Devanagari
श्रीशुक उवाच
बुद्धीन्द्रियमन:प्राणान् जनानामसृजत् प्रभु: ।
मात्रार्थं च भवार्थं च आत्मनेऽकल्पनाय च ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śuka uvāca
buddhīndriya-manaḥ-prāṇān
janānām asṛjat prabhuḥ
mātrārthaṁ ca bhavārthaṁ ca
ātmane ’kalpanāya ca
Synonyms
śrī
—
śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
;
buddhi
—
material intelligence
;
indriya
—
senses
;
manaḥ
—
mind
;
prāṇān
—
and vital air
;
janāṇām
—
of the living entities
;
asṛjat
—
sent forth
;
prabhuḥ
—
the Supreme Lord
;
mātra
—
of sense gratification
;
artham
—
for the sake
;
ca
—
and
;
bhava
—
of birth (and the activities that follow it)
;
artham
—
for the sake
;
ca
—
and
;
ātmane
—
for the soul (and his attainment of happiness in his next life)
;
akalpanāya
—
for his ultimate abandonment of material motives
;
ca
—
and .
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvamī said: The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind and vital air of the living entities so that they could indulge their desires for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in fruitive activities, become elevated in future lives and ultimately attain liberation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva Gosvamī said: The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind and vital air of the living entities so that they could indulge their desires for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in fruitive activities, become elevated in future lives and ultimately attain liberation.
KB 10.87.2
In answering King Parīkṣit’s question, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has created the mind, senses and living force of the living entity for the purpose of sense gratification and transmigration from one kind of body to another, as well as for the purpose of allowing liberation from the material conditions. In other words, one can utilize the senses, mind and living force for sense gratification and transmigration from one body to another or for the matter of liberation. The Vedic injunctions are there just to give the conditioned souls the chance for sense gratification under regulative principles, and thereby also to give them the chance for promotion to higher conditions of life; ultimately, if the consciousness is purified, one comes to his original position and goes back home, back to Godhead.
The living entity is intelligent. One therefore has to utilize his intelligence over the mind and the senses. When the mind and senses are purified by the proper use of intelligence, then the conditioned soul is liberated; otherwise, if the intelligence is not properly utilized in controlling the senses and mind, the conditioned soul continues to transmigrate from one kind of body to another simply for sense gratification. Another point clearly stated in the answer of Śukadeva Gosvāmī is that it is the mind, senses and intelligence of the individual living entity that the Lord created. It is not stated that the living entities themselves were ever created. Just as the shining particles of the sun’s rays always exist with the sun, the living entities exist eternally as parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But just as the sunrays are sometimes covered by a cloud, which is created by the sun, so the conditioned souls, although eternally existing as parts of the Supreme Lord, are sometimes put within the cloud of the material concept of life, in the darkness of ignorance. The whole Vedic process is to alleviate that darkened condition. Ultimately, when the senses and mind of the conditioned being are fully purified, he comes to his original position, called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is liberation.
In the Vedānta-sūtra, the first sūtra, or code, questions about the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijṣāsā: What is the nature of the Absolute Truth? The next sūtra answers that the nature of the Absolute Truth is that He is the origin of everything. Whatever we experience, even in this material condition of life, is but an emanation from Him. The Absolute Truth created the mind, senses and intelligence. This means that the Absolute Truth is not without mind, intelligence and senses. In other words, He is not impersonal. The very word created means that He has transcendental intelligence. For example, when a father begets a child, the child has senses because the father also has senses. The child is born with hands and legs because the father also has hands and legs. Sometimes it is said that man is made after the image of God. The Absolute Truth is therefore the Supreme Personality, with transcendental mind, senses and intelligence. When one’s mind, intelligence and senses are purified of material contamination, one can understand the original feature of the Absolute Truth as a person.
The Vedic process is to promote the conditioned soul gradually from the mode of ignorance to the mode of passion, and from the mode of passion to the mode of goodness. In the mode of goodness there is sufficient light for understanding things as they are. For example, from earth a tree grows, and from the wood of the tree, fire is ignited. In that igniting process we first of all find smoke, and the next stage is heat, and then fire. When there is actually fire, we can utilize it for various purposes; therefore, fire is the ultimate goal. Similarly, in the gross material stage of life the quality of ignorance is very prominent. Dissipation of this ignorance takes place in the gradual progress of civilization from the barbarian stage to civilized life, and when one comes to the stage of civilized life he is said to be in the mode of passion. In the barbarian stage, or in the mode of ignorance, the senses are gratified in a very crude way, whereas in the mode of passion, or in civilized life, the senses are gratified in a polished manner. But when one is promoted to the mode of goodness, one can understand that the senses and the mind are engaged in material activities only due to being covered by perverted consciousness. When this perverted consciousness is gradually transformed into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the path of liberation is opened. So it is not that one is unable to approach the Absolute Truth by the senses and the mind. The conclusion is, rather, that the senses, mind and intelligence in the gross stage of contamination cannot appreciate the nature of the Absolute Truth, but when purified, the senses, mind and intelligence can understand what the Absolute Truth is. The purifying process is called devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated that the purpose of Vedic knowledge is to understand Kṛṣṇa, and that Kṛṣṇa is understood by devotional service, beginning with the process of surrender. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, one has to think of Kṛṣṇa always, one has to render loving service to Kṛṣṇa always, and one always has to worship and bow down before Kṛṣṇa. By this process only can one enter into the kingdom of God, without any doubt.
One who is enlightened in the mode of goodness by the process of devotional service is freed from the modes of ignorance and passion. In answering King Parīkṣit’s question, Śukadeva Gosvāmī used the word ātmane, which indicates the stage of brahminical qualification in which one is allowed to study the Vedic scriptures known as the Upaniṣads. The Upaniṣads describe in different ways the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord. The Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, is called nirguṇa. That does not mean He has no qualities. It is only because He has qualities that the conditioned living entities can have qualities. The purpose of studying the Upaniṣads is to understand the transcendental qualities of the Absolute Truth, as opposed to the material qualities of ignorance, passion and goodness. That is the way of Vedic understanding.
Purport
At the dawn of creation, when the conditioned living entities lay dormant within the transcendental body of Lord Viṣṇu, He initiated the process of creation by sending forth the coverings of intelligence, mind and so on for the living entities’ benefit. As stated here, Viṣṇu is the independent Lord (
prabhu
), and the living entities are His
jana,
dependents. Thus we should understand that the Lord creates the cosmos entirely for the living entities’ sake; compassion is His sole motive.
By providing the living entities with gross and subtle bodies, the Supreme Lord enables them to pursue sense gratification and, in the human form, religiosity, economic development and liberation. In each body the conditioned soul utilizes his senses for enjoyment, and when he comes to the human form he must also discharge various duties assigned to him at the different stages of his life. If he faithfully discharges his duties, he earns more refined and extensive enjoyment in the future; if not, he is degraded. And when the soul eventually hankers to be freed from material life, the path of liberation is always available. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments that in this verse the repeated use of the word
ca
(“and”) indicates the importance of all of what the Lord provides — not only the path of liberation, but also the paths of gradual elevation through religious life and appropriate sense enjoyment.
In all their endeavors the living entities depend on the Lord’s mercy for success. Without intelligence, senses, mind and vital air, the living entities cannot achieve anything — neither elevation to heaven, purification through knowledge, perfection of the eightfold meditational
yoga,
nor pure devotion through following the process of
bhakti-yoga,
beginning with hearing and chanting the names of God.
How, then, if the Supreme arranges all these facilities for the conditioned souls’ welfare, can He be impersonal? Far from presenting the Absolute Truth as ultimately impersonal, the
Upaniṣads
speak at great length about His personal qualities. The Absolute described by the
Upaniṣads
is free from all inferior, material qualities, and yet He is omniscient, omnipotent, the master and controller of all, the universally worshipable Lord, He who awards the results of everyone’s work, and the reservoir of all eternity, knowledge and bliss. The
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
(1.1.9) states,
yaḥ sarva-jṣaḥ sa sarva-vid yasya jṣāna-mayaṁ tapaḥ:
“He who is all-knowing, from whom the potency of all knowledge comes — He is the wisest of all.” In the words of the
Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad
(4.4.22, 3.7.3, and 1.2.4),
sarvasya vāśī sarvasyeśānaḥ:
“He is the Lord and controller of everyone”;
yaḥ pṛthivyāṁ tiṣṭhan pṛthivyā āntaraḥ:
“He who resides within the earth and pervades it”; and
so ’kāmayata bahu syām:
“He desired, ‘I will become many.’” Similarly, the
Aitareya Upaniṣad
(3.11) states,
sa aikṣata tat tejo ’sṛjata:
“He glanced at His potency, who then manifested the creation,” while the
Taittirīya Upaniṣad
(2.1.1) declares,
satyaṁ jṣānam anantaṁ brahma:
“The Supreme is unlimited truth and knowledge.”
The phrase
tat tvam asi,
“You are that” (
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
6.8.7), is often cited by impersonalists as a confirmation of the absolute identity of the finite
jīva
soul with his creator. Śaṅkarācārya and his followers elevate these words to the status of one of the few
mahā-vākyas,
key phrases they say express the essential purport of Vedānta. The leading thinkers of the standard Vaiṣṇava schools of Vedānta, however, vociferously disagree with this interpretation. Ācāryas Rāmānuja, Madhva, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa and others have offered numerous alternative explanations according to a systematic study of the
Upaniṣads
and other
śrutis.
The question Mahārāja Parīkṣit has submitted here — namely, “How can the
Vedas
directly refer to the Absolute Truth?” — has been answered as follows by Śukadeva Gosvāmī: “The Lord created intelligence and other elements for the sake of the conditioned living beings.” A skeptic may object that this answer is irrelevant. But Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s answer is not actually irrelevant, as Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains. Answers to subtle questions must often be phrased indirectly. As Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself states in His instructions to Uddhava (
Bhāg.
11.21.35
),
parokṣa-vādā ṛṣayaḥ parokṣaṁ mama ca priyam:
“The Vedic seers and
mantras
deal in esoteric terms, and I also am pleased by such confidential descriptions.” In the present context, the impersonalists, on whose behalf Parīkṣit Mahārāja asked his question, cannot appreciate the direct answer, so instead Śrīla Śukadeva gives an indirect reply: “You say that Brahman is indescribable by words. But if the Supreme Lord had not created the intelligence, mind and senses, then sound and the other objects of perception would all be just as indescribable as your Brahman. You would have been blind and deaf since birth, and would know nothing about physical forms and sounds, what to speak of the Absolute. So, just as the merciful Lord has given us all faculties of perception for experiencing and describing to others the sensations of sight, sound and so forth, in the same way He may give someone the receptive capacity to realize Brahman. He may, if He chooses, create some extraordinary way for words to function — apart from their ordinary references to material substances, qualities, categories and actions — that will enable them to express the Supreme Truth. He is, after all, the almighty Lord (
prabhu
), and He can easily make the indescribable describable.”
Lord Matsya assures King Satyavrata that the Absolute Truth can be known from the words of the
Vedas:
madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca
paraṁ brahmeti śabditam
vetsyasy anugrahītaṁ 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
paraṁ brahma,
will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me.” (
Bhāg.
8.24.38
)
The fortunate soul who has been graced by the Supreme Lord with divine inquisitiveness will ask questions about the nature of the Absolute, and by hearing the answers given by great sages, which are recorded in the Vedic literatures, he will come to understand the Lord as He is. Thus only by the special mercy of the Supreme Person does Brahman become
śabditam,
“literally denoted by words.” Otherwise, without the Lord’s exceptional grace, the words of the
Vedas
cannot reveal the Absolute Truth.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī suggests that the word
buddhi
in this verse spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī can indicate the
mahat-tattva,
from which evolve the various expansions of ether (such as sound), which are designated here as
indriya.
Mātrārtham,
then, means “for the sake of using transcendental sound to describe Brahman,” since for that precise purpose the Supreme Lord inspired
prakṛti
to evolve ether and sound.
A further understanding of the purpose of creation is spoken by the words
bhavārtham
and
ātmane kalpanāya
(if the reading
kalpanāya
instead of
akalpanāya
is taken).
Bhavārtham
means “for the good of the living entities.” Worship (
kalpanam
) of the Supreme Self (
ātmane
) is the means by which the living entities can fulfill the divine purpose for which they exist. Intelligence, mind and senses are meant to be used for worshiping the Supreme Lord, whether or not the living entity has yet brought them to the stage of transcendental purification.
How both purified and unpurified devotees use their intelligence, mind and senses in worshiping the Lord is described in reference to the following quote from the
Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad
(
Pūrva
12):
sat-puṇḍarīka-nayanaṁ
meghābhaṁ vaidyutāmbaram
dvi-bhujaṁ mauna-mudrāḍhyaṁ
vana-mālinam īśvaram
“The Supreme Lord, appearing in His two-armed form, had divine lotus eyes, a complexion the color of a cloud, and garments that resembled lightning. He wore a garland of forest flowers, and His beauty was enhanced by His pose of meditative silence.” The transcendental intelligence and senses of the Lord’s perfect devotees correctly perceive His purely spiritual beauty, and their realizations are echoed in the
Gopāla-tāpanī-śruti’s
comparison of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s eyes, body and clothing to a lotus, a cloud and lightning. On the other hand, devotees on the level of
sādhana,
who are in the process of becoming purified, have only barely realized the Supreme Lord’s boundless spiritual beauty. Nonetheless, by hearing scriptural passages such as this one from the
Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad,
they engage in contemplating Him to the best of their fledgling ability. Although the neophyte devotees have not yet learned how to fully realize the Lord or meditate steadily on even the effulgence surrounding His body, still they take pleasure in presuming, “We are meditating on our Lord.” And the Supreme Lord, moved by the waves of His boundless mercy, Himself thinks, “These devotees are meditating on Me.” When their devotion matures, He draws them to His feet to engage in His intimate service. Thus it is concluded that the
Vedas
have access to the personal identity of the Supreme only by His mercy.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
This is the reply: "The Lord (prabhuh) created intelligence, mind, senses and prana of the jivas (jananam) for their enjoyment of objects arising from karma (matra artham), and for their causing actions leading to repeated births (bhava artham)."
Matra means those which are perceived (miyante): objects.
"He did this so that the jivas would make an offering (kalpanaya) of their intelligence, mind, sense and prana to the Lord in the form of Brahman, paramatma and bhavagan (atmane)."
Or another meaning is : "He did this in order to make the jivas use their intelligence, senses mind and pranas to worship him." Ca is repeated three times to show the importance of all three items.
The meaning is this: Without the intelligence, senses, mind and pranas there can be no enjoyment of karma such as svarga (bhava artham), nor the acton itself (matra artham), nor any jnana with its limbs of sama and dama, nor any astanga yoga, nor even bhakti yoga with hearing and chanting (atmane akalpanaya). Therefore the Lord created them for the jivas.
"But your answer is like saying ‘I ate curd rice’ when someone asks ‘Where are you going now?’ To the question ‘How are the Vedas capable of describing brahman?’ an unrelated answer has been given: ‘ The Lord created intelligence, senses, mind and pranas for the jivas’ enjoyment and liberation.’"
"That is not so. The Lord says, ‘The sages speak indirectly. I am fond of such indirect expression.’ Sb 11.21.35 Therefore to a direct question, it is very suitable to reply with suggestion.
"You are saying that the brahman is indescribable because of its very nature is beyond the power of words. If the Lord did not create the senses, intelligence, mind and pranas, then even sound, touch, form, taste and smell would be indefinable, just like the Brahman. For a person deaf and blind from birth till now, sound and form are as inconceivable as Brahman. Just as he gives perceiving senses to us, so that sound and sight can be experienced and understood, he mercifully may give someone the ability grasp the Brahman, and therefore, by creating some means of sound functioning beyond generic class, object, quality and action, or even by not creating that means, he can convey Brahman through sound. Why? Because he is the Lord, capable of making the indescribable describable. The srutis should therefore easily perform their work of describing Brahman.
Thus, Matsya says, "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." Sb8.24.38
The meaning of this is: "You will know my glories my great form, spread everywhere, called Brahman."
"How will I know?"
"You will know Brahman directly, defined by sound, by the statements of sages saying ‘Brahman is like this,’ in answer to your question ‘what is Brahman like?’ The reason is the attainment of my mercy. Without my extreme mercy, it is not possible to realize directly brahman through sound.
"One should not interpret this verse spoken by Matsya to mean some indirect or metaphorical understanding of Brahman, otherwise the words "by my mercy" would be meaningless. If it were indirect understanding, the word sabditam (expressed through sound) also becomes meaningless if it were brahman were not expressed.
"Just as you will directly realize that Brahman in your heart by my mercy, by the mercy of the Lord, Arjuna also realized directly that impersonal Brahman. The Lord said to Arjuna in the Harivamsa in relation to the stealing of the brahmana’s sons, ‘That great shining entity composed of the light of Brahman is myself, o best of the Bharatas. It is my eternal effulgence. It is my eternal superior prakrti, both manifest and unmanifest. The best knowers of yoga become liberated on entering it. It is the goal of those practicing sankhya, yoga and austerity. The whole universe worships that supreme Brahman. You should know that the intense effulgence is mine.’"
Or another meaning of the answer is as follows.
"O king, the Vedas never delineate the impersonal Brahman.
"But Brahma says that Brahman is beyond sound. (Sabdo na yatra puru karakavan kriyarthah) (sb 2.7.47) Thus the Vedas do not touch upon even personal aspect of brahman, that sac cid ananda form, because it also is beyond material reals like substance, class, quality, and action."
"However, the Visnu Purana states that the material gunas like sattva do not exist in the Lord." (sattadayo na santise yatra ca prakrta guna.) This means that material gunas like sattva does not exist, but spiritual qualities do. And again the Svetasvatara upanisad saying "the witness is conscious and without qualities." (Saksi ceta kevalo nigunas ca) indicates that nirguna must mean only without material qualities because being a witness is a quality. And the smrti (gita) says. "I am known by the Vedas." (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah).
"By this statement it is understood that, since the Lord possess spiritual varieties, qualities, forms and actions, which can be expressed through the function of sound, the Vedas can directly describe that Lord who has infinite spiritual qualities."
The word buddhi in the present verse means mahattattva. Indriya means not only the senses but also their source of existence, the tan matras like sound and the gross elements such as ether. Therefore the second meaning is as follows:
"The Lord creates mahattatva, the senses, sense objects, elements, mind and prana for their functioning (matra artham) in relation to (personal) Brahman (atmane), for the welfare of the jivas (bhava artham) so that they can engage the spiritual (in the case of the perfected devotee) and material (in the case of the practicing devotee), buddhi, indriya, mana and prana in the worship of the Lord."
"Matra" can mean "function, division, place, or ear ornament" according to the teachings. "Bhava" can mean "auspiciousness, Siva or attainment" according to the teachings. Because speaking is not possible without the prana, mind and senses, they are created for the functioning of speaking.
Gopal tapani upanisad (12.1) says:
sat pundarika nayanam meghabham vaidyutambaram dvbhujam mauna mudradyam vanamalinam isvaram
Govinda has lotus eyes, complexion like a cloud, and cloth like lightning. He has two hands in the position of mauna and wears a forest flower garland.
Because of the siddha devotee being able to grasp the spiritual lotus, cloud and lightning by spiritual intelligence and senses, the spiritual upanisad easily conveys the Lord’s eyes, body and cloth which are compared to these things. However, the sadhaka devotee, though he cannot grasp these things with his intelligence and senses, by applying the concepts of a material lotus, cloud and lightning to the Lord he can make them enter his intelligence. By concenterating his mind in this way, he then becomes joyful, under the impression that he is meditating on the Lord, though not even touching the Lord’s effulgence. But the Lord, controlled by waves of unlimited mercy, thinks "My devotee is meditating on me." The Lord brings that devotee to his feet for service when his bhakti reaches maturity. Thus by the mercy of the Lord alone, the Vedas are able to convey the form of the Lord.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
One version has ṛṣir uvāca (the sage said). This indicates his skill in answering because of his omniscience. Śuka uvāca indicates the story told in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa: he was freed from the bondage of māyā by Kṛṣṇa himself. Since he had received the mercy of the Lord like Parīkṣit, with similar experiences, his answer would be favorable to Parīkṣit.
The meaning is this. The Lord is defined as the supreme cause in terms of primary (svarūpa) or secondary (taṭastha) qualities. Both however result in the existence of Bhagavān, not in impersonal Brahman. This is acccording to the statement yaḥ sarvajñaḥ sarva-vit: he is omniscient and all perceiving. (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad) He is called prabhuḥ because he is not dependent on any other being. By his very nature he is īśvara or Supreme Lord. He possesses all-pervading jñāna-śakti iccha-śakti and kriya-śakti. Saytaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma: the Lord is existence and infinite knowledge. Vijñānam ānandaṁ brahma: the Lord is knowledge and bliss. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad) Yal lakṣyate tasyaiva khalv etasyānandasyānyāni bhūtāni mātrām upajīvanti: all living beings take their life from the Lord full of bliss. (Brhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.32)
Ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyād yad eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt: who could breathe without this Brahman, if this blissful Brahman were not present? (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1) ānandād eva khalv imāni bhutāni jāyante ānandena jātāni jīvanti ānandaṁ prayanty abhisaṁviśanti: from bliss the living beings airs, by bliss they live and into bliss they merge. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.6.1)
na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate |
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca ||
He has no body and no senses. No one is equal to him or higher. His supreme power is manifold. His actions are naturally revealed with knowledge and strength. Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad
These śruti statements show that the Lord has intrinsic śaktis. Tvam akaraṇaḥ sva-rāḍ akhila-kāraka-śakti-dharaḥ: though you have no material senses, you are the self-effulgent sustainer of everyone’s sensory powers. (SB 10.87.28) The Lord is not affected by upādhis though he relates with upādhis by his śaktis. Tvam asi yad ātmanā samavaruddha-samasta-bhagaḥ: by your very nature you are perfectly full in all opulences. (SB 10.87.14)
According to the statement tat tejo sṛjata: he glanced and his power carried out created (Taittirīya Upaniṣad), he created the intelligence and senses (present verse). Does this happen by pariṇāma or vivarta? It takes place by his śakti since śakti is suitable as the material cause, and since the Lord can accept the role as the efficient cause. Thus as the doer the Lord attains independence. Therefore previously to his creation of material intelligence etc. by his glance, since prakṛti was without agitation, it is understood that he had his own intelligence and other qualities. According to the statement sa aikṣata (he glanced), since he created intelligence etc. for birth and enjoyment of the senses (mātrārtham, bhāvārtham), he considered carefully before creating. Mātrārtham means all the puruṣārthas including taking shelter of the Lord. Sarva-kāmaḥ sarva-gandhaḥ sarva-rasa ayam ātmāpahata-pāpmā: the Lord has all desires, all fragrance, all taste and is free of sin. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad) These qualities are not imposed adventiously upon him since it is impossible to have adventious (material) qualities in the absolute person who is beyond material objects. This is also impossible because of the impossibility of dull matter which is in the category of receiving imposition to impose itself, since it is without knowledge, whereas Brahman is pure in all three phases of time.
Therefore the Lord does not cause imposition on the jīva through the jīva’s ignorance. The jīva produces his own imposition by his nature of ignorance, like a person talking in his sleep, since this brings uniformity in the conclusion. Since the Vedas say the Lord is independent, claiming the Lord has imposition would be repulsive. There is a saying “It is better to stay away from mud than wash it off.” Thus it would not be suitable for the Lord to accept imposition and then have to destroy it. That his qualities are impositions is also contradicted by statements like “He has natural śaktis.” It would also contradict statements like śrutes tu śabda-mūlatvāt: the defects in the jīva do not apply to Braman because of the declaration of scripture; scripture is the root of knowledge about spirit. (Brhama-sūtra 2.1.27)
Imposition of qualities on the Lord would also be related to atheism. To think that the Lord is impersonal Brahman is like thinking a man to be pillar. This would also mean non-existence of Brahman in the three phases of time. The ignorance produced by man who is produced by his ignorance is in the end ignorance produced from ignorance. Meditation, another creation, would also be useless. Other statements also agree. Saṁjñā-mūrti-klptiś ca tri-vṛt kurvata upadeśāt: the creation of names and forms in groups of three is done by the creator, for that is the teaching. (Brahma-sūtra 2.4.20) Those who claim there is no God are criticized:
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram |
aparaspara-saṁbhūtaṁ kim anyat kāma-haitukam ||
They say the world is false, without a foundation, and without a creator. It arises by the innate properties of matter. It arises by lust alone. BG 16.8
Asatyam means false. Apratiṣṭhitam means what cannot be described as either real or unreal. Anīśvaram means atheistic concoction arising from ignorance. Aparaspara-saṁbhūtaṁ means “produced from hopeless ignorance.” Aparaspara means continuous. Kāma-haitukam means arising from mental concoction, like a dream. Such people are described as not knowing proper action and forbiddance. This means they do not have proper saṁskāras. Their actions and destination are also condemned:
etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno ’lpa-buddhayaḥ |
prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato ’hitāḥ ||
Taking shelter of these viewpoints, not understanding ātmā, believing in worthless philosophies, performing violent actions, and being hostile to the world, these men destroy spiritual truth. BG 16.9
Thus the meaning of all the Vedas is Bhagavān. Yaṁ sarve vedā namanti mumkṣavo brahmavādinaś ca: all the Vedas, liberated souls and brahmavādis offer respecst to the Lord. (Nṛsimha-tāpanī Upaniṣad)
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. BG 15.15
natāḥ sma sarva-jagatām vacasāṁ pratiṣṭhā yatra śāśvatī
The words of the whole universe cannot describe the Lord, the eternal foundation. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.14.23
māṁ vidhatte ’bhidhatte māṁ vikalpyāpohyate tv aham
etāvān sarva-vedārthaḥ śabda āsthāya māṁ bhidām
māyā-mātram anūdyānte pratiṣidhya prasīdati
The Vedas indicate bhakti as the action and indicate me as the meaning. I am the meaning of all the Vedas. I, as karma and jñāna, am proposed and rejected as alternatives. The Vedas, taking shelter of me, proposing karma and jñāna and then rejecting them as māyā, become happy by giving the devotees bliss. SB 11.21.43
Sad eva saumyedam agra āsīt: the eternal lord existed before this universe. (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1) This indicates that the Lord is real. He is situated as the cause of everything. Ātmā vā idam agra āsīt: the Paramātmā existed before everything. (Aitareya Upaniṣad 1.1.1) He existed as Paramātmā. Satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma: the Lord is eternithy, knowledge and bliss. (Taittirīya Upaniṣad) Vijñanam ānandaṁ brahma: the Lord is knowledge and bliss. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.9.34) This is the Lord’s svarūpa-lakṣaṇa or principal quality. Nirguṇaṁ nirañjanam: he is pure, without material guṇas. (SB 10.51.56) This indicates he is devoid of faults. Na tasya kāryaṁ karanāṁ ca vidyate…svābhavikī jñana-bala-kriyā ca: the Lord has innate knowledge, strength and action. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad) Being devoid of material śakti, the Lord possesses innate śaktis of extraordinary nature. The same is supported by statements denying the opposite.
eṣa ātmāpahatapāpmā vijaro vimṛtyur viśoko vijighatso 'pipāsaḥ satyakāmaḥ satyasaṁkalpaḥ |
One should know that ātmā is without sin, without ageing, without death, without lamentation, without hunger, without thirst, whose every desire is truth and whose every desire is fulfilled. Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.1.5
nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān |
He is the prime eternal among all eternals. He is the supreme living entity of all living entities, and He alone is maintaining all life. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad
tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ
taṁ devatānāṁ paramaṁ ca daivatam |
sa kāraṇaṁ karaṇādhipādhipo
na cāsya kaścij janitā na cādhipaḥ
He is the great, supreme master of all controllers. He is the Supreme Lord to be worshipped. He is the first cause and the lord of the lord of the senses.He has no creator or master. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad
These verses of glorification show the Lord as the cause of all causes. Ānandaṁ brahmano rūpam: the Lord has a form of bliss. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad)
vedāham etaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntam
āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt |
I know that great Lord, brilliant like the sun, beyond ignorance. Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad
na sandṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya na cakṣuṣā paśyati rūpam asya
His form is not within the perception of material senses. One cannot see his form with the material eye. Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vṛṇute tanuṁ svām ||
The Lord reveals his form to whomsoever he chooses. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.4
In this way, the outstanding svarūpa of the Lord has been shown. It is said eko ha vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā neśāṇaḥ: in the beginning only Nārāyaṇa existed, without Brahmā or Śiva. (Mahā-nārānayaṇ Upaniṣad) This is the position of the Lord that I have desired to illustrate.
yasya pṛthivī śarīraṁ yaḥ pṛthivīm antaro yam ayaty eṣa ta ātmāntaryāmy amṛtaḥ
He who is the ultimate proprietor of the earth and the body, and who, residing within, rules the earth, is the immortal Supreme Lord who resides in the heart. Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3,7.3
yasyākṣaraṁ śarīraṁ eṣa sarvabhūtāntarātmā apahata-pāpmā divyo deva eko nārāyaṇaḥ
The one Lord without sin dwelling in all beings whose body is indestructible is Nārāyaṇa. Subala Upaniṣad
He is the ātmā of the earth because he reveals everything through his endowment of all śaktis. The Purāṇas and Mahābhārata also say the same:
hlādinī sandhinī saṁvit tvayy ekā guṇa-saṁśraye |
hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā tvayi no guṇa-varjite |
In you who are the shelter of all spiritual qualities exist the energies of hlādinī, sandhinī and saṁvit. In you who are devoid of material qualities, the mixture of happiness and distress found in the material world does not exist. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.9.44-45
kalā-kāṣṭānimeṣādi-kāla-sūtrasya gocare
yasya śaktir na śuddhasya prasīdatu sa me harīh
The pure Lord’s potency cannot be measured by the string of time, calibrated in minutes and seconds. May the Lord be merciful to us. Viṣṇu Purāṇa
jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejāṁsy aśeṣataḥ |
bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ ||
The word bhagavān means that he is complete with power of mind (omniscience), power of senses, power of body, influence, control, and beauty, and is devoid of all inferior qualities. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.79
kalā-murhūtādi-mayaś ca kālo na yad vibhūteḥ pariṇama-hetuḥ
We do not know the the Lord who is time, made up of moments and hours and years; whose influence is the source of perpetual change. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 4.1.83
na śakyaḥ sa tvayā draṣṭum asmābhir vā bṛhaspate
yaysa prasādaṁ kurute sa vai taṁ drastum arhati
He cannot be seen by you or us, O Bṛhaspati! He can be seen by the person to whom he gives mercy. Mahābhāṛata
etat tvayā na vijñeyaṁ rūpavān iti dṛśyate
icchan muhūrtān naśyeyam īśo 'haṁ jagato guru
māyā hy eṣā mayā sṛṣṭā yan māṁ paśyasi nārada
sarvabhūta-guṇair yuktaṁ naivaṁ tvaṁ jñātum arhasi
You do not understand that I become visible because I accept a form. Being master and guru of the universe, by my desire I can become invisible. Nārada, you see a material form which is māyā, created by me. You should not think that I am made of material qualities and elements. Mahābhārata 12.326.42-3
These are the words from Śvetadvīpa. The meaning is this. You should not think I am visible because I have a material form. I am seen is only when I desire to show myself. By my desire I can become invisible, since I am beyond the senses. Because I reveal myself by my will by form is self-revealing. It is also said:
nityāvyakto pi bhavagān īkṣate nija-śaktitaḥ
tam ṛte paramātmānaṁ kā paśyetām itam prabhum
The Lord, eternally invisible, is seen by his will. Without that, who can see the Lord, the Paramātmā?
One who thinks I have material qualities and form sees a form created by māyā. You should not think of me in that way. It is said kūṭastho ‘kṣara ucyate: he is fixed with one form (BG 15.16) akṣaraṁ paramaṁ brahma: the Supreme Lord is without change. (BG 8.3)
yasmāt kṣaram atīto ’ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ |
ato ’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ ||
Because I am superior to the conditioned and liberated jīvas, I am celebrated in the Vedas and the smṛtis as the Supreme Person. BG 15.18
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate |
sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate |||
He who serves me alone in pure devotional service surpasses the guṇas, and becomes endowed with his spiritual nature. BG 14.26
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca |
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca ||
I become the ultimate, affectionate shelter of the jīva who has attained his svarūpa, who is beyond death and possesses unchanging devotion to me, for I am the shelter of eternal qualities and extraordinary rasa for that jīva. BG 14.27
śrutayas tvayi hi phalanty atan-nirasanena bhavan-nidhanāḥ
The śrutis, following their method of eliminating everything separate from the Supreme, become successful by revealing you as their final conclusion. SB 10.87.41
tvam atha yad eṣv avaśeṣam ṛtam
You are the reality underlying them all. SB 10.87.17
tvam asi yad ātmanā samavaruddha-samasta-bhagaḥ
By Your very nature You are perfectly full in all opulences. SB 10.87.14
tvam uta jahāsi tām ahir iva tvacam ātta-bhago
mahasi mahīyase ’ṣṭa-guṇite ’parimeya-bhagaḥ
You, however, avoid the material energy in the same way that a snake abandons its old skin. Glorious in Your possession of eight mystic perfections, you enjoy unlimited opulences.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The issue is resolved. The Lord created the intelligence and prāṇas for all beings who were merged at the time of pralaya in order that they enjoy objects (mātrārtham) or in order that they understand the śrutis, which describe the effects or guṇas and what is beyond the guṇas (mātrātham), so that they can approach liberation or attain enjoyment on Brahma-loka (bhavārtham), attain their svarūpa as ātmā, or attain liberation (ātmane) and so that they can worship the Lord (akalpanāya).
Nirguṇo mad apāśrayaḥ: surrender to me is beyond the guṇas. (SB 11.25.26) Worship is beyond the creation (kalpana) since it is nirguṇa. Or ātmane can mean “for attaining Kṛṣṇa.” The method is then given: for performance of bhakti (kalpanāya). I am obtainable by bhakti and by no other means. That is the meaning. Bhakty ahaṁ ekayā grāhyaḥ: I am obtained only by bhakti (SB 11.14.21) puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labyas tv ananyayā: the Lord is supreme, O Arjuna, and is obtained by pure bhakti alone. (BG 8.22)
Though the Lord is beyond the senses and mind, being Adhokṣaja, when persons perform bhakti, by the mercy generated by bhakti, the person contacts the Lord’s personal śakti and he becomes visible to the eye of undeserving persons. First the answer is given: the śrutis can describe Kṛṣṇa because of their devotion. There is no other way. Then, starting in verse 13, using the example of bards waking a king, Sanaka and other sages describe the bhakti of the śrutis and elaborately answer the question posed by Nārada previously. Śukadeva describes the prayers of śrutis which glory the Lord and in doing explains the cause of the śrutis being able to describe the Lord.
At the beginning the śrutis say kvacid ajayātmanā ca carato ’nucaren nigamaḥ: sometimes the Vedas serve you as you sport with your material and spiritual potencies. (SB 10.67.14)
The meaning is this. The śrutis are of various types. Some are dedicated to karma, some to jñāna and some to bhakti. Those dedicated to karma cannot describe Kṛṣṇa because they are concerned with the three guṇas. Those dedicated to jñāna, though desiring directly the Lord in another life, and describing him by lakṣaṇā, search out the Lord’s form by negation. Adyāpi yat padarajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva: even today the śrutis search for your foot dust. (SB 10.14.34)
Those śrutis dedicated to the Lord, primarily Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad and Gopāla-tāpanī, are able to describe Bhagavān directly with great devotion. The verses of āgamas and Purāṇas following after these two Upaniṣads also can deal with Bhagavān. Thus it is said concerning the rāsa dance:
manorathāntaṁ śrutayo yathā yayuḥ: the Vedas become fulfilled by revealing Kṛṣṇa. (SB 10.32.13)
The meaning is this. The śrutis dealing with karma-kāṇḍa, not seeing the Supreme Lord, are not satisfied, being full of topics concerning material enjoyment. The śrutis dealing with Bhagavān are fully satisfied (manorathāntam).
brahmānanda-mayo loko vyāpī vaikuṇṭha-saṁjñitaḥ
tal-loka-vāsī tatra-sthaiḥ stuto vedaiḥ parātparaḥ
ciraṁ stutyā tatas tuṣṭaḥ parokṣaṁ prāha tān girā
tuṣṭo ‘smi brūta bhoḥ prājñā varaṁ yan manasecchatha
All the spiritual planets are spread with bliss of the Lord. The inhabitants are praised by the Vedas residing there. After praising a long time, the Lord was satisfied and spoke to the Vedas while remaining invisible. “I am pleased with you. O Vedas! Please ask the boon which you desire.”
śrutaya ūcuḥ
yathā tal-loka-vāsinyaḥ kāma-tattvena gopikāḥ
bhajanti ramaṇaṁ matvā cikīrṣājani nas tathā
The śrutis replied, ‘We have developed the desire to become like the cowherd women of the mortal world who, inspired by lust, worship you in the mood of a lover.’
āgāmini viriñcau tu jāte sṛṣṭy-artham udite
kalpaṁ sāraśvataṁ prāpya vraje gopyo bhaviṣyatha
‘When the next Brahmā takes birth to faithfully execute his duties of creation, and when the day of his life called the Sārasvata-kalpa arrives, you will all appear in Vraja as gopīs.’ Bṛhad-vāmana Purāṇa
The Lord becomes visible to persons with pure bhakti. This is proved by the words of Bhiṣma at the horse sacrifice of Vasurāja, related in Mokṣadharma.
Prītas tato ‘sya bhagavān devadevaḥ sanātanaḥ
Sākṣat taṁ darśayām āsa so ‘dṛyṣo ‘nyena kenacit
Savyaṁ bhāgam upāghrāya puroḍāśaṁ gṛhitavānṛto
Adṛśyena hṛto bhāgo devena harimedhasā
Bṛhaspatis tataḥ kruddhaḥ tātparyeṇa mukhyayā vrṭyā
Being pleased the eternal lord of lords directly showed himself though he is invisible to others. The Lord smelled a portion of the rice cake offering and accepted it. The cake was taken by the Lord who is invisible. Bṛhaspati became angry and wielded his sacrificial ladle.