Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Ādi-līlā | Chapter 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Ādi 7.112
tāńhāra vibhūti, deha, — saba cid-ākāra
cid-vibhūti ācchādi' tāńre kahe 'nirākāra'
SYNONYMS
tāńhāra — His (the Supreme Personality of Godhead's); vibhūti — spiritual power; deha — body; saba — everything; cit-ākāra — spiritual form; cit-vibhūti — spiritual opulence; ācchādi' — covering; tāńre — Him; kahe — says; nirākāra — without form.
TRANSLATION
"Everything about the Supreme Personality of Godhead is spiritual, including His body, opulence and paraphernalia. Māyāvāda philosophy, however, covering His spiritual opulence, advocates the theory of impersonalism.
PURPORT
It is stated in the Brahma-samhitā, īśvarah paramah krishnah sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, has a spiritual body which is full of knowledge, eternity and bliss." In this material world everyone's body is just the opposite — temporary, full of ignorance and full of misery. Therefore when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sometimes described as nirākāra, this is to indicate that He does not have a material body like us.
Māyāvādī philosophers do not know how it is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is formless. The Supreme Lord does not have a form like ours but has a spiritual form. Not knowing this, Māyāvādī philosophers simply advocate the onesided view that the Supreme Godhead, or Brahman, is formless (nirākāra). In this connection Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura offers many quotes from the Vedic literature. If one accepts the real or direct meaning of these Vedic statements, one can understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a spiritual body (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]).
In the Brihad-āranyaka Upanishad (5.1.1) it is said, pūrnam adah pūrnam idam pūrnāt pūrnam udacyate. This indicates that the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is spiritual, for even though He expands in many ways, He remains the same. In the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) the Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate: "I am the origin of all. Everything emanates from Me." Māyāvādī philosophers materialistically think that if the Supreme Truth expands Himself in everything, He must lose His original form. Thus they think that there cannot be any form other than the expansive gigantic body of the Lord. But the Brihad-āranyaka Upanishad confirms, pūrnam idam pūrnāt pūrnam udacyate: "Although He expands in many ways, He keeps His original personality. His original spiritual body remains as it is." Similarly, elsewhere it is stated, vicitra-śaktih purushah purānah: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original person [purusha], has multifarious energies." And the Śvetāśvatara Upanishad declares, sa vriksha-kālākritibhih paro 'nyo yasmāt prapańcah parivartate 'yam dharmāvaham pāpanudam bhageśam: "He is the origin of material creation, and it is due to Him only that everything changes. He is the protector of religion and annihilator of all sinful activities. He is the master of all opulences." (Śvet. Up. 6.6) Vedāham etam purusham mahāntam āditya-varnam tamasah parastāt: "Now I understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be the greatest of the great. He is effulgent like the sun and is beyond this material world." (Śvet. Up. 3.8) Patim patīnām paramam parastāt: "He is the master of all masters, the superior of all superiors." (Śvet. Up. 6.7) Mahān prabhur vai purushah: "He is the supreme master and supreme person." (Śvet. Up. 3.12) Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: "We can understand His opulences in different ways." (Śvet. Up. 6.8) Similarly, in the Rig Veda it is stated, tad vishnoh paramam padam sadā paśyanti sūrayah: "Vishnu is the Supreme, and those who are actually learned think only of His lotus feet." In the Praśna Upanishad (6.3) it is said, sa īkshām cakre: "He glanced over the material creation." In the Aitareya Upanishad (1.1.1-2) it is said, sa aikshata — "He glanced over the material creation" — and sa imāl lokān asrijata — "He created this entire material world."
Thus many verses can be quoted from the Upanishads and Vedas which prove that the Supreme Godhead is not impersonal. In the Katha Upanishad (2.2.13) it is also said, nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān: "He is the supreme eternally conscious person, who maintains all other living entities." From all these Vedic references one can understand that the Absolute Truth is a person and that no one can equal or excel Him. Although there are many foolish Māyāvādī philosophers who think that they are even greater than Krishna, Krishna is asamaurdhva: no one is equal to or above Him.
As stated in the Śvetāśvatara Upanishad (3.19), apāni-pādo javano grahītā. This verse describes the Absolute Truth as having no legs or hands. Although this is an impersonal description, it does not mean that the Absolute Personality of Godhead has no form. He has a spiritual form that is distinct from the forms of matter. In this verse Caitanya Mahāprabhu clarifies this distinction.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness