Parabrahman

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā | parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat || iti śrī-parāśaroktyā | tathā—‘brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca’ iti śrī-bhagavad-gītādi-vacanena ca ghana-maṇḍala-candra-tejo-ghana-maṇḍala-sūrya-sthānīyasya bhagavac-caraṇāravinda-dvandasya sac-cid-ānanda-ghanasya bhakti-dvārānubhavena sukhaṁ ghanaṁ syād eva | sarva-vyāpi-jyotsnā-tejaḥ-sthānīyasya jīva-svarūpa-bhūtasya jagan-mayasya sac-cid-ānanda-brahmaṇo’nubhavena sukham api tad-anurūpaṁ svalpam eva syāt, na ca māyikaṁ prapañca-jātam idaṁ jyotsnā-sthānīyam iti vācyam | yathā candra-sūryayor jyotsnā-tejaḥ-paramāṇavaḥ prakāśakatvādi-tat-tad-guṇa-yogāt tat-tad-aṁśās tathā jagataḥ sac-cid-ānandatvādy-abhāvena para-brahmaṇo’ṁśatvāsambhavāt śakti-śabda-prayogāc ceti dik |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.2.180)

“As per the statement of Śrī Parāśara [in VP 1.22.54], ‘As the light of a fire situated in one place is spread out [all around], so the śakti of the Supreme Brahman is [spread out] throughout this entire universe,’ and the statement [of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] in Śrī Bhagavad-gītā [14.27], ‘Since I am the basis of Brahman, of the imperishable nectar, of the eternal dharma, and of the bliss of the one-pointed,’ the bliss (sukham) [felt by the jīva] as a result of experience by means of bhakti to the two lotus feet of Bhagavān, which are constituted of condensed eternal being, consciousness, and bliss and comparable to the condensed orb of the moon and the illuminating condensed orb of the sun, shall verily be condensed [i.e., intense], whereas the bliss as a result of experience of [the aspect of] brahman constituted of [non-condensed] eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, constitutive of the world (jaganmaya), existent as the nature (svarūpa) of a jīva, and comparable to all-pervading light [rather than to the condensed luminous orb of the sun or the moon itself], shall verily be meager in accord with that [i.e., in accord with how it is of less condensed nature, just as a perception of diffused light is far less intense than a perception of the sun or moon directly]. And it is not that this [world] which is māyika and generated by [mere] appearance (prapañca) should be said to be comparable to light [as brahman, i.e., the jīva, has just been compared] because of the impossibility of the world’s being a part (aṁśa) of Parabrahman [as brahman, i.e., the jīva, is] on account of the non-existence of [its, i.e., the world’s] being constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, and so forth, and because of the usage of the word śakti [to describe it, rather than the world ‘part’ (aṁśa)], just as the minute particles of the light of the moon and the sun are parts thereof respectively [i.e., are parts of the moon and the sun] because of the presence of various qualities beginning with being illuminating [i.e., because they share the same qualities as the wholes of which they are said to be parts, unlike the material world, which does not share the same qualities as the whole, viz., Parabrahman, that it is said to be a śakti, but not a ‘part’ (aṁśa), of]. This is the direction.”

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sarvātmakatvena bṛhat-tamatvād bhagavato rūpam eva brahma

sarvātmakatvena bṛhat-tamatvād bhagavato rūpam eva brahma |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.8.78)

“On account of being the greatest [i.e., the most vast entity] by virtue of being the constitution of all [other entities in existence, i.e., of being the totality of existence], only the form of Bhagavān is [the rightful referent of the word] Brahman.”

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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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ayaṁ hi sarva-kalpānāṁ sadhrīcīno mato mama

ayaṁ hi sarva-kalpānāṁ sadhrīcīno mato mama |
mad-bhāvaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu mano-vāk-kāya-vṛttibhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.19; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 332)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Indeed, this thought of me in all beings [performed] with the functions of the mind, speech, and body is considered by me to be the proper one among all processes.”

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aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām |
yan mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.32)

“Aho! The fortune! Aho! The fortune of the residents of Chief Nanda’s Vraja, whose eternal friend is the Complete Brahman, the highest bliss!”

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kṛṣir bhū-vācakaḥ śabdo ṇaś ca nirvṛti-vācakaḥ

kṛṣir bhū-vācakaḥ śabdo ṇaś ca nirvṛti-vācakaḥ |
tayor aikyaṁ paraṁ brahma kṛṣṇa ity abhidhīyate ||
(Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva: 71.4; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.9.30 and Jīva Gosvāmī’s ṭīkā on Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.1)

“The word [i.e., root] kṛṣ is a signifier of existence, and [the suffix] ṇa is a signifier of bliss. The oneness of the two [i.e., of the referrents of kṛṣ and ṇa, that is, existence and bliss], Parabrahman, is thus referred to as Kṛṣṇa.”

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tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.32; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.97; Bhakti Sandarbha: 202, 238)

“Therefore [i.e., because there is no lasting fulfillment in saṁsāra and bhakti is the only means of crossing over saṁsāra], one who wishes to know the highest good should take shelter of a guru who is adept in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman, and is an abode of tranquility.”

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dve vidye veditavye tu

dve vidye veditavye tu śabda-brahma paraṁ ca yat |
śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ paraṁ brahmādhigacchati ||
(Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad: 17; Brahma-bindu Upaniṣad: 17; Maitrāyaṇi Upaniṣad: 6.22)

“Two types of knowledge, however, are to be known: śabda-brahman and Parabrahman. One who is adept in śabda-brahman attains Parabrahman.”

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