Sutra 14
jyotir-ady-adhisthanam tu tad amananat
jyotih - effulgence; ady-adhisthanam - the supreme ruler; tu - indeed; tat - that; amananat -because of the description.
Indeed, light is the controller, because that is the description.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "tu" (indeed" is used here to dispel doubt. The word "jyotih" (light) here means "the Supreme Personality of Godhead". He is the mover (adhisthanam) of the pranas. The affix lyut in the word {.sy 168}adhisthanam" makes it mean "the mover". Why is the Supreme Personality of Godhead the mover of the pranas? TheSutra explains: "Because that is the description". This means "Because it is understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the all-pervading Supersoul, moves the pranas and senses. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.7.16) it is said:
yah pranesu tisthan
"The Supersoul stays in the midst of the pranas and moves them."
That the demigods and the individual spirit soul may also move the pranas is not disputed here, but the pranas cannot move themselves, for they are only inert matter.
Hoping to enjoy, the individual spirit soul also moves the pranas. That is described in the next
sutra. Sutra 15
pranavata cabdat
pranavata - by the person who possesses the pranas; cabdat - because of the Sruti-sastra. By the person who possesses the pranas, because of the Sruti-sastra. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "pranavata" (the person who possesses the pranas) refers here to the individual spirit soul. Hoping to enjoy, the spirit soul moves the pranas and senses. Why is that? The sutra explains: "cabdat" (because of the Sruti- sastra). In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (2.1.18) it is said:
sa yatha maha-rajo janaPadan grhitva sve janapade yatha- kamam parivartate evam evaisa etat pranan grhitva sve carire yatha-kamam parivartate.
"As a great king rules the subjects in his kingdom, so the individual spirit soul rules the pranas in his body."
This is the gist of the matter: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme ruler of the pranas and the demigods and the individual spirit soul also rule the senses. The former (the demigods) rule the pranas and senses by enabling them to act, and the latter (the individual spirit souls) rule the pranas and senses with the hope of attaining enjoyment. By exerting their wills, the individual souls thus move the pranas.
There is no alternative to this description. This the author of the sutras explains in the following
words. Sutra 16
tasya ca nityatvat
tasya - of this; ca - and; nityatvat - because of eternality. Because this is eternal. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Because He has an eternal relationship with them, the all- powerful Supersoul is the actual controller and mover of them. He should be considered the primary mover and controller. This is confirmed in the words of the Antaryami-brahmana (Brhad- aranyaka Upanisad 3.7). .pa
Adhikarana 11
The Principal Prana Is Not a Sense
Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana In this subject another doubt is raised.
Samcaya (doubt): Are the principal prana and the other pranas also senses?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): Because they assist the individual spirit soul, all the pranas are considered to be senses.
Siddhanta (conclusion): In the following words the author of the sutras gives His conclusion.
Sutra 17
ta indriyani tad vyapadecad anyatra cresthat
te - they; indriyani - senses; tat - that; otherwise; cresthat - from the best.
They are senses, for that is the description
vyapadecat - because of the description; anyatra -
. Only the principal one is not.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
With the sole exception of the principal prana, the pranas are all senses. Why is that? The sutra explains: "For that is the description." In the Mundaka Upanisad (2.1.3) it is said:
etasmaj jayate pranah manah sarvendriyani ca
"From the Supreme Personality of Godhead are born the principal prana, the mind, and the senses."
In this way, with the sole exception of the principal prana, the pranas are the senses, such as the ears and the others. In the Smrti-sastra it is said:
indriyani dacaikam ca "There are eleven senses."
In another place in the Sruti-sastra it is said:
prano mukhya sa tv anindiriyam
"The principal prana is not a sense."
Here someone may object: Is it not so that in the Brhad- aranyaka Upanisad (1.5.21) it is said:
hantasyaiva sarve rupam asametyetasyaiva sarve rupam abhavat.
"The senses then assumed the form of the principal prana. They all assumed his form."
Because the secondary pranas are senses and because the secondary pranas are merely functions of the principal prana, therefore the principal prana is also a sense. How can you claim, then, that the principal prana is not a sense?
To the this objection the author of the sutras gives the following reply.
Sutra 18
bheda-sruteh
bheda - difference; sruteh - from Sruti-sastra.
Because the Sruti-sastra says it is different.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana In the Mundaka Upanisad (2.1.3) it is said:
prano manah sarvendriyani
"From the Supreme Personality of Godhead are born the principal prana, the mind, and all the senses."
In this way, because it is mentioned apart from the senses in this passage, the principal prana is clearly different from the senses. That is the meaning here.
Here someone may doubt: The mind is also mentioned apart from the senses in this passage. It must be that the mind is not a sense.
This doubt is answered by the following words of Bhagavad- gita (15.7):
manah sasthindiyani
"The mind is one of the six senses."
Lord Krsna also declares (Bhagavad-gita 10.22):
indriyanam manac casmi "Of the senses I am the mind." Sutra 19
vailaksanyac ca
vailaksanyat - because of different qualities; ca - also.
Also because of different qualities.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
During sleep the principal prana is active, but the ears and other senses are not. The principal prana supports the body and senses, but the senses are only instruments for perception and work. In these ways the principal prana and the senses have different qualities. Thus it is said that as the individual spirit souls are dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so the senses are dependent on the principal prana. .pa
Adhikarana 12
The Forms of the Material World Are Created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The scriptures declare that the material elements, the senses, everything else in the material world, and the individual spirit souls also, are all manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now we will consider the question: Who created the individual forms (vyasti) of this world? After describing the creation of fire, water, and earth, the Chandogya Upanisad (6.3.2-4) explains:
seyam devataiksata hantaham imas tisro devata anena jivenatmananupravicya nama-rupe vyakaravani tasam tri-vrtam ekaikam karavaniti. seyam devatemas tisro devata anena jivenatmananupravicya nama-rupe vyakarot tasam tri-vrtam tri-vrtam ekaikam akarot.
"After creating the splendid elements of fire, water, and earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead thought, 'Now I shall enter these three splendid elements with the individual souls and thus I shall create names and forms. One by one, I shall make them three.' Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead entered those three splendid elements with the individual souls, created names and forms, and, one by one, made the splendid elements into three."
Samcaya (doubt): Is this creation of names and forms the work of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or an individual spirit soul?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): It is the work of an individual spirit soul. In the Chandogya Upanisad the Lord says, "With an individual soul I shall create." The instrumental case here is not used in the sense of {.sy 168}with". When the meaning of an agent is possible in this case it is not reasonable to accept a meaning that carries the sense of a preposition. Neither is the meaning of "an instrument" possible here, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead can do anything simply by His will and therefore He has no need is employ an individual spirit soul to do anything. Neither can it be said that in this situation the entrance into the creation is done by an individual spirit soul and the creation of names and forms is done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the use of the indeclineable past participle here indicates that the entrance and the act of creation were both performed by the same agent. Neither is the use of the first-person in the verb {.sy 168}vyakaravani" (I shall create) inappropriate here, for it is like saying, "With a spy I will enter the enemy army and see it." Neither is all this merely my own idea, for the Sruti- sastra declares:
viriYco va idam virecayati vidadhati brahma vava viriYca etasmad dhime rupa-namani
"the demigod Brahma is called viriYca because he organizes (virec) the material universe. From him
have come the names and forms of the material universe."
The Smrti-sastra also declares:
nama-rupe ca bhutanam
"The demigod Brahma created the names and forms of the creatures in the universe."
Therefore the creation of names and forms was done by an individual spirit soul. Siddhanta (conclusion): In the following words the author of the sutras gives His conclusion. Sutra 20
samjYa-murti-klptic ca tri-vrt kurvata upadecat
samjna - names; murti - forms; klptih - creation; ca - and; tu - but; tri-vrt - in three parts; kurvate - does; upadecat - from the teaching.
But the creation of names and forms in groups of three is done by the creator, for that is the teaching.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "tu" (but) is used here is begin the refutation of the opponent's argument. Here the word {.sy 168}samjYa-murti" means "names and forms" and the word "klptih" means "creation". The words "tri-vrt kurvatah" (done by the creator) indicate that this creation was done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and not by an individual spirit soul. Why is that? The sutra explains: {.sy 168}upadecat" (because that is the teaching). Thus the scriptures affirm that this creation was done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the creation of threes and the creation of names and forms were both done by the same creator. That is the meaning.
The creation of threes was effected in the following way: triny ekaikam dvidha kuryat
try-ardhani vibhajed dvidha tat-tan-mukhyardham utsrjya yojayec ca tri-rupata
"The creator divides in half each of the three elements. Three of these halves He then divides in half again. Then He joins the smaller halves to the larger halves. In this way the compound elements, made of three parts, are created."
This is like the process called paYci-karana. It cannot be said that this creation of threefold compound elements is within the power of the demigod Brahma. That is so because Brahma was born after the universal egg had been created from these threefold compound elements made of fire, water, and earth. This is corroborated by Manu-samhita (1.9):
tasminn ande 'bhavad brahma sarva-loka-pitamahah
"Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds, was born in the egg of the universe.
Therefore the creation of names and forms and the creation of threefold compound elements were both done by the same creator. It should not be thought, because of the sequence apparently described in the text, that the creation of names and forms preceded the creation of threefold compound elements. The creation of threefold compound elements came first, and only after that creation the creation of name and forms was effected. The universal egg cannot be created by the elements of fire, water and earth before those elements are compounded in the three ways. That this is not possible is described in the following words of Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.5.32-33):
yadaite 'saggata bhava
bhutendriya-mano-gunah yadayatana-nirmane ne cekur brahma-vittama
"O Narada, best of the transcendentalists, the forms of the body cannot take place as long as these created parts, namely the elements, senses, mind, and modes of nature, are not assembled.*
tada samhatya canyonyam bhagavac-chakti-coditah sad-sattvam upadaya cobhayam sasrjur hy adah
"Thus when all these became assembled by the force of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this universe certainly came into being by accepting both the primary and secondary causes of creation."*
The process of paYci-karana is also described here. In this way the creation should be understood. In the process of paYci- karana each of the five elements is divided in half, half of the halves are again divided in half, and the smaller halves are then joined with the larger in compound elements.
In Chandogya Upanisad (6.5.1) it is said: annam acitam tridha vidhiyate
"When food is eaten it is transformed in three ways."
This transformation is completely different from the threefold combination of earth and the other elements previously described. Therefore this passage cannot be used to support the theory that the individual spirit soul is the creator of the names and forms of this world. The scriptural passage uses the phrase "atmana jivena". By thus placing these two words in apposition, it is clear that the word "jiva" (individual soul) here means "by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose potency is the individual spirit souls". In a similar way the passage beginning with the words {.sy 168}virYco va" is also explained.
Understood in this way the indeclineable past participle "pravicya" and the third-person verb following it can be understood in their primary meanings without any difficulty. In this way it is easily seen that the two actions described by the words "pravicya and "vyakaravani" are certainly performed by the same agent. Therefore it is certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead who performed the act of creation described in the verb "vyakaravani". This is corroborated by the following words of Taittiriya Aranyaka (3.12.16):
sarvani rupani vicitya dhiro namani krtvabhivadan yad aste
"The all-knowing Supreme Personality of Godhead created all forms and names." .pa Adhikarana 13
The Vehicles of the Soul Are Made of Earth Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Now the nature of the material body, which is called by the name "murti" will be examined. In the Brhad-arayagka (3.2.13) it is said that the material body is made of earth:
cariram prthivim apy eti
"The material body becomes earth."
However, in the Kaundinya-sruti it is said that the material body is made of water:
adbhyo hidam utpadyate apo vava mamsam asthi ca bhavanty apah cariram apa evedam sarvam. "From water the material body is created. Water becomes transformed into flesh and bones. The entire body is water."
Another text of the Sruti-sastra claims that the material body is made of fire:
sah agner deva-yonyah
"The demigods' bodies are made of fire."
Samcaya (doubt): What is the truth here?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): One text says the material body is made of earth, another says it is made of water, and another that it is made of fire. Because the scriptures give these three differing explanations, the truth cannot be ascertained.
Siddhanta (conclusion): In the following words the author of the sutras give His conclusion. Sutra 21
mamsadi bhaumam yatha-cabdam itarayoc ca
mamsa - flesh; adi - beginning with; bhaumam - earth; yatha - as; cabdam - the Sruti-sastra; itarayoh - of the other two; ca - also.
As the Sruti-sastra says, the flesh and other ingredients are made of earth. It also so for the other
two.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Flesh and other ingredients are made of earth. However, blood is made of water, and bones are made of fire. This is described in the Sruti-sastra (yatha-cabdam). In the Garbha Upanisad it is said:
yat kathinam sa prthivi yad dravam tad apo yad usnam tat tejah
"What is hard in the body is made of earth, what is liquid is made of water, and what is hot is made of fire."
In this way it is proved that all material bodies are made of these three elements.
Here someone may object: If the material elements are all compounded of three elements, none of the elements pure, but all of them mixtures of elements, then why do the scriptures say, "This part of the body is made of fire, this part is made of water, and this part is made of earth."?
To this objection the author of the sutras gives the following reply:
Sutra 22
vaicesat tu tad-vadas tad-vadah
vaicesat - because of the specific nature; tu - but; tat - of that; vadah - statement; tat - of that; vadah - statement.
Because of its specific nature, thus it is so said. Thus it is so said.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The word "tu" (but) is used to dispel doubt. Everywhere in the material world the elements are arranged in threefold compounds with one element predominating. The elements are therefore named according to the predominating element. The word "tad-vadah" is repeated to indicate the end of the chapter. .pa