Vision of Lila Avatar of Lord

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Hare Krishna all,

 

For those busy discussing this topic let me quote Acarya Baladeva's

bhasya:

 

 

Vedaanta Sutra 3.2.23

 

"The form of Brahman is unmanifest, for the scripture declares it so."

 

Commentary:

The Brahman is His true form is not manifest to the external senses,

it is inner: and is to be percieved by the inner sense. For Katha

Upanisad 6.9 says:

 

na sadåçe tiñöhati rüpam asya na cakñuñä paçyati

kaçcanainam

 

"His form is not object of perception to anyone, nor by the eye does

any one see Him."

 

In Brihad-äraëyaka Upaniñad (3.9.26) it is said:

 

 

agåhyo na hi gåhyate

 

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not perceived by material

senses."

 

In the Bhagavad-géöa (8.21) it is said:

 

avyakto 'kñara ity uktas

tam ähuù paramäà gatim

 

"They say He is unmanifest and infallible. They say He is the supreme

destination."

 

 

Vedaanta Sutra 3.2.27

 

"Hence the direct vision is possible through the inifnite grace of

the Lord; and there is scriptural authority for the same."

 

Commentary:

 

There are authorities to support both statements, that the Lord is

unmanifest,a nd becomes manifest to the sight of the devoutly

meditating worshipper. Hence though the Lord is unmanifest, infinite

and unbounded, yet when he is pleased with his devotee, he manifests

his essential form to him, through his mysterious power of grace.

 

But how do you say this ? Because there is scriptural authority for

the same. As says that Atharvan Sruti:

 

"That form of intelligence and bliss - one mass of being and bliss -

becomes visible to the devotee through the meditation of love."

 

Similarly in Narayana Adhyatma:

 

nityävyakto 'pi bhagavän ékñate nija-çaktitaù

täm åte paramätàanaà kaù paçyetäm itaà

prabhum

 

"Although He is always invisible, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

becomes visible by His own power. Without first obtaining His mercy,

who can see Him?"

 

The Supreme Lord Himself declares (Bhagavad-gétä 7.24):

 

avyaktaà vyaktim äpannaà

manyante mäm abuddhayaù

paraà bhävam ajänanto

mamävyayam anuttamam

 

"Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, was impersonal before and

have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they

do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme."

 

Though the Lord is thus manifest to the eye of love, yet this fact

does not detract from essential invisibility of His self. For thgis

manifestation to His lovers is an excercise of his mysterious power

of Self. ****But with regard to persons devoid of love, the Lord

never manifests in His essential form, "but as a reflection".*** For

he says in Gita 7.25:

 

"Nor am I of all discovered, enveloped in My creation-illusion. This

deluded world knoweth Me not, the unborn, the imperishable."

 

Therefore, though the Lord is essentially all love, mercy and Supreme

joy, yet to the worldly He appears as a being of all terrible power,a

god of Vengence and Wrath.

 

Thus term "unmanifest" when applied to the Lord, means that HE is

unmanifest to the eyes of those who have no love for Him;[but he

suffuses the esyes of His lovers as the fire suffuses through an iron

ball, and they see nothing but the lord.]

 

Also in his Gita bhasya on 7.25 Acarya Madhva quotes Padma Purana:

 

"The Lord by His own power and through illusion makes His own

self hidden from the minds of people in bondage."

 

 

Vedaanta Sutra 3.3.53:

 

"As death, common yo all(does not mean mukti) but only attainment of

any particular region of enjoyment, so mukti is not attained by an

ordinary or common vision of the Lord, obtained by every being( when

the Lord incarnates on earth as an Avatar.)"

 

Commentary:

 

The word api (also) has the force of exclusion. That vision which is

obtained in a general way namely which is common to all at the time

when the Lord descends on the earth and assumes a physical form is

not the cause of mukti. As death which is common to all is not the

cause of mukti though to jivanmukta, death means mukti. But is then

there is no good result even in this ordinary seeing of the Lord,

when He comes as an avatar ? Do those persons who see the Avatar get

no fruit at all ? Yes, they do. It is not mukti, but attainiment of

higher spheres of heavenly joy. Thus as the Vidyadhara Sudarsana saw

the Lord in the general way and got heaven, or just as the king Nirga

also got heaven by such seeing. If you say that getting heaven is

mukti then the sutra replies "Na hi" not so. Getting of higher sphere

is not mukti. The smriti is also to the same effect.

In the Näräyaëa Tantra it is said:

 

 

sämänya-darçanäl lokä

muktir yogyätma-darçanät

 

"By seeing the Supreme Lord with ordinary vision one

attains the higher material worlds. By seeing the Lord with

spiritual vision one attains liberation."

 

The sense is this, the vision is of two sorts - vision of the Lord as

enveloped in Maya and vision free from such Maya. The first sort of

vision arises when there is great merit[pious deeds]. Through such

vision man reaches heavenly regions: but second sort of vision which

is obtained only through brahma vidya, the subtle body[linga deha] is

destroyed, the man becomes the beloved of the Lord, has His vision

and sees Him as consisting of intelligence and bliss, free from all

maya. It is this vision, so produced, which causes final mukti. Thus

everything is reconciled......... [A small part of the commentary on

this sutra which follows after this has been excluded by me. It just

says that demons who are killed by Lord attains mukti because, the

sacred touch of Lord's weapons destroys their linga deha and because

of this they are able to see Lord as He is in their last moments and

hence attain Love of God and mukti too.]

 

 

 

I hope this helps people who are discussing this topic. Soon I will

make post on Arca Vigraha and Bhagavan.

 

 

Your Servant Always,

Sumeet.