गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

tatra tatra sthito viṣṇus
tat tac chaktiṁ prabodhayet
eka eva mahā-śaktiḥ
kurute sarvam añjasā
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, enters everywhere and
awakens the power dormant in everything. He is the supremely powerful one. He
does everything perfectly."
In this way it is shown that pradhāna and all other material features all come
directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That fact is not at all
contradicted by the sequence of events presented in the Subala Upaniṣad and the
other scriptures. This is so because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
creator of the original material darkness, the pradhāna and the other features of
the material world. Thus when the scripture says tat tejo 'sṛjata (The Supreme
Personality of Godhead created fire), it is understood that He also created
darkness, a host of other potencies, pradhāna, air, and other aspects of matter.
When the scriptures say tasmād vai (From the Supreme Personality of Godhead
everything has come), it is understood that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
the master of material darkness and a host of other potencies, the pradhāna and
other features of matter were born from Him, and the material element ether was
also manifested from Him.
Adhikaraṇa 10
All Words Are Names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Introduction by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Here someone may object: Is it not so that if Lord Hari is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the master of all, and the all-pervading Supersoul, then
the names of all that is moving and inert would also be names of Him? However,
this is not so, for words are primarily the names of the various moving and inert
things.
Thinking that someone may accept this idea that words are primarily names of
various things and only secondarily names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
the author of the sūtras gives the following explanation.

Sūtra 15
carācara-vyapāśrayas tu syāt tad-vyapadeśo 'bhāktas tad-bhāva-bhāvitvāt
cara—moving; acara—and unmoving; vyapāśrayaḥ—the abode; tu—indeed;
syāt—may be; tat—of that; vyapadeśaḥ—name; abhāktaḥ—not figurative; tat—of
Him; bhāva—the nature; bhāvitvāt—because of being in the future.
Indeed, He resides in all that move and does not move. Therefore it will be
learned that every word is one of His names.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The word "tu" (indeed) is used here to dispel doubt. The word "carācara-
vyapāśrayaḥ" means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides in all
moving and unmoving beings. The word "tad-vyapadeśaḥ" means "the names of
the moving and unmoving beings". The word “abhāktaḥ” means "these names are
primarily names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead". Why is that? The sūtra
explains: "bhāva-bhāvitvāt" (the real meaning of names will be learned in the
future). This means that by studying the scriptures one will come to understand
that all words are names of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Śruti-śāstras
explain:
so 'kāmayata bahu syām
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead desired: Let Me become many. Let me
create the material world."
sa vāsudevo na yato 'nyad asti
"He is the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing is different
from Him."
In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.7.16) it is said:
kaṭaka-mukuṭa-karṇikādi-bhedaiḥ
kanakam abhedam apīṣyate yathaikam
sura-paśu-manujādi-kalpanābhir

harir akhilābhir udīryate tathaikaḥ
"As golden bracelets, crowns, earrings, and other golden ornaments are all one
because they are all made of gold, so all demigods, men, and animals are one with
Lord because they are all made of Lord Hari's potencies."
The meaning is this: Names of potencies are primarily the names of the master
of these potencies. This is so because the master is the very self of His potencies.
Adhikaraṇa 11
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Eternal and Without Beginning
Introduction by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Because He is the origin of everything, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has
no other origin from which He was created. This has already been described. Now
we will determine the nature of the individual spirit soul. First the idea that the
individual soul has an origin will be refuted.
In the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, Mahā-Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (1.4) it is said:
yataḥ prasūtā jagataḥ prasūtī
toyena jīvān vyasasarja bhūmyām
"From the Supreme Personality of Godhead the universe was born. With water
He created the living entities on the earth."
In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad it is said:
san-mūlāḥ saumyemāḥ sarvāḥ prajāḥ
"O gentle one, all living entities have their roots in the Supreme."
Saṁśaya (doubt): Do the individual spirit souls have an origin or not?
Pūrvapakṣa (the opponent speaks): Because He is the creator of the material
universe, which contains both sentient living entities and insentient matter, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead must be the creator of the individual spirit souls.
Any other idea would be illogical.
Siddhānta (conclusion): The author of the sūtras gives the following
conclusion.
Sūtra 16
nātmā śruter nityatvāc ca tābhyaḥ
na—not; ātmā—the individual spirit soul; śruteḥ—from the Śruti-śāstra;
nityatvāt—because of being eternal; ca—and; tābhyaḥ—from them.
Because the individual spirit soul is eternal, and because of the statements of
Śruti-śāstra and other scriptures, this idea about the individual spirit soul is not
true.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The individual spirit soul was never created. Why not? The sūtra explains:
"śruteḥ" (because of the statements of Śruti-śāstra). In Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.18) it
is said:
na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścin
nāyaṁ kutaścin na babhūva kaścit
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
"O wise one, for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has
not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is
unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is
slain."*
That the individual spirit soul was never born is also declared in the
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (1.9):
jñājñau dvāv ajāv īśānīśau
"Neither the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor the individual spirit souls

were ever born."
The word "tābhyaḥ" in the sūtra means "the eternality of the individual spirit
soul is described in the Śruti and Smṛti -śāstras". The word "ca" (and) in the sūtra
means that the individual spirit soul is also conscious and full of knowledge.
In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.5.13) it is said:
nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
"Of all eternal living souls there is one who is the leader. Of all eternal souls
there is one who is the leader."
In the Bhagavad-gītā the Supreme Lord explains:
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇaḥ
"The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval."
Therefore, when it is said, "Yajñadatta is born and again he dies," such words
refer only to the external material body. The jāta-karma ceremony and other
ceremonies like it also refer to the external material body. The individual spirit
soul is different from the external material body and resides in it like a passenger.
In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.3.8) it is said:
sa vā ayaṁ puruṣo jāyamānaḥ śarīram abhisaṁpadyamānaḥ sa utkraman
mriyamāṇaḥ
"At the moment of birth the spirit soul enters a material body and at the
moment of death the soul leaves the body."
In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.11.3) it is said:
jīvopetam vāva kiledaṁ mriyate na jīvo mriyate
"The soul resides in the material body. When the body dies the soul does not
die."
Here someone may object: How can this be? If this is so, then this fact disagrees
with the scriptural description of the individual souls' creation.
To this objection I reply: The individual spirit souls are said to be created
because they are effects of the Supreme. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has
two potencies, and these are said to be His effects. Here is what makes these two

potencies different. One potency is the pradhāna and other inert, unconscious, not
alive potencies that are meant to be objects of enjoyment and various experiences.
The other potency is the individual spirit souls, who are not inert, dull matter, but
are conscious, alive beings, and who are able to enjoy and perceive various
experiences. These two potencies share one common feature: that they are both
the effects of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way the scriptural
description of the souls' creation is not contradicted. In this way the scriptures are
correct, and in this way, also, the individual spirit souls are never born.
Adhikaraṇa 12
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Both Knowledge and Knowers
Introduction by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Now the author of the sūtras considers the nature of the individual spirit soul.
In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.7.22) it is said:
yo vijñāne tiṣṭhan
"The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge."
In another passage it is said:
sukham aham asvapsaṁ na kiñcid avediṣi
"I slept happily. I did not know anything."
Saṁśaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul unalloyed knowledge only, or is
the soul the knower that experiences knowledge?
Pūrvapakṣa (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul consists of
knowledge only. This is confirmed by the statement of Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad
(3.7.22): "The individual spirit soul is situated in knowledge." The soul is not the
knower or the perceiver of knowledge. The intelligence is the knower. Therefore
statement, "I slept happily. I did not know anything." is spoken by the
intelligence, not by the soul.

Siddhānta (conclusion): The author of the sūtras gives the following
conclusion.
Sūtra 17
jño 'ta eva
jñaḥ—knower; ataḥ eva—therefore.
Therefore he is the knower.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The individual spirit soul is both knowledge and knower. In the Praśna
Upaniṣad (4.9) it is said:
eṣa hi draṣṭā spraṣṭā śrotā rasayitā ghrātā mantā boddhā kartā vijñānātmā puruṣaḥ
"The individual spirit soul is the seer, the toucher, the hearer, the taster, the
smeller, the thinker, the determiner, the doer, and the knower."
This truth is accepted because it is declared by scripture, not because it is
understood by logic. Our acceptance of the truth of scripture is described in sūtra
2.1.27:
śrutes tu śabda-mūlatvāt
"The statements of Śruti-śāstra are the root of real knowledge."
In the Smṛti-śāstra it is said:
jñātā jñāna-svarūpo 'yam
"The individual spirit soul is both knower and knowledge."
Therefore the individual spirit soul is not knowledge alone without being
anything else, and this is not at all proved by the statement, "I slept happily. I did

not know anything," for such an idea would contradict these scripture statements
that affirm the soul to be the knower. Therefore it is concluded that the individual
spirit soul is both knowledge and knower.
Adhikaraṇa 13
The Individual Spirit Souls Are Atomic
Introduction by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Now the author of the sūtras considers the size of the individual spirit souls. In
the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.9) it is said:
eṣo 'ṇur ātmā cetasā veditavyo yasmin prāṇaḥ pañcadhā saṁviveṣa
"When the life-breath withdraws the five activities, the mind can understand
the atomic soul."
Saṁśaya (doubt): Is the individual spirit soul atomic or all-pervading?
Pūrvapakṣa (the opponent speaks): The individual spirit soul is all-pervading.
Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.14) declares that the soul is "mahān" (great). The
statement that the soul is atomic is merely a poetic metaphor.
Siddhānta (conclusion): The author of the sūtras gives the conclusion in the
following words.
Sūtra 18
utkrānti-gaty-āgatīnām
utkrānti—departure; gati—travel; āgatīnām—and of return
Because of departure, travel, and return.

Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
In this sūtra the word "aṇuḥ" (the atomic soul) should be understood from the
previous sūtra. In this sūtra the genitive case is used in the sense of the ablative.
The individual spirit soul is atomic and not all-pervading. Why is that? The sūtra
explains: "Because of departure, travel, and return."
In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.2) it is said:
tasya haitasya hṛdayasyāgraṁ pradyotate. tena pradyotenaiṣa ātmā niṣkrāmati
cakṣuṣo vā mūrdhno vānyebhyo vā śarīra-deśebhyaḥ
"The soul shines in the heart. At the moment of death the effulgent soul leaves
through the opening of the eyes, the opening at the top of the the head, or another
opening in the body."
In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.11) it is said:
anandā nāma te lokā
andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ
tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti
avidvāṁso 'budhā janāḥ
"Sinful fools enter into planets known as the worlds of torment, full of darkness
and ignorance."
In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.6) it is said:
prāpyāntaṁ karmaṇas tasya
yat kiñcedam karoty ayam
tasmāt lokāt punar etya
yasmai lokāya karmaṇe
"At the time of death the soul reaps the results of his works. He goes to the
world where he deserves to go. When the results of his past deeds are exhausted,
again he returns to the middle planets, the world of karma."
In this way the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad describes the soul's travel from one
place to another. If he were all-pervading, the soul would not be able to travel from
one place to another, for he would already be everywhere.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.87.30) it is said:
aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās
tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā
"O Lord, although the living entities who have accepted material bodies are
spiritual and unlimited in number, if they were all-pervading there would be no
question of their being under Your control."*
However, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although all-pervading, can
travel from place to place. This is possible because He possesses inconceivable
powers.
Here someone may object: The individual spirit soul can be all-pervading and
unmoving, and still, because he mistakenly identifies with the external material
body, imagine that he goes and comes. He is like the ruler of a village who never
really leaves his realm.
To this the reply is given: Because it is said that he both departs and returns it
is not possible that the soul is actually stationary and unmoving. The author of the
sūtras confirms this in the following words.
Sūtra 19
svātmanaś cottarayoḥ
sva—own; ātmanaḥ—of the soul; ca—and; uttarayoḥ—of the latter two.
Also because the last two refer to the soul.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The word "ca" (also) is used here for emphasis. Here the word "uttarayoḥ" (the
last two) means "of the coming and going". The coming and going here definitely
occurs to the individual spirit soul. This is so because the coming and going in the
pervious sūtra clearly refer to an agent, to the performer of the action. The coming
and going here are understood to be coming and going from a material body. This
is clearly seen in the first Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.2) passage quoted in the
previous purport. It is also seen in the following words of Bhagavad-gītā (15.4):
śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti
yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ

gṛhītvaitāni samyāti
vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt
"The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life
from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body
and again quits it to take another."*
If someone says that the soul actually never goes anywhere, although it seems
to go places because of the misidentification of the external material body as the
self, then I say this is a foolish idea. In the following words the Kauśītakī Upaniṣad
refutes this idea:
sa yadāsmāt śarīrāt samutkrāmati sahaivaitaiḥ sarvair utkrāmati
"At the time of death the soul, accompanied by all his powers, leaves the
material body."
The word "saha" (accompanied by) is used when the more important is
accompanied by another of lesser importance. An example is the sentence:
"Accompanied by (saha) his son, the father took his meal." Another example is in
Bhagavad-gītā (15.4), which declares that the soul carries his different conceptions
of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. In this way the foolish
example pushed forward by the impersonalists, the example of the air in the jar
and in the sky, is clearly refuted.
Sūtra 20
nāṇur atac chruter iti cen netarādhikārāt
na—not; aṇuḥ—atom; atat—not that; śruteḥ—from the scriptures; iti—thus;
cet—is; na—not; itara—other; adhikārāt—because of being appropriate.
If it is claimed that the Śruti-śāstra denies the idea that the soul is atomic, then
I reply that it is not so, because those descriptions apply to someone else.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Here someone may object: Is it not so that that the individual spirit soul is not
atomic? After all, the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.4.22) affirms:

sa vā eṣa mahā-jana ātmā
"The soul is very great."
After all, to be great in size is the very opposite of being atomic.
If someone claims this, then the sūtra replies: "No. It is not so." Why not? The
sūtra explains: "itara" (because these descriptions apply to someone else). These
words are descriptions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-pervading
Supersoul. In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.3.7) it is said:
yo 'yam vijñānamayaḥ prāṇeṣu
"He is full of knowledge. He stays among the life-airs."
Although this passage begins by describing the individual spirit soul, it
proceeds with a description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as is seen in a
following passage (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.13):
yasyānuvittaḥ pratibuddha ātmā
"He is the self who knows everything."
These words clearly describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not the
individual spirit soul.
Sūtra 21
sva-śabdonmānābhyāṁ ca
sva—own; śabda—word; unmānābhyām—with measure; ca—and.
Because of its word and measurement.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

The word "sva-śabda" (the word describing it) here means that the word
atomic is used to describe the individual spirit soul. An example of this is in
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.1.9):
eṣo 'ṇur ātmā
"The soul is atomic in size."
The word "unmāna" here means "Its measurement is atomic in size". The
precise measurement of the individual spirit soul is given in the Śvetāśvatara
Upaniṣad (4.9):
bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ
sa cāntantyāya kalpate
"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again
each of these parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the
measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul."*
In these two ways the atomic size of the soul is proved. the word ānantya" here
means "liberation". "Anta" means "death", and "an" means "without". Therefore
the word "ānantya" means "the condition of being free from death".
Here someone may object: Is it not so that if it is atomic in size and situated in
a specific place in the material body, the soul could not perceive sensations in all
other parts of the body, where the soul is not actually present?
If this is said, then the author of the sūtras replies in the following words.
Sūtra 22
avirodhaś candana-vat
avirodhaḥ—not contradicting; candana—sandal; vat—like
It does not contradict. It is like sandal paste.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

यथा हि शरीरस्यैकदेशे निहितं चन्दनबिन्दुः समग्रं शरीरं सुखयति,
तथा एकदेशस्थितोऽपि जीवात्मा सर्वं देहं चेतयते इति न कश्चिद् विरोधः।
तथा च ब्रह्माण्डपुराणे पठ्यते—
अणुमात्रोऽप्ययं जीवः स्वदेहं व्याप्य तिष्ठति।
यथा व्याप्य शरीराणि हरिचन्दनविप्रुषः॥
(अर्थात्—यथा चन्दनस्य बिन्दुः स्वस्पर्शसुखेन समग्रं शरीरं व्याप्नोति, तथैवायम् अणुरपि जीवः समग्रं देहं व्याप्य वर्तते।)
॥ ब्रह्मसूत्रम् २.३.२३ ॥
अवस्थितिवैशेष्यादिति चेन्नाभ्युपगमाद्धृदि हि॥ २३ ॥
पदच्छेदः—
अवस्थिति-वैशेष्यात्, इति, चेत्, न, अभ्युपगमात्, हृदि, हि।
पदविभागः तथा शब्दार्थः—
अवस्थिति-वैशेष्यात् = अवस्थानस्य विशेषभावात् (चन्दनस्यैकदेशे प्रत्यक्षमुपलब्धेः);
इति चेत् = यदि एवमुच्येत;
न = तन्न साधु;
अभ्युपगमात् = श्रुतिषु अङ्गीकृतत्वात्;
हृदि = हृदयदेशे;
हि = यतः।
सूत्रार्थः—
यदि कोऽपि ब्रूयात् यच्चन्दनस्य तु शरीरस्य कस्मिंश्चिदेकदेशे प्रत्यक्षं स्थानविशेषोपलब्धिर्भवति,
परं जीवस्य तादृशावस्थानविशेषो नोपलभ्यते, अतः स दृष्टान्तो न युक्तः इति चेत्;
तन्न, यतो हि श्रुतिषु जीवस्य हृदयप्रदेशे अवस्थानमभ्युपगतम्।
॥ श्रीगोविन्दभाष्यम् (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण विरचितम्) ॥
पूर्वपक्षः—
ननु चन्दनबिन्दोः शरीरे कस्मिंश्चिदेकस्मिन् प्रदेशे प्रत्यक्षत एवावस्थितिर्विशेषेणोपलभ्यते,
जीवस्य तु देहे तथा कश्चिदेकदेशीयो विशेषसम्बन्धो नोपलभ्यते।
अतः आकाशवत् सर्वत्रैव देहे तस्य व्यापकत्वं किमिति नाभ्युपेयते?
तस्मात् चन्दनदृष्टान्तोऽत्र विषमोऽसमञ्जसश्चेति।
सिद्धान्तः—
इति चेत्, तन्न; कुतः? अभ्युपगमात्।
यतो हि श्रुतौ जीवस्य हृद्येवावस्थानं प्रतिपादितम्।
तथा च प्रश्नोपनिषदि (३.६) श्रूयते—
"हृदि ह्येष आत्मा" इति।
॥ हिन्दी-अनुवाद एवं व्याख्या ॥
[पूर्वसन्दर्भ:] जिस प्रकार शरीर के किसी एक अंग पर लगाया गया चन्दन का एक बिन्दु (बूँद) समस्त शरीर को आह्लादित कर देता है,
उसी प्रकार एक ही स्थान पर स्थित रहता हुआ भी यह जीवात्मा सम्पूर्ण शरीर का अनुभव कर लेता है; अतः कोई विरोध नहीं है।
ब्रह्माण्डपुराण में भी ऐसा कहा गया है—
"यद्यपि यह जीवात्मा अणुस्वरूप है, तथापि यह सम्पूर्ण देह को व्याप्त करके स्थित रहता है;
ठीक उसी प्रकार जैसे हरिचन्दन की एक नन्हीं बूँद सम्पूर्ण शरीर को अपने प्रभाव से व्याप्त कर लेती है।"
॥ सूत्र २३ की व्याख्या ॥
[आक्षेप:] यदि कोई यह शङ्का करे कि चन्दन के बिन्दु की तो शरीर के किसी एक भाग में प्रत्यक्ष स्थिति देखी जाती है,
किन्तु जीवात्मा का शरीर में ऐसा कोई निश्चित स्थान प्रत्यक्ष ज्ञात नहीं होता,
वह तो आकाश की भाँति सम्पूर्ण देह में ही व्याप्त प्रतीत होता है, अतः चन्दन का दृष्टान्त विषम (अनुपयुक्त) है;
[समाधान:] तो यह शङ्का ठीक नहीं है; क्योंकि श्रुति-शास्त्रों में जीवात्मा की स्थिति विशेष रूप से हृदय में स्वीकार की गई है।
[श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण भाष्य-सार:]
श्रुति स्पष्ट रूप से प्रतिपादित करती है कि जीवात्मा का वास्तविक निवास-स्थान भौतिक शरीर का हृदय-कमल ही है।
जैसा कि प्रश्नोपनिषद् (३.६) के प्रमाण से सिद्ध होता है—"यह आत्मा निश्चय ही हृदय में स्थित है।"

hṛdi hy eṣa ātmā
"The soul resides in the heart."
In the final conclusion the spirit soul, although atomic in size, is, in one sense,
all-pervading throughout the entire material body. This is explained in the
following sūtra.
Sūtra 24
guṇād vālokavat
guṇāt—by quality; vā—or; āloka—light; vat—like.
By quality or like light.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Although the soul is atomic in size, it pervades the body by the quality of
consciousness. Like light it pervades the entire body. As the sun, although situated
in one place, fills the universe with light, so the soul fills the body with
consciousness. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself declares this in
Bhagavad-gītā (13.34):
yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ
kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ
kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ
prakāśayati bhārata
"O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the
living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness."*
When the sun emanates sunlight it does not lose any atoms from its mass, nor
does it become diminished in any way. Rubies and other jewels also emanate light
without losing atoms from their mass or becoming diminished in any way. It is not
possible to say that when light is emanated from them these things become
diminished in size. The light they emanate is their quality, not their mass.
The quality can function in a plane apart from the substance that possesses it.
The author of the sūtras explains this in the following example.

Sūtra 25
vyatireko gandhavat tathā hi darśayati
vyatirekaḥ—difference; gandha—fragrance; vat—like; tathā—so; hi—indeed;
darśayati—shows.
As a fragrance is in a different place, so it is also in a different place. This the
scripture shows.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
As the fragrance of flowers or other objects may travel to a place far from its
source, so the consciousness that emanates from the soul may travel from the heart
and enter the head, feet, or other parts of the body. The Kauśītaki Upaniṣad (3.6)
explains:
prajñayā śarīraṁ samāruhya
"By consciousness the soul is all-pervading in the material body."
Even though the fragrance may travel very far it is never actually separated
from its source, just as the light of a jewel is also not separated from its source. In
the Smṛti-śāstra it is said:
upalabhyāpsu ced gandhaṁ
kecid brūyur anaipuṇāḥ
pṛthivyām eva tam vidyād
apo vāyuṁ ca saṁśritam
"They who do not understand may sometimes say that fragrance is present in
water. Earth is the natural home of fragrance, although it may sometimes take
shelter of water or air."
In the Praśna Upaniṣad (4.9) it is said:

एष हि द्रष्टा
"आत्मा ही वह पुरुष (चेतन सत्ता) है जो देखता है।"
संशय: क्या आत्मा में विद्यमान चेतना नित्य है अथवा अनित्य?
पूर्वपक्ष: आत्मा स्वभावतः अचेतन (जड़) है। वह पाषाण के
समान है। चेतना तभी उत्पन्न होती है जब आत्मा का मन से संयोग होता है।
यह शास्त्रों के इस कथन में देखा जाता है: "मैं सुखपूर्वक सोया। मुझे किसी भी वस्तु का
भान नहीं था।" यह कथन सिद्ध करता है कि चेतना आत्मा का स्वाभाविक गुण
नहीं है, अपितु अन्य वस्तु (मन) के सम्पर्क से उत्पन्न होती है। यह लोहे और
अग्नि के सदृश है। अग्नि में रखने पर लोहे की छड़ धीरे-धीरे अग्नि के गुणों को ग्रहण कर लेती है। यदि चेतना
आत्मा का स्वाभाविक गुण होती, तो प्रगाढ़ निद्रा (सुषुप्ति) में इसका लोप
नहीं होता।
सिद्धान्त: आगामी शब्दों में सूत्रकार (श्रीव्यासदेव)
अपना सिद्धान्त प्रस्तुत करते हैं।
सूत्र २६
पृथगुपदेशात्
पृथक् — पृथक् (भिन्न रूप से); उपदेशात् — उपदेश (कथन) होने के कारण।
क्योंकि (ज्ञान और ज्ञाता का) पृथक् उपदेश किया गया है।
श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण कृत तात्पर्य / भाष्य
आत्मा नित्य रूप से चेतन है। यह किस प्रकार जाना जाता है? सूत्र स्पष्ट करता है:
"क्योंकि पृथक् उपदेश है।" उस उपदेश के कुछ उदाहरण प्रस्तुत हैं।
प्रश्नोपनिषद् (४.९) में कहा गया है:
एष हि द्रष्टा
"आत्मा नित्य देखता है (नित्य द्रष्टा है)।"
बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद् (४.५.१४) में कहा गया है:

avināśī vā are ayam ātmānucitti-dharmā
"The soul's consciousness is never destroyed."
The soul does not become conscious merely by contact with the mind, for soul
and mind are both indivisible and cannot interact. Turning away from the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul obscures its natural spiritual
knowledge. Turning towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the soul revives
its natural spiritual consciousness. This is described in the Smṛti-śāstra:
yathā na kriyate jyotsnā
mala-prakṣālanān maṇeḥ
doṣa-prahāṇān na jñānam
ātmanaḥ kriyate tathā
"As by washing away the dirt that covered a jewel, the jewel's splendor is not
created but merely uncovered, so by removing the dirt of materialism that covered
the soul, the soul's splendor is not created, but merely uncovered.
yathodapāna-khananāt
kriyate na jalāntaram
sad eva nīyate vyaktim
asataḥ sambhavaḥ kutaḥ
"As by digging a well, water is brought forth but not created, so by spiritual
activities the nature of the soul is brought forth but not created. How would it be
possible to create the the soul's qualities from nothing?
tathā heya-guṇa-dhvaṁsād
avarodhādayo guṇāḥ
prakāśyante na jānyante
nitya evātmano hi te
"When material faults are destroyed, the soul's qualities become revealed. The
soul's qualities are eternal. they are never created."
Here someone may object: These quotes from scripture merely show that the
soul is synonymous with consciousness. They do not prove that the soul itself is
conscious.

To this objection the author of the sūtras replies in the following words.
Sūtra 27
tad-guṇa-sāratvāt tad vyapadeśaḥ prājña-vat
tat—of that; guṇa—quality; sāratvāt—because of being the essence; tat—that;
vyapadeśaḥ—designation; prājña—intelligent; vat—like.
It is called that because that is its essential nature, just as He who is intelligent.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Because the soul is consciousness itself, therefore it is conscious. Why is that?
The sūtra explains: "It is called that because that is its essential nature."
In this sūtra the word "guṇa" (quality) refers to the soul's quality of
consciousness. The word "sāra" means "the essential nature of the thing, the
absence of which makes the thing non-existent." The word "prājña-vat" means
"Like Lord Viṣṇu, who is known as “prājña" (all-knowing) because He is all
knowledge. Because He is all-knowledge personified, Lord Viṣṇu is said to know
everything. In the same way, because the soul is consciousness personified,
therefore the soul is conscious. That the statements "the soul is consciousness
personified" and "the soul is conscious" mean the same thing is also confirmed in
the next sūtra.
Sūtra 28
yāvad ātma-bhāvitvāc ca na doṣas tad-darśanāt
yāvat—as long as; ātma—of the soul; bhāvitvāt—because of existence; ca—and;
na—not; doṣaḥ—fault; tat—of that; darśanāt—because of the sight.
It exists as long as the soul exists. There is no fault in this, because it is clearly
seen.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

There is no fault in saying that the two sentences “the soul is consciousness"
and "the soul is conscious" mean the same thing. That is the meaning here. Why is
that? The sūtra explains: "It exists as long as the soul exists. There is no fault in
this, because it is clearly seen." The soul's consciousness exists for as long as the
soul exists. As long as the soul exists, the soul's consciousness will not be
destroyed. The soul exists eternally, without a beginning or end in time, and the
soul's consciousness also exists eternally. The sun may be given here as an
example. The sun is both light and the bringer of light. As long as the sun exists it
will have these two features, which are actually not different. In the same way the
soul is both consciousness and conscious.
Here someone may object: Is it not true that consciousness is born from the
modes of material nature? Is it not true that, because it does not exist in the state
of dreamless sleep, consciousness is not eternal? Is it not true that even when the
living entity is fully awake his consciousness is in fact created by a barrage of
various sense-objects?
If these objections are raised, the author of the sūtras replies in the following
words.
Sūtra 29
puṁstvādi-vat tv asya sato 'bhivyakti-yogāt
puṁstva—virility; ādi—beginning with; vat—like; tu—but; asya—of him;
sataḥ—of the existing; abhivyakti-yogāt—because of manifestation.
But like virility and other things it exists and then is manifest.
Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
The word "tu" (but) is used here to dispel doubt. The word "na" (It is not like
that) is understood in this sūtra. It is not true than consciousness is non-existent
in dreamless sleep and only exists in the waking state. Why is that? the sūtra
explains: "But like virility and other things it exists and then is manifest." In the
state of dreamless sleep the soul's consciousness exists in a dormant state, and in
the state of wakefulness that dormant consciousness becomes fully manifested.
Here the sūtra gives the example of virility. In childhood virility and other
qualities associated with it exist in a dormant state. Then, at the beginning of
adulthood, they become manifested. In the same way consciousness is dormant in
dreamless sleep and fully manifested in the waking state. This is described in the