कृष्णभक्तिसुधापानाद्देहदैहिकविस्मृतेः ।
तेषां भौतिकदेहेऽपि सच्चिदानन्दरूपता ॥
kṛṣṇa-bhakti-sudhā-pānād deha-daihika-vismṛteḥ |
teṣāṁ bhautika-dehe’pi sac-cid-ānanda-rūpatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.3.61)
“On account of non-remembrance of the body and the bodily as a result of drinking the nectar of bhakti to Kṛṣṇa, their having a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss can come about even [when they are] in a body [made] of the [material] elements.”
Commentary
nanv ete pāñcabhautika-vinaśvara-śarīrās te ca sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahāḥ? tatrāha—kṛṣṇeti | dehayoḥ sthūla-sūkṣma-śarīrayor ahaṁtāspadayoḥ, daihikānāṁ ca tat-tat-sambandhināṁ mamatvāspadānāṁ putra-kalatrādīnāṁ viṣaya-bhogādīnāṁ ca vismṛter anusandhānābhāvāt pāñcabhautika-dehe’pi teṣāṁ martya-loka-nivāsi-bhaktānāṁ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahataiva syāt | ayam arthaḥ—tat-tad-dhetuka-vighna-bādhā-rāhityena nirantara-bhakti-sudhā-pāna-sampattyā vaikuṇṭha-vāsi-sāmyāpatteḥ pāñcabhautika-śarīriṇām api teṣāṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpataiva paryavasyatīti | yad vā, martya-śarīram api sac-cid-ānanda-rūpeṇa pariṇamed ity arthaḥ | yathoktaṁ śrī-maitreyeṇa caturtha-skandhe śrī-dhruvasya parama-padārohaṇa-prasaṅge—‘parītyābhyarcya dhiṣṇyāgryaṁ pārṣadāv abhivandya ca | iyeṣa tad adhiṣṭhātuṁ bibhrad rūpaṁ hiraṇmayaṁ ||’ iti | vyākhyātaṁ cātra śrīdhara-svāmi-pādaiḥ—tad eva rūpaṁ hiraṇmayaṁ prakāśa-bahulaṁ bibhrat san iti | hiraṇmayatvaṁ ca prakāśamayatvaṁ cid-ghanatvādibhir jñeyam | loke ca rasa-viśeṣa-pānena śarīrasya ramya-rūpāntara-prāptir iti jñeyam |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“[An objection is raised to the idea that Vaikuṇṭha is manifest wherever bhaktas are present within the realm of saṁsāra:] ‘Well, they [i.e., bhaktas within the realm of saṁsāra] have perishable bodies made of the five elements, and they [i.e., residents of Vaikuṇṭha] have forms [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss [i.e., you can’t say Vaikuṇṭha is present wherever bhaktas with material bodies are present because the residents of Vaikuṇṭha don’t have material bodies]. To that [i.e., to refute this objection], he says Kṛṣṇa … [i.e., he speaks this verse]. On account of non-remembrance of (vismṛteḥ), that is, the non-existence of preoccupation with, the two bodies, that is, the gross and subtle bodies that are [generally] the objects of I-ness [i.e., the sense of ‘I’] (ahantā), and [similar non-remembrance of] ‘the bodily’ (daihika), that is, that which is related to those two [bodies] and [generally] an object of my-ness [i.e., the sense of ‘my’] (mamatva), namely, [one’s] wife, son, and so on, as well as enjoyment and so forth of objects of the senses (viṣaya-bhogādi), they—bhaktas residing in the plane of mortality—can certainly have a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss even while [dwelling] in a body made of the five elements. The meaning is this: indeed the state of being possessed of a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss results even for they who have bodies made of the five elements on account of [their] entering a state of equality with residents of Vaikuṇṭha as a result of the fortune of [their] drinking the nectar of bhakti constantly and being free from the obstruction of obstacles caused by those two [i.e., by the body and the bodily as described earlier]. Alternately, the meaning is that even the mortal body [constituted of the five material elements] can transform into a form [constituted] of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, as is described by Śrī Maitreya in the Fourth Canto in regard to the subject of Śrī Dhruva’s ascending to the supreme abode [in SB 4.12.29], ‘After circumambulating and worshipping the airplane [which had descended from Vaikuṇṭha to take him there] and offering respects to the two associates [of Śrī Bhagavān who had come in the plane], he set forth to board that [plane] bearing a golden form.’ In this regard, furthermore, it is explained by Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda, ‘Bearing (bibhrat), that is, having, that very [same] form [which had now became] golden, meaning, greatly luminous ….’ ‘Goldenness’ (hiraṇmayatva), furthermore, is to be understood [in this context] to refer to being luminous by virtue of being [constituted] of condensed consciousness and so forth [i.e., the mention of Dhruva’s body being to be golden is to indicate that his body at that time had become constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss]. In the world as well, the body’s attainment of a different, pleasing appearance as a result of drinking a special tonic (rasa) occurs. In this way, it [i.e., Dhurva’s body having come to be constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss like the residents of Vaikuṇṭha] is to be understood [and thus the objection that Vaikuṇṭha cannot be said to be present wherever bhaktas are present in the realm of saṁsāra since bhaktas in saṁsāra do not have bodies constituted of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss like the residents of Vaikuṇṭha is refuted because such bhaktas do in fact have bodies constituted of such nature by virtue of their absorption in Kṛṣṇa-bhakti and their non-identification and non-attachment in regard to the body and the bodily].”