Pillars of Vedantic Practice: Shravana, Manana, Nididhyasana

In Vedanta, there is the 3-fold process of Shravana, Manana and Nididhyasana, which leads one to complete Awakening and Realization. They are Shravana, Manana, and Nididyasana. We will discuss each now.

Shravana

 Shravana means hearing — Hearing the Truth!

There are two kinds of hearing… one of this world, which connects and defines our relationship with this world, and one which is beyond this world.

In the first one, our ears, mind and intellect are involved. In the other, our Heart and Being are involved. Most of the hearing and listening that involves the ears, intellect and mind can be described as routine or casual, sometimes interesting or entertaining. But the frequency or the power behind that hearing is low. That’s because whatever we learn or hear in this world will remain in this world. It is designed in such a way as to keep operating in this world and maintaining, facilitating, navigating and sustaining our existence in this world. But the power is limited and not penetrative enough due to the fact that the world and its objects are all changeable, impermanent and destructible.

In contrast, the hearing that involves the Heart and the core of our Beingness is termed Shravana in Vedanta. It is designed to work at a higher frequency and vibration, and designed to keep you operating in higher worlds. It is “Akshara” (immutable, imperishable)—not casual or interesting, but enlightening.

The instrument of Shravana is the Guru. Amongst all relationships, the one between the Guru and shisya is the most intimate, special, and pure because it is related to that part of your existence that is Truth itself. The words of Truth that pour out from the Guru create a shift in the inner space of your Beingness. You will begin to experience these shifts and immediately recognize the Truth that is spoken. By hearing the Truth, you will immediately know and recognize it (unless you have very bad karma that prevents you).

The Guru-shisya relationship is the purest and most unique because the Guru talks only from the right side of the Heart. Sri Ramana often mentioned that the Heart is the place from where both ignorance and wisdom come. In the Bible, it is written that the left side of the Heart is that of a fool and the right side is that of the wise. That’s why Sri Ramana said the Heart is at the right side.

For example, during a love affair, we experience a mixed form of awareness. What this means is that the sensation of love we feel is a mixed awareness of left and right sides of the Heart. The I-AM we feel is the koshas (“sheaths” covering the SELF), and the feeling derived from both the left and right sides—between attachment and real love. At the time of deep love, both these nadis get activated and issues related to them both get rolled onto us. That creates a spell-like situation.

To illustrate, close your eyes and imagine the person you are most intimate with. Now recollect moments of happiness with that person. Now moments that were painful. Notice how both arise from the same place… the LEFT side of the Heart. And now point to the place where you feel the “I”. It is on the RIGHT side. See! So please understand. If you simply follow love, you will eventually be led to pain. But if you follow love without ever forgetting your “I”, you will know love as well as the SELF.

The other point is “authentic” hearing. You must be authentic in hearing, and accountable for real Shravana.

You must be willing to follow and endure all the instructions of the Guru because the mind can easily mislead and trick you.

So be very aware, be open to discussion and correction, and be willing to keep hearing the Truth again and again until you “get it.”

Not everyone has the capacity to hear the Truth. Many begin on the path, stick with it for some time, and then want to move away as they are shown the path. Sometimes what the Guru shows us is very, very painful. But those committed to the path of finding ever-lasting Joy and Happiness will want to stay. Authentic listeners resist the temptations of their mind and ego, and prefer to follow the Guru’s guidance.

There used to be a Guru by the name OSHO. He allowed his students to indulge in their vasanas. My students’ name for me is similar, but with a slight difference. It is OHHO. Every time I watch a vasana arise in my students, I make them aware of it. And every time I do so, I can hear their minds whisper, “ OHHO Guruji, not again!”

I meet resistance and know it is perfectly normal. Those who are steadfast, pure, and really devoted to the path will digest my guidance and recognize the good in it; others will leave. As a Guru, I am not attached to them personally, but to their progress and their higher good. So I am prepared for whatever happens. That’s my job. If I get attached to them and not their higher good, I would fail as a Guru. I also totally understand that it’s not an easy path and that many will want to leave, to fight with their vasanas another day. Depending upon the karmas accumulated in past lives, they may feel totally exhausted and overwhelmed. I can totally sympathize with them. Rare are the ones who will be able to swim through the ocean of vasanas easily.

Again, one has to be authentic in hearing the Truth. Authentic hearing allows the Guru’s words to act like seeds that will sprout in time. The reason is that the Guru operates from the right side of the Heart. That is why one needs to be in touch with a Guru, especially when the vasanas begin to play their role, and one’s habitual tendencies create a sense of deep resistance.

From a yogic point of view, Shravana achieves immediate pratyahara—the turning of life-force inwards towards the SELF.

Manana

“Manana” means contemplating the Truth.

Just hearing the Truth won’t be enough… one has to reflect, ponder, and contemplate the Guru’s words. Most importantly, one has to USE those teachings in one’s life because vasanas are all played out in one’s waking state. REMEMBER this!

You may have to hear the Truth again and again so that it sinks so deeply inside that Maya isn’t able to pull you away from the SELF.

We can say that consistent remembrance of the Guru’s talks, and reading them over and over again is the most important step. Then putting them into practice is the next. The third step is developing discernment and discrimination in utilizing the teachings. Just like how a white swan can separate milk from water, similarly we should be able to separate what is real, necessary, and wanted from an object from what is unreal, unnecessary, and unwanted.

Through repeated hearing, you will be able to absorb the things you need to, and reject the things you don’t. This is Manana. In the example given above, when the subjects are in love with an object (each other), and instead of utilizing that love for a Divine purpose, they get lost in each other, it then becomes simply Bhoga (enjoyment). When the centre of attention diverts from our Divine goal and transfers to the other, then we will eventually experience pain and suffering.

Hearing that every object can create attachment and build more vasanas can wrongly lead us to believe that running away and escaping would be the right thing to do. This is why, perhaps, it appears to us that the Yogis and Jnanis recommended to seekers to stay away from the objects, or reject the world of objects, because then the only object would be the I-AM, SELF-love, without the stickiness or complications that can arise when associated with “others”.

This ‘staying away from objects’ is what is commonly believed and often gets circulated in spiritual books and teachings. This is simply not true.

These Yogis and Jnanis had ashrams and organizations where a lot of vasanas were triggered and where they worked closely with their inner circles to navigate their students through them. We only hear about a part of their teachings. Their real teachings included the close, one-on-one interactions with a student where a lot of vasanas surfaced and were resolved.

The correct approach is not running away or escaping from objects, but absorbing what needs to be absorbed from the objects.

You can’t just run away. You will always find ways to attach to one thing or another.

First Shravana is practiced, and then Manana.

Manana is not immediate as it takes time, faith, and lots of practical experience in your waking state to perfect it.

Most importantly, discipline and maintaining one-pointedness are necessary. These are the most difficult of all because the left and the right side of the Heart both try their best to prevail, and there is a tug of war between them.

But always remind yourself WHAT YOUR DIVINE PURPOSE IS!

If someone (or something) comes into your life and you feel attached to him or her (or whatever object) and lose focus on your sadhana, take time to die to that person or object for a few days. Take enough time and space to burn alone and dive deeper into the SELF. Always REMIND yourself that the objective of the objects is to fall back into the SELF. And one fine day you will perfect the art of Manana.

From the yogic point of view, Manana achieves Dharana—sustained focus by the sadhaka on the Truth. But it requires discipline and devotion.

Nididhyasana

 “Nididhyasana” means living and breathing the Truth.

Nididhyasana is the result of Shravana and Manana. When your hearing becomes authentic, and your contemplation and action become solid, polished and refined, then Nididhyasana arises on its own. It is effortless and Sahaja (spontaneous, natural).

This is where you operate in the full power of the SELF. You feel complete and in the totality of your Being. There are no missing parts of you. Agitation, conflicts and restlessness due to the vasanas are at a minimum, and you move between the human and the Divine dimensions with utmost ease. Here all concepts that you have learned from a Guru will be destroyed… and you will forever swim in That Reality. Here you will have first hand proof of what you truly are. All mental concepts will dissolve and you will find yourself at the SELF. The mind will no longer pose any problems, and the vasanas will not burn you anymore. You will attain complete Freedom.

From a yogic point of view, Nididhyasana achieves Dhyana and Samadhi—which means ‘unwavering abidance’, much like how oil is poured from one container to another.

Please know another important point. The Guru’s Grace is 50%, and the balance is your own Grace. The Guru’s powers are always there to activate the higher centres in you; however, what is also required is your own power.

No true Guru will want to make you dependent on his powers. He wants you to activate your own powers. He doesn’t want to impose, he wants to empower.

Most importantly, it requires your own authenticity and willingness to accept the Shakti from the Guru, and also take steps to build your own power to receive and explore your own Shakti.

If there is ever even a moment of doubt or casualness in your approach, it will prove detrimental to your success. The Guru is always willing to give Shakti, but you should also be capable of receiving it, and then experiencing your own Shakti and power.

Today the Shaktipat I confer on you will be to activate your own Shakti.

It is called the “1-3-5 Rule to Self-Shaktipat”. It will enhance your capacity to listen, to contemplate, and to abide.

Greatest service

Lalitā-devī is expert at everything. In particular she performs feats of magic, composes and deciphers riddles, and fashions all manner of things from flowers, like awnings, couches, and ornaments. Of all flower ornaments, best are her five-pointed flower crowns called puṣpaparā, which are made with five colours of buds and flowers. Rādhā taught Lalitā the art of making these floral tiaras.

But perhaps Lalitā’s greatest service lies in her effort to inspire every girl in Vraja to devote her body and soul to the service of Śrī Rādhā, by joining Rādhā’s entourage of gopī friends and maidservants.

 Lalitā-devī’s chief assistant is Rūpa-mañjarī, who in the form of Rūpa Gosvāmī promotes Lalitā’s mission — which is identical to that of Kṛṣṇa’s — amongst the conditioned souls of this world. 

Eternal Spiritual Time

SB 1.8.28 

My Lord, I consider Your Lordship to be eternal time, the supreme controller, without beginning and end,

SB 2.5.21 

By His own potency, the Lord, who is the controller of all energies, thus creates eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and the particular natures the living entities had accepted for being created again, before they had independently merged into Him.

SB 2.6.42 

Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.

SB 3.5.27 

Thereafter, influenced by the interactions of eternal time, the supreme sum total of matter called the mahat-tattva became manifested, and in this mahat-tattva the unalloyed goodness, the Supreme Lord, sowed the seeds of universal manifestation out of His own body.

SB 3.10.11

Eternal time is the primeval source of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. It is unchangeable and limitless, and it works as the instrument of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for His pastimes in the material creation.

Purport

The impersonal time factor is the background of the material manifestation as the instrument of the Supreme Lord. It is the ingredient of assistance offered to material nature. No one knows where time began and where it ends, and it is time only which can keep a record of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material manifestation. This time factor is the material cause of creation and is therefore a self expansion of the Personality of Godhead. Time is considered the impersonal feature of the Lord.

Metaphysically, time is distinguished as absolute and real. Absolute time is continuous and is unaffected by the speed or slowness of material things. Time is astronomically and mathematically calculated in relation to the speed, change and life of a particular object. Factually, however, time has nothing to do with the relativities of things; rather, everything is shaped and calculated in terms of the facility offered by time. Time is the basic measurement of the activity of our senses, by which we calculate past, present and future; but in factual calculation, time has no beginning and no end.

SB 3.10.12 

This cosmic manifestation is separated from the Supreme Lord as material energy by means of kāla, which is the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord.

SB 3.11.38 

The duration of the two parts of Brahmā's life, as above mentioned, is calculated to be equal to one nimeṣa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchanging and unlimited and is the cause of all causes of the universe.

PURPORT

The great sage Maitreya has given a considerable description of the time of different dimensions, beginning from the atom up to the duration of the life of Brahmā. Now he attempts to give some idea of the time of the unlimited Personality of Godhead. He just gives a hint of His unlimited time by the standard of the life of Brahmā. The entire duration of the life of Brahmā is calculated to be less than a second of the Lord's time, and it is explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) as follows:

yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya

jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ

viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"I worship Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, whose plenary portion is Mahā-Viṣṇu. All the heads of the innumerable universes [the Brahmās] live only by taking shelter of the time occupied by one of His breaths." 

The impersonalists do not believe in the form of the Lord, and thus they would hardly believe in the Lord's sleeping. Their idea is obtained by a poor fund of knowledge; they calculate everything in terms of man's capacity. They think that the existence of the Supreme is just the opposite of active human existence; because the human being has senses, the Supreme must be without sense perception; because the human being has a form, the Supreme must be formless; and because the human being sleeps, the Supreme must not sleep. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, however, does not agree with such impersonalists. It is clearly stated herein that the Supreme Lord rests in yoga-nidrā, as previously discussed. And because He sleeps, naturally He must breathe, and the Brahma-saṁhitā confirms that within His breathing period innumerable Brahmās take birth and die.

There is complete agreement between Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Brahma-saṁhitā. Eternal time is never lost along with the life of Brahmā. It continues, but it has no ability to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is the controller of time. In the spiritual world there is undoubtedly time, but it has no control over activities. Time is unlimited, and the spiritual world is also unlimited, since everything there exists on the absolute plane.

SB3.11.40

Eternal time is certainly the controller of different dimensions, from that of the atom up to the superdivisions of the duration of Brahmā's life; but, nevertheless, it is controlled by the Supreme. Time can control only those who are body conscious, even up to Satyaloka or the other higher planets of the universe.

BTG, 1970, #32 , Hayagrīva dās Adhikārī, Kṛṣṇa līlā: The Divine Forms and Pastimes :

While He was here He remained 125 years, and while He was on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra He was 100 years old, yet His eternal Body appeared as that of a fresh youth’s. During every second of these 125 years, this sequence of pastimes was appearing in all other parts of the infinite universes. Although these līlās are always occuring with clock-like precision, Lord Kṛṣṇa is always aloof from them.

BTG, 1999, #33-6, Manjari devi dasi, Navadvipa, A Timeless History:

The air fills with the sounds of voices, bells, and hand cymbals as the devotees sing the Lord’s glories. The eternal activity of worshiping the Lord saturates the atmosphere, and past, present, and future merge. Such a sense of eternal time is possible only here, in the holy dhāma (abode) of the Lord, which continues to exist even after this world is annihilated. 

BTG 2006 # 40, Time in the Spiritual World:

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Jaiva Dharma

Time in the spiritual world has a singular aspect; it is always in the present, whereas past and future are absent. The jiva and the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, exist in that spiritual time.

Brahma-saṁhitā 5.56

[Time in the spiritual world] is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the space of half a moment.

Bhaktivinoda thakura, Sri Bhaktya Loka,  8: Niścaya :

The living entities who are under the blind wheel of Māyā are called nitya-baddha. In this regard, the word nitya is applied in regard to material time. When by the touch of spiritual substance the spiritual time factor is awakened, then their conditioned nature is seen as temporary.

Bhaktivinoda thakura , Jaiva dharma, 2,  The Nitya-dharma of the Living Entity Is Pure and Everlasting:

Material time, within this illusory energy field, has three conditions—past, present and future. Time in the spiritual world has a singular aspect; it is always in the present, whereas past and future are absent. The jīva and the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, exist in that spiritual time. 

Bhaktivinoda Vani vaibhava, Sri Krsna, 34. 

How are Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes transcendental? What are the ingredients of such pastimes?

The material world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world. Here everything is polluted by māyā. In the spiritual world, māyā and the three modes of material nature do not exist. There everything is impeccable and made of pure goodness including time, place, and all other objects. The pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are transcendental to material nature, and therefore they are fully spiritual. Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are nourished by faultless time, place, sky, water, and so on. Within spiritual time, which is unlike material time, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are eightfold. They take place at dawn, morning, pre-noon, noon, afternoon, evening, night, and late at night. In this way Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are divided into eight, according to the different times of the day and night, and thus they are nourishing the eternal uninterrupted rasa.

(Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta 6/5)

Brihad Bhagavatamrita, 2.4.117:

“The duration of the two parts of Brahmā’s life is calculated to equal one nimeṣa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the unchanging, the unlimited, the cause of all causes of the universe.” This scale of comparative time is only metaphorical, yet such a figurative sense of spiritual time contributes to the charm of the Supreme Lord’s līlās in Vaikuṇṭha. In reality, time in Vaikuṇṭha is not the kind of force it is in the material world; time does not delimit the lifespan of residents in Vaikuṇṭha, because everything there is eternal and infallible.

SuhotraSwami, Dimention of Good and Evel,  2: 

Chapter Two, The Fall From Beyond Time 

Material time originates from spiritual time (citkāla). Caitanya-sikṣāmṛtam 5.3

Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Reflections on secred teachings, Time Consciousness :

Interestingly, in the spiritual world, the nature of time is completely the opposite. Spiritual time is not only perpetual, but rejuvenates rather than destroys. We should remind ourselves that the amount of time we spend engaged in devotional service is only a moment in eternal time.

We can acquire a sense of happiness through the realization that the amount of time we spend engaged in sadhana-bhakti constitutes an insignificant interval of spiritual time. When we wake up, we will be back in the spiritual kingdom.

H.H. Sivarama Swami, Nava Vraja Mahima, volume one, prefece:
 So immersed are the Vraja-vāsīs in loving exchanges with the Lord that they forget the passing of time, which, although eternally fixed in the present, also drives the sequence of events that constitute their loving pastimes with Kṛṣṇa.

Krsna's Associates

 

VEDABASE, 

28   Books by ISKCON Devotees

LAL Publications

Sivarana Swami, 

Kṛṣṇa-saṅgati, 

Introduction, 

The Many Forms of Kṛṣṇa’s Associates

Kṛṣṇa’s associates, bound to Kṛṣṇa by the strong ropes of loving service, can never leave him. Therefore, since he never leaves the aprakaṭa-dhāma, neither do they. They are eternal residents of Goloka. 

There is, however, another way Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associates firmly adhere to their loving services to Kṛṣṇa. In as many forms as Kṛṣṇa expands to enact his innumerable pastimes in the mundane and transcendental realms, Kṛṣṇa’s associates also expand themselves to accompany him wherever he goes. [Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.6.205-209]

This revelation, that Kṛṣṇa’s associates possess the ability to expand themselves, may be startling to some readers. From where do they get this power and how do they employ it?

The answer is that by Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potencies anything is possible for devotees fully connected to Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says:

  evaṁ prabhoḥ priyāṇāṁ ca

  dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca

  avicintya-prabhāvatvād

  atra kiñcin na durghaṭam

“Nothing is impossible for the Lord, his dear devotees, his transcendental abode, or his pastimes, for all these entities are inconceivably powerful.” [Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta 1.5.515]

Kṛṣṇa desires to display his pastimes with members of his transcendental entourage. Accordingly, by his will, his associates expand themselves to accompany him wherever he appears. Each one of them assumes many forms in many places, yet stays the same person, as does Kṛṣṇa. [This paragraph is based on Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.5.52-55]

Generally, the expansions of the associates of Goloka first descend to Vaikuṇṭha as eternal associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa. From the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they expand again to become demigods in the material world. And from the heavenly planets those demigods then appear in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on earth to serve according to his order. In addition to descending in the sequence just described, the Goloka-vāsīs from time to time directly appear in their original forms, whenever Kṛṣṇa manifests his pastimes on earth. In short, whenever and wherever there is a need for full or partial incarnations of particular devotees, those same devotees reveal either their whole selves or partial expansions of themselves. [Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.6.202-203, 205, commentary]

It is interesting to note that although Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī calls the Vaikuṇṭha expansions avatāras, he prefers to call the demigods “counterparts” because they are materially conditioned beings. 

Examples of the above-mentioned Vaikuṇṭha expansions are Kṛṣṇa’s parents in Goloka, Śrī Vasudeva and Devakī. They appear as Sutapā and Pṛṣni in Vaikuṇṭha, as Kaśyapa and Aditi in Svarga, and sometimes they appear in their original forms as Vasudeva and Devakī on earth. [In Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.6.202-203), some other examples are given: “Śrī Balarāma, who originally resides in Goloka, manifests himself in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal pārṣada named Śeṣa. Yet he appears among the demigods as the bearer of the earth in the seventh Pātāla region, and he sometimes comes to earth as the selfsame Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa’s friend Śrīdāmā in Goloka appears as Garuḍa in two different forms, one an eternal associate of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha and the other a son of Vinatā among the demigods; and occasionally he appears on earth as the original Śrīdāmā.]

The avatāras of countless other devotees follow the same pattern. Sometimes they appear in their partial expansions amongst the demigods, sometimes as their complete expansions in Vaikuṇṭha, and sometimes in their original forms in the prakaṭa-dhāma on earth. 

This raises the question: “Do these expansions of the parikaras look the same, and do they have the same external personalities wherever they are?” The answer is, “No.”

Like Kṛṣṇa, his parikaras vary in names and appearances according to time, place, and pastime. Still, they remain the same persons. For example, when Varāhadeva descended from the Śaukara-purī of Vaikuṇṭha to raise the earth from the ocean, he was Kṛṣṇa, but with the name and form of a boar. Similarly, when Vasudeva descended from Goloka to Vaikuṇṭha, he was the same person, although his name was Sutapā and he looked different from Vasudeva. In this way, Kṛṣṇa’s personal associates expand unlimitedly, in Vaikuṇṭha and Svarga. 

There is no end to the activities of Kṛṣṇa’s associates in both manifest and unmanifest realms—past, present, and future. But Kṛṣṇa-saṅgati is specifically concerned with Kṛṣṇa’s prakaṭa-līlā, five thousand years ago, on earth. Therefore, I have limited the discussion of this section to that subject.

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VEDABASE,

16   Writings of Past Ācāryas

Writings of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī

Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, 

Volume 3, Chapter 5, Prema, Love of God.

BB 3.5.52

Just as the one Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa exists in many forms and many places, so also do we, His servants.

BB 3.5.53

So it is with all of us—Śrī Garuḍa and other attendants, devotees like Śrīmān Hanumān, and our friend Uddhava, and others too, like these Yādavas.

COMMENTARY

Devotees like Garuḍa and Śeṣa are associates of the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, whereas Hanumān, Jāmbavān, and others are servants of Lord Rāmacandra. Hanumān sings the glories of Lord Rāma in the Kimpuruṣa-loka of the Bhūloka region and simultaneously in the Ayodhyā of Vaikuṇṭha. And Uddhava, whom Gopa-kumāra can see right before him, is simultaneously one of the principal companions of Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā on earth, along with the Yādavas, the Pāṇḍavas, and others. Considering the topic too confidential to bring up just now, Nārada chooses not to mention Kṛṣṇa’s devotees in Śrī Goloka.

BB 3.5.54

All the Lord’s personal associates are at His hand like playthings. They are always fully dedicated to His service. Each assumes a variety of forms yet stays essentially one, just like the Lord Himself.

COMMENTARY

As Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, the original Supreme Person, expands Himself into innumerable forms of Godhead, when required for service to the Lord His eternal associates can also expand themselves into many forms. Perpetually dedicated to worshiping Him, they are willing instruments in the enactment of His pleasure pastimes. Whatever gives the Lord happiness is also their satisfaction. So when He expands Himself and His abode into all sorts of forms, they accompany Him in suitably corresponding forms. Gopa-kumāra should therefore not be amazed that Nārada appears in more than one place at once for the service of the Lord.

BB 3.5.55

The Lord’s names, His pastimes, and His favorite abodes and everything that has to do with His service can assume various forms. And you should know that just as all these are eternally real, each of them is simultaneously one and many.

COMMENTARY

While still on the topic of multiple expansions, Nārada takes the opportunity to mention that the Personality of Godhead’s pastimes, His dear abodes such as Śrī Mathurā, and His paraphernalia like the Kaustubha gem and Sudarśana weapon display the same power of expansion. Here the word bhūmi refers not only to the earth but to any location, and so indicates other spiritual realms, such as Vaikuṇṭha. The Supreme Lord’s personal property, His names, His pastimes, and the places of His appearance are all by nature pure sac-cid-ānanda, just as He is.

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VEDABASE,

16   Writings of Past Ācāryas

Writings of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī

Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, 

Volume 3, Chapter 6, Abhīṣṭa-lābha: The Attainment of All Desires

BB 3.6.202-203

Just as the demigods who have entered the material creation are counterparts of the Lord’s Vaikuṇṭha associates, those eternal associates from Vaikuṇṭha are incarnations of the Goloka devotees. Yet like the demigods themselves, those very devotees appear on earth now and again for the pleasure of Lord Viṣṇu when He wants to enjoy various pastimes.

COMMENTARY

Some say that many of the Vraja-vāsīs who appeared on earth during Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes five thousand years ago were incarnations of demigods. Nanda Mahārāja, for example, is said to be an avatāra of the Vasu named Droṇa. If taken literally, this idea would rule out the possibility that the earthly Vraja-vāsīs are eternal associates of the Supreme Lord. But the truth is just the opposite: As confirmed in scriptures such as the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa), demigods like Droṇa are partial expansions of the original Vraja-vāsīs, and those original Vraja-vāsīs accompany Kṛṣṇa when He descends to earth.

Goparāja Nanda and other devotees in Goloka expand as avatāras in Vaikuṇṭha to become Śrī Nanda and other associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa. The same devotees thus enjoy pastimes in two worlds simultaneously, Goloka and Vaikuṇṭha. And so it would be incorrect to assert that because the Vaikuṇṭha associates of Nārāyaṇa are avatāras they are not eternal.

The same associates of Lord Nārāyaṇa expand again into the material world to become demigods. This verse calls those demigods pratirūpāḥ (“counterparts”), rather than avatāras, because the demigods are materially conditioned living beings. Still, those demigods are empowered representatives of the Supreme Lord’s personal associates.

In the next few verses, Śrī Sarūpa will describe the incarnations of the Goloka-vāsīs as parallel to Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations; that is, just as Kṛṣṇa’s avatāras are nondifferent from Him, the earthly associates of Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent from the original Goloka-vāsīs.

Alternatively, the word pratirūpa (“counterpart” or “representative”) can be taken as synonymous with the word avatāra. Then the idea implied is that the associates of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha who expand from the original Goloka-vāsīs are like direct reflections (pratibimba) of those Goloka-vāsīs, and the further expansions as demigods are like shadows (pratichāyā). Both a reflection and a shadow follow a person as expansions, but the shadow represents him less fully than does his mirror image. Thus if Nanda Mahārāja on earth is called an avatāra of Droṇa, it is only because both of them are avatāras of Nanda Mahārāja in Goloka. In fact, Nanda on earth is identical with Nanda in Goloka, and Droṇa is only a partial expansion; but by worldly calculations demigods are considered relatively superior to humans, so Nanda on earth is considered Droṇa’s incarnation. Thus it is said that demigods like Vasu Droṇa descend to earth to assist Lord Viṣṇu, the younger brother of Indra, in His enjoyment.

Just as Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnations appear only briefly in the material world but periodically reappear, the Lord’s associates who manifest themselves as demigods also incarnate as earthly avatāras whenever there is a need. For example, Śrī Nanda Goparāja, the eternal beloved father of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, appears in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal associate of Nārāyaṇa called Nanda, and he also occasionally descends to earth in his original identity. So too, Śrī Balarāma, who originally resides in Goloka, manifests Himself in Vaikuṇṭha as the eternal associate named Śeṣa. Yet He appears among the demigods as the bearer of the earth in the seventh Pātāla region, and He sometimes comes to earth as the selfsame Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa’s friend Śrīdāmā in Goloka appears as Garuḍa in two different forms, one an eternal associate of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha and the other a son of Vinatā among the demigods; and occasionally he appears on earth as the original Śrīdāmā. Kṛṣṇa’s parents in Goloka, Śrī Vasudeva and Devakī, appear as Sutapā and Pṛśni in Vaikuṇṭha, Kaśyapa and Aditi in Svarga, and sometimes in their original forms as Vasudeva and Devakī on earth. The avatāras of other devotees follow the same pattern.

BB 3.6.204

And just as the incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, the source of all incarnations, are nondifferent from Him, the incarnations of the Goloka-vāsīs, the residents of Goloka, are nondifferent from them.

COMMENTARY

The devotees from Goloka may change their names and appearance when they descend, but still they are the same persons. As the expanded forms of Godhead are all nondifferent from the original Kṛṣṇa, the single fountainhead of existence, so when devotees like Nanda and Yaśodā appear in expanded forms in Vaikuṇṭha, those forms are in essence nondifferent from the original forms in Goloka. Kaśyapa and Aditi in heaven, however, being incomplete portions of Vasudeva and his wife Devakī, are partially different from the Vasudeva and Devakī on earth and partially the same.

BB 3.6.205

The Goloka-vāsīs are born sometimes as partial expansions and sometimes as their full selves. Like Kṛṣṇa, they vary their appearance for the time, place, and need.

COMMENTARY

In this verse the verb jāyante (“they are born”) is equivalent to prādurbhavanti (“they become visible”) and avataranti (“they descend”). Whenever and wherever there is a need for a full or partial incarnation of a particular devotee, that same devotee reveals either his whole self or a partial expansion of himself. The example of Kṛṣṇa and His expansions is cited to clarify this point. In previous ages Kṛṣṇa manifested various partial forms of Himself in this world. In Satya-yuga, for example, Lord Varāha descended from the Śaukara-purī of Vaikuṇṭha for such purposes as lifting the earth from the lower regions. And at the end of Dvāpara-yuga the same Kṛṣṇa descended to Śrī Mathurā-maṇḍala in His full form to display special blissful pastimes that would broadcast His loving devotional service all over the universe.

BB 3.6.206

Thus Kṛṣṇa’s companions, impelled by their own moods of loving exchange, from time to time want to descend somewhere with their Lord.

BB 3.6.207-208

When devotees who live with Kṛṣṇa in Goloka appear to merge, on some pretext, into their own expanded incarnations, this is just like the merging of Kṛṣṇa’s expansions with Him. When sages tell us, therefore, that expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s associates descend to become the original associates, what they mean is that the expansions merge into the originals.

COMMENTARY

In Goloka, Nanda Mahārāja eternally serves Kṛṣṇa in the role of father. So when Kṛṣṇa plans to descend to earth to display childhood pastimes, Nanda is naturally attracted to come with Him. By Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement Lord Brahmā then blesses Nanda’s partial expansion Vasu Droṇa to attain perfect devotion for Viṣṇu. Of course, this blessing is only a pretext because Droṇa is already an expansion of Kṛṣṇa’s eternal associate. Yet on the strength of that blessing, Droṇa merges into the original Nanda Mahārāja and joins the entourage of Kṛṣṇa’s avatāra. It is in this sense that the Purāṇas tell us “Droṇa became Nanda.” This explanation also reconciles the account in the Padma Purāṇa (Kārtika-māhātmya) of Śrī Rādhā’s previous lives. Attracted to descend from Goloka for the service of Her worshipable Lord, who is more attractive than millions of Cupids, She incarnated in those various births, in various forms and places.

BB 3.6.209

All this and everything else about Goloka please try to understand in this way, without doubt or confusion. Comprehend it according to the philosophical conclusions taught by Nārada, as spoken of before.

COMMENTARY

Śrī Sarūpa’s disciple may still have doubts about Goloka. He may question, for example, how demons can be present in a place superior to Vaikuṇṭha or how the Goloka-vāsīs could even have an impression of having seen demons there before. Moreover, if Goloka is purely spiritual, sac-cid-ānanda, how can inanimate things like logs, stones, carts, and dust from cow’s hooves exist there? And Goloka is not generally accepted to be greater and higher than Vaikuṇṭha. So how can the dear associates of Kṛṣṇa descend from Goloka to become Vaikuṇṭha pārṣadas?

Sarūpa already answered these doubts in his description of the glories of Goloka. He briefly recounted the teachings Nārada had given him earlier, in Vaikuṇṭha, about Goloka’s unique stature and elucidated those teachings with his own comments. If the Mathurā brāhmaṇa wants more scriptural support, he can refer to various statements of the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa) and the Pañcarātras.

In upcoming verses of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Śrī Sarūpa will tell more about the pastimes the transcendental Personality of Godhead enjoys with His personal associates and paraphernalia in Goloka. The brāhmaṇa will then be informed how it is that Kaṁsa and other demons reside in Kṛṣṇa’s abode. In brief, Kaṁsa and the other enemies of Kṛṣṇa join Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes for the same reason Kṛṣṇa’s Vaikuṇṭha associates join Him in their spiritual identities, namely to enhance Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment. The carts and other apparently lifeless objects in Kṛṣṇa’s abode are all in fact alive and completely spiritual sac-cid-ānanda beings. According to the descriptions of Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, everything in Kṛṣṇa’s abode Goloka is transcendental the same way as in Vaikuṇṭha. Scriptural evidence to support this conclusion will be cited later on.