SECTION SIXTY THREE   

(SB. 12.7.17)

Learned persons say that saàsthä, or dissolution, is of four types--naimittika (causal), präkåtikä (complete), nitya (continuous), and ätyantika (ultimate)--and it proceeds from the nature of the Lord.

            In this verse, the term asya means of Parameçvara, or the Supreme Lord, and svabhavatah (lit. from nature) means from His energy. The word ätyantika indicates that mukti is also included.

(SB.12.7.18)

            The jéva, who performs work out of ignorance is the hetu, or cause, of sarga, visarga, and so on. Some call this jéva the anuçayin, or one who sleeps after, and others call him avyäkåta, or changeless.

            In this verse, the term hetu means nimitta, or the efficient cause. Asya refers to this universe, which exists owing to the ignorant activities of the jéva, avidyä-karma-kärakaù. Those who emphasize the conscious aspect call him anuçayi, and those who emphasize the limiting adjunct call him avyäkåta.

(S.B.12.7.19)

            Brahman, or the Lord, is called the apäçraya, or the distinct shelter in both the conditioned and the liberated state of the jéva, though He is both associated with and separate from the jéva's wakeful, dream, and deep sleep states as well as other products created by the material energy

The jéva, even in the pure state, cannot be the äçraya. That would go against the vision of Çréla Vyäsadeva in His trance. The sense is as follows: Brahman, or the Lord in His original form, is always aloof from the various states of existence, such as wakeful, as well as from the creation of Mäyä beginning from the mahat-tattva onwards. These are all manifestations of His external energy. Yet in His feature as the Supersoul, the Supreme Witness, He is associated with these manifestations. He is the ground, therefore, for all the activities of the jéva both in his pure form and in his conditioned form. At the same time the Supersoul remains transcendental to everything. This is indicated by the prefix apa, which means abandoning. Here it implies transcending.

This "transcendental Äçraya" is understood by the knowledge of the

pure nature of the jéva, called hetu, and thus Çré Süta Gosvämé

reveals it in the following two verses (SB.12.7.20,21):

Just as a material element is both connected with and distinct from the objects made of it having various names and forms, so, due to ignorance, the pure living being is associated with the nine states of life, beginning with conception and ending with death, yet is distinct from these nine. When the jéva restrains his mind and transcends the three states either by himself or by meditation, he realizes his self and becomes free from all actions. 

The earth is associated with and distinct from its own products having names and forms such as a mud pot,but if one does not consider these products, then it also exists independent of them. Similarly the consciousness of the jéva, due to ignorance, is mixed with the nine states of life, beginning from conception up to death, nonetheless the pure jéva is always aloof from them. When he realizes his self to be pure he becomes indifferent to these changes and becomes qualified to inquire into the nature of the apäçraya. This is the purpose of the verse beginning with virameta

The phrase våttitrayam (lit. three states) means wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep states. The word ätmänam means the Supersoul. The word svayam, or by himself, means to be discriminating about the illusory nature of the world, as was done by the sage Vämadeva. The term yogena, or through meditation, implies meditation or yoga as was practiced by Çrématé Devahüti. "He becomes free from all actions" means he refrains from all actions except the practice of God-realization.

Thus the sambandha or the subject has been delineated

Thus ends the Tattva Sandarbha, the first among the Bhagavat Sandarbha, which is written according to the instructions of  Çréla Rüpa and Çréla Sanatäna, who are the reverend members of the universal royal assembly of Vaiñëavas. They are unalloyed servants unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the purifier of the jévas in Kali-yuga, who descended to distribute the benediction of His own service.
 

ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY

            The partial or complete dissolution of the material creation is called samstha. Süta Gosvämé classifies this dissolution into four--naimittika, präkåtikä, nitya, and ätyantika.  The dissolution that comes at the end of Lord Brahmä's day is called naimittika, or the causal dissolution. The dissolution at the end of Lord Brahmä's life span is called präkåtika, or the complete dissolution. When a jéva gets free from both subtle and gross bodies and enters the spiritual sky that is called ätyantika, or the ultimate dissolution, or liberation. Having attained this state he does not have to take birth again in this material world. Thus Çréla Jéva Gosvämé says that ätyantika includes mukti, the ninth item enumerated by Çukadeva Gosvämé in Anuccheda 56.

            At every moment everything in the material world is proceeding towards annihilation. Scholars call this nitya, or the continuous dissolution.

            In Sarva-saàvädiné Çréla Jéva Gosvämé states that there is also partial dissolution at the end of each manvantara. To substantiate this he quotes from the Viñëu-dharmottara Puräëa, Çrémad Bhägavatam, and the Bhärata-Tätparyya of Çré Madhaväcärya. Part of the reference from the Viñëu Dharmottara Puräëa (1.75.1,2) states:

King Vajra asked, "O brähmaëa, when a manvantara is over, what is the situation of the world, kindly explain it to me."

Märkaëòeya replied, "At the end of a manvantara the demigods appointed for that particular manvantara, being free from sins, attain to Maharloka and reside there."

            After this, Märkaëòeya goes on to explain that the seven sages, Manu, and Indra go to Brahmaloka and the earth becomes submerged in a deluge. The description is similar to the one in the twenty-forth chapter, Eighth Canto, of the Bhägavatam. The description given in the Viñëu Dharmottara Puräëa is a general occurrence that comes at the end of each manvantara. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé says that this conclusion is further substantiated by the Harivaàça Puräëa and its commentaries on the chapters dealing with the subject. That being the case, the dissolution at the end of a Manvantara can be counted as naimittika, or causal, because it occurs due to a cause, namely the change of a Manu, and it cannot fit into any one of the other three types of dissolutions.

            Hetu, or the efficient cause of creation, is the jéva. The Lord has nothing to gain from this material world. He has His transcendental abode where He engages in loving pastimes with His dear devotees. For the welfare of those living beings who have turned their back to the Lord,  He has created this universe where the jéva is avidyä-karma-käraka, acting out of ignorance and sustaining the universe. In that sense the jéva is the efficient cause behind the creation, not that he fashions it. Lord Kåñëa states in the Bhagavad-gétä (7.5) that the whole material world is sustained by the living entities, jéva-bhutäà mahä-bäho yayedam dhäryate jagat.

            The ultimate purpose of the material world is to attain liberation and not remain in the cycle of repeated birth and death. Çukadeva Gosvämé makes this clear in the Çrémad Bhägavatam (10.87.2):

"The Supreme Lord manifested the material intelligence, senses, mind, and vital air of the living entities so they could indulge in their devices for sense gratification, take repeated births to engage in future activities, become elevated in future lives, and ultimately attain liberation."

            From this one should not misconstrue that the jéva is the äçraya of the universe. That will certainly contradict the realization of  Çréla Vyäsadeva, in which He saw the Lord as the ultimate Äçraya of everything. But if the Lord is the Äçraya of this material world, He must also be in contact with Mäyä and her creation? To this Çré Süta Gosvämé says, apäçraya, the Supreme Lord is the transcendental Äçraya. He is the Äçraya, but He is apart from Mäyä. In the Bhagavad-gétä (7.4) the Lord Himself describes that material nature as bhinna prakåiti, His separated energy. In His original form the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely aloof from the creation, but as the

Supersoul He witnesses and controls the activities of both the jéva and Mäyä. Thus by His inconceivable potency He is both in association with the creation and distinct from it. This He also confirms in the Bhagavad-gétä (9.4):

"By Me in My invisible form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them." But even when He pervades it or controls it He is neither in physical contact nor  influenced by it.

                 Previously Çréla Jéva Gosvämé showed that knowledge of the pure nature of the jéva is the primary step in the science of God-realization. Here he substantiates this with the two verses spoken by Çré Süta Gosvämé (SB.12.7.20,21): 

            "Just as a material element is both connected with and distinct from the objects made of it having various names and forms, so, due to ignorance, the pure living being is associated with the nine states of life, beginning with conception and ending with death, yet is distinct from these nine. When the jéva restrains his mind and transcends the three states either by himself or by meditation, he realizes his self and becomes free from all actions." (SB.12.7.20,21)

            Elsewhere, Lord Kåñëa names the nine states of the body that the jéva experiences: conception, remaining in the womb, birth, infancy, boyhood, youth, middle age, old age, and death.  Although the jéva in it's conditioned state seems to be in association with the nine types of changes in the body,  he is never actually mixed with it. Just as clay constitutes the mud pot, still, clay exists independent of the mud pot. Similarly, the jéva animates the body, but nevertheless exists independent of the body and the nine types of changes the body undergoes.

            When one understands himself to be distinct from the body in all the nine stages during the wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep states, he is qualified to walk on the path of God-realization. That is the stage of athäto brahma jijïäsä,  "Knowing oneself distinct from the body one becomes qualified to inquire into the Absolute Truth" (V.S. 1.1.1). This is also indicated by the following statement from the Båhadäraëyaka Upaniñad (4.4.12) yadätmänaà vijäniyädayamasmiti püruñaù, "When the jéva understands that 'I am distinct from the body. I am a conscious fraction of Brahmän'  he comes to realize the Supreme Lord."

            In this anuccheda two processes for self-realization are indicated. The word svayam implies the path of jïäna, in which one meditates on the self as different from everything else in the realm of Mäyä. This was the path followed by the sage Vämadeva, whose history is related in the Båhadäraëyaka Upaniñad. A similar example is that of Dattätreya told in the Eleventh Canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam.

            The second process is implied by the word yogena, which means the path of bhakti. On this path one considers himself different from the three states of existence--wakeful, dreaming, and deep sleep--and meditates on the Supersoul. This was exemplified by Çrématé Devahüti, the mother of Lord Kapiladeva.  Her story is in the Third Canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam.

            Çréla Jéva Gosvämé concludes that the Supreme Äçraya of everything is Lord Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; and He alone is the subject (sambandhi tattva) of Çrémad Bhägavatam.

            A summary of Çré Tattva Sandarbha is as follows: The first eight verses make up the invocation, or Maìgaläcaraëa. In these verses, besides praying to his teachers and his worshipable deity, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé outlines the purpose of his writing the book, the subject matter within, and the qualification of the reader. 

            From sections nine to twenty-six he discusses the Gauòéya Vaiñëava epistemology. He first points out that all human beings are subject to the four defects, which inhibits their attempt to acquire perfect knowledge independently. Out of ten means of gaining knowledge he accepts çabda, or revealed knowledge as supreme. The Vedas, being çabda brahman, or the revealed knowledge given by the Supreme Lord, are the highest authority; but, being unavailable in complete form and owing to their cryptic nature and the absence of a proper paramparä, he prefers to examine the Puräëas, which he establishes as the fifth Veda, along with the Rämäyaëa and Mahäbhärata.

            Next, he shows that the Puräëas have the same quality, authority, and nature as the Vedas, and that due to their simple language and accessibility, they are even better than the other four Vedas,  accessible even to non-dvijas, those who have not undergone the sacred thread ceremony.

            But the Puräëas speak of various deities and seem to contradict each other and there is no proper sampradäya available for each of them. By process of elimination therefore, in section eighteen, he accepts the Çrémad Bhägavatam, which is not marred with the above problems, as the most suitable Puräëa for investigation.

            From section nineteen to twenty-six he analyzes the Çrémad Bhägavatam and reveals its supreme nature as the most authoritative Vedic literature, the ripened fruit of the desire tree of Vedic knowledge. It is based on Gäyatré, the essence of the Vedas; it is the natural commentary on the Vedänta Sütra In sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight he gives the basic scheme of the Sandarbhas, what reference sources he plans to use, and his method of analysis.

            From sections twenty-nine to sixty-three he establishes the following points:

1. The subject matter of the Çrémad Bhägavatam is Lord Kåñëa.

2. Lord Kåñëa is the original personality of Godhead.

3. He has multifarious potencies that are divided into three main categories--internal, external, and marginal.

4. Mäyä is His external energy and she works under Him but cannot control Him.

5. The jévas are bound by Mäyä since time immemorial.

6. The jévas cannot transcend Mäyä by their own power.

7. Surrender to the Lord is the jéva's only means of liberation.

8. The goal of life is to attain prema, love of Kåñëa. 

            In establishing these eight points Çréla Jéva Gosvämé first analyzes the heart of Çré Çukadeva Gosvämé, the speaker of the Çrémad Bhägavatam. In section twenty-nine he quotes and analyzes the prayers of Çré Süta Gosvämé, in which the realization and exhalted position of Çukadeva is described. Then from sections thirty to forty-nine he analyzes the statements describing the trance of Çréla Vyäsadeva, which is the basis for the Çrémad Bhägavatam. While analyzing Vyäsa's trance, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé, in sections thirty-four to forty-three, decisively smashes the two primary doctrines of the mäyävädis, with logic and  scriptural reference.

            From sections fifty to fifty-two he shows what is the subject of the Çrémad Bhägavatam by analyzing the second verse of the first chapter. He concludes that the Bhägavatam is solely about the non-dual Reality. In sections fifty-three to fifty-five he explains the nature of the jéva, that the jéva, being a fractional part of Brahman is conscious like Brahman, but can never be equal to Brahman. He explains that understanding this similarity between jéva and Brahman is the initial step towards realizing the Absolute Truth.

            From section fifty-six on he determines the subject of the Çrémad Bhägavatam from another angle of analysis. He analyzes the ten characteristics of the Çrémad Bhägavatam as spoken by Çukadeva Gosvämé in the Second Canto and as spoken by Süta Gosvämé in the Twelfth Canto. He shows that there is no disharmony between the spirit and intent of these two great authorities on the Çrémad Bhägavatam. Both Çukadeva and Süta Gosvämés purpose in explaining the first nine out of the ten characteristics is to convey an understanding of the multifarious potencies and the activities of the tenth item, the Äçraya, who is Lord Çré Kåñëa.

            Thus, from different angles, Jéva Gosvämé establishes that the Çrémad Bhägavatam is the ultimate scriptural source; it revolves around Çré Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and it preaches the message of unalloyed love of Godhead as the supreme goal of life. In the next three Sandarbhas, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé further expands the sambandhi tattva.

            Thus ends the Çré Jéva Toñaëé Commentary on Sri Tattva Sandarbha, the first book of the Çré Ñaö-sandarbha of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé Prabhupäda.