SB 3.28.41 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

भूतेन्द्रियान्त:करणात्प्रधानाज्जीवसंज्ञितात् । आत्मा तथा पृथग्द्रष्टा भगवान्ब्रह्मसंज्ञित: ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

bhūtendriyāntaḥ-karaṇāt pradhānāj jīva-saṁjṣitāt ātmā tathā pṛthag draṣṭā bhagavān brahma-saṁjṣitaḥ

Synonyms

bhūta — the five elements ; indriya — the senses ; antaḥ — karaṇāt — from the mind ; pradhānāt — from the pradhāna ; jīva — saṁjṣitāt — from the jīva soul ; ātmā — the Paramātmā ; tathā — so ; pṛthak — different ; draṣṭā — the seer ; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead ; brahma — saṁjṣitaḥ — called Brahman .

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Parambrahma, is the seer. He is different from the jīva soul, or individual living entity, who is combined with the senses, the five elements and consciousness.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just as fire is actually different from a blazing coal, and similarly is different from the spark and the smoke, which arise from the fire, though by imagination they appear to be fire, similarly, Bhagavān, possessor of inconceivable powers, who also appears as impersonal Brahman, is different from pradhāna, the conscious jīva, and the body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa, because he is the witness of the others. “Though the father can be perceived to be different from the son and wealth, since they are separately situated, the same does not apply to the jīva and his body and senses. And how can the Paramātmā be understood to be different from the jīva?” [Note: Those who have realized ātmā should understand Paramātmā as well.] Though not situated separately, the jīva is different from the products of māyā, and Paramātmā is different from the jīva. An example is given. An explanation will be given which accounts for the repetition of the two words yathā and ulmukaḥ. Fire is different from wood which is burning, and just as it is different from wood, it is different from sparks, and just as it is different sparks, it different from smoke, its product. The foolish person however will think that the wood, spark and smoke are fire, because of imagining (abhimatāt) them to be the svarūpa of fire. Similarly, Paramātmā is different from the jīva. Or, the second yathā can stand for yathāvat (correctly) and the second ulmukāt can be a combination of ulmuka and the verb at meaning “to eat.” It thus means “blazing” which modifies the word “fire.” Thus the verse means “Just as blazing fire is correctly different from wood, sparks and fire, though by imagination they are considered the same, so Paramātmā is different from jīva.” The last part of the example is in the second verse. Pradhāna is compared to the wood. The jīva is compared to the spark, since it has consciousness (saṁjṣitāt). The body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa are compared to the smoke. Paramāmtā (ātmā) is compared to the fire. Paramātmā is different from pradhāna, the jīva, the body, senses and antaḥkaraṇa because he is the witness (drastā). Because he sees everything else, he is different. Though situated together with the other items, he is not contaminated, because he possesses inconceivable powers (bhagavān). He also appears as Brahman: to some persons of certain qualification, he makes an appearance as consciousness alone without qualities.

Purport

A clear conception of the complete whole is given herewith. The living entity is different from the material elements, and the supreme living entity, the Personality of Godhead, who is the creator of the material elements, is also different from the individual living entity. This philosophy is propounded by Lord Caitanya as acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Everything is simultaneously one with and different from everything else. The cosmic manifestation created by the Supreme Lord by His material energy is also simultaneously different and nondifferent from Him. The material energy is nondifferent from the Supreme Lord, but at the same time, because that energy is acting in a different way, it is different from Him. Similarly, the individual living entity is one with and different from the Supreme Lord. This “simultaneously one and different” philosophy is the perfect conclusion of the Bhāgavata school, as confirmed here by Kapiladeva. Living entities are compared to the sparks of a fire. As stated in the previous verse, fire, flame, smoke and firewood are combined together. Here the living entity, the material elements and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are combined together. The exact position of the living entities is just like that of the sparks of a fire; they are part and parcel. The material energy is compared to the smoke. The fire is also part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa it is said that whatever we can see or experience, either in the material or spiritual world, is an expansion of the different energies of the Supreme Lord. As fire distributes its light and heat from one place, the Supreme Personality of Godhead distributes His different energies all over His creation. The four principles of the Vaiṣṇava philosophic doctrine are śuddha-advaita (purified oneness), dvaita-advaita (simultaneous oneness and difference), viśiṣṭa-advaita and dvaita. All four principles of Vaiṣṇava philosophy are based on the thesis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explained in these two verses.