गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām "Of all the eternals one (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) is the supreme eternal. Of all conscious entities one (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) is the supreme consicous entity." ——Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.13 gaur anādy anantavatī "Prakṛti is like a cow who was never born and never dies." —Culika Upaniṣad mantra 5 sad eva saumyedam agra āsīt "My dear saintly student, please understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternal. He is existed before the manifestation of this universe." —Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1 The jīvas, prakṛti, and kāla are subordinate to īśvara, and subject to His control. This is confirmed by the following statement of Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.16): sa viśva-kṛd viśva-vid ātma-yonir jñaḥ kāla-kāro guṇī sarva-vid yaḥ pradhāna-kṣetrajña-patir guṇeśaḥ saṁsāra-mokṣa-sthiti-bandha-hetuḥ "The Supreme Personality of Godhead (īśvara) is the creator of the material universes. He is the creator of everything that exists within the universes. He is the father of all living entities. He is the creator of time. He is full of all transcendental virtues. He is omniscient. He is the master of pradhāna (the unmanifested material nature). He is the master of the guṇas (three modes of material nature). He is the master of the individual spirit souls residing material bodies (kṣetrajña). He imprisons the condiditoned souls in the material world, and He also becomes their liberator from bondage." Karma (the result of fruitive action) is not a conscious, living person. It is an inert material force. Although no one can trace out its beginning, it has a definite end at some point in time. It is known by the name adṛṣṭa (the unseen hand of fate) and many other names also. These four (jīva, prakṛti, kāla, and karma) are all potencies of īśvara, the

supreme master of all potencies. Because everything that exists is the potency of the Supreme, the Vedic literatures declare: "Only Brahman exists, and nothing is separate from Him." This fact is nicely explained in the four chapters of this book, the Vedānta-sūtra. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the perfect commentary on Vedānta-sūtra, the Supreme īśvara and His potencies are described in the following words: bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam "Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service [bhakti-yoga] without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under full control.* yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam paro 'pi manute 'narthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate "Due to this external energy, the living entitiy, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.* anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām "The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth."* —1.7.4-6 dravyaṁ karma ca kālaś ca svabhāvo jīva eva ca yad-anugrahataḥ santi na santi yad-upekṣayā

"One should definitely know that all material ingredients, activities, time and modes, and the living entities who are meant to enjoy them all, exist by His mercy only, and as soon as He does not care for them, everything becomes nonexistent."* —2.10.12 That Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the commentary on Vedānta-sūtra is confirmed by the following statement of Garuḍa Purāṇa— artho 'yam brahma-sūtrāṇām "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the commentary on Vedānta-sūtra."* In this Vedānta-sūtra the first chapter explains that Brahman is the real subject matter discussed in all Vedic literatures. The second chapter explains that all Vedic literatures present the same conclusion. They do not actually contradict each other. The third chapter describes how to attain Brahman. The fourth chapter explains the result of attaining Brahman. A person whose heart is pure, pious, and free from material desires, who is eager is associate with saintly devotees, who has faith in the Lord and the scriptures, and who is peaceful and decorated with saintly qualitities, is qualified to study the scriptures and strive after Brahman. The relationship between Brahman and the scriptures is that the scriptures describe Brahman and Brahman is the object described in the scriptures. The Vedānta-sūtra and other Vedic scriptures describe Brahman as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, who is the master of unlimited inconceivable potencies, and who possesses unlimited pure, transcendental attributes. The result of properly understanding the Vedānta- sūtra and other Vedic scriptures is that the spiritual aspirant becomes free from all material imperfections, and able to see the Supreme Brahman, Personality of Godhead, face to face. The Vedānta-sūtra is written in adhikaraṇas, Vedic syllogisms, which consist of five parts: 1. viṣaya (thesis, or statement); 2. saṁśaya (the arisal of doubt in the tenability of the statement); 3. pūrvapakṣa (presentation of a view opposing the original statement) 4. siddhānta (determination of the actual truth, the final conclusion, by quotation from Vedic scriptures), and saṅgati (confirmation of the final conclusion by quotation from Vedic scriptures). Chapter 1 Pada 1

Adhikaraṇa 1 Inquiry Into Brahman The first adhikarana of the Vedānta-sūtra discusses brahma-jijñāsā (inquiry into Brahman). The adhikarana may be shown in its five parts in the following way:

1. Viṣaya (statement): One should inquire about Brahman. This statement is confirmed by the following statements of Vedic scripture: yo vai bhūma tat sukhaṁ nānyat sukham asti bhūmaiva sukhaṁ bhūmatveva vijijñāsitavyaḥ "The Supreme Personality of Godhead (bhūma) is the source of genuine happiness. Nothing else can bring one actual happiness. Only the Supreme Personality of Godhead can bring one happiness. For this reason one should inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. —Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.25.1 ātmā vā are draṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyo mantavyo nididhyāsitavyo maitreyi "O Maitreyī, one should see, hear, remember, and inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead." —Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.5
2. Saṁśaya (doubt): If one has studied the Vedas and dharma-śāstras, need he inquire about Brahman or not? The following statements of Vedic scriptures nourish this doubt: apāma somam amṛtā abhūma "We have attained immortality by drinking the soma-juice." —Ṛg Veda 8.18.3 akṣayyaṁ ha vai cāturmāsyājinaḥ sukṛtaṁ bhavati "They who follow the vow of cāturmāsya attain an eternal reward."

3. Pūrvapakṣa (presentation of the opposing view): There is no need to inquire about Brahman. Simply by discharging ordinary pious duties described in the dharma-śāstras one can attain immortality and an eternal reward.
4. Siddhānta (the conclusive truth): In the first sūtra Bhagavān Vyāsadeva replies to his philosophical opponent. Sūtra 1 athāto brahma-jijñāsā atha—now; ataḥ—therefore; brahma—about Brahman; jijñāsa—there should be inquiry. Now, therefore, one should inquire about Brahman.* Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa In this sūtra the word atha means "now", and the word ataḥ means "therefore". The sūtra means "Now one should inquire about Brahman." Atha (now): When a person has properly studied the Vedic literature, understood its meaning, adhered to the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, observed the vow of truthfulness, purified his mind and heart, and attained the association of a self-realized soul, he is qualified to inquire about Brahman. Ataḥ (therefore): Because material piety brings results of material sense- happiness, which is inevitably limited and temporary, and because the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is realized by the proper attainment of real transcendental knowledge, and which is full of imperishable, limitless bliss, eternity, transcendental knowldege, and all transcendental attributes, brings eternal bliss to the devotee-beholder, therefore one should renounce all material pious duties for attaining material sense- gratification, and inquire about Brahman by studying the four chapters of Vedānta- sūtra. At the point someone may object: Is it not true that simply by studying the Vedas one attains knowledge of Brahman, and as result of this knowledge one abandons the path of material piety and fruitive work and instead takes to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? If this result is obtained simply by studying the Vedas,, what need is there to study the four chapters of Vedānta- sūtra? To this objection I reply: Even if one carefully studies the Vedas, misunderstanding and doubt may destroy his intelligence and lead him away from the real meaning of the Vedas. For this reason it is necessary to study the Vedānta-

sūtra, to stregnthen the students's understanding. Performing the duties of āśrama-dharma are also helpful in purifying the heart and understanding the transcendental reality. How the āśrama duties of the brāhmaṇa help in this regard is described in the following statement of Bṛhad- āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.22): tam etaṁ vedānuvacanena brāhmaṇā vividiṣanti yajñena dānena tapasānāśanena "By Vedic study, sacrifice, charity, austerity, and fasting, the brāhmaṇas strive to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead." The usefulness of the brahminical duties such as truthfulness, austerity, and mantra chanting is described in the following scriptural statements: satyena labhayas tapasā hy eṣa ātmā samyak jñānena brahmacaryeṇa nityam "By constant truthfulness, austerity, transcendental knowledge, and austerity, one becomes eligible to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead." —Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.5 japyenaiva ca saṁsiddhyad brāhmaṇā nātra saṁśayaḥ kuryād anyan na vā kuryān maitro brāhmaṇa ucyate "Whether he performs other rituals and duties or not, one who perfectly chants mantras glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be considered a perfect brāhmaṇa, eligible to understand the Supreme Lord." —Manu-saṁhitā 2.87 Association with those who understand the truth also brings one transcendental knowledge. By this association Nārada and many other spiritual aspirants attained interest to ask about spiritual life and were finally eligible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face-to-face. Sanat-kumāra and many other great sages have also helped many devotees by giving their association in this way. The great value of contact with a self-realized soul is described in the following statement of Bhagavad-gītā (4.34): tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth."* The material benefits obtained by following the pious rituals of the karma- kāṇḍa section of the Vedas are all temporary in nature. This fact is confirmed by the following statement of Chāndogya Upaniṣad (8.1.3): tad yatheha karma-cito lokāḥ kṣīyante evam evāmutra puṇya-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate "By performing good works (karma) one is elevated to the celestial material world after death. One is not able to stay there forever, however, but one must lose that position after some time and accept another, less favorable residence. In the same way, by amassing pious credits (puṇya) one may reside in the upper planets. Still, he cannot stay there, but must eventually relinquish his comfortable position there, and accept a less favorable residence somewhere else." The following statement of Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) affirms that only transcendental knowledge will help one approach the Supreme Brahman: parīkṣya lokān karma-citān brāhmaṇo nirvedam ayan nāsty akṛtaḥ kṛtena tad-vijñānārtham sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham "Seeing that the celestial material planets, which one may obtain by pious work, provide only temporary benefits, a brāhmaṇa, in order to understand the truth the of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should humbly approach a bona-fide spiritual master learned in the scriptures and full of faith in the Supreme Lord." In contrast to the temporary material benefits obtained in the celestial material planets, the Supreme Brahman is the reservoir of eternal, limitless bliss. This is confirmed by the following statments of Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.1.1): satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is limitless, eternal, and full of knowledge."

ānando brahmeti vyajānāt "He then understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of transcendental bliss." The Supreme Brahman is eternal, full of knowledge and endowed with all transcendental qualities. This is confirmed by the following statements of Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca "He does not possess bodily form like that of an ordinary living entity. There is no difference between His body and His soul. He is absolute. All his senses are transcendental. Any one of His senses can perform the action of any other sense. Therefore, no one is greater than Him or equal to Him. His potencies are multifarious, and thus His deeds are automatically performed as a natural sequence."* —6.8 sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛc caiva nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca "The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all modes of material nature."* —3.17 bhāva-grahyam anidākhyaṁ bhāvābhāva-karaṁ śivam kāla-sārga-karaṁ devaṁ ye vidus te jahus tanum "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator and destroyer of the entire material cosmic manifestation. He is supremely auspicious, and He does not posesses a material body, for His body is spiritual in all respects. He may be

reached and understood only by loving devotional service. Those who thus serve Him and understand Him may become free from having to repeatedly accept various material bodies for continued residence in the material world. They become liberated from this world, and obtain eternal spiritual bodies with which to serve Him." —5.14 That the Supreme Personality of Godhead grants eternal transcendental bliss to His devotees is confirmed by the following statement of Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (1.5): taṁ pīṭha-sthaṁ ye tu yajanti dhīrās teṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām "The saintly devotees who worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the spiritual world attain eternal transcendental bliss. Except for them no others can attain this eternal bliss." This uselessness of the temporary benefits obtained by following the material piety of the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas will be described in the third chapter of this Vedānta-sūtra. This may be summed up by saying: One who has studied the Vedas, Upavedas, and Upaniṣads, understood them, associated with a self-realized soul, and in this way understood the difference between the temporary and the eternal, who has lost all attraction for the temporary and chosen the eternal, becomes a student of the four chapters of Vedānta-sūtra. It cannot be said that simply by completely studying and understanding the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas one will naturally take up the study of Vedānta- sūtra. They who have studied karma-kāṇḍa but not associated with saintly devotees do not become eager to understand Brahman. On the other hand, they who have not studied karma-kāṇḍa, but who have become purified by association with saintly devotees, naturally become attracted to understand Brahman. Neither can it be said that simply by understanding the difference between the temporary and the eternal, and simply by attaining the four qualities of saintly persons, one will become attracted to understand Brahman. These things are not enough. However, if one attains the association of a self-realized soul and follows his instructions, then these ordinarily difficult-to-attain qualifications are automatically attained at once. Three kinds of persons inquire into the nature of Brahman: 1. Sa-niṣṭha (they who faithfully perform their duties); 2. Pariniṣṭha (they who act philantropically for the benefit of all living entities); and 3. Nirapek\sa (they who are rapt in meditation and aloof from the activities of this world). According to their own respective abilities all these persons understand the nature of Brahman. They become more and more purified, and they eventually attain the association of Brahman. At this point someone may raise the following objection: Is it not so that the words oṁ and atha are auspicious sounds that sprang from Lord Brahmā's throat in ancient times? Is it not also so that these words are traditionally used at the

यहाँ प्रस्तुत पृष्ठ का शुद्ध एवं प्रामाणिक देवनागरी रूपान्तरण (वेदान्त-भाष्य, पूर्वपक्ष, सिद्धान्त, उपनिषद्-श्रुति, सूत्र एवं सुस्पष्ट हिन्दी-अनुवाद सहित) पंक्ति-दर-पंक्ति दिया गया है:

ग्रन्थारम्भे मङ्गलार्थं विघ्नोपशमनार्थं च प्रयुक्तः? अत एवास्मिन् सूत्रे 'अथ'-शब्दस्य न "आनन्तर्यम्" अर्थः, अपि तु केवलं मङ्गलवाचकत्वमेव, न त्वन्योऽर्थः। अत्रोच्यते—नैतद्युक्तम्। वेदान्तसूत्रकर्त्ता भगवान् बादरायणो व्यासः साक्षात्परमेश्वरस्यावतारः, अतस्तस्य न मङ्गलाचरणस्य विघ्नविनाशस्य वा कश्चिदपि प्रयोजनमस्ति। व्यासदेवस्य साक्षात्परमेश्वरत्वं स्मृतिशास्त्रवचनेनापि समर्थितम्— कृष्णद्वैपायनं व्यासं विद्धि नारायणं प्रभुम्। अर्थात्—"भगवान् कृष्णद्वैपायन व्यास को साक्षात् परमप्रभु श्रीनारायण ही जानिए।" तथापि प्राकृता लोका मङ्गलार्थमेव वेदान्तसूत्रे 'अथ' शब्दं प्रयुक्तं मन्येरन्, यथा मङ्गलार्थं शङ्खध्वनिः क्रियते। तस्माद् अस्माभिः पूर्वमेव प्रतिपादितं यत् साधनचतुष्टयसम्पत्त्यनन्तरं ब्रह्मानुसन्धाने जिज्ञासा जायते। अत्र पूर्वपक्षी पुनः प्रत्यवतिष्ठते—'भूमा' अथवा 'ब्रह्म' शब्दः जीवात्मानमपि प्रतिपादयितुं शक्नोति, न केवलं परं ब्रह्मैव। एतद् हि छान्दोग्योपनिषदि स्पष्टम्। अपि च शब्दकोशव्याख्यानानुसारम्—"ब्रह्म" शब्दस्य अर्थः—यद् बृहत्त्वगुणयुक्तम्, ब्राह्मणजातिः, जीवात्मा तथा पद्मविष्टरो ब्रह्मा चेति विधीयते। तस्यास्य पूर्वपक्षस्याक्षेपनिरासार्थं श्रुतिप्रमाणं प्रदर्श्यते— भृगुर्वै वारुणिः वरुणं पितरमुपससार अधीहि भगवो ब्रह्मेति... यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते येन जातानि जीवन्ति यत् प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति तद् ब्रह्म तद् विजिज्ञासस्व॥ (तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद् ३.१) अर्थात्—"वरुणपुत्र भृगु ने अपने पिता वरुण के समीप जाकर निवेदन किया: 'हे भगवन्! मुझे ब्रह्म की शिक्षा दीजिए।' पिता ने कहा: 'जिससे ये समस्त भूत-प्राणी उत्पन्न होते हैं, उत्पन्न होकर जिसके द्वारा जीवन धारण करते हैं और प्रलयकाल में जिसमें विलीन होते हैं—वही ब्रह्म है; उसी को जानने की इच्छा करो।'" अत्र कश्चित् संशयी भवेत्—"अस्मिन् वेदान्तसूत्रे 'ब्रह्म' शब्दः जीवात्मानं प्रतिपादयति अथवा परमपुरुषं परमेश्वरम्?" पूर्वपक्षी हि स्वीयपक्षपोषणार्थं 'ब्रह्म' शब्दस्य जीवात्मवाचकत्वं प्रदर्शयितुं तैत्तिरीयोपनिषदः (२.५) वचनमुदाहरति—

॥ तैत्तिरीयोपनिषत् (२.५.१) ॥ विज्ञानं ब्रह्म चेद् वेद तस्माच्चेन्न प्रमाद्यति। शरीरे पाप्मनो हित्वा सर्वान् कामान् समश्नुते॥ (अनुवाद:) "यदि कोई शरीर में स्थित उस ब्रह्म के यथार्थ स्वरूप को जान लेता है जो भौतिक जगत् की प्रतीति के लिए शारीरिक इन्द्रियों का प्रयोग करता है, तो ऐसा ब्रह्मविद् कभी प्रमादग्रस्त या मोहग्रस्त नहीं होता। शरीरस्थ ब्रह्म का ऐसा ज्ञाता समस्त पापकर्मों का त्याग कर देता है, तथा मृत्यु के समय शरीर को त्यागकर उस परम पद को प्राप्त करता है जहाँ उसकी समस्त कामनाएँ युगपत् परिपूर्ण हो जाती हैं।" (पूर्वपक्ष एवं सिद्धान्त-अवतरणिका:) यहाँ पूर्वपक्षी यह आक्षेप कर सकता है कि इस प्रकार 'ब्रह्म' शब्द का अर्थ व्यष्टि जीवात्मा ही स्वीकार किया जाना चाहिए। इस मिथ्या धारणा का खण्डन करने हेतु, श्रील व्यासदेव आगामी सूत्र में परब्रह्म के वास्तविक स्वरूप और असाधारण लक्षण का निरूपण करते हैं। ॥ अधिकरणम् २ : जन्माद्यधिकरणम् (सर्वकारणत्व-निरूपणम्) ॥ ॥ ब्रह्मसूत्रम् २ ॥ जन्माद्यस्य यतः ॥ २ ॥ पदच्छेद एवं शब्दार्थ: जन्म-आदि — सृष्टि (उत्पत्ति), स्थिति (पालन) तथा लय (प्रलय); अस्य — इस (प्रत्यक्ष दृश्यमान चतुर्दशभुवनात्मक जगत्) का; यतः — जिससे (जिस परम कारण से सम्पादित होता है)। सूत्रार्थ: परब्रह्म वह परम तत्त्व हैं, जिनसे इस सम्पूर्ण जगत् की उत्पत्ति, स्थिति तथा प्रलय होते हैं।* ॥ श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण विरचित गोविन्दभाष्य-तात्पर्यम् ॥ यहाँ 'जन्मादि' पद 'तद्गुणसंविज्ञान-बहुव्रीहि-समास' है, जिसका अर्थ "सृष्टि, स्थिति एवं प्रलय" समझना चाहिए। सूत्र में 'अस्य' पद का अर्थ है — "यह चतुर्दश भुवनात्मक भौतिक जगत्, जिसमें ब्रह्मा से लेकर क्षुद्रतम तृण-गुल्म पर्यन्त विविध योनियों के जीव वास करते हैं, जो सभी अपने-अपने विविध सकाम कर्मों (कर्मफल) के सुख तथा दुःख का भोग करते हैं, तथा जो इस जगत् की आश्चर्यजनक एवं अचिन्त्य रचना को बुद्धि द्वारा समझने में सर्वथा असमर्थ हैं।"

the universe where they live." The word yataḥ means "from whom", and it refers to the Supreme Brahman who manifested the universe from His inconceivable potency. This is the Brahman about whom one should inquire. The words bhūma and ātmā both mean "all pervading". These words refer primarily to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will be elaborately explained in the Bhūmādhikaraṇa (1.3.7) and Vākyānvayādhikaraṇa (1.4.19). The word "Brahman" in particular means "He who possesses boundless exalted qualitites." Brahman, then, refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and this is clearly confirmed in the following words of śruti-śāstra: atha kasmād ucyate brahmeti bṛhanto by asmin guṇāḥ "From whom has this universe become manifest? From Brahman, who possesses an abundance of exalted transcendental qualities." Brahman primarily refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and only secondarily to the individual spirit souls, who manifest in small degree the spiritual qualitites of the Supreme Lord. In this way the individual spirit souls may be called Brahman, just as the royal title may be given not only to the king, but also to his associates and subordinates. Therefore, the individual spirit souls, who are all suffering the three-fold miseries of material life, should, in order to attain ultimate liberation, inquire about the Supreme Brahman, who is very merciful towards whose who take shelter of Him. For these reasons it should be understood that the Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead is the object of inquiry in this Vedānta-sūtra. This is not an imaginary description of Brahman's qualities. This is the truth about Brahman. The word jijñāsā means "the desire to know." Knowledge is of two kinds: 1. Parokṣa (knowledge gathered from sources other than the senses e.g. logic, knowledge obtained from authority, etc.) and 2. Aparokṣa (knowledge gathered by the senses). An example of these two kinds of knowledge may be seen in the following quotation from the śruti-śāstra: vijñāya prajñāṁ kurvīta "After learning about the Supreme Personality of Godhead one should become able to directly see Him in the trance of meditation." Parokṣa knowledge helps bring us closer to the Supreme Brahman, and aparokṣa knowledge manifests the Supreme Lord before us. If one understands his real identity as spirit soul, that is certainly very helpful in understanding Brahman, but that does not mean that the individual soul is the same as Brahman. The individual spirit soul is always different from Brahman, and even after liberation He remains eternally different from the Supreme Brahman. The difference between the individual soul and Brahman is described in sūtras

1.1.16, 1.1.17, 1.3.5, 1.3.21, and 1.3.41. The Vedic literature gives the following guidelines for the interpretation of obscure passages: upakramopasaṁhārāv abhyāso 'pūrvatā-phalam artha-vādopapattī ca liṅgaṁ tātparya-nirṇaye "The upakrama (beginning), upasaṁhāra (ending), abhyāsa (what is repeated again and again), apūrvatā (what is unique and novel), phalam (the general purpose of the book), artha-vāda (the author's statement of his own intention), and upapatti (appropriateness) are the factors to consider in interpretation of obscure passages." If we apply these criteria to the śruti-śāstra, we will clearly see that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the individual spirit soul are described here as two distinct entities. Let us analyze the following passage from Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.6-7) in the light of these six criteria. dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo 'bhicakāśīti "The individual spirit-soul and the Supersoul, Personality of Godhead, are like two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree (the sense-gratification afforded to the material body), and the other bird (the Supersoul) is not trying to eat these fruits, but is simply watching His friend. samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno 'nīśāya śocati muhyamānaḥ juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyati anyam īśam asya mahimānam iti vīta-śokaḥ "Although the two birds are on the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories, at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties." In this passage the upakrama (beginning) is dvā suparṇā (two birds); the

वेदान्त-दर्शनम् — ब्रह्मसूत्र-गोविन्दभाष्यम्

प्रथमोध्यायः — प्रथमः पादः

द्वितीयाधिकरणम् (जन्माद्यधिकरणम् — उपसंहारः)

षड्विध-तात्पर्य-लिङ्ग-समन्वयः (श्रुति-सिद्धान्तः) [मूल संस्कृत भाष्यम्] उपसंहारोऽप्यन्यमीशमिति। अभ्यासश्च 'तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति' तथा 'अन्यमीशं पश्यति' इति। अपूर्वता च श्रुत्येकगम्यः सर्वज्ञ-परमेश्वर-जीवयोर्भेदः। फलं च 'वीतशोकः' इति मोक्षप्राप्तिः। अर्थवादश्च 'महिमानमेति' इति भगवन्महिमानुभवः। उपपत्तिश्च 'अन्योऽनश्नन्' इति भोक्तृत्व-अभोक्तृत्व-वैलक्षण्यम्। अनेन श्रुत्यन्तरेण च परस्माद् ब्रह्मणो जीवस्य भेदः स्फुटः। [हिन्दी अनुवाद] यहाँ षड्विध तात्पर्य-लिङ्गों के द्वारा जीव और ब्रह्म का भेद स्पष्ट किया गया है: १. उपसंहार — श्रुति का उपसंहार 'अन्यमीशम्' (परमेश्वर अन्य हैं) पद से होता है। २. अभ्यास — 'तयोरन्यः' (उन दोनों में अन्य) तथा 'अन्यमीशम्' (अन्य परमेश्वर को देखता है) पदों का बारम्बार अभ्यास है। ३. अपूर्वता — केवल वेदों द्वारा ही ज्ञेय सर्वज्ञ ईश्वर तथा अल्पज्ञ जीव का नित्य भेद प्रतिपादित है। ४. फल — 'वीतशोकः' अर्थात् ईश्वर के साक्षात्कार से जीव का समस्त शोकों से मुक्त हो जाना ही फल है। ५. अर्थवाद — 'महिमानमेति' अर्थात् परमेश्वर के ऐश्वर्य एवं महिमा की स्तुति करना अर्थवाद है। ६. उपपत्ति — 'अन्योऽनश्नन्' अर्थात् कर्मफल-भोग से रहित साक्षी रूप में ईश्वर की सिद्धि होना उपपत्ति (तर्क) है। इस प्रकार इस श्रुति तथा अन्य वैदिक वचनों से परम पुरुषोत्तम भगवान् और जीवात्मा का स्पष्ट भेद सिद्ध होता है। पूर्वपक्षः (अद्वैत-शङ्का) [मूल संस्कृतम्] ननु ज्ञातज्ञापकं शास्त्रमप्रमाणमिति लोकसिद्धभेदस्य न श्रुतिप्रतिपाद्यत्वम्, अलोकसिद्धमभेदमेव श्रुतिर्बोधयतीति स एवाभिप्रेत इति चेत्? [हिन्दी अनुवाद] पूर्वपक्षी का आक्षेप: क्या यह सत्य नहीं है कि शास्त्र अज्ञात विषय का ज्ञापक होने पर ही प्रमाण होता है? जो बात लोक में पहले से सिद्ध हो, उसका निरूपण करना व्यर्थ है। संसार में सभी लोग जीव और ब्रह्म का भेद स्वाभाविक रूप से जानते ही हैं, अतः शास्त्र को अज्ञात अभेद की ही शिक्षा देनी चाहिए। इसलिए जीव और ब्रह्म का पूर्ण अभेद ही श्रुति का वास्तविक तात्पर्य होना चाहिए। सिद्धान्तः (श्रीगोविन्दभाष्यम्) [मूल संस्कृतम्] मैवम्; श्रुतिविरोधात्। तथा हि श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषदि (१.६) — 'पृथगात्मानं प्रेरितारं च मत्वा जुष्टस्ततस्तेनामृतत्वमेति।' [श्रुत्यर्थः एवं व्याख्या] 'जीवात्मा अपने को नियामक (प्रेरयिता) परमेश्वर से पृथक् (भिन्न) जानकर तथा उनसे सेवित व सन्तुष्ट होकर ही अमृतत्व (मोक्ष) को प्राप्त होता है।' [मूल संस्कृतम्] अभेदस्य चानुभूत्यभावेन शशशृङ्गतुल्यत्वेनालोकसिद्धत्वात्। लोकाप्रतीतेश्च न तादृश-कल्पना युक्ता। ये चामूष्वभेदपरा वादास्तेऽपि बादरायणेन साक्षादविरोधे निरसिष्यन्ते (सूत्र १.१.३०)। [हिन्दी अनुवाद] यह पूर्वपक्षीय विचार वैदिक श्रुतियों के प्रत्यक्ष विरुद्ध होने के कारण सर्वथा त्याज्य है। जीव और ब्रह्म की आत्यन्तिक एकता की अनुभूति किसी को भी नहीं होती; यह तो खरगोश के सींग (शश-शृङ्ग) के समान सर्वथा असत् एवं अवास्तविक कल्पना है। सामान्य जन भी इसे कभी स्वीकार नहीं करते। उपनिषदों में जहाँ कहीं अभेद-प्रतिपादक वाक्य आते हैं, उनका व्यक्तिगत (सविशेष) तात्पर्य सूत्रकार महर्षि वेदव्यास जी स्वयं आगे चलकर सूत्र १.१.३० में स्पष्ट करेंगे।

तृतीयाधिकरणम् — शास्त्रयोनित्वाधिकरणम्

अधिकरण-प्रतिपाद्य-विषयः परमेश्वरस्य सर्वज्ञत्वं वेदैकगम्यत्वं च। (परम पुरुषोत्तम भगवान् केवल वैदिक शास्त्रों के द्वारा ही जाने जाते हैं।) ब्रह्मसूत्रम् — १.१.३ शास्त्रयोनित्वात् ॥ ३ ॥ [पदच्छेदः] शास्त्र — योनित्वात् (हेतौ पञ्चमी)। [सूत्रार्थः] शास्त्र (ऋग्वेदादि सकल वेद) की योनि (कारण अथवा प्रमाण) होने के कारण ब्रह्म सर्वज्ञ और जगत्कारण सिद्ध होता है; अथवा समस्त शास्त्रों के एकमात्र प्रमाणगम्य (योनि) होने से ब्रह्म शास्त्रैकगम्य है।

1. Viṣaya (Statement): The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the creator, maintainer and destroyer of the material universes. Because He is inconceivable to the tiny brains of the conditioned souls He must be understood by the revelation of Vedānta philosophy. This is confirmed by the following statements of the Upaniṣads: sac-cid-ānanda-rūpāya kṛṣṇāyākliṣṭa-kāriṇe namo vedānta-vedyāya gurave buddhi-sākṣiṇe Oṁ namaḥ. I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, who is the rescuer from distress, who is understood by Vedānta, who is the supreme spiritual master, and who is the witness in everyone's heart. —Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad taṁ tv aupaniṣadaṁ puruṣaṁ pṛcchāmi "I shall now inquire about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is revealed in the Upaniṣads." —Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.9.26
2. Saṁśaya (doubt): What is the best method for understanding supremely worshipable Lord Hari: the mental speculation of the logicians, or the revelation of the Vedānta scriptures?
3. Pūrvapakṣa (the argument of the philosophical opposition): The sage Gautama (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.5) and others maintain that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood by the speculations of the logicians.
4. Siddhānta (the conclusion): In the Vedānta-sūtra, Śrīla Vyāsadeva explains that scriptural revelation is the real way to understand the Supreme Brahman. He says: Sūtra 3 śāstra-yonitvāt śāstra—the scriptures; yonitvāt—because of being the origin of knowledge.

(The speculations of the logicians are unable to teach us about Supreme Personality of Godhead) because He may only be known by the revelation of the Vedic scriptures. Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa In this sūtra the word "not" should be understood, even though it is not expressed. They who aspire after liberation are not able to understand the Personality of Godhead simply by logic and speculation. Why? Because He is known only by the revelation of the Vedic scriptures. Among the Vedic scriptures, the Upaniṣads especially describe the Supreme Person. For this reason it is said aupaniṣadaṁ puruṣam (the Supreme Person is undertood through the revelation of the Upaniṣads). The process of logic and speculation as described by the word mantavya (to be understood by logic) as described in Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.5) should be employed to understand the revelation of the scriptures and not independently. This is confirmed by the following statement of śruti-śāstra: pūrvāpara-virodhena ko 'rtho 'trābhimato bhavet ity ādyam ūhanaṁ tarkaḥ śuṣka-tarkaṁ vivarjayet "Logic is properly employed to resove apparent contradictions in the texts of the Vedas. Dry logic, without reference to scriptural revelation, should be abandoned." For this reason the dry logic of Gautama and others should be rejected. This is also confired in sūtra 2.1.11. After understanding the Supreme Person by study of the Upaniṣads, one should become rapt in meditation on Him. This will be explained later insūtra 2.1.27. The Supreme Lord, Hari, is identical with His own transcendental form. He and His form are not two separate identities. He is the witness of all living entities, He is the resting place of a host of transcendental qualitities, He is the creator of the material universes, and He remains unchanged eternally. By hearing about His transcendental glories, one may worship Him perfectly. At this point someone may raise the following objection: The Vedānta philosophy does not give either positive orders or negative prohibitions, but simply descriptions, as the sentence "On the earth there are seven continents." Men need instruction in how to act. Therefore, what is needed is a series of orders to guide men. Men need orders, such as the ordinary orders. "A man desiring wealth should approach the king," or "One suffering from indigestion should restrict his intake of water," or the orders of the Vedas: svarga- kāmo yajeta (One desiring to enter the celestial material planets should worship

the demigods), or surām na pibet (No one should drink wine). The Upaniṣads do not give us a string of orders and prohibitions, but merely a description of the eternally perfect Brahman. for example the Upaniṣads tell us satyam jñānam (The Supreme Personality of Godhead is truth and knowledge). This is of small help in the matter of orders and prohibitions. Sometimes the Upaniṣads' descriptions may be a little useful, as for example when they describe a certain demigod, the description may be useful when one performs a sacrifice to that demigod, but otherwise these descriptions afford us little practical beneifit, and are more or less useless. This is confirmed by the following statements of Jaimini Muni. āmnāyasya kriyārthatvād anārthakhyam atad-arthanam "The scriptures teach us pious duties. Any scriptural passage that does not teach us our duty is a senseless waste of our time." —Pūrva-mīmāṁsā 1.2.1 tad-bhūtānāṁ kriyārthena samāmnāyo 'rthasya tan-nimittatvāt "Just as a verb gives meaning to a sentence, in the same way instructions for action give meaning to the statements of the scriptures." —Pūrva-mīmāṁsā 1.1.25 To this objection I reply: Do not be bewildered. Even though the Upaniṣads do not give us a series of orders and prohibitions, still they teach us about the Supreme Brahman, the most important and valuable object to be attained by any living entitiy. Just as if in your house there were hidden treasure, and a description of its location were spoken to you, those words would not be useless simply because they were a description. In the same way the Upaniṣads' description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the greatest treasure to be attained by any living being, whose form is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss, who is perfect and beyond any criticism, who is the friend of all living entities, the Supreme Lord who is so kind that He gives Himself to His devotees, and the supreme whole of all existance, of whom I am a tiny part, is not useless, but of great value to the conditioned soul. The descriptions of the Supreme Brahman in the Upaniṣads are valuable, just as the description "your son is now born" is useful and a source of great joy, and the decription "This is not a snake, but only a rope partly seen in the darkness," is also useful and a great relief from fear. The specific benefit attained by understanding the Supreme Brahman are described in the following statement of Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.1): satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ so 'śnute sarvān kāmān

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is limitless. He is transcendental knowledge, and He is the eternal transcendental reality. He is present in everyone's heart. One who properly understands Him becomes blessed and all his desires are completely fulfilled." No one can say that the Upaniṣads teach about ordinary fruitive action (karma). Rather, one may say that the Upaniṣads teach one to give up all material, fruitive work. No one can say that the Upaniṣads describe anything other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original creator, maintainer, and destroyer of all the universes, whose spiritual form is eternal, who is a great ocean of unlimited auspicious transcendental qualitities, and who is the resting-place of the goddess of fortune. Jaimini's description of the importance of karma, therefore, has no bearing on the Upaniṣads. In fact Jaimini was a faithful devotee of the Lord, and his apparent criticisms (in the two quotations presented above) of the Vedic texts that do not encourage fruitive work (karma) with sufficient enthusiasm, are his hint to us that there is more that pious fruitive work in the instructions of the Vedas. In this way it may be understood that the Supreme Brahman is the subject-matter described in the Vedic scriptures. Adhikaraṇa 4 This is Confirmed by the Vedic scriptures

1. Viṣaya (statement): That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is described in all Vedic scriptures is described in the following scriptural quotations: yo 'su sarvair vedair gīyate "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is glorified by all the Vedas." —Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad sarve vedā yat-padam āmananti "All the Vedas describe the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." —Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.15
2. Saṁśaya (doubt): Lord Viṣṇu is the subject-matter described in all the Vedas. Is this statement true or false?
3. Pūrvapakṣa (the argument of our philosophical opponent): It is not true that the Vedas teach only about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually the Vedas mainly describe various fruitive karma-kāṇḍa sacrifices, such as the karīrī-

वृष्टि हेतु यज्ञ, पुत्र प्राप्ति के लिए पुत्रकामेष्टि-यज्ञ, तथा दिव्य भौतिक लोकों (स्वर्गलोक) के गमन हेतु ज्योतिष्टोम-यज्ञ हैं। इस कारण यह कहना सम्भव नहीं है कि वेदों में एकमात्र भगवान् विष्णु ही प्रतिपाद्य विषय हैं। ४. सिद्धान्त (यथार्थ निष्कर्ष): व्यासदेव निम्नलिखित सूत्र में इन आक्षेपों का उत्तर देते हैं: सूत्र ४ तत्तु समन्वयात् ॥ तत् — यह तथ्य; तु — किन्तु; समन्वयात् — समस्त वैदिक शास्त्रों के समन्वय (एकवाक्यता) से। किन्तु यह तथ्य (कि भगवान् विष्णु ही वेदों के एकमात्र प्रतिपाद्य विषय हैं) समस्त शास्त्रों द्वारा पुष्ट (प्रमाणित) होता है। श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण कृत तात्पर्य: इस सूत्र में 'तु' (किन्तु) शब्द का प्रयोग पूर्वोक्त विपक्षी तर्क के खण्डन हेतु किया गया है। यह कहना सर्वथा उचित है कि समस्त वेदों में एकमात्र भगवान् विष्णु ही मुख्य प्रतिपाद्य विषय हैं। क्यों? उत्तर है: 'समन्वयात्' (क्योंकि शास्त्र स्वयं हमें इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुँचाते हैं)। 'अन्वय' शब्द का अर्थ है "वास्तविक अर्थ का अवबोध", तथा 'समन्वय' शब्द का अर्थ है "गहन विचार-विमर्श के पश्चात् सम्यक् अवबोध"। जब हम व्याख्या के उपर्युक्त नियमों (उपक्रम एवं उपसंहार आदि षड्विध लिङ्गों) को वेदों के मन्त्रों पर घटाते हैं, तो हम इसी निष्कर्ष पर पहुँचते हैं कि समस्त वेदों में भगवान् विष्णु ही एकमात्र प्रतिपाद्य विषय हैं। यदि ऐसा न होता, तो गोपालतापनी उपनिषद् यह क्यों कहती कि भगवान् विष्णु ही समस्त वेदों द्वारा महिमान्वित हैं? इसकी पुष्टि स्वयं कमलनयन परम पुरुषोत्तम भगवान् ने भी की है, जो कहते हैं: वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् । "समस्त वेदों द्वारा मैं ही जानने योग्य (वेद्य) हूँ। वस्तुतः मैं ही वेदान्त का कर्ता और वेदों का यथार्थ ज्ञाता हूँ।" — भगवद्गीता १५.१५

kiṁ vidhatte kiṁ ācaṣṭe kiṁ anūdya vikalpayet ity asyā hṛdayaṁ loke nānyo mad veda kaścana māṁ vidhatte 'bhidhatte māṁ vikalpyāpohyate hy aham "What is the direction of all Vedic literatures? On whom do they set focus? Who is the purpose of all speculation? Outside of Me no one knows these things. Now you should know that all these activities are aimed at ordaining and setting forth Me. The purpose of Vedic literature is to know Me by different speculations, either by indirect understanding or by dictionary understanding. Everyone is speculating about Me."* —Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.21.42-43) The Vedic literatures also state: sākṣāt-paramparābhyāṁ veda brahmaṇi pravartate "Either directly or indirectly, the Vedas describe Brahman." In the jñāna-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas {.fn 1} the transcendental forms and qualitities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are directly described, and in the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas the Lord is indirectly described in the discussion of fruitive action and various divisions of material knowledge That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the sole topic of discussion in the Vedas is also confirmed by the following scriptural passages: taṁ tv aupaniṣadaṁ puruṣaṁ pṛcchāmi "I shall now ask about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described in the Upaniṣads." —Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (9.21) tam etaṁ vedānuvacanena brāhmaṇa vividiśanti "Brāhmaṇas study the Vedas to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead." —Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.22)