Section Thirty
The Lord's Body Is Transcendental

           Thus in the verse beginning with utpatti-sthiti (S.B. 5.25.9) Sri Suka says, yad-rupam dhruvamakåtam--whose form is changeless and uncreated--means "The form of Lord Saìkarñana has no end, dhruvam and has no beginning anadi". Therefore in the description of the worship of the presiding deities of the various divisions of Jambudvipa referring to this form, Lord Siva also said (S.B. 5.17.19):

          Although He glances over the material world for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and destroying it, He is not affected by the material modes even to the slightest degree.

          But is should be known that while referring to this form of Lord Saìkarñaëa, Sukadeva Goswami says (S.B. 5.25.1), "That expansion of the Lord is the predominating Deity of the mode of ignorance" and then in text (5.17.16), beginning with bhavaninathaiù, he says, "form of ignorance," this is a reference to Lord Siva, the Lord's expansion for the welfare of those in the mode of ignorance. Just after the verse beginning with utpatti-sthiti-laga Sri Suka repeats Narada's statement, "The Lord, being merciful on us, manifests His form, which is in the transcendental mode of goodness. This manifestation of cause and effect exists in Him." Thus all forms of the Lord are eternal. A prayer in the Uttarakhaëòa of the Padma Puraëa states, "Unto the Lord, whose form has no beginning or end, who is unlimited, and who manifests the universal form..."

          Some deceptive statements about the Lord's form are found in the Puraëas, like Skanda Puraëa. That is appropriate because they refer to descriptions in the Tamasa kalpa and because the Lord hides His glories in certain kalpas.  These delusive statements do not describe the Personality of Godhead. The  purpose of these statements is to propagate dry renunciation, glorify Lord Siva, and so forth. Since their real import is not applicable to the Lord such statements are not true (in their primary sense). Lord Siva instructs his son, Skanda, in the Skanda Puraëa that Vaiñëavas should not accept the statements that establish Siva and others as supreme, "In these scriptures describing glory of Lord Siva only those statements that support the scriptures dealing with Viñëu should be accepted." The Padma Puraëa, Uttarkhaëòa (26th chapter), concludes therefore that those histories that glorify Lord Siva as the supreme are in the mode of ignorance.

          This does not mean, however, that such Puraëas are not authentic. As will be shown in the Paramatma Sandarbha according to the statements from the Matsya Puraëa such Puraëas have descriptions from the rajasa and tamasa kalpas. The Puraëas that establish Lord Viñëu as supreme relate stories from the sattvika kalpas. The Puraëas are in particular mode means that it is Lord Viñëu who appears in these variouskalpas in various forms and thus expresses His personality. The particular Puraëa glorifies Him accordingly. Hence the Puraëas are not imaginary; they relate events as they occurred. But like the Brahmakaëòa (BG.14.17), "Knowledge arises from the mode of goodness." The Sattvika Puraëas also give the topmost knowledge. And this is seen only in a Sattvika Puraëa. This will also be described in the Paramatma Sandarbha.

          This is confirmed in the VaiSakha-mahatmya, Patala-khaëòa of the Padma Puraëa (59.26.), "The Puraëas and Agamas (in the modes of ignorance and passion) are for the bewilderment of the movable and immovable living beings of the universe."

          Srimad Bhagavatam also does not accept such opinions found in other Puraëas as conclusive in verses such as (S.B.10.77.30), "Such is the account some sages give, O wise king, but those who speak in this illogical way are contradicting themselves, having forgotten their previous statements."

           This will be specifically established in Kåñëa Sandarbha.

          Our conclusion has been explained by showing that even qualities such as spendor, mental power, cognitive power and sense power, are innate and exist eternally in the Lord. This was shown by referring to the statement of Earth (S.B.1.16.27) listing the qualities of the Lord such as truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy and fortitude, and also through the statements of Sri Devaki Devi beginning with nañöe loke (S.B.10.3.25). 

Therefore it was rightly said: "The Lord's form is eternal and beginningless" (S.B.5.25.9).

 

PURPORT

           In the previous Text Srila Jiva Gosvami proved that the Lord's body is part of His essential nature and thus is not material.  The references cited in this section, from the Fifth Canto, further substantiate this fact.  In the previous Text he cited references from Devaki Devi's prayers in which she said that time which is also represented as death and snake is Lord's energy. Here the verse refers to Lord Ananta which has the form of a snake and who also is the in charge of cosmic death. This further implies that Lord is beyond death. After explaining the structure of the seven lower planetary systems Sukadeva Gosvami describes the region below Patalaloka.  Lord Ananta, who has a thousand heads, is 30,000 yojanas below Patalaloka and bears bhumandala, which is compared to a mustard seed, on one of His hoods.  After describing Lord Ananta, Sri Suka recites seven verses praising Him. Narada Muni originally sung these verses in the presence of Lord Brahma.  Srila Jiva Gosvami quotes part of the ninth verse (S.B. 5.25.9): The complete verse is given below:

"By His glance, the Supreme Personality of Godhead enables the modes of material nature to act as the causes of universal creation, maintenance, and destruction. The Supreme Soul is unlimited and beginningless, and although He is one, He has manifested Himself in many forms. How can human society understand the ways of the Supreme?"

          In this verse the word dhruvam means "unending", and akåtam means "not created", or "without a beginning".  Never was there a time when the Lord's form was created nor will it ever be destroyed.  In Vedic philosophy an object is called eternal if it is beginningless, anadi and endless ananta. Anadi, Ananta, nitya  and  anitya are techincal philosophical terms which must be understood in their proper perspective, otherwise one will not get the clear understanding of philosophy and remain in ignorance. All objects or entities can be divided into four groups a) those which ahve no beginning but have an end. For example befvore an object say a sweet ball is created, it does not exist. The non-existence of the sweet ball has no beginning. But this non-existence comes to an end when the ball is produced. This is called pragabhava or pre-non-existence and it is anadi or beginningless but ahs an end. B) Those which have a beginning but no end. If a sweet ball is consumed then it will have its non-existence. This is called post-non-existence or pradhvaàsabhava, has a beginning but no end ananta. LIberation or Mukti  is another such example. C) Those which have no beginning and no end. Such objects are called nitya or eternal. They neither have pre-existence nor post-non-existence. Lord, jiva, Vaikuëöha are such nitya objects. D) Those which have a beginning and an end. Such objects are called anitya or temporary. Material body and all other visible objects around us belong to this category. This verse explains that Lord's body has no end and no beginning. He is nitya. Although He is called Ananta He is also Anadi--anadiradir govindam. In this regard a doubt may be raised.  Even if the Lord's body has no beginning or end, it can still undergo transformation, like material nature, which is also eternal.  This verse indirectly denies this, however, by stating that the mutation of the modes occurs owing to the glance of the Lord.  This means two things: a)  The Lord existed before the modes mutated, and b)  The Lord does not undergo any change.  The principle is that the agent is always different from the activity.

          That Lord Ananta's body is transcendental is confirmed in Lord Siva's prayers in the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters of the fifth canto in the description of Jambudvipa and its nine divisions.  It is described that Lord Siva is the only male on Ilavåta varña and that he and meditates on Saìkarñaëa  His prayers comprise of eight verses and in 5.17.19 he says that although the Lord glances at Maya, He is not influenced by her, which means that His body is transcendental.

          An objection may be raised: In 5.17.16 Lord Saëkarñaëa's form is called tamasi mürti (lit. form in the mode of ignorance) and 5.25.1 states, ya vai kala bhagavat astamasi (lit. that form of the Lord which in the mode of ignorance).  These phrases clearly state that Saëkarñaëa's body is in the mode of ignorance. Here it is described that Lord Siva meditaes on Him. Verse 3.8.5 states that He is worshiped  by the daughters of the King of snakes. This seems appropriate. Sri Suta says (S.B.1.2.27) because Siva and serpents are in the mode of ignorance, and rajastamaù prakåtayaù samasila bhajantivai--Those who are in the mode of passion and ignorance worship the deities in those particular modes because of their common nature. Hence Saìkarñaëa's form is in the mode of ignorance. In response Srila Jiva Gosvami cites the verse 2.5.10 spoken by Sri Narada. There he says that out of great mercy on us the Lord has manifested this form which is in pure goodness, sattvaà saà Suddham and this material world with its cause and effect abounds in Him.  This Lord of all beings is most liberal and powerful and He manifests His flawless pastimes just to attract the hearts of His devotees.  The words sattvaà sam Suddham clearly assert that the Lord's form is in transcendental goodness.  Verse 5.17.21 states that although Lord Ananta is the cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction, He is free from these three (tribhirvihinam).  Verse 5.17.16 refers to His form as tamasi mürti, and turiya (lit. four).  Turiya means beyond three modes. This contradicts the literal meaning of the word tamasi mürti. While commenting on this verse Srila ViSvanatha Cakravarti Öhakura writes, tamasià tamaùkarya-bhütasya saàharsya pravarttayitrià vastutstu turiyaà tamorajaùsattvbhyo'pi paraà Suddha--cinmayimityarthaù.  "Tamasi means that His body is the source of annihilation, which is in tamoguëa.  But factually His body is turiya, or in the fourth dimension, beyond the three modes of material nature.  It is Suddha-cinmaya purely transcendental."  This is also confirmed by Sri Maitreya (S.B.3.8.3) asinamurvyaà bhagavanamadyaà saìkarñaëaà devamakuëöha-sattvam--The original Lord Saìkarñaëa who has perfect knowledge is situated at the bottom of the universe.

          Further objection may be raised about Lord Viñëu being eternal, free from death and birth. In the Skanda and Siva Puraëas there are some stories which clearly indicate that Lord Viñëu is not supreme controller. They profess the supremacy of Siva, Brahma, and so on.  One such example is in the Siva Puraëa, Vayavyiya Saàhita 7.1.13.4:

          "The sages said:  'Even Lord Brahma and Viñëu bow down to him (Siva) out of fear.  He is the destroyer of the world and their controller.  Previously he created Brahma and Viñëu from the limbs of his body and he is their eternal well-wisher and master.'"

          Similarly, the Devi Bhagavata Puraëa (1.2.22) states, hari-druhiëa-rudraëaà samutpattistataù småta, that Devi creates Brahma, Viñëu, and Siva.  Skanda Puraëa describes that when Lord Kåñëa was shot by Jara hunter, He left His body and went to His abode (Prabhasakhaëòa 4.1.13)

gatraà santyajya cütraive gate'nante dharatatat--Lord gave up His body here and has departed from the face of the earth.

It further states (Prabhasakhaëòa 4.1.14): vyadha-prahara-bhinnaìge parityakto kalevare--His body was cut into pieces by the arrow shots from the hunter and he gave up His body.

Brahma Puraëa describes that after Lord Kåñëa was killed by the  Jara hunter, Arjuna performed the funeral rites for His dead body (212.1)

"At that time Arjuna searches for the bodies of Sri Kåñëa and Balarama and cremated them. Then he also burned the bodies of other Yadavas.

In light of such verses how can Lord Viñëu's body be considered eternal?  Srila Jiva Gosvami says that these stories in the Puraëas that propagate dry renunciation and glorify Lord Siva and others, they are not meant to reveal the Absolute Truth, but to conceal reality.  Sections Seventeen, and Eighteen of the Tattva Sandarbha explained that the Puraëas are divided according to the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance.  This arrangement was made to attract those in all three modes to the Vedic Scriptures.  For this reason the glories of Lord Viñëu are concealed in the Puraëas of the lower modes.  They also contain implicit statements describing Viñëu's supremacy, because ultimately all scriptures glorify Lord Viñëu.  For instance, the Skanda Puraëa, KaSi Khaëda (95.12) states:

"In the beginning, middle and end of the Vedas, Ramayaëa, Mahabharata, and Puraëas, Lord Hari alone is glorified."

          Srimad Bhagavatam also states Vasudeva para vedah (S.B. 1.2.28),"All the Vedas explain Lord Kåñëa." Lord Kåñëa also asserts, vedaiSca sarvair ahameva vedyaù (B.g. 15.15) "By all the Vedas I am to be known."  The indeclinable word eva (only) is significant in this verse, because its use excludes all other deities.  And since the Puraëas and Itihasas are supplements to the Vedas, the Lord's categorical statement implies that He is also the goal of these texts.

          At the same time people in the lower modes have a natural affinity or faith for worshiping lower deities.  This is called svabhavaja Sraddha. In the seventh chapter of Bhagavad-gita Kåñëa says He strengthens the faith of such people. Why? Because He does not oppose the free will of the living being. To oppose their free will means they will not love and serve Him voluntarily, which is never pleasing to the Lord.  So, internally He guides them as the Supersoul, and externally He gives them scriptural support and thus they develop strong faith in the deity of their choice.  Ultimately such persons are never satisfied, because the demigods have not the power to liberate them from the entanglement of karmic reactions, whether good or bad. material desires.  Only Kåñëa can free us from the bondage of karma.

          That the Skanda and other lower Puraëas explain the glories of Lord Kåñëa as is evident from the verse cited above.  This is also evident from the story of Ghaëöakarëa narrated in the HarivaàSa Puraëa.  He was a great devotee of Lord Siva who was so averse to Viñëu that he could not tolerate even hearing the His name.  He therefore hung bells on his ears and whenever a sound carrying the glories of Viñëu approached he shook his head to ring the bells so he could not hear it.  Thus he got the name Ghaëöakarëa, or "one who has bells hanging from his ears".

          Ghaëöakarëa performed severe austerities to please Lord Siva with the intent of gaining liberation.  Finally Lord Siva appeared before him, offered him a boon, and Ghaëöakarëa prayed that he be granted liberation.  To his great dismay, Lord Siva informed him that only Viñëu could grant him liberation and advised him to take shelter of Him.  Thus Ghaëöakarëa worshiped Lord Kåñëa and eventually met the Lord at BadrikaSrama where he spoke the following verse Harivaàa, Bhaviñya Parva 30.30):

"When I begged for liberation, the three eyed Lord Siva told me that only Lord Viñëu can grant liberation.  There is no doubt in it."

          Therefore statements which seem to minimize the supremacy of Lord Viñëu are not real.  For perfect knowledge of the Absolute, one should consult the Sattvika Puraëas, of which Srimad Bhagavatam is topmost, because it has no other topic but the Absolute Truth, Kåñëa.

          According to the Varaha Puraëa, Lord Viñëu ordered Lord Siva to create illusory scriptures (Varaha Puraëa 70.36):

" O Siva, propagate illusory scriptures and establish that one can attain great results by only a little effort."

          The reason for this is that many demons took birth in Kali as brahmaëas to destroy the Vedic religion.  As is stated in Caitanya Bhagavat (Adi 11.298)

"In Kali, the demons will take birth as Brahmaëas. Being born in the Brahmaëa family they will harass the weak Vedi Brahmaëas.

To allure such people away from the Vedas, Lord Siva created many Agamas and Tantras in the lower modes.  In the forty-second verse of the same chapter of the Varaha Puraëa Lord Siva revealed his purpose to the sages:

"To bewilder those who do not follow Vedic injunctions, I have created new scriptures, called Naya-siddhanta."

          In this regard, while narrating the battle between Lord Kåñëa and Salva, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami mentions that sometimes even great sages become bewildered and forget what they have previously said.  During the fight, Lord Kåñëa struck Salva on the neckbone with His club injuring him severely and causing him to vomit blood.  Then suddenly he disappeared into the sky and after some time, a strange person appeared before Lord Kåñëa announcing that he had been sent by mother Devaki to deliver this message, " Salva has captured your father and carried him away like an animal."  Hearing this the Lord became very morose and said, "Oh, how surprising that Salva captured my father in the presence of Balarama, who cannot be defeated by anyone.  Indeed fate is most powerful!"  Then Salva appeared with a false Vasudeva created by Maya whom he beheaded in front of Lord Kåñëa.  Seeing this, Lord Kåñëa was bereaved just like an ordinary man.  Then He realized that it was all an illusion created by Salva.

          After this narration, Sukadeva Gosvami said that some people speak incoherent words and contradict themselves.  How is it possible that the Supreme Lord can fall into illusion?  The essence is that sometimes even sages forget that Lord Kåñëa is transcendental and cannot become bewildered.  Therefore, when such descriptions are found in the Puraëas or Itihasas, they should be considered as illusory and not accepted as real by the Vaiñëavas.  Thus in the Skanda Puraëa Lord Siva instructs his son that in scriptures dealing with his glory, only those statements which are consistent with the conclusions of the Viñëu scriptures should be accepted.  All other statements should be taken as the indirect glories of Lord Viñëu.  Since the demigods are compared to the limbs of the universal form of the Lord, praise directed to them is considered indirect praise of Lord Viñëu.

          Another explanation why such descriptions glorifying the demigods exist is because originally all names belonged to Lord Viñëu.  In the fourth chapter of the Kurma Puraëa it has been demonstrated that the derived meanings of all names mean Viñëu.  Just as the verse 4.6 says:

"Because He is the Supreme among the gods, He is called Mahadeva.  Because He is the greatest, He is called Brahma.  He is called Parameñvara because He is transcendental."

          Therefore the scriptures sometimes describe Kåñëa directly and sometimes indirectly. The verses imply that Lord Kåñëa's body is material  have secondary meaning. They need to be interpretted to make them coherent them with the statements which explain Lord' sbody to be eternal. The materialsitic people are very much attached to their bodies therefore Lord sometimes creates an illusory body before he departs from the world. This is to teach renounciation to people. Even a person like Kåñëa who was most powerful and beautiful, who had 16,000 queens and unlimited opulence and relatives, has to leave everything at the time of death. So why should we remain attached to our body and bodily by products. Lord, who creates millions of universe can easily create an illusory body which resembles His real body. Sometimes the description of Kåñëa's death are to be interpreted because they are indirect, prokñavada. According to Srimad Bhagavatam which has been established as topmost authority, Lord Kåñëa left in the self same body (11. 31.6):

          "Without employing th emystic agneyi meidtation to burn up His transcendental body, which is the all-attractive resting place of all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Kåñëa entered into His own abode." Vedic literatures speak indirectly as Sage Avirhotra says (S.B.11.3.44):

          "Childish and foolish people are attached to materialistic, fruitive activities, although the actual goal of life is to become free from such activities. Therefore, the Vedic injunctions indirectly lead on to the path of ultimate liberation by first prescribing fruitive religous activities, just as a father promises his child candy so that the child will take his medicine." Lord Kåñëa has a liking for this Prokñavadas He told Uddhava (S.B.11.21.35):

          "The Vedas, divided into three divisions, ultimately reveal the living entity as pure spirit soul. The Vedic seers and mantras, however, deal in esoteric terms, and I am pleased by such confidential descriptions."

          The purpose of Vedic literature is to educate humanity, balanamanuSasanam. The teachings are given according to the respectability of people. But the scriptural statements are not false. They are authentic but their purpose must be understood from the bonafide teacher. Otherwise one will commit an offence of criticizing the Vedic literatures, Sruti Sastra nindanam.

          The word kalpa is also an example of Prokñavada. The word kalpa has many various meanings. One of its popular meaning is day of Brahma. Thus Tamasa kalpa would mean a day of Brahma which is in mode of ignorance. But this seems quite improper. Lord Kåñëa says that He appears in every millennium to propagate religion (B.G.4.7,8). Moreover He says that He appears whenever there is decline in religion. His purpose in coming into the material world is to give Vedic knowledge. According to Laghubhagavatamåtam there are 41 major incarnations in each day of Brahma.

"Adding kalpavataras (25) Manvantara avataras (12) Yuga avataras (4) totally there are 41 Avataras in a day of Brahma. Later on he says that generally in all kalpas the same incarnations appear and generally they have same names and perform similar activities. Sometimes there is a little variation.

Besides this Lord Caitanya appears in 28th Kaliyuga of 7th Manu of each day of Brahma to propagate Harinama-saìkirtan.

          Moreover Sri Süta Gosvami says that Lord has unlimited appearances (S.B.1.3.26):

"O brahmaëas, the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water."

          While commenting on the phrase sattva-nidheù, in his dåg darSini Öika on Båhad Bhagavatamåtam (1.5.8) Srila Sanatana Gosvami writes sattvamatra param-karuëyam-sattvam here means Supreme mercy of the Lord. Ateva saìkhyeya avataraù--and that's why Lord has unlimited appearances in the material world. Supreme mercy here means to give transcendental knowledge so that the living entity can become free from ignorance, the root cause of all miseries. It is for this reason that Lord appears in the material world again and again.

          In the light of this it will be highly illogical to think that some kalpas are tamasic and Rajasic. Furthermore Brahma has 30 days in a month and the names of each day are beginning with Sveta Varaha kalpa given in Skanda Puraëa. There is no mention of Tamasa or Rajasa kalpa in the list. The same names repeat in each month like the dates of a month.

          Therefore we are forced to accept a different meaning of kalpa. According to Medini Sanskåt Dictionary (1.12.2) one of the popular meaning of kalpa is Sastra or scriptural statements. This was also established in Tattva Sandarbha Text 17. And this matches with the statements from Padma Puraëa and Matsya Puraëa which divide the Puraëas into three modes according to their subject matter. Therefore the meaning of the phrase tamasa kalpa-katha maya as "having descriptions which are in the modes of ignorance. This topic will be discussed in greater detail in Parmatma Sandarbha Text No. 17.

          Therefore it is concluded that all scriptures ultimately glorify Lord Viñëu. The Sruti states, sarve veda yat padamamananti.  Lord Viñëu has an eternal body and His attributes never undergo any transformations.