÄda-svarŸpiº"
	„RÄdha is said to be the Supreme Goddess who is inseparable from K¨§ºa. She is the essence of all the goddesses of fortune and the embodiment of K¨§ºa’s pleasure.“ (Padma PurÄºa, PÄtÄla-kÄº¶a 50.53)
	Because of Her special identity, She is more attractive to the Lord than anyone else. Therefore, the VedÄnta-sŸtra states:
upasthite Ôtas tad-vacanÄt
	„When She is near Him, She arouses His loving affections, as is learned from the scriptures.“ (3.3.42)
	Although the sentiments of love exchanged between RÄdhÄ and K¨§ºa somewhat resemble the mundane lustiness of human relationships, they are not mundane. Since RÄdhÄ and K¨§ºa are the selfsame indivisible Absolute Truth, there can be no impropriety in Their loving exchanges.
yathÄ brahma-svarŸpa1/2 ca
1/2r"-k¨§ºaú prak¨teú paraú
tathÄ brahma-svarŸpÄ sÄ
nirliptÄ prak¨teú parÄ
	„Just as ür" K¨§ºÄ is identically the Supreme Absolute and beyond the effect of matter, so ür" RÄdhÄ is identically the Supreme Absolute and beyond the effect of matter.“ (NÄrada-pa-carÄtra 2.3.51)
	As K¨§ºa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead from whom all other expansions of Godhead emanate, similarly, ür" RÄdhikÄ is the original prototype from which innumerable other variegated potencies of Godhead expand.
	v¨ndÄvana-madhye sahasra-dala-madhye govindo Ôpi 1/2yÄma-p"tÄmbaro dvibhujo mayura-piccha-1/2irÄú veºu-vetra-hasto nirguºo nirÄkÄraú sÄkÄro nir"haú sa virÄjata iti. pÄr1/2ve rÄdhikÄ ceti. tasyÄ aµ1/2o lak§m"-durgÄ-vijayÄdi-1/2aktir iti.
	„In the midst of the forest of V¨ndÄvana, in the middle of the sixteen central petals of a thousand-petalled lotus flower is Govinda, of darkish hue, who is dressed in yellowish silk garments. He has two hands, wears a peacock feather on the top of His crown and holds a bamboo flute in His hands, while resting upon a cane. He is qualitiless, in that He has no material qualities, and is formless though possessing a transcendental form, and is devoid of material desire. And at His left side is RÄdhikÄ, who is the potency that expands into the portions known as Lak§m", DurgÄ, VijayÄ, and so on.“ (RÄdhÄ Upani§ad )

SüTRA 3.3.43

	tan-nirdhÄranÄniyamas tad-dr§ eú p¨thag ghy apratibandhÄ phalam

	tat-Him (ür" K¨§ºa); nirdhÄraºa-singling out [from other forms]; aniyamaú-not a rule; tat-that; d¨§ eú-because of being seen [in the scriptures]; p¨thak-different; hi-indeed; apratibandhaú-not bound up [by karma]; phalam-fruit.

TRANSLATION

	There is no rule specifying the sole worship of ür" K¨§ºa to the exclusion of all His other forms because this is so seen in the scriptures. Indeed, the worship of His various forms has a fruit different from the worship of mere demigods-it bestows liberation from bondage.

PURPORT

	In the Upani§ads it is stated:
	tasmÄt k¨§ºa eva paro devas taµ dhyÄyet taµ rasayet taµ yajet taµ bhajed iti. oµ tad sad iti.
	„Therefore only ür" K¨§ºa is the Supreme Godhead. One should meditate on Him, relish Him, worship Him and chant His name. He is the Absolute truth.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 1.50)
	Since ür" K¨§ºa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom all other plenary forms are expanded, it would seem that the Upani§ads prohibit the worship of anything other than that original source ür" K¨§ºa. In this sŸtra VyÄsadeva dispels this doubt by pointing out that although K¨§ºa is the highest form of God because He is the origin of everything else, His plenary expansions are equally worshipable and this is everywhere taught in the scriptures. The scriptures repeatedly state that by worshiping any one of the Lord’s plenary forms one attains liberation from material bondage. The svÄµ1/2as or plenary expansions of the Lord are not less than Him, they are identical with Him. The only difference being that one is original, and the others are expansions. The Brahma-saµhitÄ (5.46) explains this relationship in the following manner:
d"pÄrcir eva hi da1/2Äntaram abhyupetya
d"pÄyate viv¨ta-hetu-samÄna-dharmÄ
yas tÄd¨g eva hi ca vi§ºutayÄ vibhÄti
govindam Ädi-purusaµ tam ahaµ bhajÄmi
	„When the flame of a lamp is transferred to another wick, that second flame shines with the same quality as the original. I worship that original Personality of Godhead Govinda, who similarly manifests Himself as Vi§ºu.“
	In the Upani§ads, it points out that all the forms of the Lord are essentially one:
yatrÄsau saµsthitaú k¨§ºas
tribhiú 1/2aktyÄ samÄhitaú
rÄmÄnirudha-pradhyumnaiú
rukmºyÄ sahito vibhuú

catuú-1/2abdo bhaved eko
hy oMkÄraú samudÄh¨taú
	„In MathurÄ the almighty Lord ür" K¨§ºa is present with His three expansions BalarÄma, Aniruddha, and Pradyumna and with His internal potency Rukmiº". These four words become one when pronounced as the syllable oµ.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 2.40-41)
	This shows that the other forms of the Lord, such as BalarÄma, are also identical with K¨§ºa and therefore, just as worshipable as Him. Still, the force of the word „only“ in the GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad in reference to the fact that there is no God higher than K¨§ºa and no one more worthy of worship shows a certain uniqueness in the position of K¨§ºa. In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam, we also find K¨§ºa attributed with this special uniqueness:
ete cÄµ1/2a-kalÄh puµsaú
k¨§ºas tu bhagavÄn svayam
	„All the different incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of plenary portions of the Lord, but ür" K¨§ºa is the original Personality of Godhead.“ (1.3.28)
	Therefore, if one wishes to attain ür" K¨§ºa, one will have to worship Him. This means that even when one worships K¨§ºa’s expansions, such as BalarÄma, RÄma, Vi§ºu, etc. one should also include the worship of K¨§ºa’s particular features; otherwise, one will only realize God in the form of Vi§ºu or whatever other form one is worshiping. Of course all such forms are equally the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if an ekÄnt" devotee wishes to taste the special sweetness of the rustic simplicity of K¨§ºa’s V¨ndÄvana pastimes, he must always have K¨§ºa as his topmost object of adoration. This is the meaning of this sŸtra.

SüTRA 3.3.44

pradÄnavad eva tad uktam

	pradÄnavat-like a gift; eva-certainly; tat-that [attainment of God realization]; uktam-is said [in scripture].

TRANSLATION

	The scriptures state that the attainment of God realization is like a gift because it results from the reception of the grace of the spiritual master.

PURPORT

	The souls are in bondage in the material world due to their self-conceit. The Lord, therefore, does not want the fallen souls who execute devotional service to approach Him directly, as this may give rise to another type of self-pride. Instead, He requests that they approach Him through one of His surrendered servants. The aspiring transcentalist must humble himself by serving one of the Lord’s devotees. When one wins the grace of the pure devotee, automatically, the Lord bestows all success on him. There are many statements to this effect in the Vedic literatures:
ananya-prokte gatir atra nÄsti
an"yÄn hy atarkyam anupramÄºÄt

nai§Ä tarkena matir ÄpaneyÄ
proktÄnyenaiva suj-ÄnÄya pre§ ha
	„Unless spoken by another there is no going there, for He is inconceivably more subtle than the subtlest measurementÉNot by reasoning is this knowledge attained. When spoken by another, it becomes easily understood, my dear friend.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.8-9)
ak§etravit k§etravidaµ hy aprÄt
sa praiti setravidÄnu1/2i§ aú
etad vai bhadram anu1/2Äsanasya
ota srutiµ vindaty a-jas"nÄm
	„One who does not know a country asks one who does know; he goes forth instructed by one who knows. Indeed, this is the blessing of such instruction: one finds the direct pathway.“ (äg Veda 10.32.7)
	ihÄcÄryavÄn puru§o veda tasya tÄvad eva ciraµ yÄvan na vimok§ye Ôtha sampatsya iti.
	„In this world a person who has a teacher knows, ÔI will remain in this world for as long as I have not attained liberation. Then I will be successful.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.14.2)
vedÄnte paramaµ guhyaµ
purÄ-kalpe pracoditam
nÄpra1/2ÄntÄya dÄtavyaµ
nÄputrÄyÄ1/2i§yÄya vÄ punaú

yasya deve parÄ bhaktir
yathÄ deve tathÄ gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthaú
prakÄ1/2ante mahÄtmanaú
	„The supreme mystery contained within the VedÄnta which was proclaimed in a previous age should not be given to one who is not peaceful, nor to one who is not a son or a disciple. Unto one who has supreme devotion for God, and who has just as much devotion for the spiritual master as for God, unto such a great soul these subject matters which wered discussed become automatically revealed.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 6.22.23)
	The best means of attaining the grace of a pure devotee is to surrender unto him and accept initiation as a disciple:
vratena d"k§Äm Äpnoti
d"k§ayÄ Ôpnoti dak§iºam
dak§iºÄ 1/2raddhÄm Äpnoti
1/2raddhayÄ satyam Äpyate
	„By accepting a vow one obtains initiation; by initiation, one obtains the gift of grace; by that gift of grace, one obtains faith; and, by faith, truth is obtained.“ (Yajur Veda 19.30)
	To surrender to the spiritual master does not mean you simply associate with him, get initiated, and then do as you please. To surrender to the guru means to become his humble servant. That means one has to perform some kind of service:
tad viddhi praºipÄtena
paripra1/2nena sevayÄ
upadek§yanti te j-Änaµ
j-Äninas tattva-dar1/2inaú
	„The realized souls who have seen the truth can teach you knowledge. Therefore learn the truth by submission, inquiry and service to them.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 4.34)
par"k§ya lokÄn karma-citÄn brÄhmaºo
nirvedam ayan nÄsty ak¨taú k¨tena
tad vig-ÄnÄrthaµ sa gurum evÄbhigacchet
samit-pÄºiú 1/2rotriyaµ brahma-ni§ ham

tasmai sa vidvÄn upasannÄya samyak
pra1/2Änta-cittÄya samÄnvitÄya
yenÄk§araµ puru§aµ veda satyaµ
provÄca taµ tattvato brahma-vidyÄm
	„Having examined the worlds that are full of fruitive actions and reactions, one who is a brÄhmaºa becomes indifferent to them. Transcendence cannot be apprehended by any material means. Therefore, in order to actually realize the Supreme, one must approach a spiritual master who is well-versed in all the revealed scriptures and who is fixed in the Absolute Truth, and prove to him one’s sincerity by performing such menial tasks as fetching wood for the sacrificial fire. To the disciple who has executed his services properly, whose mind is peaceful and possesses tranquility, the spiritual master teaches that transcendental knowledge by which one can know the Absolute Truth who is actually the imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.2.12-13_
	After a disciple has been benedicted with transcendental knowledge by the mercy of the spiritual master, the Lord reveals Himself to him:
tatra bhÄgavatÄn dharmÄn
1/2ik§ed gurv-Ätma-daivataú
amÄyayÄnuv¨ttyÄ yais
tu§yed ÄtmÄtma-do hariú
	„After accepting a spiritual master as one’s life and soul and worshipable deity, one should learn from him the process of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By rendering loving service free from cheating, the Lord becomes so pleased that He gives Himself to such a devotee.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.3.22)
	In some circles it is taught that after attaining a spiritual realization, you should transcend the guru. Since it is by the guru’s kindness and compassion that he has taught one the science of God, it is certainly the sign of an ungrateful person who wants to transcend the guru. On the contrary, one is eternally indebted to the guru. If a disciple thinks that he should transcend or surpass the guru, he is certainly puffed up. Since such self-conceit is repulsive to the Lord, He will never reveal Himself to such a person. To become a disciple dows not mean to become a zombie-like slave who depends at every moment for some direction from the guru. Although this may be there in the beginning because we are ignorant about how to proceed in the spiritual life, the sign of an advanced disciple is that he or she spontaneously works to further the mission of the spiritual master, even without being specifically directed. When a disciple is successful in such spontaneous service, this pleases the spiritual master greatly.

SüTRAS 3.3.48-49

vidyaiva tu tan-nirdhÄraºÄt
dar1/2anÄc ca

	vidyÄ-knowledge [of the Supreme Personality of Godhead]; eva-alone; tu-but; tat-that; nirdhÄraºÄt-because of being specified; dar1/2anÄt-because of seeing [the Lord]; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	Only knowledge about God as the Supreme Person is the basis for liberation because this is specifically mentioned in the scriptures.
	Moreover, the final consummation of liberation is on account of directly seeing the Lord.

PURPORT

	In the text connected with sŸtra 3.3.44, it was learned that by the grace of the spiritual master, one gets knowledge of God. In this sŸtra, it is stated that such knowledge is the cause of liberation. But what kind of knowledge is this? It is knowledge of God as the Supreme Person:
tasmai sa vidvÄn upasannÄya samyak
pra1/2Änta-cittÄya 1/2amÄnvitÄya
yenÄk§araµ puru§aµ veda satyaµ
provÄca taµ tattvato brahma-vidyÄm
	„To the disciple who has executed his service properly, whose mind is peaceful and who possesses tranquility, the spiritual master teaches that transcendental knowledge by which one can know the Absolute Truth who is actually the imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.2.13)
	Generally, when we say the word knowledge, we understand the storage of certain facts in some parts of the brain like dry goods in a warehouse. The knowledge referred to in this sŸtra is not like that. Here knowledge means knowing something, that is, knowing God. To know God means to be aware, or conscious of Him. No one can be God conscious without becoming attracted by God’s innumerable transcendental qualities. This attraction means love. But when one loves God, one is always thinking of pleasing Him. Therefore the word knowledge in this sŸtra really means devotional service. Simply having some quantity of facts about god tucked away in the head cannot cause one to actually realize God. But when one becomes conscious of God by continually engaging in His service, one easily attains full God realization and liberation. Although impersonalists claim that knowledge of God as a person is only a material conception of the attributeless, qualitiless, impersonal Absolute, there are numerous references in the scriptures that show that to know God as the Supreme Person results in liberation from material existence:
vedÄham etaµ puru§aµ mahÄntam
Äditya-varºaµ tamasaú parastÄt
tam eva viditvÄtim¨tyum eti
nÄnyaú panthÄ vidyate ÔyanÄya
	„I know that Person who is as brilliant as the sun and above all darkness. By knowing Him one becomes immortal. There is no other path for going there.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 3.8)
avyaktÄt tu paraú puru§o
vyÄpako Ôli›ga eva ca
yaj-j-ÄtvÄ mucyate jantur
am¨tatvaµ ca gacchati
	„Higher than the unmanifest is the Personality of Godhead who is all-pervading and without any material trait. Knowing Him, a living creature becomes liberated and achieves immortality.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.8)
puru§a evedaµ vi1/2vaµ
karma tapo brahma parÄm¨tam
etad yo veda nihitaµ guhÄyÄµ
so ÔvidyÄ-granthiµ vikirat"ha somya
	„The Personality of Godhead is certainly all this: the activity of creation, transcendental pastimes, the Absolute and the supreme immortality. One who knows Him, situated in the cavern of the heart, O gentle one, undoes the knot of ignorance right here and now.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.1.10)
arÄ iva ratha-nÄbhau
kalÄ yasmin prati§ hitÄú
taµ vedyaµ puru§aµ veda
yathÄ mÄ vo m¨tyuú parivyathÄú
	„In whom the parts are established like spokes in the hub of a wheel-know Him as the Person to be know, so that deat may not afflict you!“ (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 6.6)
tathÄ vidvÄn nÄma-rŸpÄd vimuktaú
parÄt paraµ purusam upaiti divyam
	„In that way, one who has knowledge is freed from material names and forms and draws near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.8)
	Although knowing God is the cause of liberation, it is not until one has actually seen God in person that one’s liberation is consummated. The word dar1/2ana means to realize God by directly seeing Him. A knowledge of God concocted by imaginative speculations cannot enable one to see God. Bona fide knowledge of God is found in the revealed scriptures and in the words of the spiritual master. Transcendental knowledge should culminate in the perception of the Supreme Lord. This is corroborated in the Vedic literatures:
tad vij-Änena paripa1/2yanti dh"rÄ
Änanda-rŸpam am¨taµ yad vibhÄti
	„By means of that knowledge the wise perfectly wsee the eternally blissful form of the effulgent Lord.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.2.8)
	That knowledge is meant to facilitate the realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead K¨§ºa is proven by the fact that K¨§ºa Himself gives that knowledge so that one can attain Him:
te§Äm satata-yuktÄnÄµ
bhajatÄµ pr"ti-pŸrvakam
dadÄmi buddhi-yogaµ taµ
yena mÄm upayÄnti te
	„To those who are always devoted and worship Me with love, I give the intelligence by which they can come to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 10.10)
	If one does not have a proper understanding of God in accordance with the scriptures and the disciplice succession, one’s service is liable to deteriorate into sahajiyÄ malpractices. If you do not have a proper understanding of God, then how do you expect Him to want to have anything to do with you? If you know that I believe all sorts of false rumors about you, you will not be inclined to be very intimate with me. Similarly, those who think that the Personality of Godhead is a lower manifestation of the Absolute, which is subordinate to the impersonal, are not appreciated by the Lord. K¨§ºa states:
te§Äµ j-Än" nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir vi1/2i§yate
priyo hi j-Änino Ôtyartham
aham sa ca mama priyaú
	„Of these, one who has knowledge and is always in communion with Me through single-minded devotion is the best. For one who has knowledge I am very dear indeed, and he is dear to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.17)
	Because of the mention of the words „single-minded devotion“, the knowledge that endears one to the Lord and affords one direct vision of Him is devotional knowledge, or the knowledge of devotional service to God. When we speak of this devotional knowledge culminating in God realization or bhagavad-dar1/2ana, direct perception of God, we do not mean that everyone who sees the Lord when He incarnates in this world has therefore automatically achieved the fruit of liberation. In this connection, the VedÄnta-sŸtra says:
	na sÄmÄnyÄd apy upalabdher m¨tyuvan na hi lokÄpattiú
	„Although ordinary people are able to see the Lord when He appears in this world in different incarnations, the fruit of such vision is not the same as that achieved by those who purify their heart, mind and senses by the performance of devotional service, just as death does not indicate the attainment of any particular world. (3.3.53)
	As death does not specifically indicate the various possible goals, such as hell, the heavenly planets of liberation, but is only a general condition, so to see the Lord during His incarnation in this world does not necessarily mean that one has achieved the goal of God realization. Those who are averse to God, upon seeing Him in His different incarnations, attain the piety that results in elevation to the heavenly planets. But those who have perfected themselves in the practice of devotional service, upon seeing the Lord during His various incarnations, achieve then and there, the long-desired goal of God realization or K¨§ºa consciousness.

SüTRA 3.3.52

praj-Äntara-p¨thaktvavad d¨§ i§ ca tad uktam

	praj-Ä-cognition; antara-another; p¨thaktvavat-as in the case of the different [knowledge]; d¨§ iú-vision [of the Lord]; ca-and; tat-that; uktam-is stated [in the scriptures].

TRANSLATION

	The vision of the Lord seen by the liberated souls differs as in the case of the two kinds of knowledge, and this is stated in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	Here, the topic concerns the nature of the perception of God by the liberated souls. When souls realize God and attain liberation, do they all have the same perception of God, or different perceptions? One might conclude that since God is one, the differences in His manifestations are insignificant. By worshiping any form, you reach the same destination. This is proven by the analogy in the Upani§ads of spokes resting on the hub of a wheel or rivers entering into the sea. It does not matter which path you follow. This can be compared to travellers who come from different directions and arrive at the same destination. The paths they follow to get there do not really matter, it is the goal that is important.
	This aphorism rejects this view by noting that there is a difference in the perception of the Lord by the liberated souls, VyÄsadeva fortifies his position by directing our attention to the two different kinds of knowledge mentioned in the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad (4.4.21). The text states:
tam eva dh"ro vij-Äya
praj-Äµ kurv"ta brÄhmaºaú
	„Having known Him, a wise brÄhmaºa should strive to cognize Him.“
	Actually, j-Äna, which may be considered the third type of knowledge, is the antecedent of vij-Äna. But, in the discussion about realization of God, only vij-Äna and praj-Ä are of practical consideration. Nevertheless, the three types of knowledge will be presented here. The first is jnÄna, or the mechanical retention of facts in the brain. This is comparable to the faculty of knowledge exhibited by modern computers. The second is vij-Äna, or intellectual understanding. The third is praj-Ä, or intuitive comprehension. This is knowledge arising from the pure, unobstructed perceptive faculty of the soul. We may hear that K¨§ºa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that we must worship Him, then we store that away and the related information on the shelves of our mind with all the other innumerable things to be remembered. This information can be recalled as information is recalled from the memory bank of a computer. Higher than this is a practical realization of information, such as how to perform devotional service according to time, place, and circumstance. By continually striving to have a practical understanding of devotional service, one reawakens the original cognitive faculty of the soul. By the attainment of such praj-Ä one is able to instantly perceive spiritual truths without having to learn them or to meditate on them. When this faculty of the soul is fully revived one is able to perceive the Lord constantly. As there is a difference between j-Äna, vij-Äna, and praj-Ä, so there is a difference in the perceptions of praj-Ä. Although all liberated souls are cognizing the same Supreme Lord, they see Him differently according to their devotional inclinations. That the perceptions of the liberated souls should be different. This is stated in the following text:
	atha khalu kratur-mayaú puru§aú, yathÄ kratur asmil loke puru§o bhavati tathetaú pretya bhavati sa kratuµ kurv"ta.
	„Now, indeed, a person possesses resolution. As is his resolution in this world, so does he become on departing from here. Therefore, let him become resolute.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.1)
	According to their devotional inclinations, the devotees will become attached to a particular form of the Lord and will realize Him as either RÄma, GopÄla, GopinÄtha, DvÄrakÄdh"1/2a, Narasiµha, etc.

SüTRA 3.3.56

vyatirekas tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitvÄn na tŸpalabdhivat

	vyatirekaú-difference; tat-that [contemplation]; bhÄva-the condition; bhÄvitvÄt-because of its existence; na-not; tu-however; upalabdhivat-as in the case of knowledge.

TRANSLATION

	The liberated souls’ perceptions of the Lord are different because in each instance there only appear the qualities contemplated, as in the case of knowledge.

PURPORT

	When a devotee worships a particular aspect of the Lord, does he realize the Lord with all His different features, or the Lord with only those upon which he contemplated? Since the Lord is always perfect and complete, when a devotee attains Him, he sees Him as possessing all of His different attributes.
	This reasoning is similar to that discussed in the previous sŸtra, but from a different angle. Here also VyÄsadeva rejects the notion that the attainments of all liberated souls are the same because different knowledges give different results.
anyÄd evÄhuh sambhavÄd
anyÄd Ähur asambhavÄt
iti 1/2u1/2ruma dh"rÄnÄµ
ye nas tad vicacak§ire
	„It is said that one result is obtained from worshiping the original cause of all causes and that another result is obtained from worshiping what is not so. This was heard from the wise sages who explained it to us.“ (ö1/2a Upani§ad 13)
yaµ yaµ vÄpi smaran bhÄvan
tyajanty ante kalevaram
taµ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadÄ tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitaú
	„Whatever state one remembers when giving up the body at death, to that very state does he go, O son of Kunt", because of having continuously thought of it.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.13)
yÄnti deva vratÄ devÄn
pitŽn yÄnti pit¨-vratÄú
bhŸtÄni yÄnti bhŸtejyÄ
yÄnti mad-yÄjino Ôpi mÄm
	„Those who worship the demigods go to the demigods; those who worship the forefathers go to the forefathers; those who worship ghosts go to the ghosts; and, those who worship Me come to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.25)
	Consequently, if one worships the Lord as K¨§ºa, in liberation one will see the Lord as K¨§ºa; if one worships Him as RÄma, one will see Him as RÄma. It would be an obstruction to the sweet amorous affection of the devotee if he, being attached to worshiping the Lord as the lover of the gop"s, suddenly saw simultaneously all the Lord’s other features such as those of Narasiµha, VarÄha, KŸrma, NÄrÄyaºa, etc. The devotee attached to worshiping the Lord as the regal sovereign of Vaikuº ha would be totally shocked if his Lord suddenly exhibited the form of a rustic cowherd boy playing childish pranks. The scriptures illustrate how the natural sentiments of love of the devotees were obstructed by the appearance of the Lord with qualities contrary to their mood of devotion. One example is that of Arjuna’s seeing K¨§ºa manifestation of His universal form, and another example is Mother Ya1/2odÄ’s seeing all of existence within the mouth of baby K¨§ºa.

SüTRAS 3.3.59-60

bhŸmnaú kratuvaj jyÄyastvaµ tathÄ hi dar1/2ayati
nÄnÄ-1/2abdÄdi-bhedÄt

	bhŸmnaú-of the abundant; kratuvat-as in the case of a kratu sacrifice; jyÄyastvam-preeminence; tathÄ-thus; hi-indeed; dar1/2ayati-it is shown; nÄnÄ-various; 1/2abda-Ädi-words and so on; bhedÄt-because of difference.

TRANSLATION

	Upon worshiping one feature of the Lord one should recognize the Lord’s fullness in it, for it is preeminent in all His features, as in the case of a kratu sacrifice; this is also illustrated in the revealed scriptures.
	The worship of the Lord’s different forms is diverse because of the difference of words, names, forms, methods, and so on.

PURPORT

	The word bhŸmÄ means abundance or fullness, and therefore implies plurality. Some people say that one should not consider the Lord to have this quality because He must be worshiped as one, not as many. Unity and plurality cannot cohere in the same entity. Hence, one should be carefull to avoid this inconsistency.
	In replying to this, we avail ourselves of the example of a kratu sacrifice. In this kind of sacrifice, the full nature of the sacrifice is considered to exist from the very moment the performer takes the solemn vow to perform the sacrifice, and it continues after the offerings are completed, until the priest finishes taking his ritual bath after the completion of the sacrifice. As this element of being a sacrifice pervades through all the different activities connected with it, so also the quality of bhŸmÄ or abundance and fullness, pervades through all the attributes of the Lord. The revealed scriptures also support this by describing God as pŸrºa, or full and complete, and as bhŸmÄ, or abundant and full. Therefore, such fullness and abundance are the very nature of God and must be inherent in all His attributes. Thus, it is stated:
	yo vai bhŸmÄ tat sukhaµ nÄlpe sukham asti bhŸmaiva sukhaµ
bhŸmÄ tv eva vijij-Äsitavya iti.
	„Certainly that which is abundant is the same as enjoyment. There is no enjoyment in paucity. Only abundance is enjoyment. But one should desire to understand abundance.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 7.23)
	As there is abundance in each of His attributes, there is also abundance in the manners of worshiping Him. Some people, however, think that since God is one, there must be just one way of worshiping Him. Everyone must worship God in the same way; otherwise, there will be impropriety arising from a diversity in manners of worship. This is a common misconception in religion, that there is only one feature of God, one name, and one method of worship. Every other form, name, or method of worship that differs from the particular religion is considered untrue and a blasphemy against the true way. This sŸtra, however, notes that the Supreme Lord is full of abundance, He has an abundance of different attributes, names and paraphernalia. Because of these differences, the ways of worshiping Him are also many. The worship of the Lord will differ according to the feature being worshiped, the name being invoked, the mood of the devotee, and the regional location. The worship of the Lord as K¨§ºa will, therefore differ from the worship of the Lord as Narasiµha, RÄma, and VarÄha as it will from Jehovah and Allah.

SüTRAS 3.3.61-62

vikalpo Ôvi1/2i§ta-phalatvÄt
kÄmyÄs tu yathÄ-kÄmaµ samucc"yeran na vÄ pŸrva-hetv-abhÄvÄt

	vikalpaú-an option; avi1/2i§ a-not different; phalatvÄt-because of the fruit; kÄmyÄú-activities for the fulfillment of desires; tu-but; yathÄ-kÄmam-according to wish; samuccyeran-one may combine or arrange; na-not; vÄ-or; pŸrva-previous; hetu-reason; abhÄvÄt-because of absence of.

TRANSLATION

	There is an option to dedicate oneself to just one feature of the Lord because there is no difference in the fruit attained.
	But when one worships the Lord for the fulfillment of a particular desire, one may worship as one wishes that feature of the Lord which is appropriate for that fulfillment, or else one’s own favorite Deity.

PURPORT

	Although all the forms of the Lord are ultimately identical in substance, one should not worship them in an indiscriminate order, that is, to worship K¨§ºa for a few days, then RÄma, then VÄmana, then Narasiµha, and so on. Although worship of anyone of these results in liberation from material existence and entrance into the spiritual world, one must dedicate oneself to one major aspect of the Lord as either Vi§ºu, K¨§ºa, RÄma, etc. This dedication to a particular Deity is established by family tradition, by direct instruction from the spiritual master, or by guidance from saintly persons. One should worship the form of the Lord most conducive to the mood of service one wishes to attain. The spiritual master and saintly persons are competent in guiding one in this regard.
	Pure devotional service is free from the desire for anything other than the satisfaction of the Lord. This is the highest standard of devotion. However, not all devotees are on this platform. Neophyte devotees have many material necessities and desires. In order to increase their dedication to an appreciation for the Lord, the scriptures recommend that such persons directly approach the Lord to fulfill their desires. Such devotional service is called kÄmya, or motivated by personal desire. When a devotee wishes to attain the fulfillment of a particular desire, even though he has dedicated himself to one Deity, he may worship whichever Deity is appropriate for that fulfillment, or he can worship his personal Deity. Many people in different parts of the world are accustomed to worshiping different demigods for the fulfillment of their desires. One who is interested in ultimately achieving liberation from material existence should never approach the demigods for any benediction. He should directly approach the Lord. By continually directing oneself to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one becomes purified from all material contamination. When one becomes totally purified, one simultaneously becomes freed from all thought of personal concern and only desires to please the Lord. No matter what one’s desire may be, one should worship Lord K¨§ºa:
akÄmaú sarva-kÄmo vÄ
mok§a-kÄma udÄradh"ú
t"vreºa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puru§aµ param
	„Whether one is free from desire or full of desires, a broad-minded person who desires liberation should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full determination by the execution of devotional service.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 2.3.10)

SüTRAS 3.3.63-64

a›ge§u yathÄ1/2raya-bhÄvaú
1/2i§ ai1/2 ca

	a›ge§u-on the limbs [of the Lord]; yathÄ-Ä1/2raya-according to the resting place of; bhÄvaú-contemplation; 1/2i§ aiú-by those who were taught; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	Although all attributes of the Lord are equal, one should contemplate each limb of the Lord as only possessing its corresponding qualities.
	And this is evident from the example of those taught by BrahmÄ.

PURPORT

	Previously, we learned that all of the Lord’s attributes are equal because they are all of the same transcendental essence. Since the Lord and His body are nondifferent, by worshiping His feet, one derives the same benefit as by worshiping His beautiful lotus face. In the GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad, Lord BrahmÄ instructs his disciples about how to meditate on the form of the Lord. He sings the following hymn:
	„I offer my humble obeisances to Lord K¨§ºa, who is the giver of pleasure to the cows, whose external form is the form of the universe, who is the cause of the maintenance and dissolution of the universe, and who is the Lord of the universe.
	„I offer my obeisances to Lord K¨§ºa, who is the giver of pleasure to the cows, who is the Lord of the gop"s and who is the embodiment of unlimited knowledge and the highest bliss.
	„I offer my obeisances to K¨§ºa, who possesses lotus-petal eyes, who wears a garland of sweet-smelling lotus flowers, who has a lotus navel and who is the Lord of the gop"s, who are as beautiful as lotus flowers.
	„I offer my obeisances to Lord Govinda, who looks very beautiful wearing a peacock feather upon His head. His plenary expansion is Lord RÄmacandra, His intelligence is eternal and ever-fresh, and He is the swan that swims in the mind of Lak§m" dev".
	„I offer my obeisances to K¨§ºa, who is the destroyer of the dynasties of demons headed by King Kaµsa. He is the slayer of the Ke1/2i demon and the wrestler of CÄnura. He is offered prayers by Lord üiva, whose chariot flag is marked with the insignia of Nand", the bull, and He is the chariot driver of the son of P¨thÄ, Arjuna.
	„I offer my obeisances to K¨§ºa, who is accustomed to playing on a flute, who is the protector of the cows and the chastiser of the KÄliya serpent. He is fond of wandering here and there on the banks of the YamunÄ River and He is beautified by wearing swinging earrings.
	„I offer my obeisances again and again to ür" K¨§ºa, who wears a garland of kisses from the lotus mouths of the gop"s. He is conversant with the art of dancing and is the protector of the surrendered souls.
	„I offer my obeisances again and again to ür" K¨§ºa, who wears a garland of kisses from the lotus mouths of the gop"s. He is conversant with the art of dancing and is the protector of the surrendered souls.
	„I offer my obeisances to Lord K¨§ºa, who is the destroyer of the sins of the fallen souls. He is the lifter of Govardhana Hill, He brought about the end of the life of PutanÄ and He took away the life of the demon T¨ºÄvarta.
	„I offer my humble obeisances again and again unto the great Lord K¨§ºa, who is beyond the illusion of mÄyÄ and from whom that illusion comes. He is the supreme pure, the enemy of the demos and is one without a second.
	„O Supreme Lord, O reservoir of the highest pleasure, be pleased upon me. I have been bitten by the poisonous snake of mental and bodily miseries. Therefore, O Lord, please deliver me.
	„O Lord K¨§ºa, O lover of Rukmin", O attractor of the minds of the gop"s, please lift me up, for I am immersed in the ocean of birth and death, O spiritual preceptor of the universe.
	„O Lord Ke1/2ava, O destroyer of the three-fold miseries, O only refuge of all souls, O destroyer of the demons, O Govinda, O reservoir of pleasure, please lift me whom am fallen, O husband of the goddess of fortune.
	„O my dear K¨§ºa, You are the friend of the distressed, the ocean of mercy, and the Lord of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gop"s, especially RÄdhikÄ. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 36-47)
	In the above hymn, the various limbs of the Lord have been described. This hymn was sung by Lord BrahmÄ. Elsewhere, he has also explained how the different limbs of the Lord are ultimately equal:
aºgÄni yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti
pa1/2yanti pÄnti kalayanti ciraµ jaganti
Änanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam Ädi-puru§aµ tam ahaµ bhajÄmi
	„I worship the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whom those devotees whose eyes are anointed with the salve of pure love always see within their hearts. That personal form of üyÄmasundara is as beautiful as a dark rain cloud and His transcendental qualities are inconceivable.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.38)
	One might think that since His attributes are identical, being of the same transcendental substance, when one worships the Lord one should conceive each attribute as possessing the characteristics of all His other attributes. Thus, although it is permissable to meditate on the Lord’s lotus feet, one should see in them the qualities of all His other attributes, such as His smiling face, His flute, His sudar1/2ana disc, etc.
	This sŸtra rejects this speculation by stating that while meditating on one limb of the Lord, one should only see in it those qualities that are natural to it. For example, the Lord’s feet should be seen to be soft and tender, His mouth, smiling with the sweetness of honey and playing on a flute, etc. BrahmÄ teaches contemplation of the limbs of the Lord with only those qualities that naturally correspond to them. If, while beholding the Lord’s beautiful lotus-like face, one were to suddenly see all the qualities of His other features, one would not be able to form a clear and definite apprehension of the Lord because of the confusion of all His features. The Lord, however, is not confusion, but supreme order. Each feature of His transcendental body always appears as what it is, though each feature has the ability to act differently. It does not matter how the Lord uses His different limbs. But for the purpose of concentration in meditation, the devotee must not think of them in that way.

SüTRA 3.4.1

puru§Ärtho Ôtaú 1/2abdÄd iti ca bÄdarÄyaºaú

	puru§a-arthaú-the goal of human life; ataú-from this [transcendental knowledge]; 1/2abdÄt-because of the scriptural statement; iti-thus; ca-and; bÄdarÄyaºaú-the sage BÄdarÄyaºa (VyÄsadeva).

TRANSLATION

	BÄdarÄyaºa (VyÄsadeva) is of the opinion that all the goals of life can be achieved from transcendental knowledge because it is so stated in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	Human life is said to have four goals: (1) dharma, or righteousness; (2) artha, or material prosperity; (3) kÄma, or enjoyment of life; and, (4) mok§a, or liberation from material existence. In the Vedas  there are different instructions according to one’s level of realization. There is one set of instructions for those interested in practicing piety and morality, another for those interested in achieving different material goals and purposes, another for those interested in having different kinds of materially enjoyable sensations, and another for those who are seriously interested in getting out of this world of birth and death and going back to Godhead. Because these are the four different goals, the knowledge corresponding to them is different. The knowledge for liberation cannot be the same as that for sense gratification, etc. Each of these is therefore independent in their own right because of their different purposes. Being independent, they are all equally valid goals. It only depends on what one wishes to make of one’s life. Accordingly, whatever goal one seeks to attain, the corresponding knowledge becomes supreme for him. Or perhaps it may be that since all knowledge arises from the activities enjoined in the Vedas, those activities must be superior to everything else.
	In contrast to these ideas, VyÄsadeva, who is also known as BÄdarÄyaºa, states that transcendental knowledge about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is higher than everything else. It is higher than the rituals enjoined in the Vedas, and higher than the knowledge corresponding to the three lesser goals of life. Why? Because from it, one can automatically attain all the other goals too. This is indicated in the following texts:
kasmin nu bhagavo vij-Äte
sarvam idaµ vij-Ätaµ bhavati
	„O honorable one, by knowledge of what can this entire material existence possible be understood?“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.1.3)
	Ätmano vÄ are dar1/2anena 1/2ravanena matyÄ vij-Änenedaµ sarvaµ viditam.
	„Indeed, by seeing, hearing, thinking of and understanding the Supreme Soul, this entire material existence becomes understood.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.4.5)
	For one who has become fully God conscious all the different types of knowledge become available by the mercy of the Lord:
ananyÄ1/2 cintayanto mÄµ
ye janÄú paryupÄsate
te§Äµ nityÄbhiyuktÄnÄµ
yoga-k§emaµ vahÄmy aham
	„Those who worship Me without thinking of any other thing-to those ever-engaged souls I bring what they lack and preserve what they have.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.22)
	Those who are attached to following the karma-kÄº¶a section of the Vedas, however, object to this by reiterating that only by actually executing the activities enjoined in the Vedas is knowledge produced. Without performing these rituals, knowledge cannot arise. Thus, it is seen:
	tam etaµ vedÄnuvacanena brÄhmaºÄ vividi§anti yaj-ena dÄnena tapasÄnÄ1/2akenaitam eva viditvÄ munir bhavati.
	„It is this which brÄhmaºas desire to know by reciting the Vedas, performing sacrifices, giving in charity, practicing austerity and undergoing fasts. Upon knowning that, one becomes a sage.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.22)
	So, without fulfilling all the duties enjoined in the Vedas, there is no question of one’s getting knowledge. What is more, knowledge is simply subordinate to the duties of the Vedas, because even after attaining knowledge, one is still required to uphold the injunctions of the Vedas:
	„He who has learned the Vedas in the family of the spiritual master according to ruleÉafter having come back again, in a home of his own, he continues to study the Vedas and raises a familyÉHe, indeed, who passes his life in this way, reaches the spiritual world and does not return, no he does not return.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.15)
	Since knowledge is only a byproduct of the conscientious performance of the Vedic duties, it is these which are of greater importance, for they are the actual cause of liberation. Knowledge is only a side effect in attaining liberation.
	When discussing the relation between the Vedic duties and knowledge, one must be aware of their exact definitions and spheres of influence. Transcendental knowledge, as explained in sŸtra 3.3.52, is not of the same category as material knowledge. In fact, transcendental knowledge means conscious awareness of the Absolute Truth, who is the Supreme Lord. It may appear that transcendental knowledge arises due to studying the sacred texts of the Vedas, or by executing certain activities but actually it is not so.
Since the Supreme Lord is the object and subject of transcendental knowledge, there is no question of knowledge about Him beginning or arising at any time. Transcendental knowledge is eternal. Since God consciousness is the original and normal activity of the soul, it cannot be said to be originated by performing any particular set of activities. In the text connected with sŸtra 3.3.44, it was already seen how knowledge of God is received by the mercy of God. Besides, it is rarely seen, if ever at all, that the scrupulous execution of the Vedic duties gives rise to knowledge of God. Therefore, it is stated:
par"k§ya lokÄn karma-citÄn brÄhmaºo
nirvedam ÄyÄn nÄsty ak¨taú k¨tena
	„Having examined the worlds which are built up by the execution of Vedic rituals, a brÄhmaºa becomes indifferent to them. That which is transcendental to such works connot be apprehended through them.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 1.2.12)
	In this discussion there are three classes of persons involved in this discussion: sani§ has, parini§ has, and nirapek§as. A sani§ ha is one who executes all the duties of his particular social position and assiduously follows all the details of the Vedic rituals in hopes of attaining the heavenly planets in the upper regions of the universe. Such persons never get out of the entanglement of material life because their motivation in life is egocentric. They do not consider spiritual activities to be anything more than acts of piety, helpful for the attainment of their desired goals of material enjoyment. A parini§ ha also discharges all the duties of his social position and stage of life (varºa and Ä1/2rama ), not for the attainment of the worlds of the demigos, but as an example for those who would otherwise wander into sinful life. A parini§ ha devotee is always a householder. A nirapek§a is one who has, in past lives, already fulfilled all his Vedic duties, such as study of the Vedas, performance of sacrifices, reformation through saµskÄras or sacraments, etc. In this life, therefore, they are outside the rules and regulations of the four castes and four orders of life. They are renunciates who have no other duty than the service of God. For each of these three classes of persons, the duties enjoined in the Vedas have a different meaning.
	Transcendental knowledge is not the result of a physical activity, especially if aimed at prucuring sense enjoyment. Hence, the Vedic rituals, in themselves, do not produce transcendental knowledge. Rather, transcendental knowledge is acquired through the execution of activities tinged with devotion for the Supreme Lord. It is the bhakti, or devotion, that actually reveals the transcendental knowledge. Sometimes it is seen that a limb may become paralyzed due to some disease. In order to revive, then the functional ability of that limb, one has to move it artificially. By such imitative practice, the limb gradually recovers its original ability. Similarly, the scriptures delineate the practice of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead ür" K¨§ºa as the foolproof way of reviving the natural functional ability of the soul. As our inherent devotion becomes healthier and stronger, the other functions of the soul, such as the unobstructed perception of truth, also develop at the same time. Thus, transcendental knowledge, which is full of devotional understanding of God, is eternal and beyond all else. That this transcendental knowledge is superior to the Vedic duties is apparent by the fact that those who have it are no longer interested in the Vedic duties, nor are they obligated to observe them:
	„On knowing Him, one becomes a sage. Desiring Him alone as their world, the itinerant sages wander forth. Indeed, those who knew this in ancient times did not desire offspring, thinking ÔWhat shall we do with offspring, we whose is the Soul, this world?’ They, verily, having risen above the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, thereafter led the life of a mendicant. The desire for sons is the desire for wealth and the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds; both these are in fact only desires.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.22)
	„Now, whatever other oblations there are, they are limited, for they consist of fruitive works. Knowing this very thing, indeed, the ancients did not offer the agnihotra sacrifice.“ (Kau§"taki Upani§ad 2.5)
	It is a well established fact in the Upani§ads that the purely mechanical execution of Vedic rituals without the higher knowledge about God is considered useless. For example:
	„If one offers the agnihotra sacrifice without knowing this, it would be just as if one were to remove the fire and pour the offering on the ashes; but if one offers the agnihotra knowing this, his offering is made in all worlds, in all beings, in all selves.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.24.1-2)

SüTRAS 3.4.13-14

nÄvi1/2e§Ät
stutaye Ônumatir vÄ

	na-not [necessary]; avi1/2e§Ät-because of no specification; stutaye-for glorifying; anumatiú-permission; vÄ-or.

TRANSLATION

	The injunction to execute the vedic rituals mentioned in the ö1/2a Upani§ad is not obligatory for a devotee who has knowledge because this is not specified here.
	Or else that injunction may be as a permission for the glorification of transcendental knowledge.

PURPORT

	These sŸtras are concerned with the ö1/2a Upani§ad, wherein it is stated:
kurvann eveha karmÄºi
jij"visec chataµ samÄú
evaµ tvayi nÄnyathato Ôsti
na karma lipyate nare
	„While engaged in executing one’s Vedic duties in this world, one may desire to live one hundred years. Thus, is it incumbent on you, not by any other means than this. Action does not affect such a person.“  (ö1/2a Upani§ad 2)
	Here it appears obligatory for everyone to execute all the duties in the Vedas throughout one’s whole life and that there is no alternative. However, as pointed out in the sŸtra above, there is no specification about those possessing transcendental knowledge being required to perform Vedic rituals. This text should therefore be taken as a general recommendation. For those who have not yet accepted any higher goal of life than the fulfillment of desires for material enjoyment, it is obligatory for them to always precisely follow the Vedic injunctions. But for those who are meant to leave this world and enter into the eternal association of the all-blissful Lord, it is not necessary. In their case, it may be taken as a permission to glorify the superiority of transcendental knowledge. The fact is although in this second verse of the ö1/2a Upani§ad it discusses the necessity of practicing Vedic rituals, the whole rest of this Upani§ad specifically deals with the topic of the superiority of transcendental knowledge. For example:
anyÄd evÄhur vidyayÄ
anyÄd Ähur avidyayÄ
iti 1/2u1/2ruma dh"rÄºÄm
ye nas tad vicacak§ire
	„It is said that one result is obtained from the culture of knowledge and that another result is obtained from the culture of ignorangce. This was heard from the wise sages who explained it to us.“ (10)
	The controversial text shows the subject matter is principally concerned with transcendental knowledge because it states that even if one worked in this world for one hundred years, if he had transcendental knowledge of God as the owner and controller of the world, he would not be bound by the reactions of his work. Therefore, in the case of devotees, such an exortation to perform the Vedic rites is as a glorification of the superior power of transcendental knowledge.

SüTRA 3.4.19

anu§ heyaµ bÄdarÄyaºaú sÄmya-1/2ruteú

	anu§ heyaµ-that which is to be done (the Vedic duties); bÄdarÄyaºaú-the sage VyÄsadeva; sÄmya-equali y; 1/2ruteú-because of the scriptural statement.

TRANSLATION

	VyÄsadeva maintains the view that a householder devotee should perform his obligatory duties because the scriptures give equal authority to this.

PURPORT

	This sŸtra establishes that the parini§ ha householder devotees are not required to fully execute all the details of obligatory duties. Someone might say that if the parini§ ha devotee must observe Vedic duties, then he must do so as fully as the sani§ ha or practitioner of karma-kanda.  In this connection, the scriptures state:
	„He who passes beyond hunger and thirst, grief and illusion, old age and death-knowing that Soul, brÄhmaºas overcome the desire for sons, the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, and live the life of mendicants. As the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds, so both these are merely desires. Therefore, let a brÄhmaºa become indifferent to learning and desire to be like a child. Having become indifferent to the condition of being child-like and to learning, then he becomes a quietist. Having become indifferent to quietism and nonquietism, then he becomes a brÄhmaºa, a brÄhmaºa indeed. By whatever means it was, by that indeed did he become as such.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 3.5)
	From this passage, it is clear that to become a brÄhmaºa or knower of God, one does not have to be a strict follower of the Vedic rituals. As such, householder devotees need only execute the Vedic rituals as far as their execution is compatible with their devotional practices. When it comes to a choice of Vedic rituals or devotional practices, the parini§ ha must opt for the latter. A parini§ ha should observe the Vedic rituals only where it is convenient and harmonious with the execution of devotional service. The ür"mad-BhÄgavatam supports this with the following verse:
1/2aucam Äcamanaµ snÄnaµ
na tu codanayÄcaret
anyÄµ1/2 ca niyamÄn j-Än"
yathÄham l"laye1/2varaú
	„As the wise do not perform the rituals of purification, sipping of water, bathing and other things simply because they are enjoined in the scriptures, but do so according to their will, so I, the Supreme Lord, perform all My activities as a pastime.“

SüTRA 3.4.22

bhÄva-1/2abdÄc ca

	bhÄva-ecstasy; 1/2abdÄt-because of the scriptural statement; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	The pure devotees do not intentionally disregard the regulations on worship, but only on account of ecstasy, as this is stated in scripture.

PURPORT

	In the previous text, it was seen how besides not having to observe all the Vedic injunctions, a pure devotee does not even have to follow all the regulations concerning the proper execution of devotional service. In this sŸtra, VyÄsadeva wishes to make it clear that such nonobservance of the rules governing the practice of devotional service is not a deliberate disregard. It is because of bhÄva, or ecstasy, due to deep absorption in pure love of God. When one becomes overcome with feelings of ecstasy, one’s awareness of external things becomes greatly lessened or completely withdrawn. This results in one’s seeming to make omittances in the usual procedure of devotional practices. This kind of ecstasy is mention in the scriptures themselves:
prÄºo hy e§a yaú sarva-bhŸtair vibhÄti
vijÄnan vidvÄn bhavate nÄtivÄdi
Ätma-kr"¶a Ätma-ratiú kriyÄvÄn
e§a brahma-vidÄµ vari§ ham
	„It is the life indeed that shines forth through all beings. He who knows this becomes wise, not he who talks so much. He takes pleasure in the Self and is devoted to the Self and engages in activities. He is the best f those who know God.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.4)
	The words kr"¶Ä, or sport and rati, or attachment, when applied to the word ÄtmÄ, or the Supersoul within, indicate that such devotees become absorbed in ecstatic vision of the Lord within their hearts and, therefore, neglect to execute their worldy duties properly. However, when they are not so absorbed in ecstatic trance, they go about performing their activities  as normal, which is indicated by the word kriyÄvÄn. The sahajiyÄ class of devotees is an entirely different matter. They blatantly and deliberately ignore the regulations of devotional service, not because of ecstasy. Another reason why nirapek§a devotees do not observe all the regulations of the Vedas and of devotional service is that, having given up all ties with worldly life, they are often in a condition where they are unable to follow rules very strictly. This is evident from the following verse:
vedÄnta-vij-Äna-suni1/2citÄrthÄú
sannyÄsa-yogÄd yatayaú 1/2uddha-sattvaú
te brahma-loke§u parÄnta-kÄle
parÄm¨tÄú parimucyanti sarve
	„Those who have thoroughly ascertained the meaning of the VedÄnta knowledge, ascetics who are transcendentally situated by practice of renunciation, they, at the time of death, are all liberated in the spiritual worlds and become immortal.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.6)
	When devotees take to a life of renunciation, they often find themselves without the necessary physical means to perform devotional service. In such cases, the devotees perform their devotional service within their minds. This worship of the Lord within one’s mind is a well-established practice in the Upani§ads:
na saµd¨1/2e ti§ hati rŸpam asya
na cak§u§Ä pa1/2yati ka1/2canainam
h¨¶Ä mani§Ä manasÄbhikÂpto
ya etad vidur am¨tÄs te bhavanti
	„His form is not within the purview of the senses, nor is it seen by anyone’s eye. Apprehended by the heart, though and mind, those who know Him become immortal.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.9)

SüTRAS 3.4.28-29

sarvÄnnÄnumati1/2 ca prÄºÄtyaye tad-dar1/2anÄt
abÄdhÄc ca

	sarva-all; anna-food; anumatiú-permission; ca-and; prÄºa-life; atyaye-at a particular time; tad-that; dar1/2anÄt-is seen in the scriptures; abÄdhÄt-because of nonobstruction; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	A devotee has permission to eat all kinds of food, whether clean or unclean, in times when his life is endangered, for this is so seen in the scriptures.
	Besides, for the pure devotee such unclean food does not obstruct his consciousness.

PURPORT

	Since the pure devotees are not obliged to follow rules and regulations, does this also apply to matters of food? One might say that this is correct because of the following scriptural passage:
na ha vÄ evaµvidi ki-cana anannaµ bhavat"ti
	„For one who knows this, there is nothing whatsoever that is not food.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 5.2.1)
	The above verse and similar statements seem to give scriptural permission for the self-realized person to eat whatever he wants. These verses are often quoted by persons who pose as svÄm"s and yog"s. Unfortunately, they have completely misconstrued the meaning behind these texts. The story of U§asti CÄkrÄyaºa clears up the whole matter:
	„Among the Kurus, when their crops were destroyed by hailstones, there lived in the village of an owner of many elephants a very poor man, U§asti CÄkrÄyaºa, with his wife tik". While the elephant owner was eating beans, U§ast asked him for something to eat. The man replied to him: ÔI have nothing other than these beans which are set before me.’ ÔGive me some,’ said he. He gave some of them to U§asti and said, ÔHere is some water to drink.’ U§asti replied, ÔFor me to do so would be to drink the unclean leftovers of another!’ ÔAren’t these beans also leftovers?’ said the elephant owner. ÔYes,’ said he, Ôbut I could not live if I did not eat them, whereas the drinking of water is at my will.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 1.10.1-4)
	As far as ordinary food is concerned, it is forbidden for a brÄhmaºa to eat the remnants of others’ food. This is as much for health reasons as for spiritual reasons. In the case of U§asti CÄkrÄyaºa, however, he was caught in a famine with no food to eat. U§asti entered the home of an elephant owner while he was eating a plate of beans. U§asti went right up to him and begged for something to eat. At this the elephant owner explained that there was nothing else available to eat at that time except the beans on his plate. He naturally assumed that the brÄhmaºa would not want to eat his leftovers. On the contrary, U§asti immediately asked for them. Seeing the brÄhmaºa forgoing all rules to assuage his hunger, the elephant owner, out of his good nature, also offered U§asti the water in his cup. When U§asti declined to accept the water from the elephant owner’s cup on the grounds that it is forbidden to eat the unclean leavings of another, somewhat surprised, the elephant owner pointed out that the beans were also his leftovers. At this U§asti explained that it was proper to eat the beans, even though they were unclean, because it was a matter of survival whereas the leftover water was not vital to his survival because clean water was available elsewhere. Therefore, when it is a question of survival, a devotee can eat anything. Otherwise, he must observe all the dietary restrictions.
	As the second sŸtra points out, a pure devotee can eat any kind of food because it cannot obstruct the clear operation of his intelligence. All the prohibitions on foods are due to their effects on the mind and consciousness. Foods in the mode of ignorance inhibit the clear functioning of the mind. Therefore, those who are interested in understanding the Absolute Truth are careful to eat food in the mode of goodness. In the case of a pure devotee, there is no question of his consciousness’ being inhibited by food. In fact, nothing can inhibit or interrupt his constant awareness of God.
	That one may eat anything in order to survive is illustrated simply in the Sm¨ti literature of Manu:
j"vitÄtyayam Äpanno
yo Ônnam atti yatas tataú
ÄkÄ1/2am iva pa›kena
na sa pÄpena lipyate
	„When he whose life is in danger eats food from whatever source, he is no more tainted by sin than the sky by mud.“ (Manu-saµhitÄ 10.204)
k§udhÄrta1/2 cÄttum abhyÄgÄd
vi1/2vÄmitra1/2 cÄjÄdhan"m
caº¶Äla-hastÄdÄdÄya
dharmÄdharma-vicak§aºaú
	„Although he knew very well the difference between right and wrong, when Vi1/2vÄmitra was suffering the pangs of hunger, he approached an untouchable and accepted from him the haunch of a dog to eat.“ (Manu-saµhitÄ 10.208)
	In all cases, the option to eat anything is restricted to times of emergency and is not a general rule. In this way, we can understand that those who claim that the scriptures authorize them to eat whatever they like, do so not with any special regard for the scriptures, but to coverup  their licentiousness.

SüTRA 3.4.34-35

	sarvathÄpi tatra vobhaya-li›gÄt
anabhibhavaµ ca dar1/2ayati

	sarvathÄ-under all circumstances; api-even; tatra-in that case; vÄ-or; ubhaya-both [üruti and Sm¨ti ]; li›gÄt-because of the indication; anabhibhavam-not overpowered; ca-and; dar1/2ayati-it is shown by the scriptures.

TRANSLATION

	A householder devotee must in all circumstances stick to the regular practices of devotional service because of the indication of both êruti and Sm¨ti.
	In those cases where such a devotee must necessarily neglect the duties of his cast and order of life, such fault cannot overpower him, as this is illustrated in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	There are four castes-brÄhmaºa, k§atriy, vai1/2ya, and 1/2Ÿdra-and four orders of life-brahmacÄr", g¨hastha, vanaprÄstha, and sannyÄs". Everyone belongs to one of these castes and one of these orders of life. The scriptures prescribe certain duties to be performed according to one’s cast and order of life. This also includes the Vai§ºava devotees. Thus, it is seen in the scriptures:
Ätma-kr"da Ätma-ratiú kriyÄvÄn
e§a brahma-vidÄm vari§ ham
	„He who takes pleasure in the Self, is devoted to the Self and executes his duties-he is the best of those who know the Absolute.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.1.4)
	This verse proves that the best of those who know the Absolute are those who, besides having their private devotional emotions, are fully conscientious in fulfilling all their Vedic responsibilities.
	VarnÄ1/2rama-dharma is entirely a social convention. The varnÄ1/2rama system is intended to provide the framework upon which a healthy society can be built. When a devotee becomes a householder, in order to maintain his household, he must interact with the world. When a householder is unable to maintain the status quo, he loses all respectability. Therefore, even householder devotees fell pressure to live up to a certain standard imposed by society. But even such householder devotees do not have to observe the demands of either varnÄ1/2rama, or the modern materialistic society. Their only requirement is to fulfill their devotional obligations. The fulfillment of all other duties is secondary. Thus we find in the üruti:
tam evaikaµ janatha ÄtmÄnam anyÄ
vÄco vimu-cathÄm¨tasyaisa setuú
	„Know Him alone to be the Soul. Shun any other words, for He is the bridge of immortality.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 2.2.5)
	In the Sm¨ti is found the following:
mahÄtmanas tu maµ pÄrtha
daiviµ prak¨tim Ä1/2ritÄú
bhajanty ananya-manaso
j-ÄtvÄ bhŸtÄdim avyayam

satataµ k"rtayanto mÄµ
yatanta1/2 ca d¨dha-vratÄú
namasyanta1/2 ca mÄµ bhaktyÄ
nitya-yuktÄ upÄsate
	„But the great souls, O son of P¨thÄ, are under the protection of My divine nature. They worship Me without deviation because they know Me to be the cause of creation and inexhaustible. Always chanting My glories, endeavoring under firm vows, bowing down to Me, they are ever engaged in worshiping Me with devotion.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.13-14)
sarva-dharmÄn parityajya
mÄm ekaµ 1/2aranaµ vraja
ahaµ tvÄµ sarva-pÄpebhyo
mok§ayi§yÄmi mÄ 1/2ucaú
	„Give up all duties and take shelter of Me alone. I shall free you from all sin. Do not fear.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 18.66)
	In the above verse, the Lord promises that He will protect the devotee from any sin resulting from neglect of duties, whether these be social or religious. Since it is one’s devotion that induces the Lord to protect one from sin, such devotion is, therefore, the best means of repelling sinful reactions:
	„Evil does not overcome him; he overcomes all evil. Evil does not burn him; he burns all evil. Free from evil, free from stain, free from doubt, he becomes a brÄhmaºa .“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.23)
	Devotional service rendered by the householder devotee pleases the Lord, not the mere execution of social duties. This is illustrated in the following verse:
varºÄ1/2ramÄcÄravatÄ
puru§ena paraú pumÄn
vi§ºur ÄrÄdhyate panthÄ
nÄnyat tat to§a kÄraºam
	„The Supreme Lord Vi§ºu is worshiped by a person who is devoted to the execution of the duties of his caste and order of life. There is no other path for pleasing the Lord.“ (Vi§ºu PurÄºa 3.8.9)
	Sometimes the above verse is mistakenly interpreted to mean that the only way to please the Lord is to execute all the varºÄ1/2rama duties. The execution of the varºÄ1/2rama duties themselves do not please the Lord; vi§ºor ÄrÄdhanaµ, or devotional service pleases Him.
ÄrÄdhanÄnÄµ sarve§Äm
vi§ºor ÄrÄdhanaµ param
	„Worship of Lord Vi§ºu is greater than all other kinds of worship.“ (Padma PurÄºa)
	It is useless to follow the varºÄ1/2rama-dharma and not worship the Supreme Lord Vi§ºu. However, if one is engaged in vi§ºor ÄrÄdhanaµ, or worship of the Supreme Lord Vi§ºu, then he pleases Lord Vi§ºu whether he executes the duties of varºÄ1/2rama  or not, and thereby attains all success.

SüTRA 3.4.36

antarÄ cÄpi tu tad d¨§ eú

	antarÄ-outside of [the system of castes and orders of life]; ca-and; api-even; tu-however; tat-that; d¨§ eú-because it is seen [in scripture].

TRANSLATION

	And even those who are outside the system of castes and orders of life can attain God consciousness, however, because it is so seen in scripture.

PURPORT

	Two kinds of persons are outside the system of varºÄ1/2rama, those who, by birth, do not belong to it and those who have given it up. Of those who have given up varºÄ1/2rama, some do so on account of attraction for sinful life, and others on account of attraction for unadulterated devotional service. The caste-conscious brÄhmaºas of India are always contending that those who are outside the varºÄ1/2rama system can never achieve any ultimate good but are condemned to damnation in hell. If such persons lead pious lives by respecting the caste-conscious brÄhmaºas and giving them charity, then there is a possibility in their next life they may take birth in a properly situated caste-conscious brÄhmaºa family. There is never any possibility that a person outside of varºÄ1/2rama system could have any substantial realization of God.
	This sŸtra refutes this view by pointing out that there are numerous references in the scriptures of persons outside of varºÄ1/2rama-dharma who had advanced realizations of God. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ:
	„O son of P¨thÄ, those who take shelter of Me, even though of sinful birth, such as women, vai1/2yas and 1/2Ÿdras, can attain the supreme destination.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.32)
	As an example of a woman who possessed transcendental knowledge, there is the story of GÄrg" in the B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad:
	„Then GÄrg" VÄcaknav" said: ÔO honorable brÄhmaºas, I ask the sage Yaj-avalkya two questions. If he will answer them correctly, then not a one of you will surpass him in discussions about God.’“ (3.8.1)
	Since the most ancient times, Vai§ºavism has accepted within its folds those who were outside the pale of varºÄ1/2rama-dharma. This continues even at the present time. Often converts to Vai§ºavism, though of non-Hindu origin, outshine the ordinary caste brÄhmaºas. The caste Hindus are unable to understand how these newcomers can make spiritual advancement so quickly and become such staunch devotees of the Lord. The reason is due to the mercy of the Supreme Lord ür" K¨§ºa and his unalloyed devotees:
kirÄ a-hŸnÄndhra-pulinda-pulka1/2Ä
abh"ra-1/2umbhÄ yavanÄú khasÄdayaú
ye Ônye ca pÄpÄ yad-apÄ1/2rayÄ1/2rayÄú
1/2udhyanti tasmai prabhavi§ºave namaú
	„The KirÄ as, Huns, Andhras, Greeks, Pulka1/2as, Arabs, üumbas, Turks, and Chinese-these and other sinful people can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, because He is so very powerful.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 2.18.18)
	Similarly, in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya of the NÄrada PurÄºa, it is stated:
1/2uciú sad-bhakti-diptÄgni-
dagdha-durjÄti-kalma§aú
1/2vÄpaco Ôpi budhaiú 1/2lÄgyo
na vedaj-o Ôpi nÄstikaú

bhagavad-bhakti-h"nasya
jÄtiú 1/2Ästram japas tapaú
aprÄºasyeva dehasya
mandanaµ loka-ra-janam
	„Pure devotional service is like a blazing fire that burns up the pernicious effects of a bad birth. Therefore, one who performs devotional service, even though a dog-eater, is accepted by intelligent people as being as pure as a brÄhmaºa. On the other hand, even if one knows the Vedas, if he is an atheist, he is not accepted. For a person devoid of devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, birth in an important family or nation, knowledge of scripture, chanting of Vedic mantras and performance of austerities and penance are like ornaments on a dead body which are meant to please the general public.“ (3.11-12)
	Hence, regardless of what one’s background is, if one takes shelter of the Lord’s devotees, they will direct one in the matter of executing devotional service to the Lord. By such devotional service, one is put in contact with Prabha-vi§ºu, the almighty Lord. Being supremely prophylactic, He purifies the hearts of all those who serve Him, even as the sun arrests bacterial growths with its heat. A devotee is therefore not concerned about whether he is accepted in a caste or not accepted. He is only concerned about whether K¨§ºa has accepted him or not.

SüTRA 3.4.38

vi1/2e§Änugraha1/2 ca

	vi1/2e§a-special; anugrahaú-mercy; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	And in the case of those devotees outside the varºÄ1/2rama system who attain spiritual perfection, that is the special mercy of the Lord.

PURPORT

	There are many famous devotees of the Lord who were not brÄhmaºas, but were k§atriyas, vai1/2yas, 1/2udras, or less than 1/2Ÿdras. These designations, of course, only refer to their social position. Spiritually, they were like the HimÄlayas. This includes sages like Vi1/2vÄmitra (a k§atriya ), PravÄhana Jaibal" (a k§atriya ), Kava§a (a 1/2Ÿdra ), Vidura (a 1/2Ÿdra ), SatyakÄma JÄbÄla (casteless), VÄlmik" (a dacoit), M¨gÄri (a hunter), etc. All of these persons without ever having practiced the duties of a brÄhmaºa, such as study of the Vedas, sacrifices, etc., somehow or other gained transcendental knowledge. Therefore, it can only be concluded that such devotees had become the special objects of mercy for the Lord. This is indicated in the following üruti text:
nÄyam ÄtmÄ pravacanena labhyo
na medhayÄ na bahunÄ 1/2rutena
yam evai§a v¨ºute tena labhyas
tasyai§a ÄtmÄ viv¨ºute tanŸµ svÄm
	„This Supreme Soul cannot be attained by mere instruction, intellectual endeavor nor by much study of the Vedas. He is attainable only by one whom He chooses; to him He reveals His own form.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 2.23)
	Since everyone has had innumerable lives, those who are presently brÄhmaºas must have, in previous lives, been pious 1/2Ÿdras, vai1/2yas, and so forth. Similarly, those who are presently 1/2Ÿdras must have been brÄhmaºas in previous lives who were puffed up and thus, fell down due to their offenses. The merciful Lord has rewarded the pious 1/2Ÿdra with birth as a brÄhmaºa and the puffed up brÄhmaºa with birth as a 1/2Ÿdra. Thus, the revealed scriptures declare:
	e§a hy evainaµ sÄdhu karma kÄrayati taµ yamanvÄnunve§aty e§a evainam asÄdhu karma kÄrayati tam yamebhyo lokebhyo nunutsate.
	„He actually makes one whom He wishes to lead up from these worlds do good deeds, He makes one whom He wishes to lead down to hell do bad deeds.“ (Kau§"taki Upani§ad 3.8)
	All devotees, whether they are born in brÄhmaºa families, or whether they are from outside the entire varºÄ1/2rama system, have already fulfilled their brahminical duties in previous lives. Therefore, they do not have to give full attention to such matters but should instead concentrate on their spiritual development through devotional service to K¨§ºa. In this regards, the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam states:
yan-nÄmadheya-1/2ravanÄnuk"rtanÄd
yat-prahvanÄd yat-smaraºÄd api kvacit
1/2vÄdo Ôpi sadyah savanÄya kalpate
kutaú punas te bhagavan nu dar1/2anÄt

aho ba a 1/2va-paco Ôto gar"yÄn
yaj jihvÄgre vartate nÄma tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuú sasnur ÄryÄ
brahmÄnŸcur nÄma g¨ºanti ye te
	„To say nothing of being able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, even a person born in the family of dog-eaters quickly becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he somehow or other regularly hears and chants the holy name of the Lord, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.
	„How glorious is that person whose tongue is engaged in chanting Your name, even though he may be born in the family of dog-eaters! Those who chant Your name have in previous lives already performed all kinds of austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all holy rivers, acquired all the good qualifications of the Aryans and studied all the Vedas .“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.33.6-7)
	In the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam, it is also stated how many people, though they were neither brÄhmaºas, yog"s, philosophers, or ascetics, attained the Supreme Lord because of sat-sa›ga, or association with devotees. By associationg with the devotees, one also gets the opportunity to become a devotee.
	„By association with devotees, indeed, demons, sorcerers, beasts and birds, fairies, nymphs, snakes, psychics, celestial beings, elves, angels, and among human beings, vai1/2yas, 1/2Ÿdras, women, and those of low birth, though partaking of the nature of passion and ignorance, attained My abode in different ages including V¨trÄsura, PrahlÄda, V¨§aparvÄ, Bali, BÄºa, Maya, Vibh"§aºa, and sub-humans like Sugr"va, HanumÄn, JÄmbavÄn (a bear), Gajendra (an elephant), JatÄyu (a vulture), TulÄdhÄra (a merchant) Dharma-vyÄdha (a hunter), KubjÄ (a hunch back), the cowherd people of V¨ndÄvana, and the wives of the Vedic brÄhmaºas .“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.12.3-6)
	After mentioning how all these different persons attained perfection without having ever executed the duties of Vedic brÄhmaºas, Lord K¨§ºa recommends to Uddhava:
tasmÄt tvam uddhavots¨jya
codanÄµ praticodanaµ
prav¨ttam ca niv¨ttaµ ca
1/2rotavyaµ 1/2rutam eva ca

mÄm ekam eva 1/2araºam
ÄtmÄnaµ sarva-dehinÄm
yÄhi sarvÄtma-bhÄvena
mayÄ syÄ hy akutobhayaú
	„Therefore, O Uddhava, giving up all injunctions and counterinjunctions, worldy activities and cessation of activities, and what has been learned and what is yet to be learned, just take shelter of Me alone, who am the Supersoul in all bodies, with all your heart, for only in My association can you be free from fear.“ (10.12.14-15)
	Bhakti is the real need of life because by it alone one attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord and gains His mercy. After which one can then see the Lord face to face:
dharmaú satya-dayopeto
vidyÄ vÄ tapasÄnvitÄ
mad-bhaktyÄpetam ÄtmÄnaµ
na samyak prapunÄnti hi
	„Religious activities endowed with truth and mercy, or knowledge achieved by practicing austerity cannot completely purify the self if they are devoid of devotion to Me.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.24.22)
1/2uciú sad-bhakti-d"ptÄgni-
dagdha-durjÄti-kalma§aú
1/2vÄpako Ôpi budhaiú 1/2lagyo
na vedaj-o Ôpi nÄstikaú

bhagavad-bhakti-h"nasya
jÄtiú 1/2Ästraµ japas tapaú
aprÄºasyeva dehasya
mandanaµ loka-ra-janam
	„Pure devotional service is like a blazing fire that burns up the pernicious effects of a bad birth. Therefore, one who performs devotional service, even though a dog-eater, is accepted by intelligent people as being as pure as a brÄhmaºa. On the other hand, even if one knows the Vedas, if he is an atheist, he is not accepted. For a person devoid of devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, birth in an important family or nation, knowledge of scripture, chanting of Vedic mantras, and performance of austerities and penance are like ornaments on a dead body which are meant to please the general public.“ (Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 3.11-12)
bhaktyÄ tv ananyayÄ 1/2akya
aham evaµ-vidho Ôrjuna
j-Ätuµ dra§ uµ ca tattvena
prave§ uµ ca parantapa
	„But it is by undivided devotional service, O Arjuna, that one can truly know, see and commune with Me as I am, O conqueror of enemies.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 11.54)

SüTRA 3.4.40

	tad-bhŸtasya tu nÄtad-bhÄvo jaiminer api niyamÄtad-rŸpÄbhÄ-vebhyaú.

	tat-bhŸtasya-of one who has become that, namely a pure devotee; tu-but; na-not; atat-bhÄvaú-the condition of not being that, namely a pure devotee; jaimineh-accordining to the sage Jaimini; api-also; niyama-control of the senses; atat-rŸpa-things which are not Him, the Lord; abhÄvebhyaú-because of the absence of.

TRANSLATION

	Even according to the sage Jaimini, for one who has become a pure devotee there is never any possibility of not being that because they have complete control over their senses and because they do not desire anything other than the Lord.

PURPORT

	Here VyÄsadeva quotes the opinions of other contemporaries which are supportive of the Vedic view. Jaimini concludes that if one were actually able to control the senses and desire nothing other than the Lord, then there is no question of such a person ever giving up that position. VyÄsadeva quotes this opinion to show that he agrees with it. The great sage NÄrada also concludes:
kÄmÄdibhir anÄviddhaµ
pra1/2ÄntÄkhila-v¨tti yat
cittaµ brahma-sukha-sp¨§ aµ
naivotti§ heta karhicit
	„When one’s consciousness is in touch with spiritual bliss, it is no longer affected by different lusty desires and is peaceful in all activities. Such a person does not come out of that state at any time.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 7.15.35)
	For a pure devotee of the Lord, there is never any question of falling down from devotional service. But for those who are not yet completely pure, even though they may be highly advanced, there is always the possibility of falldown. Nevertheless, even if they should fall down, they are never fallen in the same sense as ordinary persons. Thus, the scriptures declare:
tyaktvÄ sva-dharmaµ caraºÄmbujaµ harer
bhajann apakvo Ôtha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vÄbhadram abhŸd amu§ya k"µ
ko vÄrtha Äpto ÔbhajatÄµ sva-dharmataú
	„One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything thereby.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.5.17)
api cet sudurÄcÄro
bhajate mÄm ananya-bhÄk
sÄdhur eva sa mantavyaú
samyag vyavasito hi saú

k§ipraµ bhavati dharmÄtmÄ
1/2a1/2vac-chÄntiµ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijÄn"hi
na me bhaktaú praºa1/2yati
	„Even if one has committed a great misdeed, if he exclusively engages himself in serving Me, he should be considered saintly because he is properly resolved. He will quickly become a righteous soul and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunt", declare with solemnity that My devotee does not perish.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.30-31)
	Sometimes a pure devotee may unintentionally commit a sinful act. The Lord Himself takes personal responsibility for rectifying His devotees if they falldown, just as parents are eager to correct the behavior of their children. Thus it is found:
sva-pÄda-mŸlaµ bhajataú priyasya
tyaktÄnya-bhÄvasya hariú pare1/2aú
vikarma yac-cotpatitaµ katha-cid
dhunoti sarvaµ h¨di sannivi§ aú
	„He who has given up all other engagements to worship the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Hari, is very dear to Him. Being situated in the devotee’s heart, the Lord fully cleanses away whatever sin which somehow or other have been committed.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.5.42)

SüTRA 3.4.41

na cÄdhikÄrikam api patanÄnumÄnÄt tad-ayogÄt

	na-not; ca-and; adhikÄram-a person of authority or lordship; api-even; patana-falldown; anumÄnÄt-because of the inference of; tat-ayogÄt-because there is no gain from that [position].

TRANSLATION

	A pure devotee does not even desire the post of a demigod because of the likelihood of falling down from there, there being no gain from that.

PURPORT

	A pure devotee of the Lord does not care about enjoying the pleasures of this world. The dream of a materialistic person is to become a movie star, an athlete, a politician, or a rich man. Beyond this world there are other worlds far more advanced in sense enjoyment. These are the abodes of the great demigods such as BrahmÄ, Indra, Candra, etc. Among these, Brahma-loka is the highest. The standard of sense pleasure in Brahma-loka is so high that it makes the greatest pleasures of this world seem base and trivial. Yet a pure devotee is not even interested in becoming the Lord of such a world because even on the highest planet one must die:
Äbrahma-bhuvanÄl lokÄú
punar Ävartino Ôrjuna
mÄm upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
	„All planets, from Brahma-loka on down, are places of repeated birth and death, O Arjuna. But one who attains Me does not take birth again, O son of Kunt".“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.16)
	When the advanced enjoyments of the heavenly planets ultimately end in death, what is the gain achieved by going there? Whether one goes to the lower planets, the middle planets, or the higher planets, one must still experience birth, disease, old age, and death. Therefore, a pure devotee is not interested in gaining any material position anywhere:
na pÄrame§ hyaµ na mahendra-dhi§ºyaµ
na sarvabhaumaµ na rasÄdhipatyam
na yoga-siddhir apunar-bhavaµ vÄ
mayy arpitÄtmecchati mad vinÄnyat
	„One who has fixed his mind upon Me does not desire the post of BrahmÄ or Indra, nor sovereignty over the earth or the lower planets, nor mystic perfections, nor liberation from birth and death. He desires nothing other than Me.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.14.14)
nÄrÄyaºa-parÄú sarve
na kuta1/2cana bibhyati
svargÄpavarga-narake§v
api tulyÄrtha-dar1/2inaú
	„Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, NÄrÄyaºa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation, and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 6.17.28)
	The devotees of the Lord take shelter of Him as their sole refuge because they fully recognize this to be thw only way of escaping the terrible ordeal of material existence:
nÄnyatra mad bhagavataú
pradhÄna-puru§e1/2varÄt
Ätmanaú sarva-bhŸtÄnÄµ
bhayaµ t"vraµ nivartate
	„The terrible fear of birth and death can never be forsaken by anyone who resorts to any shelter other than Myself (Lord K¨§ºa), for I am the almighty Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original source of all creation, and also the Supreme Soul of all souls.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.25.41)
	Sometimes, due to the kindness of the Lord, a devotee may find himself in a position where there is a possibility for great sense enjoyment. Even in such a situation, the nirapek§a, or pure devotee is not tempted to indulge in sense gratification. Rather, he utilizes this opulence in a K¨§ºa conscious manner in order to glorify the Supreme Lord. No material attraction is great enough to lure such a devotee’s attention away from the Lord. Regardless of how great it may be, all sense enjoyment ultimately ends with death. Therefore, the pure devotee never feels inclined to endeavor for sense gratification, but strives to attain something much higher. This is also the conclusion of the ür"mad-BhÄgavatam:
tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatÄm upary adhaú
tal labhyate duúkhavad anyataú sukham
kÄlena sarvatra gabhira-raµhasÄ
	„Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahma-loka] down to the lowest planet [PÄtÄla]. As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.5.18)
	That highest goal is the attainment of the Lord. As long as one desires things other than the Lord, one cannot attain the Lord. Therefore, the pure devotees choose the Lord:
imam lokam tathaivÄmum
ÄtmÄnam ubhayÄyinam
ÄtmÄnam any ye ceha
ye rÄyaú pa1/2avo g¨hÄú

vis¨jya sarvÄn anyÄµ1/2
mÄm evaµ vi1/2vato-mukham
bhajanty ananyayÄ bhaktyÄ
tÄn m¨tyor atipÄraye
	„A devotee gives up all desire to go and enjoy life in the heavenly planets in his subtle body and to enjoy in his gross body the things of this world, such as wealth, cattle, houses, and everything connected with the body. Because he worships Me with unswerving devotion, I take him to the other side of birth and death.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.25.39-40)

SüTRA 3.4.42

upa-pŸrvam api tv eke bhÄvam a1/2anavat tad uktam

	upa-pŸrvam-beginning with nearness; api-only; tu-however; eke-some (the Vai§ºava devotees); bhÄvam-devotion, love; a1/2anavat-just like food; tat-that; uktam-declared [in the scriptures].

TRANSLATION

	Some Vai§ºavas, however, hold that a pure devotee only desires devotional service, for the scriptures declare that such devotion is like food for him.

PURPORT

	Upa means near, and Äsana means sitting. By combining them, we get the word upÄsana, or worship. In order to render some personal service to someone, you must sit or stand near him. Therefore, worship is called upÄsana. In the material world, every living being is separated from the Lord, but by worshiping Him, they can all achieve yoga, or intimate communion with Him. Serving God is the only desire of the pure devotees. As a hungry man craves food, the pure devotees crave the opportunity to render the Lord some service. Thus, it is found in the scriptures:
	bhaktir asya bhajanam tad amutropÄdhi-nairÄsyenaivÄmusmin manasaú kalpanam etad eva ca nai§karmyam.
	„His worship is bhakti or devotional service. This is performed without any desire for material enjoyment in this world or the next, and by fixing the mind on the Lord. This is kai§karmya or activity free from karmic reactions.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 1.15)
	How a devotee desires service as if it were food is revealed in the following text:
sac-cid-Änandaika-rase bhakti-yoge ti§ hati.
	„When the Lord becomes manifested in the execution of devotional service, He is tasted in the unique flavor of eternity, knowledge, and bliss.“ (GopÄla-tÄpan" Upani§ad 2.78)
	Similarly, the Sm¨ti states:
smaran mukundÄ›ghry-upagŸhanaµ punar
vihÄtum icchen na rasa-graho janaú
	„A person who has once tasted the experience of embracing the Lord’s lotus feet does not wish to forget it ever.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.5.19)

SüTRA 3.4.43

bahis tŸbhayathÄ sm¨ter ÄcÄrÄc ca

	bahiú-outside; tu-verily; ubhayathÄ-both ways; sm¨teú-from Sm¨ti; ÄcÄrÄt-from the conduct [of the Lord and His devotees]; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	That the pure devotees are verily outside the affairs of the world is learned from two sources: from the Sm¨ti literature and from their conduct.

PURPORT

	Even while living in the world, the pure devotees are unaffected by attraction for material happiness. They are always outside the entanglement of worldly life because they have no other engagement than the service of the Lord. This is learned from numerous statements in the Sm¨ti:
te§Äµ j-Än" nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir vi1/2i§yate
priyo hi j-Änino Ôtyartham
ahaµ sa ca mama priyaú
	„Of these, one who has knowledge and is always in communion with Me through single-minded devotion is the best. For one who has knowledge I am very dear indeed, and he is dear to Me.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 7.17)
yo mÄµ pa1/2yati sarvatra
sarvaµ ca mayi pa1/2yati
tasyÄhaµ na praºa1/2yÄmi
sa ca me na praºa1/2yati
	„For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I never vanish from his sight, nor does he vanish from Mine.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 6.30)
vis¨jati h¨dayaµ na yasya sÄk§Äd
dharir ava1/2Äbhihito Ôpi aghaugha-nÄ1/2aú
praºaya-rasanayÄ dh¨tÄ›ghri-padmaú
sa bhavati bhÄgavata-pradhÄna uktaú
	„The Supreme Lord never leaves the heart of one who uninterruptedly chants His name, for it is identical with Him and destroys all sins. One who keeps the Lord’s lotus feet bound up within his heart with the ropes of love is said to be the best of all devotees.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.2.55)
j-Äna-vairÄgya-yuktena
bhakti-yuktena cÄtmanÄ
paripa1/2yaty udÄs"naµ
prak¨tiµ ca hataujasam
	„When the mind is endowed with knowledge, detachment, and devotion, with it one sees the world with indifference and is unaffected by the influence of material existence.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 3.25.18)
	When the culture of devotion fructifies into pure love within the lotus of the heart, the Lord becomes eager to enter that heart like a hungry honey bee. As the beauty of a jewel is enhanced by the artistry of a gold setting, or the glory of a king is enhanced by the service of talented and faithful servants, even so is the relationship between the Lord and His devotees. Thus, the Sm¨ti literature and the activities of the Lord with His devotees verify that the pure devotee, or nirapek§a is completely transcendental to ordinary material circumstances:
nirapek§aµ muniµ 1/2Äntaµ
nirvairaµ sama-dar1/2anam
anuvrajÄmy ahaµ nityaµ
pŸyeyety a›ghri-reºubhiú
	„A pure devotee has no personal desire, is silent because he is absorbed in thought of Me, is peaceful, without enmity and of equal disposition to all. I always follow after such a devotee in order to purify Myself with the dust of his lotus feet.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 11.14.16)
	The pure devotee is always in direct contact with the Lord by seeing Him constantly in the heart and by having His external association.

SüTRA 3.4.44

svÄminaú phala-1/2ruter ity Ätreyaú

	svÄminaú-from the Lord; phala-fruit; 1/2ruteú-because of being heard [in the scriptures]; iti-thus; Ätreyaú-the sage treya.

TRANSLATION

	According to the sage treya, a devotee receives all his need from the Lord because the scriptures mention that He gives all fruits to his dependents.

PURPORT

	Although the pure devotees do not care for heavenly enjoyments, neither do they have to worry about procuring their basic needs, for the Lord supplies them with whatever they need. Thus, the revealed scriptures declare:
bhartÄ san bhriyamÄno bibharti
eko devo bahudhÄ nivi§ aú
	„Being the supported, He supports those who are supported. The one God has manifoldly pervaded the world.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 3.14.1)
	Because they are fully surrendered to the Lord and completely dependent upon Him, He supplies all their needs:
ananyÄ1/2 cintayanto mÄµ
ye janÄú paryupÄsate
te§Äµ nityÄbhiyuktÄnÄµ
yoga-k§emaµ vahÄmy aham
	„Those who worship Me without thinking of any other thing-to those ever-engaged souls I bring what they lack and preserve what they have.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.22)
	The Padma PurÄºa also states:
dar1/2ana-dhyÄna-saµspar1/2air
matsya-kŸrma-viha›gamÄú
svÄny apatyÄni pu§ºanti
tathÄham api padma-ja
	„A fish raises its young by watching them, a turtle by meditating on them, and a bird by touching them. Thus also do I do, O lotus-born BrahmÄ.“
	It is not that the devotees are crafty fellows who have figured out that by surrendering to the Lord they can oblige Him to take care of them. The pure devotee does not even ask the Lord for the necessities of life. Instead, he thinks that if the Lord wants to, He will supply them, and if he does not want to, there is no use in asking. The position of a servant is to serve the master, not to make demands on him. When the scriptures say that a liberated soul gets all his desires fulfilled, it means that whatever he might need and desire is supplied by the Lord even before the devotee asks. Because He is the father of all living beings, He is aware of all our needs.

SüTRA 3.4.45

artvijyam ity audulomis tasmai hi parikr"yate

	Ärtvijyam-the post of a ¨tvik or priest; iti-thus; audolomiú-the sage Audolomi; tasmai-for that [price, that is, the price of devotion]; hi-indeed; parikr"yate-He, the Lord, is bought.

TRANSLATION

	According to the sage Audolomi, the Lord is bought for the price of devotion, just as the priest who performs sacrifices must be bought at a certain price.

PURPORT

	God is not a cheap thing. He can only be acquired at the full price. The Lord requires the highest price from us, that is, full payment to Him of all the love and devotion in our hearts. If we try to withhold attachment for anything, we will find ourselves short in payment and unable to obtain the Lord. The Lord actually wants to be bought by His devotees:
vikr"º"te svam ÄtmÄnaµ
bhaktebhyo bhakta-vatsalaú
	„Being so affectionate to His devotees, the Lord sells Himself to them.“ (Gautam"ya-tantra )
	The purchase of the Lord by the devotees is not exactly the same as the purchase of a priest by the patrons of a sacrifice, as these pay to get the services of the priest: whereas the devotees only want to get the Lord as the object of their love and service. The compariosn is only in that there is a fixed price for both. The Lord is attained only by the development of full devotion.

SüTRA 3.4.50

anÄvi§kurvann anvayÄt

	anavi§kurvan-not making manifest; anvayÄt-because it is in accord with [the ancient custom].

TRANSLATION

	One should not openly declare these teachings because this is the ancient custom.

PURPORT

	In many places in the Vedic literatures, we find a restriction regarding to whom one can reveal these teachings:
	idaµ vÄva taj-jye§ hÄya putrÄya pitÄ brahma prabrŸyÄt praºÄyyÄya vÄntevÄsine. nÄnyasmai kasmai cana, yady apy asmÄ imÄm adbhiú parig¨hitaµ dhanasya pŸrºaµ dadyÄd, etad eva tato bhŸya ity eva tato bhŸya iti.
	„Let a father teach this knowledge of God to his eldest son or to a worthy pupil, and to no one else. Even if one should offer him this world surrounded by water and full of wealth, he should not reveal this knowledge. This truly is greater than that, yes, this truly is greater than that.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.11.5-6)
kriyÄvantaú 1/2rotriyÄ brahma-ni§ hÄú
svayaµ juhvata ekar§iµ 1/2raddhayantaú
te§Äm evaitaµ brahma-vidyÄµ vadeta
1/2iro-vrataµ vidhivad yais tu c"rºam
	„Those who are engaged in spiritual activities, who are learned in the scriptures, who are devoted to God and who are faithful, make an offering of themselves as a sacrifice to God, the prime intelligent being. This spiritual knowledge can be spoken to these very ones, however, when they have observed the vow of shaving the head according to regulation.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.10)
	Similarly, in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ it is stated:
idaµ te nÄtapaskÄya
nÄbhaktÄya kadÄcana
na cÄ1/2u1/2rŸ§ave vÄcyam
na ca mÄµ yo ÔbhyasŸyati
	„This knowledge should never be spoken to one who is not auster, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.“ (18.67)
	The reason for these stipulations is that unless the hearer is receptive, such a bestowal of knowledge will bear no fruit. But when the receiver is submissive and eager to learn, then his or her instruction will fructify in God realization. Thus, the scriptures declare:
yasya deve parÄ bhaktir
yathÄ deve tathÄ gurau
tasyaite kathitÄ hy arthÄú
prakÄ1/2ante mahÄtmana iti
	„Unto one who has supreme devotion for God, and who has just as much devotion for the spiritual master as he does for God, unto such a great soul these subject matters that were just discussed become manifested, yes, they become manifested to him!“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 6.23)
	This is illustrated in the story of the demigod Indra and the demon Virocana, as told in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.7-13). Both of them received the following instruction from Lord BrahmÄ:
	„The ÄtmÄ which is sinless, ageless, deathless, sorrowless, hungerless, thirstless, whose desire is real, whose will is real, He should be sought for, Him one should desire to understand. He who has found and understands the ÄtmÄ obtains all worlds and all desires.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.7.1)
	When Indra heard this instruction, he understood ÄtmÄ to refer to the ParamÄtma, or Supersoul who dwells in the heart of every living creature. In contrast, Virocana understood ÄtmÄ as referring to the individual self as the body and thus, he taugh the other demons:
	With a tranquil heart, Virocana approached the demons and explained this doctrine to them: ÔIt is one’s self that is to be made happy in this world. It is one’s self that should be served. He who makes himself happy in this world and who serves himself, he obtains both worlds-this one and the yonder.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.8.4)
	Instruction should always be given according to the capacity of the audience. This is especially so for those who perform missionary activities on behalf of the Lord. While engaged in public preaching activities, one may reveal knowledge to an unworthy and ungrateful person. Therefore, the devotee must always consider the time, place, and recipient. No such restrictions apply to chanting the holy name. Whoever one can induce to chant one should, but one should not necessarily try to immediately explain the intimate understanding about devotional service.

SüTRAS 3.4.51-52

aihikam aprasutata-pratibandhe tad-dar1/2anÄt
evaµ mukti-phalÄniyamas tad-avasthÄvadh¨tes tad-avasthÄvadh¨teú

	aihikam-[liberation] in this very life; aprastuta-no present; apratibandhe-when there is an obstruction; tat-that; dar1/2anÄt-because it is seen; evam-thus; mukti-liberation; phala-fruit; aniyamaú-no rule; tat-that; avasthÄ-condition; avadh¨teú-because of being determined; tat-that; avasthÄ-condition; avadh¨teú-because of being determined.

TRANSLATION

	One gets transcendental knowledge in this very life when there are no obstructions because that is seen to be so.
	In the same way, there is no precise rule about when one will attain liberation because the condition for that is determined, yes, because the condition for that is determined.

PURPORT

	We have been discussing the effects of obtaining transcendental knowledge, but when exactly does its realization manifest? Does it take place in this life time, or in a future life? According to VyÄsadeva, one can realize transcendental knowledge in this life because there are such examples:
m¨tyu-proktam nÄciketo Ôtha labdhvÄ
vidyÄm etÄµ yoga-vidhiµ ca k¨tsnaµ
brahma-prÄpto virajo ÔbhŸd vim¨tyur
anyo Ôpy evaµ yo vid adhyÄtmam eva
	„Having gained the knowledge spoken by the Lord of Death, and the entire rule about yoga, Naciteka attained God and became free from material stain and death. Even so may anyone who knows this spiritual topic.“ (Ka ha Upani§ad 6.18)
	Such texts show that transcendental knowledge can be attained in one lifetime. There are also cases where transcendental knowledge did not fructify until the next birth. For example, in the äg Veda (4.27.1), there is the case of VÄmadeva, who gained transcendental knowledge while in the womb. The knowledge he realized had originally been received in the previous birth. So also in the case of PrahlÄda, üukhadeva, Ja¶a-bharata, etc. The fruition of transcendental knowledge is not always in the same life in which it was first pursued. This is due to different obstacles or obstructions. If the obstruction is small and the effort great, then there is the possibility for fruition in this lifetime, and if the obstruction is great and the effort less, fruition may not occur until the next life. When there is no immediate fructification of transcendental knowledge, one should not despair but should be patient. One should be confident that if the realization does not come in this life, then it will surely come in the next. It is just like sitting on a nest of eggs; eventually, transcendental realization will break through the tough outer shell of material conditioning. One should not think that it is useless to strive to achieve something which may not be attainable in this lifetime, for thoughtful persons work diligently to achieve a goal for their family, nation, and humanity, even though it may not see fulfillment until after their deaths. There being no greater benefit than that arising from the realization of transcendental knowledge, who will not be willing to persevere until its attainment.
	It appears from the scriptures that when one gains transcendental realization, one is immediately liberated. For example:
vedÄham etaµ puru§aµ mahÄntam
Äditya-varºaµ tamasaú parastÄt
tam eva viditvÄtim¨tyum eti
nÄnyaú panthÄ vidyate ÔyanÄya
	„I know that Person who is as brilliant as the sun and above all darkness. By knowing Him one becomes immortal. There is no other path for going there.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 3.8)
tam eva manya ÄtmÄnaµ
vivÄn brahmÄm¨to Ôm¨tam
	„Him I consider the Soul. Knowing that immortal Brahman, I am immortal.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.4.17)
	From the above verses it would appear that just by knowing God, one attains immortality. But how can one be immortal if one is still in a material body destined to die. Liberation means to be outside the realm of material existence, but the sages who are saying that they have become immortal by knowing God are themselves still in material bodies within the material world. Therefore, in what sense are they immortal?
	The reason why a soul who has realized God continues to live in this world is discussed in the text accompanying sŸtras 4.1.13-15. Liberation means that one is freed from all karma, but if one has no karma, then there is no cause for his having a material body. Therefore, it seems contradictory to say that an embodied soul is liberated, as embodiment means just the opposite. This misunderstanding is due to unfamiliarity with the process of liberation. According to the Vedic literatures, when one attains transcendental knowlenge and directly realizes God, one is immediately freed from the reaction of all material activities that have not fructified, just as seeds that are roasted cannot sprout. Karmic reactions that have already fructified can no longer bind one just as after one has fulfilled a criminal penalty, one can no longer be punished for that offense. Karmic reactions which are just beginning to fructify at the time when one realizes god are not cancelled. By the Lord’s will, those reactions continue to react until they have completely exhausted themselves, as when the flame goes out when its supply of oil is not replenished. Thus, in the scriptures, it is stated:
	ihÄcÄryavÄn puru§o veda tasya tÄvad eva ciram yÄva› na vimok§ye Ôtha sampatsya iti.
	„In this world a person who has a teacher knows, ÔI will remain in this world for as long as I am not liberated. Then I will be successful.’“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.14.2)
prÄrabdha-karma-paryantam
ahinir mokavad vyavaharati
candravac carate deh"
sa mukta1/2 cÄniketanaú
	„He continues to live in his body, which is like the slouch of a snake, until the reactions of his already begun karma are exhausted. Thus, he moves about freely like the moon with no fixed residence.“ (Pai›gala Upani§ad 4.4)
	The Lord desires that those souls who realize Him should finish living out their lives in this world in order to teach others the science of God realization. When the last remnant of karma is exhausted, such j"van-muktas, or liberated souls in this world, get the full fruit of liberation by leaving this world and entering the spiritual world.

Chapter Four
Fourth Storm
Result of God Realization

	Having discussed the futility of material life in which the only culmination is repetition of the cycle of birth and death, the previous chapter tried to impress upon us the salutariness of devotional service to the Lord. Different philosophical questions regarding the nature and manner of execution of such service were also discussed. This chapter examines the effect of attaining perfection in devotional service, which, of course, means to realize God. This is a point of contention among different religions. Some think that spiritual perfection means to attain a state of emptiness in the void; others, to attain a material heaven inhabited by celestial beings-the demigods; others, to become one with God; and, others, to go to the spiritual world to be the eternal associates of God. This last view is upheld by the VedÄnta-sŸtra. This chapter discusses how the soul attains the spiritual world and the nature of the soul there.

SüTRA 4.1.1

Äv¨ttir asak¨d upade1/2Ät

	Äv¨ttiú-repetition [of devotional activities]; asak¨t-many times; upade1/2Ä -because of the instruction.

TRANSLATION

	One must repeatedly practice the activities of devotional service because this instruction is given many times in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The activities of devotional service are presented in the following two verses:
1/2ravanam k"rtanam vi§ºoú
smaranam pÄda-sevanam
arcanam vandam dÄsyam
sakhyam Ätma-nivedanam

iti pumsÄrpitÄ vi§ºau
bhakti1/2 cen nava-lak§anÄ
kriyeta bhagavaty addhÄ
tan manye Ôdhitam uttamam
	„(1) Hearing, and (2) chanting the glories of the Lord, (3) remembering Him, (4) serving His lotus feet, (5) offering Him respectful worship, (6) offering prayers to Him, (7) becoming His servant, (8) considering Him one’s best friend, and (9) completely surrendering oneself to Him-if a person worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vi§ºu by this ninefold process of devotional service, I consider him to be the most intelligent.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 7.5.23-24)
	The process of devotional service is so potent that even by performing one of its nine lims only one, one can gain liberation. The following verse illustrates this:
sak¨d uccÄritam yena
harir ity ak§Ära-dvÄyam
baddha-parikaras tena
mok§Äya gamanam prati
	„By chanting even once the two syllables of the holy name Hari all the bound living beings can attain liberation.“ (Skandha PurÄºa )
	If one becomes qualified to attain liberation by chanting the Lord’s name just once, then what is the necessity of constant repetition? Many religions call upon the Lord just once, repent once, perform some religious ceremony just once, or accept the Lord in your heart  once, then you can enjoy the rest of your life and at death, you will automatically achieve perfection. Rejecting such frivolity, VyÄsadeva stresses that the activities of devotional service should be performed continuously. This is apparent from many scriptural references:
	ÄtmÄ vÄ are drastavyah 1/2rotavyo mantavyo nididhyÄsitavyo
maitreyy Ätmano vÄ are dar1/2anena 1/2ravanena matyÄvij-Änenedam sarvam viditam.
	„O Maitrey", it is the Supreme Soul who should be seen, heard, though of and meditated upon. In fact, by seeing, hearing, thinking of and understanding the Soul, this entire material existence becomes understood.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 2.4.5)
sva-deham Äranim k¨tvÄ
praºavam cottarÄranim
dhana-nirmathanÄbhyÄsÄd
devam pa1/2yen nigŸdhavat
	„Making one’s own body the lower stick and the syllable oµ, the upper stick, by repeatedly rubbing them together to produce friction, one can see God who is hidden within.“ (DhyÄna-bindu Upani§ad 8)
Ätma krida Ätma-ratih kriyÄvÄn
yatanta1/2 ca d¨dha-vratÄú
namasyanta1/2 ca mÄm bhaktyÄ
nitya-yuktÄ upÄsate
	„Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these ever-engaged ones worship Me with devotion.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.14)
	The embodied soul has been conditioned by material nature for countless lifetimes and conscientious practice is required to change the old habits. Unless one has completely eradicated all material conditioning from the heart, the conditioning may resurface, even as a fire which was extinguished can rekindle itself from one spark. Even when one has entirely purified the heart, one should continue devotional practices, for regulated devotional service leads to the liberated condition of pure devotional service. The impersonalists mistakenly think that a soul who attains liberation merges into God and has no more individuality or activity. The liberated souls have activities in the spiritual world:
	evam evaisa samprasÄdo ÔsmÄc char"rÄt samutthÄya param jyotir upasampadya svena rŸpenÄbhinispadyate sa uttamah puru§aú sa tatra paryeti jaksan kr"dan ramamÄnah stribhir vÄ yÄnair vÄ j-Ätibhir vÄ nopajanam smarann idam 1/2ar"ram.
	„In this very manner, this blessed one, on rising up out of the body and reaching the supreme light, becomes apparent by his own form. He is the best person. There one goes about laughing, playing, and enjoying with women, with vehicles, or with relatives, not remembering this originated body.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.12.3)
	When a soul in this world realizes God through the practice of devotional service, he always continues that practice, as this is the real and eternal engagemen of the soul. Only through devotional activity can the pure soul realize his true spiritual nature as eternal, full of knowledge, and bliss. The pleasure resulting from devotional service, even for the liberated soul, is indicated in this verse:
mac-cittÄ mad-gata-prÄnÄ
bodhayantah parasparam
kathayanta1/2 ca mÄm nityam
tuasyanti ca ramanti ca
	„With their thoughts fixed on Me and their lives dedicated to Me, they enlighten one another by talking about Me and thus always experience great satisfaction and bliss.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 10.9)
	The Vedas also confirm this constant practice of devotion:
na te giro api m¨1/2ye turasya
na sustutim asuryasya vivÄn
sadÄ te nÄma sva-ya1/2o vivakmi
	„I who know do not forget the words of You who are powerful, nor the praises of You, the Godhead. I always utter Your self-glorious name!.“ (äg Veda 7.22.5)

SüTRA 4.1.4-5

na prat"ke na h"
brahma-d¨§ ir utkar§Ät

	na-not; prat"ke-in a symbol; na-not; hi-indeed; brahma-God; d¨§ iú-vision; utkar§Ät-because of superiority.

TRANSLATION

	God should not be worshiped in symbols like peace, love, the cosmos and so forth, because these are not God.
	The vision of God is therefore superior.

PURPORT

	Previously, it was explained how the Lord possesses infinite variegatedness attributes, qualities and forms, and that by worshiping any part of Him one achieves the same transcendental benefit. The Vedic literatures unanimously exhort us to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As a secondary and incomplete goal, one may try to realize the Lord’s impersonal aspect. Many people are skeptical about what God is like because they have no authoritative knowledge of Him from Vedic literatures, or, even being familiar with them, they do not accept them as authoritative. Such persons usually conceive of God in fanciful ways. They may think that He is a universal mind or intelligence. Sometimes they will even say that God is love, peace, light, goodness in people, the whole of humanity or the cosmos.
	People will often meditate on these things as if they were God. Do they attain God realization by this? In this sŸtra, VyÄsadeva says that such symbols are not God and so, by meditating on them, one cannot reach God. By practicing such meditation, one only cheats one’s self. By grasping at the shadow of a person, we do not catch the person, and by worshiping God as symbols, we do not attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
	In sŸtra 3.2.22, it was discussed how the Lord manifests Himself in this world through different forms of avatÄras, or divine descents. One kind of avatÄra mentioned was the prati§ hitÄ mŸrti, or icon installed in a temple. In all the Pa-carÄtras and PurÄºas, this system of worshiping installed icons or Deities has been recommended for all classes of devotees. The worship of the Deity form as an installed icon is not the same as worship of a symbol, nor is it idol worship.
	The goal of spiritual life is to see God directly, but for neophyte devotees this is not possible right away. The Lord, however, is very considerate of the need for beginners to have some perception of Him. The idea of God presupposes His omnipotence and omnipresence. Because He is omnipresent, there is no place where He is not, and since He is omnipotent, there is nothing impossible for Him. Therefore, out of consideration for the devotees living in this world, He condescends to appear in the form of the icon. It is not that He appears in any icon. The Lord’s possession of a transcendental form and the attributes displayed by it are fully delineated in the Vedic literatures. One cannot speculate the form of some icon and suppose that God will be there. That would then be the same as the symbol worship rejected by this sŸtra. But, when one makes an icon according to the descriptions in the revealed scriptures, the Lord may agree to be present. The actual installation of the Lord in the icon occurs when advanced devotees invoke the Lord to make His presence felt there. The Lord is present everywhere, but by the request of His devotees, the Lord makes Himself more available for worship in that particular form. The result is a consubstantial presence of the Lord in the icon.
	The installed Deity form of the Lord is not only for neophytes. Those who are on the material platform see only the material form, but the devotees who have trained their senses to see spiritually can see the Lord Himself in the installed icon.
	God should be meditated on as God, not as something else. There is no regulation or restriction about time, place, or circumstances for such meditation. This is explained in sŸtra 4.1.11:
yatraikÄgratÄ tatrÄvi1/2esÄt
	„It does not matter where one is when one concentrates the mind on God.“
	K¨§ºa consciousness or God consciousness is, therefore, not limited to certain times and places:
tasmÄd ekena manasÄ
bhagavÄn sÄtvatÄµ patiú
1/2rotavyaú k"rtitavya1/2 ca
dhyeyaú pŸjya1/2 ca nityadÄ
	„Therefore, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the protector of the devotees should always be heard about, glorified, remembered, and worshiped with complete one-mindedness.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 1.2.14)

SüTRA 4.1.6

ÄdityÄdi-mataya1/2 cÄnga upapatteú

	Äditya-Ädi-the sun and so forth; matayah-thoughts; ca-and, also; ange-on the body [of the Lord]; upapatteú-because it is reasonable.

TRANSLATION

	While worshiping the Lord one may also think of the sun, moon, and so forth as situated on His body because this is reasonable.

PURPORT

	In the äg Veda, it is stated:
candramÄ manaso jÄta1/2
cak§oú sŸryo ajÄyata
mukhÄd indra1/2 cÄgni1/2 ca
prÄnÄd vÄyur ajÄyata
	„From His mind the moon was born; from His eye the sun was born; from His mouth, Indra (rain) and Agni (fire); from His breath, VÄyu was born.“ (10.90.13)
	In the above-quoted verse, the parts of the Lord’s body are described as the source of the sun, moon, wind, fire, and rain. Is it, therefore, proper to think of this while engaged in worshiping the Lord, or is it obstructive to the development of devotion? One might object that the Lord’s eyes are more tender than the most supple lotus petal; hence, it is not conducive to appreciating the Lord’s unique beauty to simultaneously think of His lovely features as the source of things as gross as the sun, moon, etc. If the intimate devotees of the Lord such as the cowherd boys, Ya1/2odÄ, or the gop"s were to suddenly see the sun, moon, and stars emanating from K¨§ºa’s body, they would be terrified; and, instead of loving K¨§ºa, they would fear Him.
	VyÄsadeva dispells this doubt by declaring that it is reasonable for all classes of devotees to think of the sun, moon, stars, etc. as situated on the Lord’s body. For those who are just beginning to learn about the Lord’s greatness, it is beneficial to think of the Lord’s body as the source of the sun and moon because this will impress upon one His unparalleled grandeur. For those who are inclined to worship the Lord with awe and reverence, this manner of thinking is also good because it illustrates His supreme majesty over all else. For one who is attracted to worshiping K¨§ºa in the rustic simplicity of V¨ndÄvana, this is even more appreciated. For such devotees, the comparison of the sun and moon to K¨§ºa is hardly sufficiend to indicate His actual immeasurable beauty. Such devotees think of the Lord’s body in the following way:
	„The face of K¨§ºa is the king of all moons, and His body is the throne. Thus this king governs a society of moons. He has two cheeks that shine like glowing gems. Both are considered full moons. His forehead is considered a half moon, and the dots of sandalwood paste on His face are also considered full moons. His fingernails are so many full moons, and they dance upon the flute in His hands. Their song is the melody of the flute. His toenails are also many full moons, and they dance upon the ground. Their song is the jingling of His ankle bells. K¨§ºa’s face is the enjoyer king. That full moon face makes his shark-shaped earrings and lotus eyes dance. His eyebrows are like bows, and His eyes are like arrows. His ears are fixed on the string of that bow, and the minds of the gop"s are the target that He pierces. The dancing features of His face surpass all other full moons and expand the marketplace of full moons. Although priceless, the nectar of ür" K¨§ºa’s face is distributed to everyone. Some purchase the moonbeams of His sweet smiles, and others purchase the nectar of His lips. Thus, He pleases everyone.“ (Caitanya-caritÄm¨ta 2.21.126-130)

SüTRAS 4.1.7-9

Äsinah sambhavÄt
dhyÄnÄc ca
acalatvam cÄpeksya

	Äsinah-seated; sambhavÄt-because of being possible; dhyÄnÄt-because of meditation; ca-and; acalatvam-motionlessness; ca-and; apeksya-in reference to.

TRANSLATION

	While contemplating the Lord, one should be seated because only in that way is it possible.
	And since this is meditation, one must concentrate.
	In this regards there is also the necessity of motionless.

PURPORT

	When one wishes to envision the form of the Lord within one’s mind, one must be seated. This is the standard instruction of the Vedic literatures:
trirunnataµ sthÄpya sÄmam 1/2ar"raµ
h¨d"ndriyÄni manasÄ sannive1/2ya
brahmodupena pratareta vidvÄn
srotÄµsi sarvÄni bhayÄvahÄni
	„Holding the body steady with the back, neck, and head erect, and making the senses with the mind enter the heart, a wise man should cross over by the boat of Brahman all fearful streams.“ (üvetÄ1/2vatara Upani§ad 2.8)
	Similarly, in the Bhagavad-g"tÄ it is stated:
samam kÄya-1/2iro-gr"vam
dhÄryann acalam sthiraú
samprek§ya nÄsikÄgram svam
di1/2a1/2 cÄnavalokayan

pra1/2ÄntÄtmÄ vigata-bh"r
brahmacÄr"-vrate sthitaú
manah samyamya mac-citto
yukta Äs"ta mat-parah
	„One should hold the body, neck, and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose, without looking in any other direction. Thus, with a peaceful mind, devoid of fear, steady in the practice of celibacy, and the mind fully controlled, one should sit and think of Me as the supreme goal.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 6.13-14)
	The best posture for concentrating is seated on the ground because when one lies on the ground, one has the tendency to become too relaxed and fall asleep, and while standing one has the tendency to want to move and become distracted. It is impossible to try to visualize something in the mind while one is moving. Therefore, in order to be successful in meditating on the Lord’s form, one should sit still and concentrate all one’s attention on that goal. Without concentration, there can be no meditation. Those who are scatterbrained cannot concentrate on any goal, but those who are able to concentrate their minds are able to achieve their goals. Therefore, scripture praises the ability to concentrate the mind:
	„Contemplation is surely greater than thought. The earth seemingly contemplates. The waters seemingly contemplate. The mountains seemingly contemplate. The demigods and men seemingly contemplate. Therefore, whoever among men in this world attains greatness seemingly obtains a share in the reward of contemplation. Now those who are lesser are quarrelsome, abusive, and slanderous. Now those who are great seemingly have a share in the reward of contemplation. Reverence contemplation.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 7.6.1)
	This motionless concentration is also ideal for practicing japa, or the recitation of the Lord’s holy names on a rosary of tulas" beads. The chanting of japa is an important daily regimen for the purification of the mind and senses so that they can perceive the Lord. Often neophyte devotees find it difficult to sit still and chant without falling asleep. But one should persevere in this practice. We should not becom slaves of the mind by obeying its every demand; rather, we should fight the mind with full determination until we can control it. The method of overcoming the mind it to chant japa. This repetition of the Lord’s name is, therefore, the best form of meditation.

SüTRA 4.1.11

yatraikÄgratÄ tatrÄvi1/2esÄt

	yatra-where; eka-agratÄ-one-pointedness of the mind; tatra-there; avi1/2esÄt-because of no specification.

TRANSLATION

	Wherever there is one-pointedness of the mind let one contemplate the Lord, because there is no specification about it.

	PURPORT

	It is necessary for the beginner in spiritual life to always follow all the details of devotional service in order to achieve the proper result. Due to conditioning since time immemorial, we feel irresistibly attracted to materialistic engagements and find it uncomfortable to spend too much time in spiritual engagements. As one continues to execute devotional service, however, one becomes increasingly purified until the soul again realizes that his true welfare is in spiritual activities. When one becomes advanced in the execution of devotional service, the natural God consciousness of the soul is revived. In his original pure state, the soul is always conscious of God as his dear-most object of adoration. Whenever this awareness awakens in the heart, there is no need to worry about the time, place, or bodily posture. For such an advanced devotee, there is no need to try to forcefully think of God. Thinking of God becomes automatic like the beating of the heart or the breathing of the lungs. This spontaneous flow of love from the soul to God is the real life process of the soul. When a soul does not fully develop his propensity to love God, he becomes atrophied and diseased. The cure is to become regulated in the execution of devotional service. For such diseased souls, the place, time, and so forth are very important for achieving success in concentrating the mind on God because these circumstances facilitate their meditation. An advanced devotee, however, does not require any kind of crutch in order to think of God. The different meditational techniques taught in the scriptures are, therefore, just auxiliary aids for those who hve not yet attained the stage of natural God consciousness. The scriptures state:
na hi de1/2adibhi ka1/2cid
vi1/2esaú samud"ritaú
manah prasÄdanÄrtham hi
de1/2a-kÄlÄdi-cintanam
	„There is no particular mention about place, time, etc., for all thought of place, time, and so on are for the purpose of quieting the mind.“ (VarÄha PurÄºa )
	Many people teach meditation as the contemplation of candles, noses, blank walls, nothingness, and incomprehensible analogies. Such dilly-dallying of the mind, however, is not on the same level as contemplation of God. It is not easy to fix the mind on God. Modern people find it very difficult to control their minds for any length of time because they are so agitated by the bodily urges for food, fun, sex, etc. This agitation is multiplied a hundred-fold by the commercial consumerism of modern materialistic civilization. Foreseeing such difficulties, the great sage VyÄsadeva left special instructions for our benefit:
k¨te yad dhyÄyato vi§ºum
tretÄyÄm yajato makhaiú
dvÄpare paricaryÄyÄm
kalau tad-hari-k"rtanÄt 
	„Whatever result was achieved in the Golden Age by meditating on Vi§ºu, in the Silver Age by performing sacrifices, and in the Bronze Age by worshiping icons installed in temples, is achieved in the Iron Age by simply chanting the name of the Lord.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 12.3.52)
	The Lord is infinite, therefore His names are innumerable. Of all God’s names, the Vedas mention three of His names are principle:
tr"ni eka urugÄyo vicakrame
yatra devÄso madanti
	„The Supreme Lord who strides widely made His one Self into three in that place where the godly revel.“ (äg Veda 8.29.7)
tisro vÄcah pravada jyotir agrÄ
yÄ etad duhre madhu-dogham udhah
	„Speak forth three words with light going before them, those words that milk the udder which produces nectar.“ (äg Veda 7.101.1)
	Those three words are revealed in the Kali-santarana Upani§ad of the Yajur Veda. Lord BrahmÄ says:
	„Simply by chanting the name of the original person, Lord NÄrÄyaºa, who is the Supreme Godead, all the pernicious effects of Kali are shaken off.’ NÄrada then asked, ÔWhich name is that?’ Lord BrahmÄ replied:
Hare K¨§ºa, Hare K¨§ºa,
K¨§ºa K¨§ºa, Hare Hare;
Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma.
RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare.
	„These sixteen names destroy all the evil of Kali. In all the Vedas, there is not seen any other means than this.“
	This chanting of the Hare K¨§ºa mahÄ-mantra is most suitable for all classes of devotees, whether neophyte or advanced, because it is adaptable to all situations. One does not have to sit down while chanting. One can even dance while chanting; one can even chant while lying in bed, or while performing one’s daily duties. For the advanced devotees, chanting is ideal because as their natural affection swells up in their hearts, they can express it by chanting Hare K¨§ºa without worrying about the time, place, and circumstance, as is the rule in ordinary forms of meditation. There are no regulations about time, place, circumstance, or candidacy for chanting the Hare K¨§ºa mahÄ-mantra. This is stated by BrahmÄ in the Kali-santarana Upani§ad, nÄsya vidhir iti: „There are no rules about how to chant it.“ As soon as one chants the holy names, one immediately achieves one-pointedness of the mind. This is the inevitable consequence of chanting.

SüTRA 4.1.12

ÄprÄyanÄt tatrÄpi hi d¨§ am

	ÄprÄyanÄt-because of lasting until death; tatra-there [in liberation] api-even; hi-indeed, for; d¨§ am-it is seen.

TRANSLATION

	Devotional service continues up until death and even in liberation, for it is so seen in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The impersonalists say that devotional service is good as a means of liberation, but after one is liberated, it is no longer necessary to engage in it. In other words, by serving God, you become God and, therefore, you no longer have to serve Him. Others teach that the Lord and the soul are always individual, but when the soul attains the spiritual world, he just floats around in billowing waves of ecstatic bliss, inactive, without having to do anything, like particles floating in a shaft of sunlight. Both these misconceptions are rejected in this sŸtra. VyÄsadeva affirms that devotional service continues even when one attains liberation by entering the spiritual world:
tad vi§ºoú paramam padam sadÄ
pa1/2yanti sŸrayo div"va cak§ur Ätatam
	„The wise always see that supreme position of Vi§ºu, just as one sees the effulgent sun in the sky.“ (äg Veda 1.22.20)
	One might say that seeing the Lord does not imply anything other than a passive relation; hence, the liberated soul is simply existing in a state of bliss by constant vision of the Lord. This is refuted in the verse following it:
tad viprÄso vipanyavo jÄg¨vÄmsah
samindhate vi§ºor yat paramam padam
	„The wise ones who are devoted and ever-awake praise and glorify that supreme position of Vi§ºu.“ (äg Veda 1.22.21)
	In the Kaus"taki Upani§ad, God orders the residents of the spiritual world to welcome a newly liberated soul by rendering him different services:
	tam ittham-vid Ägacchati, tam brahmÄhÄbhidhÄvata mama ya1/2asÄ virajÄm vÄ ayam nad"m prapannavÄn ayam jigÄsyat"ti. tam pa-ca-1/2atÄny apsarasÄm pratidhÄvanti 1/2atam mÄlÄ-hastÄh 1/2atam a-jana-hastÄh 1/2atam cŸrna-hastÄh 1/2atam vÄso-hastÄh 1/2atam phana-hastÄs tam brahmÄlankÄrenÄlam-kurvanti sa brahmÄlankarenÄlank¨to brahma-vidvÄn brahmaivÄbhipraiti.
	„He who knows this thus comes to that world. Then God said, ÔRun ye to him! By My glory, having reached even to the River VirajÄ, he will conquer it.’ Unto him go forth five hundred maidens: one hundred with garlands of flowers in their hands, one hundred with ointments in their hands, one hundred with scented powders in their hands, one hundred with vestments in their hands and one hundred with ornaments in their hands. They adorn him with godly adornments. When he is adorned with godly adornments, that knower of God goes on to God Himself.“ (Kaus"taki Upani§ad 1.3-4)
	The liberated souls in the spiritual world are not only expected to serve the new arrivals, they also serve the Lord Himself. This is affirmed in the following verse of the SÄma-rahasya Upani§ad:
	yatra vaikunthe aneka1/2o bhaktÄ jayanta-kamuda-jaya-vijaya-garudÄdayah 1/2ata1/2ah pÄrsadÄ rajamÄnÄ bhavanti. yatra caturdhÄ muktayah sevyamÄnÄ Äsate.
	„In the spiritual world of Vaikuntha there are innumerable devotees or associates of the Lord, such as Jayanta, Kumuda, Jaya, Vijaya, Garuda, etc. There the four kinds of liberated souls are engaged in serving.“
	Lord BrahmÄ admits:
laksm"-sahasra-1/2ata-sambhrama-sevyamÄnam
govindam Ädi-puru§am tam aham bhajÄmi
	„I worship the original person, Govinda (K¨§ºa), who is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune who are engaged in serving Him.“ (Brahma-saµhitÄ 5.27)
	Because ür" K¨§ºa is the embodiment of all auspicious qualities and possesses a beauty which is so inconceivably sweet, all those who become free from material contamination are attracted to His service. Hence, the Sauparºa-1/2ruti states:
savadainam upÄs"ta yÄvad vimuktir
muktÄ api hy evam upÄsate
	„One should worship Him right up to liberation. Indeed, even the liberated worship Him.“

SüTRAS 4.1.13-15

tad-adhigama uttara-pŸrvÄghayor a1/2le§a-vinÄ1/2au tad-vyapade1/2Ät
itarasyÄpy evam a1/2le§aú pÄte tu
anÄrabdha-kÄrye eva tu pŸrve tad avadheú

	tat-adhigame-on attaining that [stage of perpetual God consciousness]; uttara-the latter; pŸrva-the former; aghayoú-both kinds of sin; a1/2le§a-nonclinging; vinÄ1/2au-and destruction; tat-that; avyapade1/2Ät-because of being declared; itarasya-of the other [good merit]; api-also; evam-thus; a1/2Âe§aú-nonclinging; pÄte-at death; tu-but; anÄrabdha-kÄrye-effects that have not yet begun; eva-certainly; tu-but; pŸrve-in regards to the former; tat-that; avadheú-the limit.

TRANSLATION

	On attaining God consciousness, the sinful reaction of deeds done in this life do not cling to one and that of his past lives is destroyed. This is stated in the scriptures.
	In the same way, the good merit one has accumulated, as well as the merit from works presently being done, does not cling to one. Therefore, at death, one remains free.
	But the effects of past deeds that are already begun are not destroyed, as this is the limit of the liberated devotee’s life.

PURPORT

	When one becomes fully God conscious, there are two immediate results. First, all the sinful reactions of deeds performed in this life are neutralized. They have no power to cling to one. Second, all the sinful reactions from deeds done in former lives, that is, those which have not yet fructified, are also completely destroyed. This is confirmed in the scriptures:
yasya sarve samÄrabhÄú
kÄma-sa›kalpa-varjitÄú
j-ÄnÄgni-dagdha-karmÄºaµ
tam Ähuú paº¶itaµ budhaú
	„One whose every endeavor is free from the thought of sense gratification and whose karmic reactions have been burnt up by the fire of knowledge is called learned by the wise.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 4.19)
yathÄ pu§kara-pala1/2a Äpo na 1/2li§yante
evam evaµ-vidi pÄpaµ karma na 1/2li§yata iti.
	„As water does not cling to the leaf of a lotus flower, even so sinful karma does not cling to one who knows this.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 4.14.3)
	tad yathe§"kÄ-tŸlam agnau protaµ pradŸyetaivaµ hÄsya sarve pÄpmÄnaú pradŸyante ya etad evaµ vidvÄn agni-hotraµ juhoti.
	„One who performs his activities without attachment, surrendering the results to the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sin, as the lotus leaf is undampened by water.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 5.8)
	This verse is not just in regards to sinful reactions. The attainment of God realization or K¨§ºa consciousness is so potent that it also frees the devotee from the reactions of pious activities performed in this life and previous ones. Even the results of pious deeds are undesirable for a transcendentalist because they bind one to this world. Before one can become free from material bondage and go back to the spiritual world, one must be without any material taint, whether sinful or pious. Material piety in itself is therfore another fetter of illusion. One must situate one’s self on the transcendental platform of God consciousness in devotional service. Then, one can attain the perfection of life.
	One may wonder why, when one realizes God in devotional service, one still continues to live out one’s life in this world. Isn’t it that when one realizes God, at that very moment one vanishes from the material scene and reaches God? According to the impersonalists, when one attains transcendental knowledge, because God is all-pervading, one merges like water poured into water. This sŸtra states that when one attains full knowledge of God, one does not merge or vanish. Instead, according to whatever karma has already begun at the time of realization, one continues to live out one’s life. When you pull the plug on an electric fan, there is no more power to make the fan keep turning; but, because of the momentum at the time when the plug was pulled, the fan continues to turn until it slows down and stops. Similarly, after attaining full God consciousness, when the karmic reactions that had already begun finally expire, one leaves the body never to return to this world again.
	Regarding the anullment of karma as previously described, there is one exception. This is mentioned in sŸtra 4.1.17:
ato -nyÄpi hy eke§Äm ubhayoú
	„Other than this there is also another class of devotees who are even freed from their beginning karmic reactions because this is so taught in some schools of Vedic tradition.“
	In other words, upon realizing God, some people have received some special mercy from the Lord. Being relieved of all karma, they return to God immediately. Regardless of whether one has to wait out one’s remnant of karma or whether one departs immediately, the final result is the same, as described in the following sŸtra (4.1.19):
bhogena tv itare k§apagitvÄtha sampadyate
	„Having given up both the gross and subtle bodies, one gains eternal life with transcendental bliss.“
	Though the jivan-mukta has to remain in this world until his prÄrabdha-karma (beginning reactions) expires, one should not consider him to be like the other conditioned souls. His remaining in this world is the arrangement of the Lord so that he can teach the path leading back to God.

SüTRAS 4.2.21, 4.3.1

yoginaú pratismaryate smÄrte caite
arcir-ÄdinÄ tat-prathiteú

	yoginaú-those desiring communion with God; pratismaryate-remember about; smÄrte-in the Sm¨ti literature, such as the Bhagavad-g"ta ; ca-and; ete-these two [paths]; arciú-ÄdinÄ-by the path beginning with light, etc.; tat-prathiteú-because it is well known [from the scriptures].

TRANSLATION

	At the time of death the devotee who desires communion with God should remember the two different paths described in Sm¨ti.
	The path beginning with light is devayÄna, or path leading to God, as this is well known.

PURPORT

	In the Bhagavad-g"tÄ it is stated:
yaµ yaµ vÄpi smaran bhÄvaµ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taµ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadÄ tad-bhÄva-bhÄvitaú
	„Whatever state one remembers when giving up the body at death, to that very state does he go, O son of Kunt", because of having continuously thought of it.“ (8.6)
	In this way, if we pass our lives absorbed in thoughts of our dear family members, sex partners, movie stars, politicians, friends and enemies, at the time of death, we will automatically remember these things; and, thus, we will attain a state of existence according to that consciousness. By the same principle, if we spend our time doing everything for the satisfaction of the Lord and remember Him always, after this life we will achieve His eternal association.
	The actual process of leaving the body is elaborately explained in the Upani§ads. All the Vedic literatures unanimously declare that the soul resides within the cavity of the heart and by means of his consciousness, which pervades the entire body, the soul supervises the functions of the body as a king dwelling in his palace in the capital city rules the kingdon by his extended self as the government. Within the heart there are separate openings to one hundred and one arteries. These are not made of cartilage nor muscle, but are composed of subtle matter. They are like astral subways by which the soul, at the time of death, leaves his old body for his next destination.
	„There are one hundred and one arteries of the heart; of these one penetrates to the crown of the head. By going up through it one attains immortality, whereas the others all lead to different destinations.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.6.6)
	When the soul of one who has utilized his life for spiritual development is about to depart from the body, the entire region of the hart is suddenly illumined, and the soul can at once see the one hundred and first artery, known as su§umnÄ, by which he has to exit. He is able to see this primarily by the mercy of the Supersoul, and secondarily, by the devotional knowledge which he has acquired during his life. He remembers that there is a particular path called devayÄna-the path back to Godhead-over which he must pass. The principal result of this remembrance is that he becomes fully cognizant of all the details of the journey and of the particular deities who will assist him at each stage. Because the heart is completely illumined by the Lord, and because he has perfect memory of the necessary itinerary of that journey, he easily chooses the correct artery through which to exit. On the other hand, when a person who has not developed God consciousness is about to die, he suffers from insurmountable fear, anxiety and confusion. In such a bewildered state, he is incapable of recognizing the su§umnÄ artery and, therefore, loses his chance of achieving liberation from material existence by ascending the devayÄna pathway to the spiritual world. Rather, he exits through one of the other hundred arteries to achieve another round of existence in the world of birth and death.
	After the soul has entered the su§umnÄ artery and departed from the body through the top of the head, he embarks on the devayÄna path which leads back to the spiritual world. This return journey is described in the following passage from the ChÄndogya Upani§ad:
	„Now, when he departs from the body, he ascends upwards by those very rays of the sun while meditating on the syllable oµ. In other words, as soon as he fixes his mind on it, he immediately goes to the sun. That is indeed the doorway of the world. For the wise it is an entranceway, but for the ignorant it is closed off.“ (8.6.5)
	The sun is not the doorway to the spiritual world; it is the halfway point in the journey back to Godhead. When travelling, one is relieved upon reaching the halfway point; so also, to reach the sun is allegorically considered the „doorway“ to the spiritual world although there is still more distance to be traversed before the actual arrival. Whether one dies during daylight or at night, one is elevated by means of the sun’s rays because regardless of whether the sun is shining or not, the connection between the heart and the sun is constant.
	„As a great extended highway goes to two villages, to one close and to another at a distance, even so do the rays of the sun go to both worlds, to this one and to the other. They start from the sun and penetrate into these areteries; they start from these arteries and penetrate into the sun.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.6.2)
	The progress of the soul through the doorway of the sun up to the realm of immortaility is described in many different parts of the revealed scriptures, however, no single description is ever entirely complete. In order to get the complete description of the different stages of the soul’s progress towards immortality, we have to collate the relevant passages. Thus, we get the following list: (1) Arci, (2) Dina, (3) üuklapak§a, (4) UttarÄyaºa, (5) Saµvatsara, (6) VÄyu, (7) ditya, (8) Candra, (9) Vidyut, (10) Varuºa, (11) Indra and (12) PrajÄpati. These are not stages or places to be reached, but are conducting deities who lead the soul from one stage of the journey to the next. Therefore, we may understand the above list respectively as representing: (1) the deity of light, (2) the deity of daytime, (3) the deity of the bright fortnight of the moon, (4) the deity of the northern course of the sun, (5) the deity of the year, (6) the deity of the wind, (7) the deity of the sun, (8) the deity of the moon, (9) the deity of lightning, (10) the deity of water, (11) the deity of aerial lordship and (12) the deity of universal procreation known as BrahmÄ.
	„They pass on to light, from light to day, from the day to the bright fortnight of the moon, from the bright fortnight of the moon to the six months of the northern course of the sun, from those months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to lightning, then there is a nonhuman person (amÄnava-puru§a ). He leads them to God. This is the pathway to God, the pathway to Brahman. Those who proceed by it do not return to human existence, no, they do not return.“ (8.15.5)
	After the soul reaches the stage of lightning, he is met by an amÄnava-puru§a, a nonhuman being or messenger of God who has descended from the spiritual world to carry him over the last leg of the journey. For this reason, the last three conducting deities, Varuºa, Indra and BrahmÄ, are only secondary assistants of this amÄnava-puru§a.
	Those who perfectly understand by direct realization that the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who possesses His own transcendental names, forms, qualities, abodes, pastimes and entourage are carried from the abode of BrahmÄ through the external covering of the universe. This acts like a sieve by retaining the soul’s subtle body as he passes into the spiritual world. Then the soul regains his original constitutional relationship as one of the Lord’s eternal associates. Those souls who do not have a mature or appropriate understanding of the Personality of Godhead, they reach only as far as the world of Lord BrahmÄ. There, they remain under the spiritual guidance of BrahmÄ in order to fully learn about the Supreme Lord. At the end of the life of BrahmÄ, these refined worshipers accompany BrahmÄ and all the other inhabitants of Brahma-loka to the spiritual world.
	Besides these two classes of worshipers of Transcendence, there is a third class who worship or meditate on God as food, life, light, the cosmic manifestation, mind, intelligence, goodness, love, peace, etc. Because these are not actually the Lord, but only symbols of Him, such worshipers do not attain the Lord: rather, they attain perfection in their particular object of meditation within this material world. All those who actually worship the Supreme ascend by the devayÄna. If, however, they are not perfect enough in transcendental realization to proceed all the way back to Godhead, they will at least reach Brahma-loka. Even though they were not successful in attaining spiritual emancipation, still, their having reached Brahma-loka is considered a kind of sam"pya-mukti, or liberation of proximity to the Lord, because the residence of BrahmÄ is on the border frontier with the spiritual world. These souls who could only proceed as far as Brahma-loka do not fall down from there as do those who elevate themselves to the higher planets by the strength of their pious activities and austerities, but remain there until the end of the universe. When the time for the complete devastation of the material universe arrives, the entire material creation succumbs to a systematic dissolution beginning from the lowest point, gradually rising towards the highest. In this way, the inhabitants of Brahma-loka, realizing the imminent danger, flee to the spiritual world by dint of their now completed spiritual training and, thus, successfully take shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord.

SüTRA 4.3.15

	aprat"kÄlambanÄn nayat"ti bÄdarÄyana ubhayathÄ ca dosÄt tat-kratu1/2 ca.

	aprat"ka-not a symbol; ÄlambanÄn-unto those who rely upon; nayati-he leads; iti-thus; bÄdarÄyana-the sage VyÄsadeva; ubhayathÄ-both ways; ca-and; dosÄt-because of fault; tat-kratuh-according to what one thinks; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	Thus, the sage VyÄsadeva says that the messenger of God leads those who do not rely on symbols directly to the Supreme Lord because in the other two opinions there is the fault of not being in conformity with the maxim that one attains whatever state one thinks of.

PURPORT

	According to the sage Badari, when the soul ascending the devayÄna path reaches the deity of light, he is met by the amÄnava-puru§a, or messenger of God, who accompanies him to the kÄrya-brahman, or effected form of God, which is the demigod BrahmÄ. Badari concludes this because in the ChÄndogya Upani§ad (8.14.1), it mentions that the ascending soul reaches PrajÄpati. This is a well-known name of BrahmÄ. On the other hand, the sage Jaimin" argues that the messenger of God leads all those who ascend the devayÄna past BrahmÄ and up to God Himself. Jaimin" concludes this because the primary meaning of the word Brahman, which is mentioned in the B¨had-Äraºyaka, ChÄndogya, and Kaus"taki Upani§ads, as the goal attained by those who ascend the devayÄna path is the Absolute, or God. Besides, as Jaimin" points out, an intelligent person would never want to ascend the devayÄna path if it only led to the materially affected form of God as the demigod BrahmÄ.
	VyÄsadeva reconciles both views by pointing out that those who worship the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and fully understand Him as so, will directly attain Him. In contrast, those who do not directly worship God, but rely on meditative symbols, such as candles, colors, or abstract ideas like peace, love, quiet, etc. do not attain the Supreme, but only perfection in these lower things. Those who have an incomplete understanding of the Supreme Personality of God, imagining Him to be something other than what He is, attain only BrahmÄ’s abode. While residing in BrahmÄloka, they can receive further training in the science of God-realization. When the final dissolution of the world occurs, they can again embark upon the devayÄna path back to Godhead. VyÄsadeva asserts that this is the correct viewpoint because it is the only one which is in consonance with the maxim tat-kratu: one attains that state one thinks of. This is from the ChÄndogya Upani§ad:
	atha khalu kratur-mayah puru§aú, yathÄ kratur asmil loke puru§o bhavati tathetaú pretya bhavati- sa kratum kurv"ta.
	„Now, indeed, a person possesses resolution. As is his resolution in this world, so does he become on departing from here. Therefore, let him be resolute.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 3.14.1)

SüTRA 4.4.1

sampadyÄvirbhÄvaú svena 1/2abdÄt

	sampadya-one who has attained [the spiritual world]; ÄvirbhÄvaú-appearance or manifestation; svena-by one’s own [original spiritual form]; 1/2abdÄt-because of the word.

TRANSLATION

	When the soul reaches the spiritual world He appears in his own original constitutional form because the words show that form to be his own.

PURPORT

	In the ChÄndogya Upani§ad, the attainment of the spiritual world by the liberated soul is described as follows:
	atha ya e§a samprasÄdo ÔsmÄc char"rÄt samutthÄya paraµ jyotir upasampadya svena rŸpenÄbhini§padyata e§a Ätmeti.
	„Now, the blessed one (samprasÄda ) who, having risen up out of the body, reaches the supreme light, becomes apparent (abhini§padyate ) by his own (svena ) form (rŸpena ).“ (8.3.4)
	The spiritual body which the soul has in the transcendental realm is not something separate from himself, as is the case with the embodied soul and his gross and subtle bodies. The spiritual body is the actual substance or identity of the soul. This is obvious from the above quoted text. After leaving behind his gross and subtle bodies and exiting from the material universe. the soul enters the spiritual world and becomes apparent by his own spiritual form, not that of something else. Therefore, when we speak of regaining our original spiritual form or identity, we do not mean that this is something lying around somewhere which we have to find. We already have it because it is our essential nature. It is us. But we are presently unable to enjoy this original blissful form of ours due to our own ignorance. The regular practice of devotional service to K¨§ºa removes that ignorance and reveals this form, just as the jeweler’s burnishing a gem reveals it’s natural brilliance. Because the spirit souls are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their forms also consist of eternity, knowledge and bliss, though not to the same degree as the Lord because their possession of these qualities is entirely dependent on Him.

SüTRA 4.4.4

avibhÄgena d¨§ atvÄt

	avibhÄgena-without any division or separation; d¨§ atvÄt-because it is seen [in the scriptures].

TRANSLATION

	The liberated soul is never separated from the Lord because it is seen in the scriptures.

PURPORT

	The liberated souls in the spiritual world are never separated from the Lord for three reasons: (1) they are in the spiritual world which is ultimately nondifferent from Him, (2) the Lord is all-pervading and therefore always present within them and visible to them in their hearts and (3) He is always manifested externally in His transcendental form as the all-blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead. For the impersonalists, to go back to Godhead means to become God, but this is completely impossible. To go back to Godhead means to attain the eternal intimate association of the Lord in the mood of submissive devotion. There are five kinds of liberation described in the Vedic literatures: (1) sÄlokya or living in the same place as the Lord, (2) sÄr§ i or having the same opulences as the Lord, (3) sÄrŸpya or having an appearance similar to the Lord, (4) sÄm"pya or being near to the Lord as one of His associates and (5) sÄyujya or merging into the brahma-jyoti effulgence emanating from the Lord’s transcendental body. This is the impersonal merging aspired after by monists. For the devotees, sÄyujya has a completely different meaning. SÄyujya means „joining together“, and is therefore also applicable to the devotees who are linked up with the Lord through eternal loving service. The attainment of such oneness or unity with the Lord does not entail a loss of the individuality of the devotee, as the impersonalists believe. The definition of unity is: „The combination or arrangement of parts into a whole; the state, quality, or condition of accord or agreement; singleness or constancy of purpose or action.“ In contrast to this definition of oneness, the impersonalists claim that the only real liberation is complete oneness with God, in which one literally becomes God Himself. They give the following passages as an illustration of that state:
	„There they are uncharacterized and indistinguishable like the many nectars that have reached the condition of honey.“ (Maitr" Upani§ad 6.22)
	„As bees, my dear, prepare honey by collecting the nectars from different trees and reduce them to a unity, and as these nectars have no discrimination to say, ÔI am the nectar of this tree,’ ÔI am the nectar of that tree;’ in the very same way, my dear, all these creatures, though entered into the Absolute, do not know ÔWe are entered in the Absolute.’ Whatever they are in this world, whether a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, an insect, a gnat or a mosquito, that they become.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 6.9.1-3)
	The bees do not care for the flower itself, they want the nectar it contains. The nectar is the very essence of a flower. In the same way, the very essence of the living body is the soul within it. The gathering together of many different nectars into a homgenous unity is called honey. The superb flavor of honey is the result of the mixing together of the nectars from many flowers. Each nectar has its own particular flavor according to the species of flower, the weather, the soil, etc. When one tastes honey, one does not distinguish which nectar came from which particular flower, nor does one care to-the flower is not important. Similarly, when a soul returns to the spiritual world, no one there will care about what his previous material body might have been. They accept him in their midst as one of their peers. Thus he is enjoyed along with all the other liberated souls by the Supreme Enjoyer Madhava.
	Honey does not consist of one molecule; it is a homogeneity of many molecules. Due to their similarity and harmony in combination, they appear as one substance. That they are still individual despite their unity is evidenced by the fact that the honey sometimes crystallizes, which is the separation of the individual molecules from the homogenous condition of honey. The liberated souls are in complete harmony with God, meaning that they are agreeable to His purpose. Because there is no discord between the liberated souls and the Lord, nor between themselves, they are united in harmony. Even in the material world, people of conflicting interests sometimes unite together to achieve a common goal. When the spirit soul achieves liberation, he is no longer concerned with his previous material body. Having attained the shelter of the Supreme Lord, the soul engages in the transcendental activities of eternal life. Thus he becomes oblivious to his previous life of embodiment in this world. This is the meaning of the statement „Having attained unity, these nectars have no discrimination to say, ÔI am the nectar of this tree,’ or ÔI am the nectar of that tree.’“ And when it says, „In the very same way, my dear, all these creatures, though entered in the Absolute, do not know ÔWe are entered in the Absolute,’“ simply shows that when the soul enters into the spiritual world, because that is his constitutional position, he naturally feels at ease; or, as they say, at home. Although are bodies are always surrounded by an ocean of air, we never think, „I am in an ocean of air; I am inhaling air; I am moving through air.“ However, as soon as we leave this ocean of air by falling into an ocean of water, we think, „I am in an ocean of water; I am inhaling water; I am moving through water.“ Thus we become conscious of the necessity of being again situated in the ocean of air.
	In the spiritual world all the liberated souls are considered uncharacterized and indistinguishable because they are not characterized by a material body; the identity which they are in thespiritual world is not false, it is real. They are said to be indistinguishable because by exhibiting their true spiritual nature, they are similar in quality to the complete whole spiritual nature, as sparks are similar to the fire. Their spiritual identity is not something different from themselves, as in the case of the material identity; therefore, they are literally indistinguishable from themselves. And because in the spiritual world, all living beings are under the supreme sovereignty of God, they are indistinguishable from each other in that they are of the same diminutive class, just as when we consider apples as a group we do not distinguish between the individual apples, although there are many differences among them. This is proven by the last line, „Whaterver they are in this world, whether a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, an insect, a gnat or a mosquito, that they become.“
	This shows without any doubt that they maintain their identities in liberation. Therefore, real liberation means to be the eternal servant of God. That the liberated souls do not become God is shown by the following verses:
	sa yathÄ saumya vayÄµsi vÄso v¨k§aµ samprati§ hante
evaµ ha vai tat sarvaµ para Ätmani samprati§ hante
	„Just as birds resort to a tree as a resting-place, even so does all this resort to the Supreme Soul.“ (Pra1/2na Upani§ad 4.7)
tathÄ vidvÄn nÄma-rŸpÄd vimuktaú
parÄt paraµ puru§am upaiti divyam
	„In that way, the wise person, liberated from name and form, draws near to the Personality of Godhead who is the highest of the high and transcendental.“ (Muº¶aka Upani§ad 3.2.7)
	Thus as the sŸtra points out, the liberated soul is never separated from the Lord.

SüTRAS 4.4.5-7

brÄhmena jaiminir upanyÄsÄdibhyaú
citi-tanmÄtrena tad-ÄtmakatvÄd ity audulomiú
evam apy upanyÄsÄt pŸrva-bhÄvÄd avirodham bÄdarÄyanaú

	brÄhmena-with godly characteristics; jaiminiú-the sage Jaimin"; upanyÄsa-Ädibhyaú-because of the reference and so forth; citi-consciousness; tat-mÄtrena-with only that; tat-ÄtmakatvÄt-because of consisting of that; iti-thus; audolomiú-the sage Audulomi; evam-thus; api-even; upanyÄsÄt-because of the reference; pŸrva-bhÄvÄt-because of the existence of the former [condition mentioned by Jaimin"]; avirodham-no contradiction; bÄdarÄyanaú-the sage VyÄsadeva.

TRANSLATION

	According to Jaimin", the liberated soul acquires all the characteristics of God because of the reference to that fact, and so forth.
	According to Audulomi, the liberated soul becomes merely consciousness because that is his substance.
	According to VyÄsadeva, even though the liberated soul may be like that, namely, just consciousness, there is no contradiction if it is also accepted that he has the former characteristics mentioned by Jaimin".

PURPORT

	The sage Jaimini teaches that when a soul achieves liberation, he acquires certain characteristics of God. He has concluded this because of indications to that effect in the Vedic literatures:
	„Over that bridge cross neither day, nor night, nor old age, nor death, nor sorrow, nor piety, nor impiety. All evils turn back from there. Indeed, the spiritual world repulses evil. Therefore, on crossing that bridge, if one is blind, he becomes no longer blind; if he is sick, he becomes no longer sick. Therefore, on actually crossing that bridge, the night appears like day. Indeed, that spiritual world is ever-illuminated.“ (ChÄndogya-Upani§ad 8.4.2)
	This shows that the soul who attains liberation achieves transcendental characteristics. These are not the characteristics of the ordinary living beings in this world. The precise characteristics referred to by Jaimini are as found in this passage:
	„The Soul which is sinless, ageless, deathless, sorrowless, hungerless, thirstless, whose desire is real, whose will is real, He should be sought for, Him one should desire to understand. He who has found and understands that Soul obtains all worlds and all desires.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.7.1)
	According to this text, God has eight characteristics: (1) sinlessness, (2) agelessness, (3) deathlessness, (4) sorrowlessness, (5) hungerlessness, (6) thirstlessness, (7) fulfillment of desires, and (8) accomplishment of what He wills. In the same text, it also states that the soul who realizes that Supreme Soul also possesses the last two characteristics, namely, fulfillment of desires and accomplishment of whatever one wills. Jaimini concludes that the soul must also acquire the other five characteristics. The liberated soul receives these characteristics by the grace of God.
	Controverting the above idea, the sage Audulomi says that since the soul has consciousness as his substance, when he achieves liberation, he manifests only that characteristic. He concludes this on the basis of the following passage:
	„As a mass of sea salt has not inside or outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, so indeed this soul has no inside or outside and is entirely a mass of consciousness. Having risen up out of these elemets, he vanishes after them. After passing away, there is no destination.“ (B¨had-Äraºyaka Upani§ad 4.5.13)
	In other words, as a mass of sea salt has the same taste in every place, even so, God, though all-pervading, is equally conscious throughout. Similarly, when the soul reaches God, he also loses his individuality and exists as all-pervading consciousness.
	VyÄsadeva reconciles both views. He points out that although the soul is entirely conscious, there being no part of him that is not conscious, he may also possess the eight qualities listed by Jaimini. This is possible because when we say that a mass of sea salt is entirely a mass of taste, this does not exclude the possession of other qualities such as form, texture, hardness, color, smell, etc. The above passage does not intend to teach that the soul is all-pervading but that every part of the soul has all the attributes as the rest of him. That the soul is atomic in size was already established in other texts.

SüTRA 4.4.8

sa›kalpÄd eva tac chruteú

	sa›kalpÄt-because of the will [of the soul]; eva-certainly; tat-that; 1/2ruteú-from the scriptures.

TRANSLATION

	The liberated soul is not identical with God because he has his own will, and that is learned from the scriptures.

PURPORT

	In previous sŸtras, it is shown how the liberated soul has his own spiritual form and is eternally in communion with God, and in sŸtras 4.4.5-7 it is shown how the soul also has the qualities of transcendence. The fact that each liberated soul has his own will further illustrates that the liberated soul does not become God. Each liberated soul, in accordance with his individual personality, chooses to serve the Lord in a particular manner. There are numerous indications in the Vedic literatures that show how the liberated soul has his own individual will:
	evam evai§a sprasÄdo ÔsmÄc char"rÄt samutthÄya paraµ jyotir upasampadya svena rŸpenÄbhini§padyate sa uttamaú puru§aú sa tatra paryeti jak§an kr"¶an ramamÄnaú stribhir vÄ vÄnair vÄ j-Ätibhir vÄ nopajanaµ smarann idaµ 1/2ar"ram.
	„In this very manner, this blessed one, on rising up out of the body and reaching the supreme light, becomes apparent by his own form. He is the best person. There one goes about laughing, playing and enjoying with women, with vehicles, or with relatives, not remembering this originated body.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.12.3)
	e§a ÄtmÄpahata-pÄpmÄ vijaro vim¨tyur vi1/2oko vijighatso ÔpipÄsaú satya-kÄmaú satya-sa›kalpaú.
	„This is the soul who is repellent to evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger, without thirst, whose desires are real, whose thoughts are real.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.1.5)
	That the liberated soul’s desires are real means that they become fulfilled. Whatever the liberated soul desires, the Lord fulfills:
ananyÄ1/2 cintayanto mÄµ
ye janÄú paryupÄsate
te§Äµ nityÄbhiyuktÄnÄµ
yoga-k§emaµ vahÄmy aham
	„Those who worship Me without thinking of any other thing-to those ever-engaged souls I bring what they lack and preserve what they have.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 9.22)
	The following passages show how the desires of a liberated soul are fulfilled:
	„If he becomes desirous of the world of father, simply by his will the world of fathers arises. Possessing the world of fathers, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of mothers, simply by his will the world of mothers arises. Possessing the world of mothers, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of brothers, simply by his will the world of brothers arises. Possessing the world of brothers, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of sisters, simply by his will the world of sisters arises. Possessing the world of sisters, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of friends, simply by his will the world of friends arises. Possessing the world of friends, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of perfume and garlands, simply by his will the world of perfume and garlands arises. Possessing the world of perfume and garlands, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of food and drink, simply by his will the world of food and drink arises. Possessing the world of food and drink, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of singing and dancing, simply by his will the world of singing and dancing arises. Possessing the world of singing and dancing, he is happy.
	„So, if he becomes desirous of the world of women, simply by his will the world of women arises. Possessing the world of women, he is happy.
	„Whatever ends he becomes desirous of, whatever desire he desires, simply by his will it arises. Possessed of it, he is happy.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.2.1-10)
	Thus the liberated soul has his own will, but his will is only fulfilled when the Lord so wills it, not otherwise. All the liberated soul’s desires are fulfilled by the Lord because his desires are always in accordance with the Lord’s own will.

SüTRAS 4.4.12-14

dvÄda1/2Ähavad ubhaya-vidhaµ bÄdarÄyaºo Ôtaú
tanv-abhÄve sandhyavad upapatteú
bhÄve jÄgradvat

	dvÄda1/2a-Ähavat-like the twelve day sacrifice; ubhaya-vidham-of both sorts; bÄdarÄyaºaú-VyÄsadeva; ataú-therefore; tanu-a [spiritual] body; abhÄve-in the absence of; sandhyavat-like borderline [consciousness, or the dream state]; upapatteú-because of the possibility; bhÄve-on the existence of [the spiritual body]; jÄgradvat-as in the waking state.

TRANSLATION

	VyÄsadeva therefore maintains that the liberated souls are of two kinds-with bodies and without bodies-just as the twelve-day sacrifice can be classified in two ways.
	In the absence of the spiritual body, the soul’s existence is like sleep.
	When the spiritual body is manifested, it is like being awake.

PURPORT

	So far the VedÄnta-sŸtra is discussing the soul as having two conditions-bound and liberated. Now it is stated that a liberated soul can exist in two conditions-with a spiritual body and without a spiritual body-just as the twelve-day sacrifice is classified in two ways, according to the purpose for which it is performed. The liberated soul is shown to appear in his original spiritual identity in the spiritual world as one of the eternal associates of the Lord. In the present sŸtras, VyÄsadeva now brings up the topic of impersonal merging. So far this has not been dealt with at all. Some people, believing God to be impersonal, cherish the idea of merging into the divine light and losing all individuality. A kind of impersonal merging is possible for the soul and is also a form of liberation, but it has certain disadvantages. Because it is not the highest benefit for the soul, VyÄsadeva points out how it is inferior to the full God realization achieved by the devotees. It is like sleeping whereas becoming the eternal servitor of God is like the waking state.
	According to the Vedic literatures, God is triune, in that He has three different aspects. His fullest aspect is as BhagavÄn, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is a person because of His possession of three qualities: sat or eternity, cit or knowledge, and Änanda or bliss; as well as the possession of six attributes: all beauty, all power, all knowledge, all fame, all wealth and all dispassion. As the Supreme Personality, He is the directive force behind everything in the material and spiritual worlds. He has a somewhat lesser aspect as ParamÄtmÄ, the Supersoul. In this form, He displays only the qualities of sat, or eternity, and cit or knowledge. The Supersoul pervades all worlds and things. Because He is the all-pervasive cognizing faculty of the Lord, He is not fully personal. This aspect of Him as abiding in the heart is that upon which the yogis and mystics meditate. The third aspect of the Supreme Lord is called Brahman. This is His impersonal aspect because it is only sat or eternity. Brahman is the primary substance of all being. Thus this impersonal Brahman is the lowest aspect. It is not at all surprising that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can also have His impersonal side. It is a psychological fact that everyone has the capacity to act in an impersonal manner under certain conditions. But there is never any possibility of something impersonal behaving in a personal way because, lacking any speciality and distinction, it does not have the capacity to manifest personality. The impersonal Brahman is more usually designated as brahma-jyoti or divine light. This is the divine light which is experienced by mystics.
	The material existence has a limit somewhat like a globe. On passing beyond the limit of the material world, one comes to the spiritual sky. This is infinite in all directions. This spiritual sky is filled with the dazzling effulgence called brahma-jyoti, or the impersonal aspect of Godhead. Within that transcendental light are floating innumerable spiritual planets. The Supreme Personality of Godhead resides in every one of those spiritual planets in an individualized form while remaining inconceivably undivided and whole. This is comparable to how the sun, though one, is seen to be shining in every land simultaneously. The devotees who gain liberation by the execution of devotional service attain one of these planets to associate with the Lord eternally. There are countless other persons also who have always been there. When the devotee ascends the devayÄna pathway and reaches the spiritual sky, this dazzling brahma-jyoti parts so that he can direct himself to one of the spiritual planets. This is confirmed in the Upani§ads:
hiraºyamayena pÄtreºa
satyasyÄpihitaµ mukham
tat tvaµ pu§ann apÄv¨ºu
satya-dharmÄya vi§ºave
	„The face of the Absolute Truth is covered by a golden effulgence. Please remove that covering, O Nourisher of life, to reveal the principle of truth who is Vi§ºu.“ (Maitr" Upani§ad 6.35)
vyŸha rasmin samŸha tejo
yat te rŸpaµ kalyÄnatamaµ
tat te pa1/2yÄmi
	„Spread apart Your rays! Gather together Your effulgence! That which is Your most auspicious form is what I see of You.!“ (é1/2a Upani§ad 16)
	In contrast, those who have only attained an impersonal understanding of God, upon reaching the spiritual sky, find nothing other than the brahma-jyoti. This brahma-jyoti is actually the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He is like a transcendental sun, in that He illumines the whole spiritual sky with His effulgence. Because it is His effulgence, He can control it and open it up for the ascending liberated souls who are on their way to become eternal associates of the Lord. But in the case of those who have no regard for Him as a person but are instead interested only in impersonalism, He keeps Himself hidden in that effulgence. Therefore, the liberated impersonalists do not attain the transcendental worlds of the Supreme Lord in Vaikuº ha, nor do they even see Him there. The divine light is so bright that such impersonalists are not able to see anything, not even themselves. It is a common experience in worldly life that when there is a great flash of light, one becomes blinded. The impersonalist in the brahma-jyoti is so overcome by its brilliance that he even forgets himself. Thus, he has the experience of loss of identity and individuality. Compared to the suffering of material existence, this experience of so-called merging is a great relief, just like when a person is in pain, it is a great relief to take painkillers and go to sleep. In fact, to not be on one of the spiritual planets and enjoy one’s eternal relationship with the Lord but to instead be impersonally merged in the brahma-jyoti is therefore compared to sleep in this sŸtra. In sleep one is unaware of the physical world and forgets one’s real identity. In the same way, by merging in the brahma-jyoti, the soul is in a dream-like state in unawareness of his true spiritual identity. And just as everyone eventually gets tired of dreaming, the impersonally merged souls eventually become bored. Since they have not developed a loving relationship with God as the Supreme Person, they cannot attain any of the spiritual planets. Their only recourse is to descend back down into the material world:
ye Ônye ÔravindÄk§a vimukta-mÄninas
tvayy asta-bhÄvÄd avi1/2uddha-buddhayaú
Äruhya k¨cchreºa paraµ padaµ tataú
patanty adho  ÔnÄd¨ta-yu§mad-a›ghrayaú
	„O lotus-eyed Lord, because their devotional feelings for You are extinguished, those who consider themselves liberated on the impersonal platform have an impure intelligence. Having ascended with great difficulty to such a high position, those who do not have any regard for Your lotus feet fall down from there.“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam 10.2.32)
	To realize one’s spiritual identity as one of the eternal servants of the Lord is to really be awake. Therefore, K¨§ºa consciousness is the real waking state of the soul.

SüTRA 4.4.17

jagad-vyÄpÄra-varjyaµ prakaraºÄd asannihitvÄt

	jagat-the world; vyÄpÄra-the act of doing or making; varjyam-with the exception of; prakaraºÄt-because of the context; asannihitatvÄt-because of nonproximity.

TRANSLATION

	The liberated soul in the spiritual planets may exhibit the qualities of God, with the exception of the ability to create the world, because of the subject matter and because of nonproximity.

PURPORT

	The subject matter referred to is sŸtra 1.1.2:
janmÄdy asya yataú
	„The Absolute is He from whom proceeds the creation, maintenance and destruction of the world.“
	This, then, is the principal quality of God that distinguishes Him from all other beings, whether conditioned or liberated. „Because of nonproximity“ means that although the liberated soul, upon taking shelter of the Lord, may acquire a certain degree of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence by the grace of the Lord, no amount of possible proximity to Him will ever impart creatorship to him. The fact that the creation comes out of the Lord shows without a doubt that He is the basis of all existence. Since the living entities are created by God, how can they possibly usurp His position by becoming themselves the source of creation? It is like proposing that a child can somehow become his own father. When it is said that a liberated soul has omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence, it does not mean that they are exactly so. Whatever wonderful power they may exhibit is simply like the brightness of a mirror. It is merely the reflection of the Lord’s power. Therefore, they are just a gift to the liberated souls by the kindness of God. Their ability to have a degree of omniscience and omnipresence is not entirely full. Their nature is explained in sŸtra 4.4.15:
prad"pavad Äve1/2as tathÄ hi dar1/2ayati
	„The pervasion and omniscience of the liberated soul is like the diffusion of light from a lamp.“
	Although the lamp is in one place it illumines everything around it. In the same way, by the diffusion of his consciousness, the soul has a kind of pervasiveness and omniscience, but even this is dependent on the Lord, for it is He who makes all things possible. This is also stated in the Padma PurÄºa:
eka-de1/2a-sthitasyÄgner
jyotsnÄ vistÄriº" yathÄ
parasya brahmaºaú 1/2aktis
tathedam akhilaµ jagat
	„Like the extended light of a fire situated in one place, so is the energy of the Supreme Brahman expanded as this entire existence.“

SüTRA 4.4.19

vikÄrÄvarti ca tathÄ hi sthitam Äha

	vikÄra-avarti-He who is changeless; ca-and; tathÄ-thus; hi-for; sthitam-abiding; Äha-[scripture] says.

TRANSLATION

	The liberated soul abides in the never-changing Lord, for the scriptures state it to be so.

PURPORT

	The Supreme Lord is changeless because He never suffers from the effects of material time. Vaikuntha, the Lord’s spiritual abode, is also changeless. Moreover, the spiritual world is, in one sense, nondifferent from the Lord because of His special presence everywhere there, and because it is manifested out of His own superior energy. Therefore, to be in the spiritual world is to be, so to say, in the bosom of the Lord. When one has full God consciousness, he is considered j"van-mukta, liberated even in this world. When the soul is free from the body, one gets to enjoy the full conditions of liberation:
	„He should be known as a j"van-mukta or liberated while still living in this world. He is fortunate and has fulfilled all duties. After leaving the condition of being a j"van-mukta, when the body dies at its destined time, he enters the state of being free from the material body, like the stillness of the air.“ (Paingala Upani§ad )
	Due to their great aversion for the Lord, the fallen souls have put the Lord so far out of their thoughts that they are not even aware of His existence. Being ignorant of their real spiritual identities as obediant servants of the Lord, these fallen souls imagine themselves to be whatever material bodies they have. This is confirmed in the following Sm¨ti text:
vilajjamÄnayÄ yasya
sthÄtum "ksÄpathe ÔmuyÄ
vimohitÄ vikatthante
mamÄham iti durdhiyah
	„Persons whose bad intelligence stands shamelessly in the scope of their vision wrongly assert, ÔThis is mine, and I am this.’“ (ür"mad-BhÄgavatam )
	Self-realization means to recognize our actual spiritual identities and then to successfully achieve them. Thus, the Bhagavad-g"tÄ states:
mÄm upetya punar moham
duhkÄlayam a1/2asvatam
nÄpnuvanti mahÄtmanah
samsiddhim paramÄm gatÄh
	„Having attained Me, the great souls never take birth again in this miserable place of impermanence because they have achieved the supreme destination.“ (8.15)
sarva-karmÄny api sadÄ
kurvÄno mad-vyapÄ1/2rayah
mat-prasÄdÄd avÄpnoti
1/2Ä1/2vatam padam avyayam
	„Although always engaged in all kinds of activities, one who has taken shelter of Me attains by My grace the eternal and imperishable abode.“ (18.56)

SüTRA 4.4.21

bhoga-mÄtra-sÄmya-li›gÄc ca

	bhoga-enjoyment; mÄtra-only; sÄmya-equality; li›gÄt-because of the indication; ca-and.

TRANSLATION

	And the soul is only equal to God in the matter of enjoyment, because there is an indication of this.

PURPORT

	In sŸtra 4.4.17 it is seen how the soul’s qualities and abilities are not at all equal to those of the Lord. In effect, whatever ability or attributes which the soul may display are only borrowed plumes. Here also VyÄsadeva finalizes the verdict that the soul is always finite by directly pointing out that the only real equality or identicalness between the infinite Lord and the finite soul is in the matter of enjoyment. This is indicated in the following text:
yo veda nihitaµ guhÄyÄµ parama vyoman
so Ô1/2nute sarvÄn kÄmÄn saha brahmaºÄ vipa1/2citeti
	„One who knows the Lord who is situated in the heart and in the spiritual sky enjoys all desires along with the omiscient Godhead.“ (Taittir"ya Upani§ad 2.1.1)
	Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s bliss is unlimited, when the devotees engage in His transcendental devotional service, they experience a bliss so great that the Lord becomes attracted to them. In fact, He becomes so oblighed to His devotees for the selfless service they perform that He is unable to repay them with anything else except more opportunities for service.
	When one realizes that God is the Complete Whole Absolute Truth, he will also recognize himself to be an integral part and parcel of the Whole. The part is not equal to the Whole, but the Whole includes the part. A tiny screw lying on the floor has no meaning, but when it is fitted in its place in the huge machine, its purpose becomes fulfilled. The big machine contains many screws, but when we examine the machine, we only see the machine, not the tiny screws. Yet the screws are there. We do not especially notice them because they are a less significant part of the bigger view of the whole machine. The whole material existence has been compared to the universal body of God. A person’s body is made up of different limbs. When we know a person, upon seeing his face we say, „It is so and so.“ And if we know him very well, upon seeing only his hand or foot, we know, „This is so and so.“ Similarly, those who know God also know how everything is connected with Him, like the parts of a body. Seeing any part, they immediately recognize the whole. In this way, they also recognize themselves to be tiny screws in the divine cogwork. Thus they exclaim „I am He,“ in the sense that they recognize how they are unchangeably fixed as inseparable parts of Him, the Complete Whole.
	The impersonalists wrongly interpret this haµsa mantra, or so Ôham, to mean that we are God. The actual meaning is „I am he, the pure spirit soul who is different from the material body. I am he, the spirit soul who is an eternal part and parcel of God. I am he, the spirit soul who is the humble servant of the Lord.“
	Also sometimes the devotees cry out in ecstasy, so Ôham:  „I am He.“ In this instance, „I am He“ refers to the Supreme Lord. It is not that they identify themselves with God and thus declare, „I am He.“ Rather, they are simply remembering His instructions to His devotees. Thus they remember how the Lord said: „I am He who is the source of creation, maintenance and destruction. I am He who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, than whom nothing is greater. I am He who should be worshiped and meditated upon. I am He who is the ultimate goal of everyone. I am He who reveals Himself to His devotees and hides Himself from the wicked. I am He who supplies all the needs of the devotees and preserves what they have. I am He who quickly delivers the surrendered souls from the ocean of birth and death. I am He who revels in eternal transcendental pastimes with His devotees in the spiritual world. I am He who sells Himself for the pure love of His devotees.“ Remembering these meanings of so Ôham,  the devotee becomes overwhelmed with ecstasy in appreciation of the wonderful attributes of the Supreme Lord.

SüTRA 4.4.22

anÄv¨ttiú 1/2abdÄd anÄv¨ttiú 1/2abdÄt
	anÄv¨ttiú-no return; 1/2abdÄt-because of the word or promise; anÄv¨ttiú-no return; 1/2abdÄt-because of the word or promise.

TRANSLATION
	There is no return because of the Lord’s promise, there is no return because of the Lord’s promise.

PURPORT

	Unlike the impersonal merging in the brahma-jyoti, when one regains his original identity as an eternal associate of the Lord in His spiritual kingdom, he never returns to this world. This firm conviction of VyÄsadeva is based on the Lord’s promise:
	sa enÄn brahma gamayaty e§a deva-patha brahma-patha etena pratipadyamÄnÄ imaµ mÄnavam Ävartaµ nÄvartante nÄvartante.
„He leads them on to Brahman. this is the pathway to God, the pathway to Brahman. Those who proceed by it do not return to human existence, they do not return.“ (ChÄndogya Upani§ad 8.4.5)

mÄm upetya punar janma
duúkhÄlayam a1/2a1/2vatam
nÄpnuvanti mahÄtmÄnaú
saµsiddhiµ paramÄm gatÄú

Äbrahma-bhuvanÄl lokÄú
punar Ävartino Ôrjuna
mÄm upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
	„After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yog"s in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection. From the highest planet in the material world to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death takes place. But one who attains me, O son of Kunt", never takes birth again.“ (Bhagavad-g"tÄ 8.15-16)
	In this way, VyÄsadeva ends his commentary on the Upani§ads to impress upon us the desirableness of going back to Godhead with the hope that we may become devotees and take up the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ür" K¨§ºa.

May there be all success!

Hare K¨§ºa!