BG 14.27
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Devanagari
ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च ।
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham
amṛtasyāvyayasya ca
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasyaikāntikasya ca
Synonyms
brahmaṇaḥ
—
of the impersonal brahma-jyotir
;
hi
—
certainly
;
pratiṣṭhā
—
the rest
;
aham
—
I am
;
amṛtasya
—
of the immortal
;
avyayasya
—
of the imperishable
;
ca
—
also
;
śāśvatasya
—
of the eternal
;
ca
—
and
;
dharmasya
—
of the constitutional position
;
sukhasya
—
of happiness
;
aikāntikasya
—
ultimate
;
ca
—
also.
Translation
And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
27. I am the basis of impersonal Brahman, the basis of indestructible liberation, the basis of the eternal method bhakti and the basis of the bliss of the unalloyed devotee.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
27. I am the shelter of the jīva who has attained his svarūpa, which is beyond death and possesses unchanging devotion to Me. I am the shelter of eternal, wonderful qualities, and extraordinary rasa for the unalloyed devotee.
Purport
The constitution of Brahman is immortality, imperishability, eternity and happiness. Brahman is the beginning of transcendental realization. Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is the middle, the second stage in transcendental realization, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth. Therefore, both Paramātmā and the impersonal Brahman are within the Supreme Person. It is explained in the Seventh Chapter that material nature is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord impregnates the inferior, material nature with fragments of the superior nature, and that is the spiritual touch in the material nature. When a living entity conditioned by this material nature begins the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, he elevates himself from the position of material existence and gradually rises up to the Brahman conception of the Supreme. This attainment of the Brahman conception of life is the first stage in self-realization. At this stage the Brahman-realized person is transcendental to the material position, but he is not actually perfect in Brahman realization. If he wants, he can continue to stay in the Brahman position and then gradually rise up to Paramātmā realization and then to the realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many examples of this in Vedic literature. The four Kumāras were situated first in the impersonal Brahman conception of truth, but then they gradually rose to the platform of devotional service. One who cannot elevate himself beyond the impersonal conception of Brahman runs the risk of falling down. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that although a person may rise to the stage of impersonal Brahman, without going further, with no information of the Supreme Person, his intelligence is not perfectly clear. Therefore, in spite of being raised to the Brahman platform, there is the chance of falling down if one is not engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. In the Vedic language it is also said, raso vai saḥ, rasaṁ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati: “When one understands the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, he actually becomes transcendentally blissful.” ( Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1) The Supreme Lord is full in six opulences, and when a devotee approaches Him there is an exchange of these six opulences. The servant of the king enjoys on an almost equal level with the king. And so eternal happiness, imperishable happiness, and eternal life accompany devotional service. Therefore, realization of Brahman, or eternity, or imperishability, is included in devotional service. This is already possessed by a person who is engaged in devotional service.
The living entity, although Brahman by nature, has the desire to lord it over the material world, and due to this he falls down. In his constitutional position, a living entity is above the three modes of material nature, but association with material nature entangles him in the different modes of material nature – goodness, passion and ignorance. Due to the association of these three modes, his desire to dominate the material world is there. By engagement in devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is immediately situated in the transcendental position, and his unlawful desire to control material nature is removed. Therefore the process of devotional service, beginning with hearing, chanting, remembering – the prescribed nine methods for realizing devotional service – should be practiced in the association of devotees. Gradually, by such association, by the influence of the spiritual master, one’s material desire to dominate is removed, and one becomes firmly situated in the Lord’s transcendental loving service. This method is prescribed from the twenty-second to the last verse of this chapter. Devotional service to the Lord is very simple: one should always engage in the service of the Lord, should eat the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Deity, smell the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, see the places where the Lord had His transcendental pastimes, read of the different activities of the Lord, His reciprocation of love with His devotees, chant always the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and observe the fasting days commemorating the appearances and disappearances of the Lord and His devotees. By following such a process one becomes completely detached from all material activities. One who can thus situate himself in the brahma-jyotir or the different varieties of the Brahman conception is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in quality.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fourteenth Chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of the Three Modes of Material Nature.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“But why would Your devotees attain the impersonal Brahman, which happens only for those who realize oneness with God?”
“That is because I am also the basis of that famous Brahman, since I am the supreme basis of everything. The meaning of pratiṣṭha is shelter, that upon which something is standing firmly, as this also is the meaning used everywhere in the śrutis , such as in the description of the annamaya-puruṣa in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. And I am the basis or shelter of nectar (amṛtasya).”
“Does this mean the nectar of Svarga?”
“No, it is indestructible (avyayasya): therefore amṛta means liberation. I am the basis of liberation. Also I am the basis of the eternal method (śāśvatasya dharmasya), which is eternally present, both in the stage of sādhana and perfection, the supreme method called bhakti. And also I am the basis of happiness—of prema (sukhasya) in relation to the ekāntika devotee (aikantikasya), who is qualified to receive it. And because everything is dependent on Me, he who worships Me with a desire to be one with God merges into the Brahman and attains the status of Brahman.”
Śrīdhara Svāmī gives the following meaning of the verse: “I am the basis of Brahman” means “I am the condensed Brahman,” just as the sun globe is condensed light. Just as the sun, though being the form of light, is also acts as the basis of light, so I, Kṛṣṇa, am the form of Brahman, but I am also the basis of Brahman.
In this regard, Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.7.76 provides the authority: subhāśrayaḥ sa cittasya sarvagasya tathātmanaḥ. This statement is explained by Śrīdhara Svāmī. “He is the shelter (āśrayaḥ), or the pratiṣṭha, of the supreme Brahman (sarvagasya ātmanaḥ). Thus it is stated by the Lord: I am the shelter of Brahman (brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham).”
Also in the Viṣṇu Dharmottara, concerning the subject of Naraka Dvādaśī, it is said:
prakṛtau puruṣe caiva brahmaṇyāpi ca sa prabhuḥ
yathaika eva puruṣo vāsudevo vyavasthitaḥ
The Lord, one person, Vāsudeva is situated in prakṛti, the jīva and the Brahman.
In relation to māsarkṣa worship it is also said:
yathācyutas tvam parataḥ parasmāt sa brahmabhūtāt parataḥ parātmā
Just as Acyuta, Paramātmā is superior to all others, he is superior to Brahman. Viṣṇu Dharma 26.13
The Lord speaks to Arjuna in relation to bringing back the children of the brāhmaṇa in Hari Vaṁśa, Viṣṇu Parvā 114:
tat param paramam brahma sarvam vibhajate jagat
mamaiva tad ghanam tejo jnātum arhasi bhārata
That supreme Brahman illuminates the whole universe. You should know that the condensed light belongs to Me.
Brahma Saṁhitā says:
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
koṭīṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
I serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental bodily effulgence, known as the brahmajyoti, which is unlimited, unfathomed and all-pervasive, is the cause of the creation of unlimited numbers of planets, etc., with varieties of climates and specific conditions of life. Brahma Saṁhitā 5.40
In the Eighth Canto, the Lord says:
madīyaṁ mahimānaṁc ca para-brahmeti śabditam
vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi
You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as param brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me. SB 8.24.38
Madhusūdana Sarasvatī explains as follows: “But Your devotee should attain You. How is he qualified merely for the state of Brahman (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate), when You are different from Brahman? This verse answers that. I alone am the end, the conclusion or paryāptiḥ of Brahman.” According to the Amara Kośa, the word paryāptiḥ means complete fullness. With the following verse Madhusūdana Sarasvatī offers his praise to Kṛṣṇa:
parākṛta-mano-dvandvaṁ paraṁ brahma narākṛti
saundarya-sāra-sarvasvaṁ vande nandātmajaṁ mahaḥ
I offer my respects to the son of Nanda, joy personified, the very essence of all beauty in human form, the supreme Brahman, devoid of dualities of the mind.
This chapter explains the misfortune in being bound by the guṇas and the satisfaction in being free of the guṇas, which is produced by bhakti alone.
Thus end the commentaries on the fourteenth chapter of the Gītā for the pleasure of the devotees’ minds, by the mercy of the ācāryas.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
“Having realized the distinction of jīva, having attained transcendence of the guṇas by exclusive bhakti to You, having attained his svarūpa, and having become liberated, how should a person designated as Brahman remain situated?”
The word hi indicates certainty. For the jīva who is brahman (brahmanaḥ), who has manifested the eight qualities of brahman by destroying the previous coverings of the guṇas, who has conquered death (amṛtasya), who is unchangeable by being fixed in his svarūpa (avyayasya)—unchanging also in the state of liberation, and also unchanging in his great affection for Me—for that person, I alone—the form of bliss and knowledge, full of good qualities, beyond criticism, the best friend, the lord of all—I alone am the shelter (pratiṣṭhā).
Pratiṣṭhā means “that in which something remains or resides—the ultimate shelter.” I am the supreme shelter, the most affectionate to all. Thus this person remains situated experiencing Me, endowed with the qualities mentioned above, by supreme bhakti: he is at no time separated from Me. na ca punar āvartate: he does not again take birth. (Chāndogya 8.15.1) The smṛtis say yad gatvā na nivartante: having gone there he does not return (BG 15.6); muktānāṁ paramā gatiḥ: He is the supreme shelter for those who are liberated (Mahābhārata 13. 171.49).
“Why should the liberated person then take shelter of You? For it says in the śrutis that liberation is the final result.”
There are excellent results from that surrender. I alone am the shelter (pratiṣṭhā) of the six eternal auspicious qualities called ṣad aiśvarya (dharmasya). I alone am the shelter of My extraordinary (ekāntikasya) rasa or delight (sukhasya) arising from variegated pastimes. He takes complete shelter of Me alone for experiencing My intensely blissful form, its splendors (vibhūti) and My pastimes. The śruti says:
raso vai saḥ, rasaṁ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati
The Lord is rasa. Attaining Him, the embodiment of rasa, one becomes blissful. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1
One remains in saṁsāra by combination with the guṇas. One becomes liberated by surpassing the guṇas. This is attained only by devotion to the Lord. This is the knowledge from chapter fourteen.
Chapter 15
Surrender Unto Me
Brahman is the basic transcendental platform on which pure devotional service takes place.
We should note also that 13:13 which says: "I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. Brahman, the spirit, beginningless and subordinate to Me, lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world." This is the platform that all that knowledge, the vision of one who has applied the process of knowledge and sees the Supersoul, this is the platform on which all spiritual realization takes place.
Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "In his constitutional position, a living entity is above the three modes of material nature, but association with material nature entangles him in the different modes of material nature‑‑goodness, passion and ignorance. Due to the association of these three modes desire to dominate the material world is there. By engagement in devotional service in full Krsna consciousness, he is immediately situated in the transcendental position, and his unlawful desire to control material nature is removed. Ther the process of devotional service, beginning with hea chanting, remembering‑‑the prescribed nine methods for realizing devotional service‑‑should be practiced in the association of devotees. Gradually, by such association, by the influence of the spiritual master, one's material desire to dominate is removed, and one becomes firmly situated in the Lord's transcendental loving service. This method is prescribed from the twenty‑second to the last verse of this chapter. Devotional service to the Lord is very simple: one should always engage in the service of the Lord, should eat the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Deity, smell the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, see the places where the Lord had His transcendental pastimes, read of the different activities of the Lord, His reciprocation of love with His devotees, chant always the transcendental vibration Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and observe the fasting days commemorating the appearances and disappearances of the Lord and His devotees. By following such a process one becomes completely detached from all material activities. One who can thus situate himself in the brahma‑jyoti or the different varieties of the Brahman conception is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in quality."
Pure devotional service takes place in this Brahman platform. This means the spiritual platform beyond the control of the three modes of material nature.
THUS ENDS THE STUDY OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN.