SECTION 48
Lord's senses are transcendental

           Therefore, the import of the Vedic statement "He has no hands and legs" is also in the Supreme Lord, who has unlimited, eternally self-manifest, blissful forms and not in anything else. The Vedas personified establish this in their prayers to the Lord (S.B.10.87.28):

          Though You have no material senses, You are the self-effulgent maintainer of everyone's sensory powers. The demigods and material nature heself offer You tribute, while  enjoying the tribute their worshipers offer them, just as subordinate rulers of various districts in a kingdom offer tribute to their lord, the ultimate proprietor of the land, while they enjoying the tribute their own subjects pay then. In this way the universal creators faithfully execute their assigned services out of fear of You. 

          The import is this: In this verse the karaëa (lit. an instrumental object), is accepted that object like a hatchet, which is energized by, yet distinct from the woodcutter acts purely as an instrument and does the work. The instrument form a part of the integral nature of the agent. Just as in the case of fire, its burning potency is karaëa in the secondary sense, similarly in the derivation of the word svaräö, self-luminous (svena eva räjate) the word svena in the third case singular his essential nature. So in case of the living being, who is conscious, his hands and so on, which are naturally inert, work by his energy and are distinct from him, have the primary meaning of karaëa or instrument in them. Because the jéva is attached to these senses, karaëa, he is called sakaraëa, or possessor of senses. But the Lord, who is immanent in him and unattached to the senses, is independent of them. This is because He is svaräö or one who shines by His own energy. Similarly, at the end of the period of dissolution, although He is glorified evem by us, the teachers of the learned (the Vedas) as our shelter, having most superior transcendental and wonderful senses, as in the verse below (10.87.23):

          Simply by constantly thinking of Him, the enemies of the Lord attain the same Supreme Truth as do sages fixed in yoga worship by controlling their breath, mind and senses. Similarly, we Çrutis, who generally see You as all- pervading, will acheive the same nectar of Your lotus feet that Your consorts are able to relish because of their loving attraction to Your mighty, serpentine arms, for You look upon us and Your consorts in the same way. 

 Yet He is without any senses. How is that? He is svaräö--His senses are a special manifestation of His special internal nature, svarüpa çakti; He exists with the senses which are His own svarüpa. The implication is that because His senses are part of His own integeral nature, the term "senses" cannot be taken in the primary sense. Otherwise, if the Lord manifests Himself through the acquired objects (senses) then how can He be proven self-luminous svaräö? The Vedas declare: "He is pure bliss, devoid of old age, primeval and one seen as many", and "There is no variety here (besides Him)" (Båhadäraëyaka Upaniñad 4.4.19) and the Småti confirms that 'His hands, feet, mouth and belly are purely bliss'.

          The Lord raises an objection: But what is the proof that I own such potencies in My essential nature?

          The çrutis answer akhila-käraka-çaktidhara (10.87.28). You supply, the senses and the sitting places of the senses such as the gross eye of all the living entities and maintain the senses in their respective seats. But these energies are naturally-existent, inexhaustible and complete in You. This is the sense.

          And there are Vedic statements to this effect such as (Båhad-Upaniñad 4.4.18): "You are the life of the life air and vision of the eye";  (Çveta.Upaniñad 6.8) and such as "He has cognitive potency, volition, and working energy in Him naturally." Similarly in the (S.B. 11.4.4):

          Within His body are elaborately arranged the three planetary systems of this universe. His transcendental senses generate the knowledge-acquiring and active senses of all embodied beings. His consciousness generates conditioned knowledge, and  His powerful breathing produces bodily strength, sensory power and the conditioned activities of the embodied souls. He is the prime mover, through the agency of the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. And thus the universe is created, maintained, and annihilated. 

          Therefore Sri Vyasa wrote in the Brahmä Sutra (2.131), "If one objects that Brahman cannot be the creator, because He has no sense organs, the response is that this argument has been already settled by the scripture." And thus he has proven that in this sütra by the statement "has been already settled" the Lord exists with he means the Brahmä Sutra (2.1.27), "The Vedas state that the Lord is free from such defects and can be understood only by sabda, revealed sound."and without senses by the principle that objects beyond logic can only be ascertained  by revealed sound.  The Çruti says: "He has no material body or senses." (Çvetaçvatara Upaniñad 6.8)

          Or an alternatively the phrasing of the words is that although You are akhila-käraka-çakti-dhara, You are akaraëa. Why?  Because You are supremely independent (svaräö). And because you have the most distinguished magnificence, the demigods, (animisa) like Indra and their worshipable like Brahmä, the creator of the universe, also carry their offerings for You on their head along with ajä or mäyä, who is their head. The meaning is that even she, who is your shadow potency, to regain her own wealth, carries offerings to You, who have unlimited natural opulence.

          The demigods also consume the sacrifice humans offer them such as in the form of havya and kavya. Here the example of a provincial ruler, varña-bhuja is used. Varñam means a province. How do the demigods carry their offerings? It is answered--vidadhati --following of your order is the carrying of an offering. As is said in the Çruti (Taitt.Up 2.8.1): "Out of fear of Him the wind blows. Out of fear of Him the sun shines, fire burns, Indra rules and death, the fifth one, flees."

          An alternate explanation follows: (The Lord says) Explain the process by which my senses such as my hand, are part of My essential nature. The Çrutis reply:  "The presiding deities of the senses (animiñäù) carry their offerings to You. You are worshipable of both Aja or Brahmä and anaja, the other prajäpatis. Therefore the creators, the cause behind everything created carry the offering. The living entities are able to perceive the sense objects only by the support of the respective presiding deities of the sense organs. But You in turn are the support of these presiding deities because Your sense organs are self-luminous, they are innate in Your nature."

          An objection is raised. "Why not accept powerful Mäyä as their shelter?

          The Çrutis answer by the word ajayä. She also worships You along with the demigods.

          Another objection: "But the living entities are also the shelter of the presiding deities of the sense organs?"

          They answer vidadhati. You are the Lord of the universe and You have granted the right of the various sense organs, the gates of sense enjoyment, only to the demigods. The living entities, who are like small village landowners are not their shelter. Only You, who have given them the right, are their shelter.

 

PURPORT

          The eighty-seventh chapter of the tenth Canto is called Prayers of the Personified Vedas.  Great Bhägavatam scholars like Çrédhara Swämé have identified each of these twenty-eight verses with a mantra in the Vedic literature.  For example, the verse 10.87.28 corresponds to the Çvetäçvatara Upanisad mantra 3.19:

          "He has no feet or hands, yet runs swiftly and can grasp anything.  He sees without eyes and hears without ears.  He knows whatever is to be known but no one knows Him.  The sages call Him the original Puruña and the greatest."

          Çréla Jéva Gosvämé says that the purpose of this Upaniñadic mantra is to establish that the Lord has transcendental senses in His transcendental body.  In the last Text he explained that the Lord's name, form, and activities are transcendental.  Because His form is transcendental, it follows that His senses are also.  To remove any doubts, however, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé, in this Text, shows that the Lord's senses are transcendental.  By quoting the Çrémad Bhägavatam and the corresponding Vedic mantras, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé simultaneously shows the Çruti and Småti confirm each other on this point.  These Bhägavatam verses are spoken by the Çrutis personified, who obviously understand their meaning. Therefore, instead of commenting on the Çruti mantra, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé comments on the corresponding Çrémad Bhägavatam verse spoken by the Çrutis personified.

          The Çrutis say the Lord is akaraëa (10.87.28), or without senses, because He is svaräö.  A sense is an inert instrument that is used by an agent to perform an activity or to acquire knowledge.  For example an agent uses a pen for writing.  The senses are distinct from the agent--that is to say--they are not part of the essential nature of the agent.  The existence of the agent is not dependent on the senses, but the senses exist only to be utilized by the agent.  Moreover, the senses cannot act independently as they require an agent to direct and energize them to act.  In the case of an ordinary jéva, the senses form part of his subtle body and thus are distinct from him.  The senses are material, but the soul spreads consciousness into them.  At the time of liberation one becomes free from the material sesnses. If the soul was not distinct from them there was no question of liberation for him. There is no distinction , however between the Lord and His body, thus the Çrutis call Him svaräö, or independent, svena eva räjate iti svaräö.  "The Lord exists by His own power, and does not depend on anything else."  Living entity in the conditioned state is dependent on his material senses for functioning in the material worlds. Besides the living entity's presence in the body the senses need the support of the controlling deities for functioning. This was discussed in Tattva Sandarbha Text No. 50 and 60. but Lord's senses are part of His svarüpa and thus potent like Him.  Therefore, any one of His senses can perform the function of the others, because they are not materially designed.  This is confirmed by Lord Brahmä (Brahmä Samhitä  5.32): 

          "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, and substantiality, and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains, and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane."

          This is one of the imports of the Bhagavad-gétä verse sarvataù päëipädam tat sarvato'kñiçiromukham --"Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, head and mouth are spread everywhere"(B.g.13.14).

          A natural doubt arises, "Why then His senses called the senses because they do not fulfill the definition of a sense?"  The answer is that they are called senses in the secondary sense. Because they can act like the senses but do not have the limitations of the senses.  Kåñëa's eyes see but are not limited to that function as is the material eye.  Secondly His senses cannot be seperated from Him. The usage "His sense" does not imply difference between the owner and owned. It is called a sense only in secondary meaning.  Nyäya Çastra states, vyäparavad asädhäraëaà käraëam karaëam--"an instrumental cause is a special cause which has an intermediate factor."  That is to say that to see an object eye has to contact object and mind has to contact the eye and soul. Contact is the intemediate factor. But Lord has contacts with everything at all times. His contact with the object is not indirect as in case of a jéva. So this definition of cause is not applicable to the Lord because there is no intermediate factor involved in His perception.  Everything is always available to Him at all times without any separating factor).  Although the Lord is the support and fountainhead of all the senses, He has no material senses. With this concept the Svetäçvatara Upaniñad (6.8) states,--na tasya käryam karaëan ca vidyate.  "The Lord has no material body or material senses"  This fact can be understood only by çabda pramäëa and not by logic as the Vedänta sütra (2.1.27) confirms.

          He is not only the fountainhead of potency for all the senses, but He is the controller of the presiding deities of the senses as well.  Demigods like Indra, the presiding deity of the hands, works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord.  In fact the presiding deity of the material energy, Mäyä, who supplies the ingredients for the material body and senses, is the maidservant of the Lord.  In other words, the Lord is not the direct controller or supplier of the senses.  The senses work under the supervision of the presiding deities, who are controlled by the Lord.  This shows Krsna's super-excellent position because it indicates that the senses of the Lord are not under the control of the demigods.  The Çrutis give the example of a sovereign ruler who controls may provincial kings who in turn have their subjects.  In the Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Kapila confirms this (3.29.44):

          "Out of fear of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the directing demigods in charge of the modes of material nature carry out the functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction; everything animate and inanimate within this world is under their control."

          Once of the meaning of the word akaraëa, without senses' is that Lord as supersoul sits in the material body beside the living entity. Living entity perceives the material world through the senses in the body. Therefore He is called sakaraëa or with the senses. But Lord perceives without using the material senses in the mateial body and thus He is called akaraëa. Living entity is attached to material senses but Lord is neither attached nor dependent on them.

          Havya means an oblation to the demigods and kavya means an oblation to the deceased forefathers.

          In the following Text Çréla Jéva Gosvämé further explains that Lord's senses are transcendental because they are different from the material senses.