From time immemorial mankind has shown interest in exploring the topics of absolute reality. In various cultures around the world great philosophers, intellectuals, and scientists have proposed various theories in this regard. Vedic historical texts composed by philosophers of yore also shed light on the same.

Vedic paradigm explains the Absolute Truth as an eternally existent, cognizant, sentient being who is the ultimate cause of all causes. His dominion is all-pervasive. If anything is conceived of existing beyond Him, still that is also factually of and within Him. Thus the very definition of expanse is contained fully within His absolute realm.

The Absolute Truth is a person composed of pure mellow (rasa).[1] His form is the derivative source of the human form. Simultaneously existing in multifarious features, He is ever and entirely cognizant of every aspect of Himself.

Vedic texts explain His absolute presence in three planes:

1. Cognizant energy feature

2. Sub-particle form

3. Personal form

The Supreme Truth in His cognizant energy feature is present throughout the length and breadth of the entire cosmic existence. Just as we know that our consciousness pervades our body, we may understand the consciousness of the Absolute to be manifest in a similar way, i.e., via His cognizant energy feature. In Sanskrit this is know as Brahman.

The Supreme Truth in sub-particle form is eternally manifest as uncountable, four-handed, fully-bedecked persons, each known as Parmatma. These anti-matter subatomic persons exist in between the space of every two atoms, and also within each atom. Thus Parmatma permeates the entire cosmos in His personal form. It should be understood that even though these anti-material subatomic Parmatmas may appear to be an array of similar anti-material clones, actually They are but one single entity, and thereby the Absolute Truth remains fully cognizant of every subatomic point of subspace throughout all dominion.

However, the same Supreme Truth remains manifest at all times under all circumstances in His eternal personal form, usually honored by spiritualists as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the manifestive source of all that be: the Supreme sentient being, the primal cause of all causes.

The cognizant energy feature is the ever-manifest personal energy of the eternal initial form of the Absolute Being. Manifest at all times in His full features, He remains the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and is known throughout the world by various names, such as Krishna, Govinda, Gopal, Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, and many others.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (Srila Prabhupada), the great Indian teacher responsible for worldwide dissemination of Vedic truth in its unalloyed form, gives the example that if from a distance on a foggy night we see the headlight of a train, we will think, "I see a train coming." This is certainly the truth; there is no fault in this perception.

However, as Srila Prabhupada continues to explain through this example, as the train draws nearer, more details become visible to us: we see the headlight, the engine, and the various compartments. This is even more of the truth, and so there is no fault in this understanding either.

But when the train finally arrives at the platform and we enter one of the compartments, we will see so many benches inside and people sitting and moving about. Indeed this is a much fuller understanding of a train, and there is neither fault nor deficiency in this realization either.

By this example an intelligent person understands that at all stages the same train was being experienced, albeit in different manifestations of detail. As the train approached ever closer, increasingly more detail was revealed to us, but our prior understanding remained valid nonetheless. Similarly, men with different degrees of understanding see the Absolute Truth as all pervasive energy, as present everywhere and in everything, or as the original supreme personal form—each level of vision automatically encompassing the knowledge of the previous level.

Therefore in ultimate terms the Vedas, which present scientific knowledge of the Absolute in all its manifestations, explain the ultimate cause of all causes as being an Absolute Personality of Godhead.

The Absolute Truth is anandamaya (desiring to increase His joy), hence from His original form He expands and becomes many. These emanations from the Supreme Person are of two categories: full expansions and partially manifestive expansions. Each individual emanation is equal to the original, exactly as from the flame of one candle many other candle flames of exact quality may be produced.

In the case of candles, we understand that the factor of time separates the creation of each new flame from its original source. But in the realm of antimatter, time acts differently. Thus it is only for lack of appropriate English words that we say the original Supreme Being "expanded" into many. For example, from fire come light and heat, but we would not say, "First there was fire, then came light and heat"—because fire, light, and heat all exist simultaneously. But due to lack of more precise English words, we say that light and heat are produced from fire.

Likewise, the Supreme Being's various full and partial expansions and He Himself, exist eternally on the absolute plane; however, due to linguistic limitations we say that the Supreme Being expands Himself into many.

These various expansions of the Supreme Being are known as Vishnu-tattva, either full or partial qualitative manifestations of the original Supreme, or portions or partial portions thereof. However, all manifestations of Vishnu-tattva are nondifferent from the absolute original Supreme Being, in that they are also Supreme Absolute Truth.

All Vishnu-tattvas, being selfsame personal manifestations of the original Supreme Being, are a form of partial or semi-partial Godhead in and of themselves. However, they unanimously accept their own role as Godhead in the mood of Servitor Godhead to the "original" Supreme Being. Thus stands the Vedic paradigm of monotheism, which encompasses the absolute personal nature of the original Godhead.

The Supreme Being possesses two other important expansive qualities: Shiva-tattva and jiva-tattva. To keep this article simple, we will understand Shiva-tattva to be almost similar in feature to Vishnu-tattva when seen from jiva-tattva's vantage point, and as almost similar in feature to jiva-tattva when seen from Vishnu-tattva's point of view. Perhaps we will delve further into Shiva-tattva in a separate paper.

Jiva-tattva is a very interesting expansion of the Supreme Being. To explain this, we will render a cursory analysis of the three primary energy features of the Supreme Absolute Being:

1. Antaranga-shakti (internal potency)

2. Bahiranga-shakti (external potency)

3. Tatastha-shakti (marginal potency)

Antaranga-shakti

The internal potency of the Absolute is multifarious in nature. For simplicity we will refrain from elaborating the details and instead will only cursorily describe the primary manifestation.

The Supreme Being's manifest form is explained in the Vedas as sat-cit-ananda vigraha, "an embodiment (vigraha) of absolute eternity (sat), absolute cognizance (cit), and absolute bliss (ananda)."

The complete, ever-expanding internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Being, which is manifest also in personal form, outside of His original form, is known as the nondifferent eternal consort of the Supreme. Thus the Supreme, known as Krishna, is nondifferent from His consort, Srimati Radharani. Together Sri Radhika[2] and Sri Krishna constitute the complete full form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Radha[3] is none other than Sri Krishna, in the sense that She is the manifestive complete pleasure potency of the Supreme Being, for Sri Krishna is complete only when in relation to Sri Radha. Other ways of understanding the complete original Supreme Personality of Godhead are a differed vision of the completeness of the Absolute nature of the Supreme. Such is the nature of the absolute truth.[4] Thus wherever there is following of Vedic culture—whether in this land or another, this time or another, this space or another—Sri Sri Radha-Krishna is celebrated as the undisputed original and complete form of Godhead.

As explained in a previous article, Sri Krishna's first Vishnu-tattva expansion is Sri Balaram, who is the expansive source of Sri Krishna's abode and the whole of spiritual creation, as well as Sri Krishna's ornaments and all of His other personal paraphernalia.

Two consecutive quadruple expansions then come from Balaram, from which Lord Sankarshana then expands Himself as Maha-Vishnu. Maha-Vishnu, lying in the causal ocean in yoga-nidra, expands as Shiva-tattva and agitates the mahat, causing the zillions of material universes emanating like multitude of bubbles from His skin pores to be impregnated. Maha-Vishnu then enters into each of these universes, and His pure transcendental perspiration fills the lower half of each. His further expansion, Ananta-sesa, coils up and rests upon the garbha water within each of these unlimited universes, at which point Maha-Vishnu expands Himself as Garbhodakshayi Vishnu and lies down on the bed of Ananta's coils.

Prominently portrayed through Indian art, this Vishnu-tattva form is popularly known as Lord Narayan.

Just as this form of Lord Narayan[5] is an expansion after many series of expansions from the original form of Sri Krishna in the absolute realm, similarly Lord Narayan's consort, Srimati Lakshmidevi, is an expansion of Srimati Radharani. Srimati Lakshmidevi accepts her position as the servant of the Lord, and is thus ever situated at His lotus feet.

From the navel of Lord Narayan appears a lotus flower,[6] on top of which the Lord manifests the first jiva-tattva, known as Lord Brahma. 

Foregoing further description of the process of creation, we will stop at this juncture. However, we wish to humbly bring to your kind attention the multitudinous volumes of literature which verily explain the intricate details of this subject matter. For instance, Srimad-Bhagavatam (the summary explanation of the four Vedas), composed by Rishiraj Vyas Muni, the compiler of the Vedas, is 18,000 verses long. Padma Purana is 400,000 verses long. There are four Vedas, 108 Upanishads, 18 primary puranas, and 18 upa-puranas for each primary purana. Furthermore, there are upa-puranas, Itihasas, tantras, samhitas, upa-samhitas, and thousands of other sruti and smriti texts; and there are myriad books, compositions, and commentaries by the acharyas.[7]

Bahiranga-shakti

Bahiranga-shakti of the Supreme is His manifest external material energy. Being devoid of consciousness, it is inferior to internal energy. Therefore it is also known as jada-padarth (dull substance). Matter illusorily appears as spirit, but being inherently fake, it cannot realize the qualities of spirit.

Being jada padarth, and thus devoid of consciousness, matter has no faculties for cognizance, thinking, willing, feeling, self-expression, or any other qualities of life.

Constitutionally, matter is distinguished from anti-matter as having a beginning form and then a span of constant change and decay, resulting in its transfiguration to yet another material form. The flickering nature of matter thus stands out in sharp contrast to the stable nature of anti-matter or spirit.

Lacking consciousness, matter is also incapable of independently altering its own state. It animates only when activated by spirit.

Tatastha-shakti

Tatastha-shakti can be understood by considering its Sanskrit root word tata (pronounced "tuh-tuh"), meaning "bank," as in a riverbank.

We observe that the sand of a riverbank is sometimes immersed within water but at other times exposed to sunlight. Similarly, being tatastha, the jiva-tattva is prone to be sometimes in the realm of pure transcendence and sometimes under the influence of dull matter. The difference between the sand and the jiva-tattva is that the jiva-tattva has the freedom to choose one or the other condition.

The tatastha expansions (jiva-tattvas) are infinitesimal (anu) and fixed in size, whereas the Vishnu-tattva expansions are infinite (vibhu).

The faculty of being the enjoyer (bhokta) remains the prerogative of the Vishnu-tattva. The jiva-tattvas, being anu,[8] are able to satisfy their enjoying propensity only by satisfying the Vishnu-tattva. A comparative example is our fingertips’ receiving nourishment only from the body proper; they lack the faculty to independently consume or digest food. Similarly, the jiva-tattvas lack the feature of being autonomous enjoyers.

On seeing the futility of relationship with jada-tattva, the jiva-tattva may direct his relationship to the Supreme, under the guidance of the antaranga-shakti, headed by Srimati Radharani. Progressing in this way, the jiva-tattva soon then reestablishes his personal relationship with the Absolute.

Having expanded from the Supreme Being, the jiva-tattva is qualitatively the same but quantitatively infinitesimal. Jiva-tattvas are individual beings with individual consciousness, explained in Bhagavad-gita as "separated parts and parcels" of the Supreme. Notable is the word separated and also equally important is the next phrase, part and parcel. This in effect is the explanation of tatastha-shakti.

According to the Vedic paradigm, every living being is a fully unique individual spirit soul, jiva-tattva. This individuality of the self exists in us because we are qualitatively equal to the Supreme Being, who has His own individual identity.

Vedic Knowledge explains that we are "separated" emanations from the Supreme. Thus we are all children of the one Supreme Father—not just you and I, but all living beings, including plants, aquatics, birds, insects, and beasts.

Bhagavad-gita explains that just as in this lifetime the jiva soul transmigrates from child body to adult body to old body, similarly the jiva transmigrates from one species to another. Indeed, according to Vedic scriptures the soul transmigrates within 8,400,000 different species. And so long as the soul continues to identify with matter, it perpetually repeats this process of transmigration throughout all of these 8.4 million identifications.

But as soon as the minute soul, the "son," chooses to migrate towards the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Father, He immediately takes charge of that soul—as a father takes charge of the son who has surrendered to him in love—and immediately brings him back to His own abode, the kingdom of God.

This was only a brief introductory discussion of certain aspects of the ever-manifest qualities of the Supreme Absolute Truth. The Vedic paradigm of the absolute has been studied and practiced by millions around the world from time immemorial, by men of all cultures. We advise those interested in deeper knowledge to kindly visit our website <www.acbspn.com> for further preparatory study before delving more deeply into further research of this spiritual science. A good start would be to study Bhagavad-gita As it Is (the "a-b-c of spiritual science") under the direction of a bonafide acharya such as A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

Author: Avadhut das, webmaster www.acbspn.com

School: Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya
Teacher: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

Kamika Ekadasi, 2001
Santacruz East, Mumbai, India