Devanagari
यथेन्द्रियै: पृथग्द्वारैरर्थो बहुगुणाश्रय: ।
एको नानेयते तद्वद्भगवान्शास्त्रवर्त्मभि: ॥ ३३ ॥
Verse text
yathendriyaiḥ pṛthag-dvārair
artho bahu-guṇāśrayaḥ
eko nāneyate tadvad
bhagavān śāstra-vartmabhiḥ
Synonyms
yathā
—
as
;
indriyaiḥ
—
by the senses
;
pṛthak
—
dvāraiḥ — in different ways
;
arthaḥ
—
an object
;
bahu
—
guṇa — many qualities
;
āśrayaḥ
—
endowed with
;
ekaḥ
—
one
;
nānā
—
differently
;
īyate
—
is perceived
;
tadvat
—
similarly
;
bhagavān
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
śāstra
—
vartmabhiḥ — according to different scriptural injunctions .
Translation
A single object is appreciated differently by different senses due to its having different qualities. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one, but according to different scriptural injunctions He appears to be different.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as one object, the substrate of many qualities, is perceived by the various senses in various ways, so Bhagavān is perceived variously by the various scriptural practices.
The Lord is not only realized by jṣāna and bhakti. Because he has infinite powers, the Lord is realized by all sādhanas. An example is given. One substance like milk, the reservoir of many qualities like form and taste, is perceived in various ways by various senses operating on different paths (pṛthag-dvāraiḥ). By the eye, milk is perceived to be white, and by the tongue it is perceived as sweet. By touch it is cool, by the nose it is perceived as fragrant. By the ear, it is defined as milk. One by one, each perceivable quality is perceived by its particular sense, and not by other senses. It is realized as a possessor of a certain quality by that particular sense, and not as milk itself. But it is perceived by the king of senses, the mind, as something possessing all the qualities. “This substance is giving pleasure, satisfaction, white, sweet, cool, fragrant and is called milk.” Similarly, one portion of the Lord is perceived by karma, jṣāna and other scriptural processes (śāstra-vartmabhiḥ), as the Lord who gives Svarga or as the ātmā or Brahman who gives liberation, since the Lord is also the form of Svarga and liberation. But by bhakti, the chief sādhana, Bhagavān, the object of prema, who includes all the other forms and who gives all results, is realized. This is explained by consulting Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.201-205).
yathā rūpa-rasādīnāṁ guṇānām āśrayaḥ sadā |
kṣīrādir eka evārtho jṣāyate bahudhendriyaiḥ ||201||
dṛśā śuklo rasanayā madhuro bhagavāṁs tathā |
upāsanābhir bahudhā sa eko’pi pratīyate ||202||
Just as one substance such as milk is the shelter of many qualities such as form and taste as perceived through various external senses, such as white color by the eye and sweet by the tongue, so Bhagavān though one entity appears as many different forms according to the type of worship.
jihvayaiva yathā grāhyaṁ mādhuryaṁ tasya nāparaiḥ |
yathā cakṣur-ādīni gṛhṇanty arthaṁ nijaṁ nijam ||203||
tathānyā bāhya-karaṇa-sthānīyopāsanākhilā |
bhaktis tu cetaḥ sthānīyā tat tat sarvārtha-lābhataḥ ||204||
As the tongue alone and no other sense can perceive the sweet taste and as the eye or any other senses can perceive its specific sense object, so the different types of worship depending on the external senses perceive limited aspects of the Lord, and bhakti depending on the mind perceives all qualities in the Lord
iti pravara-śāstreṣu tasya brahma-svarūpataḥ |
mādhuryādi-guṇādhikyāt kṛṣṇasya śreṣṭhatocyate ||205||
Thus the best of scriptures explain the superiority of Kṛṣna over the Brahman aspect of Kṛṣna because of his full manifestation of qualities such as sweetness.
Purport
It appears that by following the path of
jṣāna-yoga,
or empiric philosophical speculation, one reaches the impersonal Brahman, whereas by executing devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one enriches his faith in and devotion to the Personality of Godhead. But it is stated here that both
bhakti-yoga
and
jṣāna-yoga
are meant for reaching the same destination — the Personality of Godhead. By the process of
jṣāna-yoga
the same Personality of Godhead appears to be impersonal. As the same object appears to be different when perceived by different senses, the same Supreme Lord appears to be impersonal by mental speculation. A hill appears cloudy from a distance, and one who does not know may speculate that the hill is a cloud. Actually, it is not a cloud; it is a big hill. One has to learn from authority that the sight of a cloud is not actually a cloud but a hill. If one makes a little more progress, then instead of a cloud he sees the hill and something green. When one actually approaches the hill, he will see many varieties. Another example is in perceiving milk. When we see milk, we see that it is white; when we taste it, it appears that milk is very palatable. When we touch milk, it appears very cold; when we smell milk, it appears to have a very good flavor; and when we hear, we understand that it is called milk. Perceiving milk with different senses, we say that it is something white, something very delicious, something very aromatic, and so on. Actually, it is milk. Similarly, those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by mental speculation may approach the bodily effulgence, or the impersonal Brahman, and those who are trying to find the Supreme Godhead by
yoga
practice may find Him as the localized Supersoul, but those who are directly trying to approach the Supreme Truth by practice of
bhakti-yoga
can see Him face to face as the Supreme Person.
Ultimately, the Supreme Person is the destination of all different processes. The fortunate person who, by following the principles of scriptures, becomes completely purified of all material contamination, surrenders unto the Supreme Lord as everything. Just as one can appreciate the real taste of milk with the tongue and not with the eyes, nostrils or ears, one can similarly appreciate the Absolute Truth perfectly and with all relishable pleasure only through one path, devotional service. This is also confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā.
Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti:
if one wants to understand the Absolute Truth in perfection, he must take to devotional service. Of course, no one can understand the Absolute Truth in all perfection. That is not possible for the infinitesimal living entities. But the highest point of understanding by the living entity is reached by discharge of devotional service, not otherwise.
By following various scriptural paths, one may come to the impersonal effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The transcendental pleasure derived from merging with or understanding the impersonal Brahman is very extensive because Brahman is
ananta.
Tad brahma niṣkalaṁ anantam:
brahmānanda
is unlimited. But that unlimited pleasure can also be surpassed. That is the nature of the Transcendence. The unlimited can be surpassed also, and that higher platform is Kṛṣṇa. When one deals directly with Kṛṣṇa, the mellow and the humor relished by reciprocation of devotional service is incomparable, even with the pleasure derived from transcendental Brahman. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī therefore says that
kaivalya,
the Brahman pleasure, is undoubtedly very great and is appreciated by many philosophers, but to a devotee, who has understood how to derive pleasure from exchanging devotional service with the Lord, this unlimited Brahman appears to be hellish. Therefore one should try to transcend even the Brahman pleasure in order to approach the position of dealing with Kṛṣṇa face to face. As the mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, Kṛṣṇa is called the master of the senses, Hṛṣīkeśa. The process is to fix the mind on Hṛṣīkeśa, or Kṛṣṇa, as Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did (
sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ
).
Bhakti
is the basic principle of all processes. Without
bhakti,
neither
jṣāna-yoga
nor
aṣṭāṅga-yoga
can be successful, and unless one approaches Kṛṣṇa, the principles of self-realization have no ultimate destination.