Para-tattva

anena jīvenātmanā’ iti tadīyoktāv idantā-nirdeśena tato

‘anena jīvenātmanā’ iti tadīyoktāv idantā-nirdeśena tato bhinnatve’py ātmatā-nirdeśena tad-ātmāṁśa-viśeṣatvena labdhasya bādarāyaṇa-samādhi-dṛṣṭa-yukter atyabhinnatā-rahitasya jīvātmano yad ekatvaṁ ‘tat tvam asi’ ity ādau jñātā, tad-aṁśa-bhūta-cid-rūpatvena samānākāratā | … yathā janma-prabhṛti kaścid gṛha-guhāvaruddhaḥ sūryaṁ vividiṣuḥ kathañcid gavākṣa-patitaṁ sūryāṁśu-kaṇaṁ darśayitvā kenacid upadiśyate ‘eṣa saḥ’ iti | etat tad-aṁśa-jyotiḥ-samānākāratayā tan-mahā-jyotir-maṇḍalam anusandhīyatām ity arthaḥ, tadvaj jīvasya tathā tad-aṁśatvaṁ ca tac-chakti-viśeṣa-siddhatvenaiva paramātma-sandarbhe sthāpayiṣyāmaḥ |
(Tattva Sandarbha: 52)

“The oneness (ekatva) [with the Para-tattva] which is known [from the statement in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7], ‘You are that’ (tat tvam asi) of the jīvātma, who is not possessed of extreme non-distinctness (atyabhinnatā) [from the Para-tattva] as per the reason seen in the samādhi of Bādarāyaṇa [i.e., Śrī Vyāsadeva in SB 1.7.5] and [who] is apprehended as being a particular part (aṁśa) of his [i.e., the Para-tattva’s] self (ātmā) as per the designation of selfness (ātmatā) [in regard to the jīvātmā on the part of the Para-tattva] even while being distinct from him [i.e., from the Para-tattva] as per the designation of ‘this-ness’ (idantā) [in regard to the jīvātmā] in the statement [in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.3.2] of his [i.e., of the Para-tattva], ‘Entering [the realm of prakṛti] with this jīva-self (ātmā) [i.e., with this distinct entity known as the jīva who is a part of my self], I shall manifest names and forms,’ is being of the same constitution [lit., ‘form’] (samānākāratā) on account of [the jīvātmā’s] being an entity the form of which is consciousness that is an existent part (aṁśa) of him [i.e., of the Para-tattva; meaning, the oneness of the jīva with the Para-tattva is on account of the jīva being a part (aṁśa) of the Para-tattva that is conscious in constitution just as the Para-tattva is]. … As someone confined, beginning from birth, within a cavern in a house who wishes to know the sun, after having been shown a particle-ray of the sun that has somehow fallen through an air hole [into the cavern], is instructed by someone, ‘This is that [i.e., ‘This light you see here is the sun’], meaning, ‘Because of this [i.e., this sun-ray that you have seen] having the same constitution of light [as the sun] on account of [its] being a part (aṁśa) of that [i.e., of the sun], a vast orb of that light is to be conceived [i.e., you can acquire an understanding of what the sun is by imagining a vast orb made up of a huge number of the rays of light you see here], so [i.e., in a manner akin to the aforementioned method of instruction] we shall establish in Paramātma Sandarbha (18–46) the jīva’s similarly being a part (aṁśa) of him [i.e., of the Para-tattva] on account of [the jīva’s] being existent (siddha) as a particular śakti of his.”

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nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ
tvayi sudhiyo’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam |
katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhrū-kuṭiḥ
sṛjati muhus trinemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.32)

[Translated according to Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda’s commentary:] “Understanding the ignorance as a consequence of your māyā among these human beings wherefrom repeated birth ensues, the wise foster bhāva [i.e., render service] profusely for you, Non-existence [i.e., you who are the cause of liberation from material existence]. How could your followers have any distress on account of [material] existence, since the furrowing of your brows—time (trinemi)—creates distress perpetually for those who are not in your shelter?”

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veda-gamyaḥ paraḥ śuddha iti me dhīyate matiḥ

veda-gamyaḥ paraḥ śuddha iti me dhīyate matiḥ ||
adhyātma-dhyāna-saṁbhūta-bhūtaṁ dīpavat sphuṭam |
jñānaṁ viddhi śubhācāre tena yānti parāṁ gatim ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.220.100)

“[Bhīṣmadeva:] The pure Supreme is knowable through the Veda. This is my firmly held view. O you of fine conduct, know knowledge (jñāna) to be that which is born of meditation related to the higher self and [self-] evident like a lamp. Thereby, one attains the supreme destination.”

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ekasyaiva viśeṣaṇa-bhedena tad-aviśiṣṭatvena ca pratipādanāt

ekasyaiva viśeṣaṇa-bhedena tad-aviśiṣṭatvena ca pratipādanāt tathaiva tat-tad-upāsaka-puruṣānubhava-bhedāc cāvirbhāva-nāmnor bheda … |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 4)

“Because of defining of the One [i.e., the Absolute Reality, both] with the distinction of [possessing] qualifiers and as being unqualified by them [i.e., as being unpossessed of any qualifiers], and so also because of difference in the experiences of persons who are worshippers of those [i.e., of those different aspects of the One, namely, the qualified aspect and the unqualified aspect], there is a difference in the names of the manifestations [of the One, the Absolute Reality, i.e., its qualified aspect is known as Bhagavān and its unqualified aspect is known as Brahman].”

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bhagavad-rūpa-pūrṇāvirbhāvaṁ tat tattvaṁ

bhagavad-rūpa-pūrṇāvirbhāvaṁ tat tattvaṁ … jīvādi-niyantṛtvena sphurad vā pratipādyamānaṁ vā paramātmeti śabdyata iti |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 3)

“When the [Absolute] Reality in its complete manifestation in the form of Bhagavān manifests, or is to be defined, as the regulator of jīvas and so forth [i.e., of all aspects of saṁsāra], it is known as Paramātmā.”

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tad ekaṁ tattvaṁ svarūpa-bhūtayaiva śaktyā kam api viśeṣaṁ

tad ekaṁ tattvaṁ svarūpa-bhūtayaiva śaktyā kam api viśeṣaṁ dhartuṁ parāsām api śaktīnāṁ mūlāśraya-rūpaṁ, tad-anubhāvānanda-sandohāntarbhāvita-tādṛśa-brahmānandānāṁ bhāgavata-paramahaṁsānāṁ tathānubhavaika-sādhakatama-tadīya-svarūpānanda-śakti-viśeṣātmaka-bhakti-bhāviteṣv antar-bahir apīndriyeṣu parisphurad vā, tadvad vivikta-tādṛśa-śakti-śaktimattā-bhedena pratipādyamānaṁ vā bhagavān iti śabdyate | … evaṁ cānanda-mātraṁ viśeṣyaṁ, samastāḥ śaktayo viśeṣaṇāni, viśiṣṭo bhagavān ity āyātam | tathā caivaṁ vaiśiṣṭye prāpte pūrṇāvirbhāvatvenākhaṇḍa-tattva-rūpo’sau bhagavān | brahma tu sphuṭam aprakaṭita-vaiśiṣṭyākāratvena tasyaivāsamyag āvirbhāva ity āyātam |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 2–3)

“When the one [Absolute] Reality, which is by nature the fundamental shelter of [all] other śaktis, to manifest some type of [wonderful] specificity solely by means of its own inherent śakti, fully manifests to the internal and external senses of devoted transcendentalists (bhāgavata-paramahaṁsas), subsumed in whose [experience of an] abundance of bliss from experience thereof [i.e., of the Absolute Reality so manifest with specificity] is such [experience of the] bliss of Brahman, [and whose internal and external senses are] imbued with bhakti [which is] constituted of a specific inherent śakti of bliss thereof [i.e., of that Absolute Reality] that is singularly most effectual of such experience [of that Absolute Reality’s manifest specificity], or, when it as such is to be defined with discrimination between the distinction of [its] being [both] śakti and the possessor of śakti (śaktimat), it is known as Bhagavān. … In this way, furthermore, it is understood that bliss alone is the qualificand (viśeṣya), all śaktis are [its] qualifiers (viśeṣaṇas), and Bhagavān is the qualified entity (viśiṣṭa). Furthermore, when possessed of such specificity (vaiśiṣṭya), that undivided [Absolute] Reality is Bhagavān on account of being the complete manifestation [thereof], whereas Brahman, evidently, is an incomplete manifestation thereof on account of [its] being an appearance devoid of manifest specificity. This is understood.”

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tad ekam evākhaṇḍānanda-svarūpaṁ tattvaṁ thūtkṛta-pārameṣṭhyādikānanda-samudayānāṁ

tad ekam evākhaṇḍānanda-svarūpaṁ tattvaṁ thūtkṛta-pārameṣṭhyādikānanda-samudayānāṁ paramahaṁsānāṁ sādhana-vaśāt tādātmyam āpanne, satyām api tadīya-svarūpa-śakti-vaicitryāṁ tad-grahaṇāsāmarthye cetasi yathā sāmānyato lakṣitaṁ, tathaiva sphurad vā, tadvad evāvivikta-śakti-śaktimattā-bhedatayā pratipādyamānaṁ vā brahmeti śabdyate |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 2)

“When transcendentalists (paramahaṁsas) who have spat on the bliss of supremacy and so forth [i.e., all varieties of so-called happiness that exist throughout saṁsāra, including even that of Lord Brahmā, who holds the supreme position within the fourteen worlds] attain as a result of sādhana a state of identity (tādātmya) [i.e., a qualified degree of oneness based on cognitive self-identification] with the one [Absolute] Reality which is undivided and of the nature of bliss, or, when it [i.e., that Absolute Reality] manifests exactly as it is generally regarded [by them] in their minds that are unable to perceive the variegation of its inherent (svarūpa) śakti [i.e., when it manifests without any sort of specificity as non-differentiated consciousness apparently equivalent in nature to the self (ātmā) in response to their being cognitively fixed in a state of self-identification with that Absolute Reality as non-differentiated consciousness], or when it as such is to be defined without discrimination between its possessing the division of being [both] śakti and the possessor of śakti (śaktimat), it is known as Brahman.”

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Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya

(Svāmī Vivekānanda in Bhakti-rahasya)

“A great soul would say, ‘Imagine there is a thief in this house. Somehow, he came to know that there is a tāla of gold in the next room, and between these two rooms there is a very thin wall. In such a case, what will be the condition of the thief? He will have no sleep. He will not be able to eat. He will not be able to do anything. “How can I obtain that tāla of gold?” His mind will remain fixed only on that. He will only think, “How can I make a hole in that wall and take the tāla of gold?”
“‘What do you all want to say [i.e., so, what do I mean by this]? If human beings truly had faith that the source of happiness, bliss, and glory, Svayaṁ Bhagavān, exists, then would they be able to engage in ordinary worldly (sāṁsārika) work and not try to attain him?’
“As soon as human beings have faith that someone known as Bhagavān exists, then they become mad with intense desire to attain him. … This frenzy, this thirst, this earnest propensity, is called the awakening of a life of dharma. Only when people reach this state has their spiritual (ādhyātmika) life begun.”

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