Gosvami Maharaja concludes the section with these words:
“Since the word tattva indicates the highest goal of life, this consciousness must be composed of supreme and eternal happiness.”
But some might object: ‘Consciousness, that is, the individual soul, seems to be absolutely temporary, since at one moment it takes the form of a blue object and at another that of a yellow object. How then can consciousness be defined as non-dual and eternal as suggested by Srimad-Bhagavatam?”
To this question, Suta Gosvami answers:
“The Bhagavatam has as its subject of study the non-dual reality, characterized by the unity of atma and Brahman. This is the essence of all Upanisads, whose sole purpose is to lead to the attainment of kaivalya.”
The identity between Brahman and atma is a fact. Many verses of the Upanisads state this. We will mention a few:
tat tvam asi, “You are That” (Chhandogya Upanisad 6.8.7.);
satyam jnanam anantam brahma, “Brahman is Truth, Knowledge and Infinity” (Taittiriya Upanisad 2.1.1);
yena-srutam srutam bhavati, “By learning this, everything that has never been heard becomes heard” (Chhandogya Upanisad 6.1.3);
sad eva saumedyam agra asti, “In the beginning there was only this Self” (Chhandogya Upanisad 6.2.1), among others.
In addition, Vyasa also saw that the individual soul is similar to Brahman during samadhi. But Sri Jiva Gosvami states that the jiva is one with Brahman in the sense that it represents a part of it.
This fact will become very clear to anyone who studies the Vedas carefully and without prejudice.
The author of the text in question continues:
Suppose someone has been locked in a dark room since birth and his desire is to know the nature of the sun. Someone might point to a small ray of sunlight that has managed to penetrate the room through a hole and say:
“This is that (the sun).”
Try to visualize it as a large sphere of light, identical in nature to this ray of sun, which is but a particle of it.
Therefore, the impersonal aspect of God (Brahman) is a partial truth, shown to one who is not qualified to approach His Supreme Personality (bhagavan). This happens because approaching the Divine Personality requires love, a feeling that not everyone possesses.
Jiva Gosvami anticipates that in Paramatma Sandarbha he will prove that jiva is only a portion of Brahman, while in Priti Sandarbha he will explain the meaning of the word kaivalya, showing that it means purity and that purity is synonymous with immaculate bhakti.
This is a section of the book “Tattva Sandarbha”, in English.
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