ISO Mantra 15 hiranmayena patrena... cited

Expressions researched:
"Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee" |"hiranmayena patrena"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "Iso mantra 15" or "Iso 15" or "hiranmayena patrena" or "Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee"

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:

In the Western world where the glories of Lord Caitanya are relatively unknown, one may inquire, "Who is Kṛṣṇa Caitanya?" The scriptural conclusion in answer to that question is that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally in the Upaniṣads the Supreme Absolute Truth is described in an impersonal way, but the personal aspect of the Absolute Truth is mentioned in the Īśopaniṣad, where, after a description of the all-pervading, we find the following verse:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee." (Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 15)

The impersonalists do not have the power to go beyond the effulgence of God and arrive at the personality from whom this effulgence is emanating. At the end of Īśopaniṣad, however, there is a hymn to the Personality of Godhead. It is not that the impersonal Brahman is denied; it is also described, but that Brahman is considered to be the glaring effulgence of the body of Caitanya. In other words, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. It is also stated by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā that the impersonal Brahman rests on Him (brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, Bg. 14.27). The Paramātmā, or Supersoul, which is present within the heart of every living entity and within every atom of the universe, is but the partial representation of Caitanya. Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is therefore the basis of Brahman and the Supreme Personality of Godhead as well. As the Supreme, He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. In short, we should know that He is Kṛṣṇa, God, and nothing is equal to or greater than Him. There is no superior to be conceived. He is the Supreme Person.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

Whenever we speak of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we add the word śrī, indicating that He is full with six opulences. In other words, He is eternally a person; if He were not a person, the six opulences could not be present in fullness. If we say that the Supreme Absolute Truth is impersonal, we mean that His personality is not material. Thus in order to distinguish His transcendental body from ordinary material bodies, some philosophers have explained Him as being impersonal from the material point of view. In other words, material personality is denied, and spiritual personality is established. In the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.19) it is clearly explained that the Absolute Truth has no material legs and hands, but in that scripture it is indicated that He has spiritual hands by which He accepts everything offered to Him. Similarly, He has no material eyes, but He does have spiritual eyes by which He can see everything and anything. Although He has no material ears, He can hear everything and anything. Having perfect senses, He knows past, future and present. Indeed, He knows everything, but no one can understand Him, for by material senses He cannot be understood. Being the origin of all emanations, He is the supreme, the greatest, the Personality of Godhead.

There are many similar Vedic hymns which definitely establish that the Supreme Absolute Truth is a person who is not of this material world. For instance, in the Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra it is explained that although in each and every Upaniṣad the Supreme Brahman is first viewed as impersonal, at the end the personal form of the Supreme Lord is accepted. A similar verse occurs in Śrī Īśopaniṣad:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Please remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee." (Iśa. 15)

This verse indicates that everyone should engage in devotional service to the Supreme Lord, who is the maintainer of this whole universe. Everyone is sustained by His mercy; therefore devotional service unto Him constitutes the true religion. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the eternal form of sac-cid-ānanda, and His effulgence is spread throughout the creation, just as sunshine is spread throughout the solar system. And just as the sun disc is covered by the glaring effulgence of the sunshine, the transcendental form of the Lord is covered by the glaring effulgence called brahmajyoti. Indeed, in this verse it is clearly stated that the eternal, blissful, cognizant form of the Supreme Lord is to be found within the glaring effulgence of the brahmajyoti, which emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. Thus the personal body of the Lord is the source of the brahmajyoti, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 14.27). That the impersonal Brahman is dependent on the Supreme Personality is stated in the Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra and in every other Upaniṣad or Vedic scripture. Indeed, whenever there is talk of the impersonal Brahman in the beginning, the Supreme Personality is finally established at the end. Just as Īśopaniṣad indicates, the Supreme Absolute Truth is both impersonal and personal eternally, but His personal aspect is more important than the impersonal one.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 15, Translation and Purport:

O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.

In the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), the Lord explains His personal rays (brahmajyoti), the dazzling effulgence of His personal form, in this way:

brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham

amṛtasyāvyayasya ca

śāśvatasya ca dharmasya

sukhasyaikāntikasya ca

"I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness." Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are three aspects of the same Absolute Truth. Brahman is the aspect most easily perceived by the beginner; Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is realized by those who have further progressed; and Bhagavān realization is the ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), where Lord Kṛṣṇa says that He is the ultimate concept of the Absolute Truth: mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the source of the brahmajyoti as well as the all-pervading Paramātmā. Later in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.42) Kṛṣṇa further explains:

atha vā bahunaitena

kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna

viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam

ekāṁśena sthito jagat

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." Thus by His one plenary expansion, the all-pervading Paramātmā, the Lord maintains the complete material cosmic creation. He also maintains all manifestations in the spiritual world. Therefore in this śruti-mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad, the Lord is addressed as pūṣan, the ultimate maintainer.

The Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is always filled with transcendental bliss (ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt). When He was present at Vṛndāvana in India five thousand years ago, He always remained in transcendental bliss, even from the beginning of His childhood pastimes. The killings of various demons—such as Agha, Baka, Pūtanā and Pralamba—were but pleasure excursions for Him. In His village of Vṛndāvana He enjoyed Himself with His mother, brother and friends, and when He played the role of a naughty butter thief, all His associates enjoyed celestial bliss by His stealing. The Lord's fame as a butter thief is not reproachable, for by stealing butter the Lord gave pleasure to His pure devotees. Everything the Lord did in Vṛndāvana was for the pleasure of His associates there. The Lord created these pastimes to attract the dry speculators and the acrobats of the so-called haṭha-yoga system who wish to find the Absolute Truth.

Of the childhood play between the Lord and His playmates, the cowherd boys, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.12.11):

itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā

dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena

māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa

sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ

"The Personality of Godhead, who is perceived as the impersonal, blissful Brahman by the jñānīs, who is worshiped as the Supreme Lord by devotees in the mood of servitorship, and who is considered an ordinary human being by mundane people, played with the cowherd boys, who had attained their position after accumulating many pious activities."

Thus the Lord is always engaged in transcendental loving activities with His spiritual associates in the various relationships of śānta (neutrality), dāsya (servitorship), sakhya (friendship), vātsalya (parental affection) and mādhurya (conjugal love).

Since it is said that Lord Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana-dhāma, one may ask how He manages the affairs of the creation. This is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā (13.14-18): The Lord pervades the entire material creation by His plenary part known as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul. Although the Lord personally has nothing to do with material creation, maintenance and destruction, He causes all these things to be done by His plenary expansion, the Paramātmā. Every living entity is known as ātmā, soul, and the principal ātmā who controls them all is Paramātmā, the Supersoul.

This system of God realization is a great science. The materialistic sāṅkhya-yogīs can only analyze and meditate on the twenty-four factors of the material creation, for they have very little information of the puruṣa, the Lord. And the impersonal transcendentalists are simply bewildered by the glaring effulgence of the brahmajyoti. If one wants to see the Absolute Truth in full, one has to penetrate beyond the twenty-four material elements and the glaring effulgence as well. Śrī Īśopaniṣad points toward this direction, praying for the removal of the hiraṇmaya-pātra, the dazzling covering of the Lord. Unless this covering is removed so one can perceive the real face of the Personality of Godhead, factual realization of the Absolute Truth can never be achieved.

The Paramātmā feature of the Personality of Godhead is one of three plenary expansions, or viṣṇu-tattvas, collectively known as the puruṣa-avatāras. One of these viṣṇu-tattvas who is within the universe is known as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. He is the Viṣṇu among the three principal deities—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva—and He is the all-pervading Paramātmā in each and every individual living entity. The second viṣṇu-tattva within the universe is Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the collective Supersoul of all living entities. Beyond these two is Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in the Causal Ocean. He is the creator of all universes. The yoga system teaches the serious student to meet the viṣṇu-tattvas after going beyond the twenty-four material elements of the cosmic creation. The culture of empiric philosophy helps one realize the impersonal brahmajyoti, which is the glaring effulgence of the transcendental body of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That the brahmajyoti is Kṛṣṇa's effulgence is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27) as well as the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40):

yasya prabhā-prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-

koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam

tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"In the millions and millions of universes there are innumerable planets, and each and every one of them is different from the others by its cosmic constitution. All of these planets are situated in a corner of the brahmajyoti. This brahmajyoti is but the personal rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whom I worship." This mantra from the Brahma-saṁhitā is spoken from the platform of factual realization of the Absolute Truth, and the śruti-mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad under discussion confirms this mantra as a process of realization. The Īśopaniṣad mantra is a simple prayer to the Lord to remove the brahmajyoti so that one can see His real face. This brahmajyoti effulgence is described in detail in several mantras of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.2.10-12):

hiraṇmaye pare kośe

virajaṁ brahma niṣkalam

tac chubhraṁ jyotiṣāṁ jyotis

tad yad ātma-vido viduḥ

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra-tārakaṁ

nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto 'yam agniḥ

tam eva bhāntam anu bhāti sarvaṁ

tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ vibhāti

brahmaivedam amṛtaṁ purastād brahma

paścād brahma dakṣiṇataś cottareṇa

adhaś cordhvaṁ ca prasṛtaṁ brahmai-

vedaṁ viśvam idaṁ variṣṭham

"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies."

Perfect knowledge means knowing Kṛṣṇa as the root of this Brahman effulgence. This knowledge can be gained from such scriptures as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which perfectly elaborates the science of Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the author, Śrīla Vyāsadeva, has established that one will describe the Supreme Truth as Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān according to one's realization of Him. Śrīla Vyāsadeva never states that the Supreme Truth is a jīva, an ordinary living entity. The living entity should never be considered the all-powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would not need to pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling cover so that the living entity could see His real face.

The conclusion is that one who has no knowledge of the potencies of the Supreme Truth will realize the impersonal Brahman. Similarly, when one realizes the material potencies of the Lord but has little or no information of the spiritual potencies, he attains Paramātmā realization. Thus both Brahman and Paramātmā realization of the Absolute Truth are partial realizations. However, when one realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in full potency after the removal of the hiraṇmaya-pātra, one realizes vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: (BG 7.19) Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Vāsudeva, is everything—Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. He is Bhagavān, the root, and Brahman and Paramātmā are His branches.

In the Bhagavad-gītā (6.46-47) there is a comparative analysis of the three types of transcendentalists—the worshipers of the impersonal Brahman (jñānīs), the worshipers of the Paramātmā feature (yogīs) and the devotees of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (bhaktas). It is stated there that the jñānīs, those who have cultivated Vedic knowledge, are better than ordinary fruitive workers, that the yogīs are still greater than the jñānīs, and that among all yogīs, those who constantly serve the Lord with all their energies are the topmost. In summary, a philosopher is better than a laboring man, a mystic is superior to a philosopher, and of all the mystic yogīs, he who follows bhakti-yoga, constantly engaging in the service of the Lord, is the highest. Śrī Īśopaniṣad directs us toward this perfection.

Sri Isopanisad Lectures

Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 13-15 -- Los Angeles, May 18, 1970:

Prabhupāda: Everyone feeling all right?

Devotees: Yes, Prabhupāda. Jaya!

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Page 65, Mantra 13. (chants mantra etc.)

anyad evāhuḥ sambhavād

anyad āhur asambhavāt

iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ

ye nas tad vicacakṣire

(Iso 13)

Then Mantra 14, (page) 72. (devotees chant mantra etc.)

sambhūtiṁ ca vināśaṁ ca

yas tad vedobhayaṁ saha

vināśena mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā

sambhūtyāmṛtam aśnute

(Iso 14)

Fifteen.

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee."

Here is Vedic evidence. This Īśopaniṣad is Veda, part of the Yajur Veda. So here it is said, hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasya apihitam mukham. Just like the sun. There is, in the sun planet, there is a predominating Deity whose name is Vivasvān. We get it, this information we get from Bhagavad-gītā. Vivasvān manave prāha. So in every planet there is a predominating Deity. Just like in your this planet, if not Deity, somebody like president there is. Formerly, there was only one king on this planet, up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. One king was. There was only one flag ruling over this whole planet. Similarly, in every planet there is a predominating Deity. So here it is said that the supreme predominating Deity is Kṛṣṇa, in the spiritual, in the topmost planet in the spiritual sky. This is material sky. In the material sky this is one of the universes. There are millions and trillions of universes. And within this universe there are millions and trillions of planets. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Jagad-aṇḍa. Jagad-aṇḍa means universe. Aṇḍa: just like an egg, this whole universe. So koṭi. Koṭi means hundreds and thousands. So in the brahmajyoti there are hundreds and thousands of these universes, and within this universe there are hundreds and thousands and thousands, unlimited number of Vaikuṇṭhas, planets. Each Vaikuṇṭha planet is predominated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Except in the Kṛṣṇa planet, all other Vaikuṇṭha planets, they are predominated by Nārāyaṇa, and each Nārāyaṇa has got different names, some of which we know. Like just we utter Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Saṅkarṣaṇa... We have got twenty-four names only, but there are many others. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33).

So these planets are covered by the brahmajyoti effulgence. So here it is prayed that hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasya apihitam. Apihitam means covered. Just like you cannot see the sun globe on account of this dazzling sunshine, similarly, the Kṛṣṇa planet, here you have the picture. From the Kṛṣṇa planet the effulgence is coming out. So one has to penetrate this effulgence. That is being prayed here. Hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasya. The real Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa, His planet is covered by the Brahman effulgence. So the devotee is praying, "Kindly move it. Wind it so that I can see You really." So brahmajyoti, the Māyāvāda philosophers, they do not know that beyond brahmajyoti there is anything. Here is the Vedic evidence, that the brahmajyoti is just like golden effulgence. Hiraṇmayena pātreṇa. This is covering the real face of the Supreme Lord. Tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu. So, "You are sustainer, You are maintainer. Kindly uncover this so that we can see You actually, Your face."

The idea is that Kṛṣṇa planet or the Vaikuṇṭha planets, they are beyond this Brahman effulgence, and those who are devotees, they are permitted to enter into these spiritual planets. Those who are not devotees, simply jñānīs or demons... The jñānīs and demons, they are offered the same place. The jñānīs... Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ (SB 10.2.32). They practice severe austerities, penances, to enter into the Brahman effulgence. But the demons, simply by becoming enemy of Kṛṣṇa, they immediately get that place. The demons who are killed by Kṛṣṇa, they are immediately transferred to this Brahman effulgence. So just imagine, the place which is given to the enemies of Kṛṣṇa, is that very covetable thing? Suppose if somebody comes who is my enemy, I give him some place, and somebody, my intimate friend, I give him some other place. Similarly, this Brahman effulgence is not at all covetable. Therefore Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda, he has composed a verse, that Brahman... Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Kaivalya means the Brahman effulgence, simply spiritual light. So kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. He says that this Brahman effulgence is just like hell. For a devotee, this Brahman... The jñānīs who are trying to merge into the Brahman effulgence, for devotee it is stated as hell. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5). And tri-daśa-pūr means the planets of the demigods within this material world. People are very much anxious to go into the heavenly planet. That is called tri-daśa-pūr or tri-daśa-pūr, the residential quarters of the demigods. And for a devotee it is understood as will-o'-the-wisp, ākāśa-puṣpāyate. And durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate. And the yogis, they are trying to control the senses, which are considered as venomous serpents, the senses. That's a fact. So the bhakta says that "We are not afraid of the senses." Why? Protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate. Because we have extracted the poison teeth. The senses has got a poison teeth. As soon as you indulge in sense gratification, immediately you become degraded. Immediately. So it is just like a venomous serpent. As soon as touches you, little biting, finished your life. So it is like that. Durdānta-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī, indriya. But these venomous snakes, if their poison teeth is taken away, then it may be fearful for the boys and children. But if an elderly person knows that his poison teeth has been taken away, nobody's afraid of it. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that we take away the poison teeth of the senses. So that even Kṛṣṇa conscious persons are allowed for sense gratification, the poison teeth is broken. So therefore they are not gliding down to the hellish condition of life. So in this way, either the karmīs or the jñānīs or the yogis, they are always... They are, every one of them, trying to elevate. And above them is the devotees.

So devotee's place is the highest because by devotion only you can understand what is God. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55), Kṛṣṇa says. He does not say that "By karma one can understand Me." He does not say that "By jñāna one can understand Me." He does not say that "By yoga one can understand Me." He clearly says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: (BG 18.55) "Simply by devotional service one can understand Me." Yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. Knowing Him as He is, that is bhakti. So except devotional service, there is no possibility of understanding the Absolute Truth. Any other process means covered. Just like the... You understand the sun planet from here. You are seeing the sun planet, that's a fact, but that does not mean you know what is actually the sun planet is, because you have no access to approach there. You may speculate, that's all. Speculation means the blind man seeing the elephant. Somebody thought, "Oh, it is just like a pillar." Yes. Big, big legs. Somebody understood the trunk. Somebody understood the ears, elephant. There is a story, some blind men studying the elephant. So they were giving different conclusions. Somebody: "The elephant is just like a pillar." Somebody says, "Elephant is just like big boat." Somebody is... Somebody is... But actually what is elephant, if you have no eyes to see, you can go on speculating. Therefore it is here said that pūṣann apāvṛṇu. "Please uncover the covering. Then I can see You."

So that seeing power is the bhakta's, the devotee's, because Kṛṣṇa certifies, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). Those who have developed love of Godhead by that ointment, prema, ointment... Just like sometimes... In India it is very... They have got some... What is called? Surma? Ungent, surma. Yes. If you apply that surma your sight becomes bright immediately. So if you smear your eyes with love of Godhead, then you will see God always. Santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. Yes. So devotion. So this is the way of understanding God. By service, by enhancing love... This love can be increased only by service. Otherwise there is no possibility. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). The more you increase your service spirit, the more you increase your dormant love of God. And as soon as you are in the perfectional stage of love of God, you see God always, every moment. Twenty-four hours you can see.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 7.25, Purport:

In the prayers of Kuntī in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.19) it is said that the Lord is covered by the curtain of yoga-māyā and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him. This yoga-māyā curtain is also confirmed in the Īśopaniṣad (mantra 15), in which the devotee prays:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O my Lord, You are the maintainer of the entire universe, and devotional service to You is the highest religious principle. Therefore, I pray that You will also maintain me. Your transcendental form is covered by the yoga-māyā. The brahmajyoti is the covering of the internal potency. May You kindly remove this glowing effulgence that impedes my seeing Your sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), Your eternal form of bliss and knowledge." The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form of bliss and knowledge is covered by the internal potency of the brahmajyoti, and the less intelligent impersonalists cannot see the Supreme on this account.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.7.4, Purport:

Perfect vision of the Absolute Truth is possible only by the linking process of devotional service. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. One can perfectly realize the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead only by the process of devotional service, and one can enter into the kingdom of God by such perfect knowledge. Imperfect realization of the Absolute by the partial approach of the impersonal Brahman or localized Paramātmā does not permit anyone to enter into the kingdom of God. Śrī Nārada advised Śrīla Vyāsadeva to become absorbed in transcendental meditation on the Personality of Godhead and His activities. Śrīla Vyāsadeva did not take notice of the effulgence of Brahman because that is not absolute vision. The absolute vision is the Personality of Godhead, as it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. In the Upaniṣads also it is confirmed that Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, is covered by the golden glowing hiraṇmayena pātreṇa veil of impersonal Brahman, and when that curtain is removed by the mercy of the Lord the real face of the Absolute is seen. The Absolute is mentioned here as the puruṣa, or person. The Absolute Personality of Godhead is mentioned in so many Vedic literatures, and in the Bhagavad-gītā, the puruṣa is confirmed as the eternal and original person. The Absolute Personality of Godhead is the perfect person. The Supreme Person has manifold energies, out of which the internal, external and marginal energies are specifically important. The energy mentioned here is the external energy, as will be clear from the statements of her activities. The internal energy is there along with the Absolute Person as the moonlight is there with the moon. The external energy is compared to darkness because it keeps the living entities in the darkness of ignorance. The word apāśrayam suggests that this energy of the Lord is under full control. The internal potency or superior energy is also called māyā, but it is spiritual māyā, or energy exhibited in the absolute realm. When one is under the shelter of this internal potency, the darkness of material ignorance is at once dissipated. And even those who are ātmārāma, or fixed in trance, take shelter of this māyā, or internal energy. Devotional service, or bhakti-yoga, is the function of the internal energy; thus there is no place for the inferior energy, or material energy, just as there is no place for darkness in the effulgence of spiritual light. Such internal energy is even superior to the spiritual bliss attainable in the conception of impersonal Brahman. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that the impersonal Brahman effulgence is also an emanation from the Absolute Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The parama-puruṣa cannot be anyone except Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, as will be explained in the later ślokas.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.4.14, Purport:

The Vaikuṇṭha planets and the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet are all self-illuminating, and the rays scattered by those sva-dhāma of the Lord constitute the existence of the brahmajyoti. As further confirmed in the Vedas like the Muṇḍaka (2.2.10), Kaṭha (2.2.15) and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣads (6.14):

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra-tārakaṁ

nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto 'yam agniḥ

tam eva bhāntam anu bhāti sarvaṁ

tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ vibhāti

In the sva-dhāma of the Lord there is no need of sun, moon or stars for illumination. Nor is there need of electricity, so what to speak of ignited lamps? On the other hand, it is because those planets are self-illuminating that all effulgence has become possible, and whatever there is that is dazzling is due to the reflection of that sva-dhāma.

One who is dazzled by the effulgence of the impersonal brahmajyoti cannot know the personal transcendence; therefore in the Īśopaniṣad (15) it is prayed that the Lord shift His dazzling effulgence so that the devotee can see the real reality. It is spoken thus:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O Lord, You are the maintainer of everything, both material and spiritual, and everything flourishes by Your mercy. Your devotional service, or bhakti-yoga, is the actual principle of religion, satya-dharma, and I am engaged in that service. So kindly protect me by showing Your real face. Please, therefore, remove the veil of Your brahmajyoti rays so that I can see Your form of eternal bliss and knowledge."

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Introduction:

In the Western world, where the glories of Lord Caitanya are relatively unknown, one may inquire, "Who is Kṛṣṇa Caitanya?" The author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, answers that question in the third verse of his book. Generally, in the Upaniṣads the Supreme Absolute Truth is described in an impersonal way, but the personal aspect of the Absolute Truth is mentioned in the Īśopaniṣad, where we find the following verse:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

"O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee." (Śrī Īśopaniṣad 15) The impersonalists do not have the power to go beyond the effulgence of God and arrive at the Personality of Godhead, from whom this effulgence is emanating. The Īśopaniṣad is a hymn to that Personality of Godhead. It is not that the impersonal Brahman is denied; it is also described, but that Brahman is revealed to be the glaring effulgence of the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa. And in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta we learn that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself. In other words, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. The Paramātmā, or Supersoul, who is present within the heart of every living entity and within every atom of the universe, is but the partial representation of Lord Caitanya. Therefore Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, being the basis of both Brahman and the all-pervading Paramātmā as well, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, He is full in six opulences: wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. In short, we should know that He is Kṛṣṇa, God, and that nothing is equal to or greater than Him. There is nothing superior to be conceived. He is the Supreme Person.