BRS 2.1.187

BRS 2.1.187

Verse Text

(54) sac-cid-ānanda-sāndrāṅgaḥ – sac-cid-ānanda-sāndrāṅgaś cidānanda-ghanākṛtiḥ ||187||

Translation

He who has a form thoroughly composed of knowledge and bliss, with no contamination of other elements, is called sac-cid-ānanda-sāndrāṅga.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

The Lord is called sat (existence) because He exists in all time and space. yo ’yaṁ kālas tasya te ’vyakta-bandhoceṣṭām āhuś O inaugurator of the material energy, this wonderful creation works under the control of powerful time, which is divided into seconds, minutes, hours and years. This element of time, which extends for many millions of years, is but another form of Lord Viṣṇu. SB 10.3.26 na cāntar na bahir yasya na pūrvaṁ nāpi cāparam The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no beginning and no end, no exterior and no interior, no front and no rear. In other words, He is all-pervading. SB 10.9.13 The Lord is called cit because He is a conscious entity, rather than inert matter, because He alone reveals Himself (which matter cannot do, and which jīvas cannot do). tāvat sarve vatsa-pālāḥ paśyato ’jasya tat-kṣaṇāt vyadṛśyanta ghana-śyāmāḥ pīta-kauśeya-vāsasaḥ Then, while Lord Brahmā looked on, all the calves and the boys tending them immediately appeared to have complexions which were the color of bluish rain clouds and to be dressed in yellow silken garments. SB 10.13. The calves and boys (Kṛṣṇa) transformed themselves and were seen by Brahma to be bluish. The form is reflexive passive. rūpam asya na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainam No one can see that form with material eye. Kaṭha Upaniṣad 6.9 yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām He is attained by the person whom He chooses. He reveals His form to that person. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3. The Lord is called ānanda because of being composed completely of unmixed prema. kim etad adbhutam iva vāsudeve ’khilātmani vrajasya sātmanas tokeṣv apūrvaṁ prema vardhate What is this wonderful phenomenon? The affection of all the inhabitants of Vraja, including Me, toward these boys and calves is increasing as never before, just like our affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supersoul of all living entities. SB 10.13.36 The śruti says: ānandaṁ brahmaṇo rūpam The form of Brahman is bliss. The word sāndra is used to indicate being uncontaminated with any other element. This is expressed as follows: mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not contaminated by them. BG 9.4 Cid-ānanda-ghanākṛti has the same meaning as sac-cid-ānanda-sāndrāṅga. The word sat is not used in the phrase because it is implied by the mention of the existence of His various forms (ākṛti).

Purport (Nectar of Devotion)

54. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha Bs. 5.1 Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. Sat means ever-existing for all time and in all places; in other words, all-pervading in time and space. Cit means full of knowledge. Kṛṣṇa has nothing to learn from anyone. He is independently full of all knowledge. Ānanda means the reservoir of all pleasure. The impersonalists are seeking to merge into the Brahman effulgence of eternity and knowledge, but the major portion of the absolute pleasure which is in Kṛṣṇa is avoided by them. One can enjoy the transcendental blissfulness of merging into the Brahman effulgence after being freed from the contamination of material illusion, false identification, attachment, detachment and material absorption. These are the preliminary qualifications of a person who can realize Brahman. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that one has to become full of joyfulness; this is not exactly joyfulness, but a sense of freedom from all anxieties. Freedom from all anxieties may be the first principle of joyfulness, but it is not actual joyfulness. Those who realize the self, or become brahma-bhūta [SB 4.30.20], are only preparing themselves for the platform of joyfulness. That joyfulness can be actually achieved only when one comes into contact with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so complete that it includes the transcendental pleasure derived from impersonal or Brahman realization. Even the impersonalist will become attracted to the personal form of Kṛṣṇa, known as Śyāmasundara.