गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)
Govinda Bhashya of Baladeva Vidyabhushana with Commentary
by श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण (संपादक: कृष्णदास बाबा जी)
Page 187 of 647
Read in contextIntroduction By Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Viṣaya---In the First Chapter was proved that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is faultless, is the master of unlimited inconceivable potencies, has unlimited transcendental virtues, is the Supersoul present everywhere, is different from everything, is the creator of the material world and the ingredient of which the creation is made, is the controller and master of everything, is the object of Vedānta study, and is described by all the Vedas. In the Second Chapter the arguments claiming that this Vedānta philosophy is contradicted by the smṛti- śāstra and by logic will be refuted, the sāṅkhya theory that pradhāna is the original cause of creation will be refuted with clear logic, and the Vedānta explanation of creation will be proved to be the only truth. These are the topics that will be described. In the beginning the idea that the śruti-śāstra contradicts the Vedānta view will be refuted. Saṁśaya---Is the view that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of everything refuted by the sāṅkhya-smṛti or not? Pūrvapakṣa---According to Vedanta philosophy the saṅkhya-smṛti is untrue. The saṅkhya smṛti was written by the great sage Kapila as a commentary to explain the jñāna-kāṇḍa portion of the Vedas. He hoped in this way to teach the path of liberation. Kapila firmly approved of the agnihotra-yajñas and other rituals described in the karma-kāṇḍa portion of the Vedas. The śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.2) glorifies him in the words ṛṣiṁ prasūtaṁ kapilaṁ (the great sage Kapila). In his Kapila-smṛti, which contains statements like atha tri-vidha-duḥkhātyanta- nivṛttir atyanta-puruṣārthaḥ (the complete cessation of the threefold miseries of the material world is the ultimate goal of human life) and na dṛṣṭārtha-siddhir nivṛtter apy anuvṛtti-darśanāt (The threefold miseries cannot be completely stopped by any method seen in this world, for whenever they are stopped it is seen that they always return) he explained in the words vimukta-mokṣārthaṁ svārthaṁ vā pradhānasya (the pradhāna creates the material world either to fulfill the living entities' material desires or grant them liberation), the words acetanatve 'pi kṣīravac ceṣṭitaṁ pradhānasya (although it is lifeless and unconscious, the pradhāna creates this world just as milk spontaneously creates cheese), and other statements of his writings, the truth that insentient pradhāna is the independent creator of the material universes. If the idea that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of everything is accepted, then the statements of the Kapila-smṛti must be held to be useless. This is especially so because the Kapila- smṛti is a book of philosophy with the understanding of the ultimate truth as its sole objective. For this reason the Vedānta texts must be interpreted in such a way that they do not contradict the great Kapila-smṛti. This interpretation, even if it contradicts the Manu-smṛti and other smṛti- śāstras would not make these scriptures useless. Because these scriptures explain the karma-kāṇḍa portion of the Vedas, and because they explain the path of dharma (and not theoretical philosophy), they would not be made useless by contradicting their philosophical