Sutra 1
dyu-bhv-ady-ayatanam sva-cabdat
dyu - of heaven; bhv - and earth; adi - beginning with; ayatanam - the abode; sva - own; cabdat -because of the word.
The description "the abode of heaven, earth, and other things," refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the words in this passage specifically describe Him. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "the abode of heaven" here refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Why? The sutra says 2}sva-cabdat (because the words in this passage specifically describe Him). The Supreme Personality of Godhead is referred to here because the word amrtasya setuh (the shore of the eternal) can refer to Him alone and no one else. Because it comes from the verb sinoti, which means "to bind," the phrase amrtasya setuh means "He who enables one to attain the eternal." Or the word 2}setuh here may mean "like a bridge." As a bridge enables on to cross to the other side of rivers and other bodies of water, in the same way this bridge enables one to attain the liberation that lies on the other shore of the cycle of repeated birth and death. That is the meaning of this word. In this matter the Svetasvatara Upanisad (3.8 and 6.15) says 2}tam eva viditvati mrtyum eti (One can overcome the path of birth and death only by understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead). Next he says:
Sutra 2
mukta - liberated; upasrpya - attaining; 2} vyapadecat - because of the statement.
Because it is said that this abode of heaven is attained by the liberated souls. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
That the Supreme Personality of Giodhead is attained by the liberated souls is described in the following statement of 2}Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.3):
yada pacyah pacyate rukma-varnam
kartaram icam purusam brahma-yonim tada vidvan punya-pape vidhuya niraYjanah paramam samyam upaiti
"One who sees that golden-colored Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Lord, the supreme actor, who is the source of the Supreme Brahman, becomes free from the reactions to past pious and sinful deeds, and becomes liberated, attaining the same transcendental platform as the Lord."*
Sutra 3
nanumanam atac-chabdat
na - not; anumanam - that which is inferred; 2} atat - not that; cabdat - because of a word.
The "pradhana" is not the "abode of heaven and earth" here because there is no word appropriate to it in this passage.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The pradhana described in the smrti- sastras is not referred to in this passage. Why? The 2}sutra says atac-chabdat, which means that none of the words in this passage are appropriate for the insentient pradhana.
Sutra 4
prana-bhrc ca
prana-bhrt - the jiva ca - and.
For the same reason the "jiva" is not the "abode of heaven and earth." Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word na (not) and the phrase giving the reason (tac-chabdat) should be understood here from the previous sutra. The word atma here also cannot be understood to be the jiva because the word atma, because it is derived from the verb atati (to go), must primarily refer to the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word 2}sarva-vit (all-knowing) also cannot refer to the 2}jiva. For these reasons, because the words in this passage of the Upanisad are not appropriate for such an interpretation, he says that the jiva cannot be the "abode of heaven and earth" mentioned here.
Sutra 5
bheda-vyapadecac ca
bheda - difference; vyapadecat - because of the description; ca - and. And also because the difference between them is specifically described. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The jiva is not the "abode of heaven and earth" because the scriptures affirm that the jiva and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are different, as explained in the Mundaka Upanisad (2.2.5) in the words tam evaikam janathatmanam (Know Him to be the only Supreme Lord).
Sutra 6
prakaranat
prakaranat - because of the context.
And also because of the context.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The "abode of heaven and earth" here must be the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of the context. The opening statement of this passage under discussion (Mundaka Upanisad (1.1.3)), asks kasmin nu vijYate sarvam idam vijYatam bhavati (What is the one thing, knowing which everything becomes known?). Therefore the passage that follows must describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Sutra 7
sthity-adanabhyam ca
sthiti - staying; adanabhyam - eating; ca - and. And also because one is eating and the other standing. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
After describing the "abode of heaven and earth," the 2}Mundaka Upanisad (3.1.1) says: dva suparna sayuja sakhaya
samanam vrksam parisasvajate tayor anyah pippalam svady atti anacnann anyo 'bhicakaciti
"Two friendly birds stay on the same tree. One eats the sweet pippala fruits and the other, not eating, shines with great splendor."
If the "abode of heaven and earth" had not been previously mentioned then (there would be) no (reason to assume) that the splendid bird here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise (if the "abode of heaven and earth" had not been mentioned), the sudden, unannounced mention of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (in this little allegory of the birds) would not be acceptable. The jiva, who is already well known in the world, did not need to have been previously mentioned in the same way here. For these reasosn the "abode of heaven and earth" here refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Adhikarana 2
The Fullness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Visaya: When, after describing the Lord's holy names and qualities, he was asked a question by Cri Narada Muni, Cri Sanat-kumara said (Chandogya Upanisad 7.23.1- 7.24.1):
bhuma tv eva vijijYasitavya iti bhumanam bhagavo vijijYasa iti. yatra nanyat pacyati nanyac chrnoti nanyad vij anati sa bhuma. atha yatranyat pacyaty anyac chrnoty anyad vij anati tad-alpam
"'One should ask about Bhuma.' 'My lord, I wish to know about Bhuma.' 'When one attains Him one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, and knows nothing else. That is Bhuma. When one sees something else, hears something else, and knows something else, he knows that which is very small.'"
Here the word bhuma does not mean {.sy 168}many." Here it means "all-pervading." The text says yatranyat pacyati. . .tad-alpam (When one sees something else, he sees that which is very small). The Bhuma is contrasted against alpa (the small. The opposite of small is "all-pervading," not "many." Therefore Bhuma here means "all-pervading."
Samcaya: Does Bhuma here mean prana 1} (life-breath) or Lord Visnu? Purvapaksa: In the passage previous to this the Chandogya Upanisad (7.15.1) says prano va acaya bhuyan (prana is better than hope). Because prana is the topic immediately preceding Bhuma, and because no question and answer intervenes between them, therefore prana and Bhuma are the same. here the word prana (life-breath) means the 2}jiva soul who has breath for his companion. It does not mean merely air. Because this passage begins by describing the jiva soul (7.1.3) tarati cokam atma-vit 1} (He who knows the soul crosses beyond grief) and ends by again describing the jiva soul (7.26.1) atmana evedam sarvam (The soul is everything), therefore the description of Bhuma situated between these two statements must be a description of the jiva soul. When the 2}Upanisad says (7.25.1) yatra nanyat pacyati 1} (When one attains Him one sees nothing else), it means, in this interpretation, that when the jiva is rapt in deep sleep and his senses are all in the grip of prana 1}, he cannot see anything beyond himself. When the 2}Upanisad says (7.23.1) yo vai bhuma tat sukham (the Bhuma is bliss) it does not contradict the idea that the Bhuma is the jiva here because the sruti-sastra says tasyam sukham aham asvapsam (I slept very happily). In this way it is proved that this passage of the Upanisad describes the jiva soul. All the other portions of this passage are also very favorable to this interpretation of the 2}jiva. Siddhanta: He says:
Sutra 8
bhuma samprasadad adhyupadecat
bhuma - the Bhuma; samprasadat - than the 2}jiva, who is the object of the Lord's mercy; 2} adhi - greater; upadecat - because of the teaching.
(The Bhuma here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead) because of the scriptural teaching that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jiva soul.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The Bhuma here is Lord Visnu and not the jiva, who has prana (life-breath) as his companion. Why? The sutra says samprasadad adhy upadecat 1} (because of the scriptural teaching that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jiva soul). The Bhuma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the passage here in the words (Chandogya Upanisad 7.23.1) yo vai bhuma tat sukham (the Bhuma is bliss) says that the Bhuma is full of great bliss, and because the sutra here says that the Bhuma is superior to all. Or the Bhuma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Chandogya Upanisad (8.3.4) in the words 2}esa samprasado 'smac charirat samutthaya (The 2}jiva who has attained the mercy of the Lord rises above the gross material body and attains the effulgent spiritual world) says that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is superior to the jiva, who is dependent on the Lord's mercy, and who has prana (life-breath) as his companion.
The meaning is this: After describing names and a host of other things, the Chandogya Upanisad (7.15.2) says 2}sa va esa evam pacyan evam manvana evam vijanann ati-vadi bhavati (He who sees prana, meditates on prana, and understands prana becomes a true knower of things), and then after saying that the knower of prana becomes a true knower of things, the 2}Upanisad then says (7.16.1) esa tu va ativadati yah satyenativadati (He who knows the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in reality the true knower of things). The word tu (but) here ends the discussion of 2}prana. Then the greatest ativadi (wise man) is described as he who knows the satya, which here means "Lord Visnu." In this way the Upanisad explains that the Bhuma is both different from and superior to prana. Because in this way the Bhuma is declared to be superior to prana, prana cannot be identical with the Bhuma. The Bhuma is here taught to be superior to the series beginning with name and culminating in 2}prana and therefore it is clearly seen to be different from speech and the other items in this series. In this way the Bhuma is taught to be superior to prana. The word satya is famous as a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu. The scriptures use the word satya in this way. For example, the 2}Taittiriya Upanisad (2.1.2) says satyam j{.sy 241}anam anantam (the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of transcendental knowledge) and the 2}Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1) says satyam param dhimahi (I meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The word satyena is in the instrumental case to show in the sense of "because." The meaning here is that one becomes an ativadi (wise man) because of the satya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The person who meditates on prana is called an 2}ativadi (wise man) because he is wise in comparison to they who meditate on the series of objects mentioned previously, beginning with prana and culminating in hope. But he who meditates on Lord Visnu is superior to the person who meditates on prana. Therefore he who meditates on Lord Visnu is the real, the best ativadi (wise man).
For this reason the student asks (Chandogya Upanisad (7.16.1) so 'ham bhagavah satyenativadani (my lord, I will become a man wise with knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The 2}guru
then answers satyam tv eva vij ij{.sy 241}asitavyam (one must yearn to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead).
The objection that because after the description of the ativadi wise with knowledge of prana there are no further questions and answers, therefore the subject of prana continues into the next sentence, is not a valid objection. Moreover, (it may be said,) because there are no questions after the description of prana, (therefore prana is the highest). In describing the series of inanimate elements, beginning with name and culminating in hope, the guru 1} did not say that the knower of any of these was an 2}ativadi (wise man). However, when he described 2}prana, which here means the jiva, he did say that the knower of prana is an 2}ativadi. The student then assumes that prana 1} is the highest. That is why he asks no further question. The guru, however, not accepting prana as the highest, proceeds to explain that Lord Visnu is higher than prana. The student, however, now taught that Lord Visnu is the highest, becomes eager to know how to meditate on Him, and asks so 'ham bhagavah satyenativadani (my lord, I will become a man wise with knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead). The opponent may say, "What is referred to here is the jiva, who is the companion of 2}prana (life-breath), and who is referred to in the beginning of this passage as atma."
The reply is: No. Here the word atma primarily means the Supreme Personality of Godhead because to interpret the word otherwise would contradict the statement at the beginning of the passage (7.26.1) atmanah pranah (from the atma 1} prana is manifested). This view of the opponent contradicts the statement (7.24.1) yatra nanyat pacyati nanyac chrnoti nanyad vijanati sa bhuma. (When one attains Him one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, and knows nothing else. That is Bhuma). This description of the perception of Bhuma clearly refutes any idea that the word Bhuma could mean anything other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The scriptures say sausuptikam sukham alpam (the happiness of deep sleep is very slight), and therefore to say that the word Bhuma here means "the jiva who is soundly sleeping" is simply laughable. For all these reasons, therefore, the Bhuma described here is Lord Visnu.