Sutra 44
prakacadi-van naivam parah
prakaca - light; adi - beginning with; vat - like; na - not; evam - thus; parah - the Supreme.
The Supreme is not like light or other things. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Although the Lord's incarnations, such as Lord Matsya, are called "parts" of the Supreme, They are not like the individual spirit souls. Here the author of the sutras gives and example: "The Supreme is not like light or other things." As the sun and a firefly may both be called "light", but are in truth very different, and as nectar and wine may both be called "liquid", but in truth are very different, so the individual spirit souls and the incarnations of the Lord do not have a similar nature, but are very different.
Sutra 45
smaranti ca
smaranti - the Smrti-sastras say; ca - and.
The Smrti-sastras also say it.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana In the Varaha Purana it is said:
svamcac catha vibhinnamca iti dvedhamca isyate amcino yat tu samarthyam yat-svarupam yatha sthitih
"It is said that there are two kinds of parts and parcels of the Supreme: direct parts and separated parts. Direct parts have exactly the same nature as the Lord.
tad eva nanumatro 'pi
bhedah svamcamcino kvacit vibhinnamco 'lpa-saktih syat kiYcit samarthya-matra-yuk
"Separated parts are different from the Lord. They are atomic in size and have very slight powers.
sarve sarva-gunaih purnah sarva-dosa-vivarj itah
"All direct parts of the Lord are filled with all virtues and glories and free of all vices and defects."
In Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28) it is said:
ete camca-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
"All the above mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Cri Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead."*
Thus Lord Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and the various incarnations, such as Lord Matsya, are parts of Him, but they are not different from Lord Krsna, as the individual spirit souls are. Lord Krsna is like a vaidurya stone, which manifests different colors from moment to moment. In this way Lord Krsna appears in different forms.
In His various incarnations Lord Krsna may display all or only some of His powers. That is the description of the scriptures. Lord Krsna, the source of all incarnations, displays all of His six transcendental opulences in full. When the Lord does not display all His opulences in full, He appears as an amca incarnation, and when He displays even fewer of His opulences, He appears as a kala incarnation. In this circumstance He is like a great teacher, learned in the six sciences, who in certain circumstances teaches only a small portion of what he actually knows.
In the Purusa-bodhini Upanisad it is said that Lord Krsna appears with all His transcendental potencies, headed by Goddess Radha. In the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that various transcendental qualities, such as being supreme over all, being filled with great love, being accompanied by loving associates, filling with wonder Brahma, Siva, and all the demigods, sages, and wise devotees, manifesting many pastimes, such as sweetly playing the flute, that fill everyone with wonder, displaying a great sweetness of transcendental handsomeness, and being very kind and merciful, are eternally manifested in Yacoda's infant Krsna. Lord Matsya and the other incarnations manifest some but not all of these qualities. Still, the incarnations of the Lord are not like the individual spirit souls, for the incarnations actually are the Lord Himself. Now the author of the sutras presents another argument.
Sutra 46
anujYa-pariharau deha-sambandhat jyotir-adi-vat
anujYa - permission to act; pariharau - cessation from action; deha - of the body; sambandhat -from the contact; jyotih - eye; adi - beginning with; vat - like.
Bondage and liberation come from contact with the material body, like the eye and other things.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Even though they are parts and parcels of the Supreme, the individual spirit souls, because beginningless ignorance, and also because of contact with material bodies, are subject to material bondage and liberation. The incarnations of the Lord, such as Lord Matsya, however, are not subject to such things. This is the description of the Sruti-sastra. In the Sruti-sastra it is also said that the incarnations of the Lord do not have material bodies, but are directly the Lord Himself. That is the great difference between the individual spirit souls and the incarnations of the Lord.
The word "anujYa" here means "permission". It is by the Lord's permission that the individual spirit souls can perform pious and impious deeds, as the Kaucitaki Upanisad (3.8) explains:
esa eva sadhu karma karayati
"The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities so he may be elevated."*
The word "parihara" means "liberation". This is described in the Sruti-sastra: tam eva viditvati mrtyum eti
By understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead one is able to cross beyond this world of death."
Next, speaking the words "jyotir-adi-vat" (like the eye), the author of the sutras gives an example to explain this. The eyes of the living entities are like small portions of the sun. However, the eyes depend on the sun for the power of sight, and if the sun does not give permission, in the form of the sunlight, the eyes cannot see. In this way the eyes are dependent on the sun. The sunlight on the sun-planet, however, is identical with the sun itself, and thus it makes no sense to say they are dependent on the sun. The difference between the individual spirit souls and the incarnations of the Lord is like that, the incarnations being like the sunlight and the souls being like the eyes.
Sutra 47
asantatec cavyatikarah
asantateh - because of imperfection; ca - not; avyatikarah - without bewilderment. Because it is imperfect there can be no mistake. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Because he is imperfect, the individual spirit soul cannot be mistaken for an incarnation of the Lord. The individual spirit souls are therefore not the same as or equal to the incarnations of the Lord, beginning with Lord Matsya, who are all perfect. In the Svetasvatara Upanisad (5.9), the individual spirit soul is described in the following words:
balagra-cata-bagasya
"If we divide the tip of a hair into one hundred parts and then take one part and divide this into another one hundred parts, that ten-thousandth part is the dimension of the living entity."*
Instead of being atomic and limited, as the individual spirit souls are, the Lord's incarnations, beginning with Lord Matsya, are perfect and complete in every way, as the Ica Upanisad explains:
purnam adah purnam idam
"The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete."*
In the following words the author of the sutras shows the great fault in thinking the individual soul identical with the Supreme.
Sutra 48
abhasa eva ca
abhasah - fallacy; eva - indeed; ca - also. It is also a fallacy. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
In this sutra is refuted the idea that because they are both called "amcas", or parts of the Lord, therefore the individual spirit souls and the incarnations of the Lord are identical. This idea is based on the logical fallacy of sat- pratipaksa (undistributed middle). Because of its imperfect reasoning, this idea is wrong.
The word "ca" (also) here hints that some examples may be given to show this. One example is that of earth and sky. Earth and sky are both substances, but that does not mean that they are identical. Existence and non-existence are both categories, but that does not mean they are equal. In the same way the individual spirit souls and the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead may both be parts of the Supreme, but that does not mean that they are equal. .pa
Adhikarana 19
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Not All Alike Introduction by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Concluding this digression, the author of the sutras now returns to His original topic. In the Katha Upanisad (2.5.13) it is said:
nityo nityanam cetanac cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
"The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many other living entities."*
Samcaya (doubt): In this way it is said that the individual spirit souls are eternal and cognizant. Are the individual spirit souls all alike or are they not?
Purvapaksa (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit souls are not different. They are all exactly alike.
Siddhanta (conclusion): In the following words the author of the sutras gives His conclusion. Sutra 49 adrstaniyamat
adrsta - of fate; aniyamat - because of difference. Because of different fates. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
As a frog jumps a long distance, the word "na" (not) should be inserted from sutra 44. In this way this sutra means "the individual spirit souls are not all alike. Why is that? The sutra explains: "Even though the individual spirit souls have the same nature, they have different fates." Their fates are beginningless. Here someone may object: Are the different fates not created because the individual spirit souls have different desires and different aversions?
The author of the sutras says, "No it is not so," and gives the following explanation.
Sutra 50
abhisandhy-adisv api caivam
abhisandhy - inclinations; adisu - beginning with; api - also; ca - and; evam - thus. In this way there are different desires and other things. Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The different natures of the individual spirit souls are to be explained in a different way. These differences exist because of different fates. The word "ca" (and) hints that these differences exist at every moment.
Here someone may object: Is it not so that these differences are created by differing environments, such as the environment of Svargaloka, the earth, or other places?
To this the author of the sutras replies, "No. It is not so." He gives the following explanation.
Sutra 51
pradecad iti cen nantar-bhavat
pradecat - from the environment; iti - thus; cet - if; na - not; antar-bhavat - because of being understood.
If it is said that this is because of environment, then the answer is: No, because there is another
reason.
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
The other reason mentioned here is the differing fates of the individual spirit souls. The differences here cannot be attributed to different environments, for souls in the same environment often manifest great differences Pada 4