Prabhupāda: After many, many lives Just like bank balance increases, similarly, one who has increased the balance of pious activities for many, many thousands of lives, oh, such persons are now playing with Kṛṣṇa. They have taken the body of His cowherds boy, transcendental spiritual body, and just they are playing with Kṛṣṇa. And who is Kṛṣṇa?" Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtya: "The great saints and sages who are trying to understand the Supreme Brahman, here is Kṛṣṇa. That Supreme Brahman is here, playing." Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhanubhutya dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena: "The impersonalist Brahman is... Because Kṛṣṇa's effulgence is impersonal Brahman, so here is He." And dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ: "Those who are devotees, those who have accepted Kṛṣṇa as the master, for them here is Kṛṣṇa."
Impersonal Brahman (Coversations and Letters)
Conversations and Morning Walks
1968 Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That is not finished. You have to go... That is... Upaniṣad says that, he's praying that "Please wind up Your effulgence so that I can see Your true face." The Upaniṣad says. You see in the Upaniṣad. And he's praying that "Please wind up Your this glaring effulgence so that I can see Your real face." So real face is there. And Bhagavad-gītā says, brahmaṇo 'ham pratiṣṭhā. "This impersonal Brahman is standing on My existence." And Brahma-saṁhitā says that
- yasyā prabha prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-
- koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam
- tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.40)
This Brahman effulgence is nothing but His bodily effulgence. You see whenever we put Kṛṣṇa, there's a bodily effulgence. Within that bodily effulgence every creation is there. Just like this effulgence of sun.
Prabhupāda: So therefore attraction for any flower is not the solution of the question. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). Kṛṣṇa is Supreme Absolute. Anyone wants Him in any way, He also presents Himself in that way. Just like the same example. If you want a yellow flower, never mind whether there is any scent or any flavor or not, so that flower is there. It is for you. That's all. But if anyone wants rose flower, Kṛṣṇa gives him rose flower. But when you make a comparative study which one is better, then rose will be considered better. (chuckling) So ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. That means the Absolute is realized... Of course, varieties there are, but the original division of the Absolute is three: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Now, Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān is the same Absolute. Different names. The jñānis, or the empiric philosophers, they reach or they aim at Brahman, impersonal Brahman. The yogis, they, I mean to say, focus on the Supersoul, Paramātmā. And the devotees, they aim at Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now, this Kṛṣṇa and the Supersoul and the impersonal Brahman, they are not different. They are light. They are not darkness.
1970 Conversations and Morning Walks
Devotee (6): Śrīla Prabhupāda? The other day you talked about the spirit soul and his position in the brahmajyoti, that there's no shelter there. Just like we go up, up, up into the sky (indistinct) there's no shelter there so you have to go to some planet. So I was thinking that the reason why our position is shaky is due to this body, but spirit, being restless can remain anywhere...
Prabhupāda: Yes, but there the shelter is transcendental bliss. The impersonal Brahman is not transcendental bliss. It is simply eternity. But we want three things: eternity, full knowledge, and blissful life. So there is no bliss.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: When you think... Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). The yogis, in dhyāna, in meditation, they always see the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu within the heart. So that is meditation. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). The jñānīs, they see by cultivation of knowledge, and the bhaktas, they see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Supreme Lord, the Absolute Truth, is understood from different angles of vision. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam (SB 1.2.11). That is Absolute Truth. Yaj jñānam advayam. There is no difference between Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. The same thing in different angle of vision. The jñānīs, they realize as impersonal Brahman. The yogis, they realize as Paramātmā situated in everyone's heart. And the bhaktas, they realize as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But the thing is the same. It is the different angle of vision only.
Prabhupāda: Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Brahman, Paramātmā... He understands English?
Devotee: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān, last stage. First realization impersonal Brahman, then localized Paramātmā, and then Personality of Godhead.
Jyotirmayī: He says he's accepting some of the things you are saying, but he's doesn't think that he's obliged to accept everything.
Prabhupāda: Huh? Yes. Everything is emanation from God. That is our Vedānta-sūtra. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Whatever things are there... In the Bible, also there is... "Everything comes from Him, what is made." Yesterday, we were reading? Yes. So whatever is created, that is made out of God. And the Vedic injunction is sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: "Everything is Brahman, the Supreme Brahman." So the impersonal feature is an expansion of God's energy. Just like the sunshine is expansion of the energy of sun, so the sunshine is resting on the bodily rays of the sun-god. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, brahmaṇaḥ ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā. The resting place of the impersonal Brahman is God, Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: So Absolute Truth is realized in three aspect. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Some realize the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, others realize the Absolute Truth as localized Paramātmā, situated in everyone's heart, and the final realization is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we are cultivating the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). So which aspect you are cultivating, the Paramātmā or the impersonal Brahman or the Personality of Godhead?
Prabhupāda: Brahman. Yes, He is Parabrahman. Parabrahman. Brahman is realized in three angles of vision: impersonal Brahman and localized Brahman, Paramātmā in the heart, and personal Brahman. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Brahman because ultimately God is person. Yes. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The exact Sanskrit word is vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam (SB 1.2.11). The Absolute Truth is described by the person who knows the Absolute Truth in three ways: brahmeti, the impersonal Brahman, paramātmeti, the localized Paramātmā, and Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate feature of God, full with all six opulences, the richest, the strongest, the most famous, the most wise, the most renounced and most beautiful. These are the six features of the Personality of Godhead.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: So they are not saved from the greatest danger of falling down...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: ...into the lower species of life.
Prabhupāda: Yes. They will fall down. Śāstra says. They will fall down. The same example: if I ask you that "You sit down in this vacant land and you live eternally," you will leave this place: "No, no, I don't want this eternity. Let me go to Calcutta." (laughter) (break) ...perpetually. So that is wanted. The spiritual kingdom is Brahman effulgence, and there are Vaikuṇṭha planets. So if you take shelter of the Vaikuṇṭha planet, then you can stay. And if you take simply the impersonal Brahmān, sky, you cannot stay there. Arūhya kṛcchreṇa patanty adhaḥ. So without varieties, simply impersonal conception of Brahmān will not make you happy.
Prabhupāda: Just like the government has got a circuit house in every big, big cities. Similarly, in every planet there is a replica of Vṛndāvana.
Gurukṛpa: But what about Lord Caitanya? He is a little rare.
Prabhupāda: No. Caitanya, also. All incarnation. (break) ... Difficulty is that these foolish man, they cannot understand that God is a person. Therefore they are puzzled. That is the difficulty. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The Absolute Truth is manifested in three features: impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā, localized Paramātmā, and Personality of Godhead—that they cannot understand. They take that impersonal Brahman as important.
Prabhupāda: Then the aspect... The aspects have been summarized that God is realized in three aspects, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: (SB 1.2.11) impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā, and Personality of Godhead. Just like the sun. The sunshine is also sun, but you cannot say that you are in sun. Can you say that? But you are sunshine. The sunshine is not different from the sun. Similarly, in the Absolute Truth the first realization is Brahman, and the next realization is Paramātmā, and the ultimate realization is Bhagavān. The subject matter is the same. But according to the degree of advancement, the realization is partial. The subject matter is the same. Now you can study the sunshine, but it is not in your power to go to the sun planet and study what is actually sun. But because it is not in your power, it does not mean that sun planet is less. You cannot go there; it is not in your power. You can simply study the sunshine. But that does not mean the sun globe is false or there is no subject matter of study. You cannot go there.
Harikeśa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what's the difference between a Brahmavādī and a Māyāvādī?
Prabhupāda: That you already questioned. We answered.
Harikeśa: I did?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...vādī means those who are aspiring to merge into the impersonal Brahman effulgence.
Harikeśa: And Māyāvādīs, they do not attain that impersonal realization?
Prabhupāda: Māyāvādīs remain fools forever.
Prof. Hopkins: Any form of God, including the Puruṣa. So that your, your central existence, or certainly one of your central existences would be that the ultimate reality is personal, that it is known as Viṣṇu, possessing all qualities.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is stated in the Bhāgavatam:
- vadanti tat tattva vidas
- tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
- brahmeti paramātmeti
- bhagavān iti śabdyate
- (SB 1.2.11)
Human life is meant for understanding the tattva. Then the question will be what is that tattva or ultimate truth? And that is described. Tattva is realized in three phases: Brahman, impersonal Brahman; Paramātmā, localized Paramātmā; and Bhagavān.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The karmī and the jñānī are both within the material world. Is the jñānī considered more elevated than the karmī?
Prabhupāda: No, jñānī is on the margin between material and spiritual world. He is trying to understand what is spiritual world or spiritual life, what is material, that much.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So he is better off than the karmī.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Karmī has no knowledge, what is the aim of life, but jñānī is understanding that "I have executed material activities so long, but I have not become happy. Then what is the reason?" That is jñānī. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. "What is real life?" But because they are not trained up as bhakta, they come to the conclusion of "The impersonal Brahman is the final." That is the defect. So anyway, they are better than the karmīs.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: If there is rock, if there is sand, then why don't you colonise there? What is their answer? If there is same sand, same rock there, then why not... (break) ...some money and can bring some sand and bluff people that you have gone to moon planet. And people are satisfied, they're paying for another excursion to the Mars. This is going on. If you have gone there, there is land. If you fly in the sky and if you get a land then you can stay there. And because you cannot stay there, you come back again. So their... The Māyāvādīs position is there, āruhya kṛcchreṇa param, they merge into the impersonal Brahman but there is no place to stay, they come down again to this material world. You may go many thousands and millions of miles in the sky but you want to stay somewhere. But if you cannot get any place to stay then again you come to this Moscow and New York. So our enquiry is that if you have gone there, then why don't you stay there? What is the answer? Hm? Kīrtanānanda Maharaj?
Kīrtanānanda: They say the atmosphere is not suitable.
Prabhupāda: Then why rascal, you go there? (laughter) And spend so much money, rascal? You could not understand the atmosphere is not good for us, go there and spend so much money?
Indian man: Ah. This who took the birth of this human being or animal was a gentleman.
Prabhupāda: Yes. He is gentleman by nature. But criminal by artificial means. As soon as...
Indian man: But even if you attain mokṣa is that eternal or just temporary and the until becomes lost, and then...
Prabhupāda: Mokṣa, there are two kinds of mokṣa. One, generally, they like that, to remain in impersonal Brahman.
Prabhupāda: Just like if you go in the sky you cannot remain in the sky. If you don't get any shelter you have to come again. They are going to, trying to go to the other planets, but because they cannot, they come back again. Similarly, you are living entity, you want enjoyment. So what enjoyment you will have in the sky? You require society, friends, love, everything. So these impersonalists, their mokṣa is temporary because they think by merging into the impersonal Brahman I shall be happy. But that he cannot. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Although they go to the impersonal Brahman, but there is no ānanda. The living entity is seeking after ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. By nature he is seeking ānanda. So you do not get any ānanda.
Prabhupāda: (dictating:) So one has to accept the statement of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, how He is originally the puruṣa or person. Impersonal Brahman is expansion of the rays of His personal body, exactly like the sunshine is expansion of the rays of the sun-god Vivasvān. Vivasvān is a person in the sunglobe and Kṛṣṇa is also a person who spoke the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā long, long years before He spoke the same to Arjuna. Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). Therefore the conclusion is that originally God is always a person. Impersonal Brahman is emanation from the personal God. In other words, God, personal God is not from impersonal Brahman, but impersonal Brahman is from the personal God. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā as follows.
Pradyumna: Impersonal Brahman is an emanation of the personal God. It is not, it is not that the personal God is an emanation of...from... or it is that impersonal Brahman is an emanation. It is not that the personal God is an emanation of impersonal Brahman.
Prabhupāda: Impersonal Brahman is resting on the personal God, exactly that illumination of light is resting on the bulb. Not that the bulb is resting on the illuminated light.
Pradyumna: Exactly like illumination of light is resting...
Prabhupāda: ...to the sun planet, beginning is the sunshine.
Mr. Malhotra: Yes, beginning in the sunshine.
Prabhupāda: Similarly to go to the Absolute Truth, you begin with impersonal Brahman. Just as sunshine is impersonal, but everyone can see the sunshine is coming from the sun surface. Everyone knows that. Therefore the sunshine is not so important as the sunglobe. Similarly brahma-tattva-nirviśeṣa, nirākāra-brahma is there, but more important than is the localized aspect. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna (BG 18.61), God is all-pervading. The sunshine is all-pervading, and as Paramātmā He is also all-pervading. But if you can enter into the sunglobe, you will meet with the sun god. Just like Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1).
Mr. Malhotra: No actually what has happened is that there has been too many interpretations. Prabhupāda: There cannot be interpretations.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: No, first of all try to understand. Just like the sunshine. The sunshine is important or the sun is important?
Guest (2): The original sun.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Similarly, this impersonal Brahman illumination or effulgence, that is the bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). So ultimately Kṛṣṇa is important, not this impersonal Brahman illumination. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti sabdyate (SB 1.2.11). You see practical example and learn here in the śāstra. You'll understand Kṛṣṇa is the origin. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo (BG 10.8), personally says. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. So Brahman also pravartate. But if you don't believe Kṛṣṇa and śāstra, that is different thing. Then you cannot be convinced. Śāstra-cakṣuṣāt. Your eyes should be through the śāstra, not by manufacturing ideas.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
The Apara Prakrti consists of gross and subtle matters like mind, ego and intelligence. Spirit is transcendental to all these. The spiritual energy para Prakrti is simultaneously one and different from the spirit whole. Qualitatively they are one but quantitatively they are different. The Brahman Ray is the effulgence of the Supreme Person.
You have defined impersonal Brahman as the Divine Energy. I fully agree with you in pursuanee of its description in the Brahman Samhita, I am going to publish in the next issue an article of the name "Variety of Planetary System" in which there is reference from the Brahma Samhita.
According to the Bhagavata Puranam the Supreme Truth is realized in three stages namely the Impersonal Brahman or the Nirakara Absolute. The Paramatma or the localized aspect of Brahman. The neutron part of the atom may be taken as the representation of Paramatma who enters into the atom also. It is described in the Brahma-samhita. But ultimately the Supreme Divine Being is realized as the Supreme Person all attractive (Krishna) with full and inconceivable potencies of opulence, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. The six potencies are fully exhibited by Sri Rama and Sri Krishna when He descends before the human being. Only a section of the human being who are unalloyed devotees could recognize Him on the authority of revealed scriptures but others are bewildered under the influence of material energy. The Absolute Truth is therefore the Absolute Person without an equal or high competitor Personality. Impersonal Brahman Rays are the rays of His body transcendental as much as the sun rays are emanations from the sun planet.
1968 Correspondence
My point is one God. Ultimately you want to merge in the formless, or you want some material facilities, or you want to serve Krishna as His personal associate. Never mind, whatever you want, you worship one God, Krishna, and not bothering with the ultimate gain. The ultimate gain can be achieved as one desires. Krishna is all powerful, so if somebody wants material gain from Krishna, it is not difficult for Him to award such benediction. Similarly, if anyone wants to merge in the Impersonal Brahman effulgence, formless, He can also award the facility. In the same way, if anyone wants to associate with Krishna in five transcendental relationships, he can award also that facility. So, my point is, that whatever you want at the end, that doesn't matter, but you worship Krishna, and He will award whatever you desire. One God, Krishna, means that let everyone come to one God, Krishna, and be engaged in Krishna Consciousness, and the award will be as the devotee desires.
When one realized the Personality of Godhead, he automatically realizes the impersonal Brahman. When you understand what is the sun planet, automatically you understand what is the sunshine. Understanding of the sunshine does not include understanding of the sun planet. So impersonal realization is always imperfect, whereas personal realization is always complete and perfect.
1969 Correspondence
Regarding your question about the Brahmajyoti, it is explained in Bhagavad-gita that the impersonal Brahman effulgence is emanating from Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brahmajyoti is just like the sunlight, which emanates from the Sun God: Because the sunlight has no personal form, this does not mean that the Sun God has become impersonal. You have seen in pictures of Lord Krishna that there is a nice effulgence coming forth from His body. This effulgence is the Brahmajyoti, and it is pervading throughout the entire spiritual and material manifestation. But above this Brahmajyoti is the Supreme Source of everything, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
1970 Correspondence
In the Bhagavad-gita, therefore it is said that only less intelligent persons consider that God is originally impersonal but when He incarnates He assumes a Form. But Krishna philosophy based on the authority of the Vedas is that originally the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His plenary expansion is present in everyone's heart in His localized aspect and the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the transcendental light and heat distributed everywhere. In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly said that the aim of Vedic way of searching out the Absolute Truth is to find out the Personal God. If one is satisfied only with the other aspects of the Absolute Truth namely the Paramatma feature or the Brahma feature—such person is to be considered as one possessed of poor fund of knowledge. Recently we have published our "Isopanisad" a Vedic literature and in this small booklet we have thoroughly discussed this point.
I am glad to learn that George is chanting now Hare Krishna with you, and that will make him advanced. You write to say that George is still not convinced that there is not something beyond the form or body of Krishna. He is thinking that beyond Krishna there is an unmanifest God. These are all vague questions. I think by unmanifest God he means impersonal Brahman. This is quite natural for persons who try to understand God by their own endeavor.
The next question, about the living entities falling down in this material world are not from the impersonal brahman. Existence in the impersonal brahma is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the brahman effulgence they are also in the fallen condition, so there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition. When fall takes place, it means falling down from the non-fallen condition.
1971 Correspondence
14:27: Impersonal Brahman is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness because without coming to the brahma-bhutah platform and remaining engaged in the activities of brahman nobody can be joyful. To realize that aham brahmasmi is the first step of transcendental life. After one is in full knowledge that he is not this body, but is spiritual soul, he can effectually engage himself in the transcendental service of the Lord. It is not that one develops any other identity, but the soul in its liberated existence is Brahman or pure spirit always. You know that each of the successive realizations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead includes the earlier realizations in the order of Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. If you want to go into the sun planet, you have first to go into the sunshine; then you remain in the sunlight. It is not that when you reach the sun planet you will no longer be in the sunlight.
| Page Title: | Impersonal Brahman (Coversations and Letters) |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Serene |
| Created: | 18 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=28, Let=9 |
| No. of Quotes: | 37 |