Chapter Two
Cit-padartha-prakarana
Spirit
Introduction by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Here someone may ask: To whom does the Supreme Personality of Godhead give mercy when He creates the material universes and performs other activities? Why does He give His mercy to these persons?
To answer this question by showing that the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates the material universes and performs many other activities in order to give mercy to the individual spirit souls, and also by showing, using all the Vedanta scriptures as evidence, the true nature of the individual spirit souls, the author of these sutras now begins this chapter, which gives an elaborate definition of the word "cit" (spirit).
Sutra 11
The many conscious beings are followers of the Supreme, for they must obey His commands.
Commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Here the word "cetanah" means "conscious spirit souls". The plural is used here to indicate that the souls are many in number. The word "paranugatah" means that the souls are subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are under His control. This is so because they must obey His commands. In the Sruti-sastra it is said:
"Residing in the heart, the Supreme Personality of Godhead controls the individual living entities.
In the Bhagavad-gita (18.61) it is said:
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wandering of all living entities."
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“You are your body, right? You are chemical in essence ... right? At least, that’s what one of America’s most influential scientists claims:
I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical molecules with a different collective label.*
Like Sagan, most people believe that they are their body. So if you ask them who they are, they think and respond in terms of bodily labels.
“I’m Susan. I’m blond, 29 years old, a mother, and still 36-24-36!”
“I’m Henry. I’m a white American male and proud of it!”
“I’m John. I’m a lawyer. I’m 40 years old and getting older every day.”
“I’m Alice. I’m a female student. I’m fat and I’m a Methodist.”
Name, race, age, sex, religion, nationality, occupation, height, weight, and so on—all these are bodily labels. Therefore if you consider your body to be yourself, you automatically identify yourself with such labels. If your body is fat and ugly, you think, “Woe is me! I am fat and ugly.” If your body is 60 years old and female, you think, ”I am a 60-year-old female.” If your body is black and beautiful, you think, “I am black and beautiful.”
But is the body really the self? Are you really your body?
Siddhaswarupananda - Jagad Guru Speaks
*Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), p. 127
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In the Narada-pancaratra, Second Night, First Chapter, Lord Sadasiva explains:
"The individual spirit soul, who is like a reflection of the Supreme Lord, suffers and enjoys in the material world. Some sages say that this eternal soul has qualities like those of the Lord Himself."
"Sometimes the individual soul is visible, and sometimes he disappears. When he disappears, he is born again in another body. The soul never dies. He merely travels from one material body to another."
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.5-6) the Supreme Personality of Godhead says:
"Besides this inferior nature, O Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.
"Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both its origin and dissolution."
In the Upanisads it is said:
"O Svetaketu, you are that."
In the Srila Madhvacarya's Tattva-muktavali (text 6) it is said:
"The mayavadi commentator on the Vedanta claimed that the words "tat tvam asi' are the maha-vakya, the most important statement of the Vedas. According to his explanation, 'tat' means 'the Supreme', 'tvam' means 'you', and 'asi' means 'are'. He interpreted the words to mean 'You are the Supreme', and he claimed there is no difference between the Supreme and the individual spirit souls.
"The Vaisnava commentator on Vedanta interpreted these words in a different way, saying that 'tat-tvam' is a possessive compound word (sasthi-tatpurusa-samasa). According to his explanation 'tat' means 'of the Supreme', and the entire sentence means 'you are the servant of the Supreme.' In this way the proper meaning of the scriptural statement is clearly shown."
In the Sri Caitanya-candrodaya-nataka is presented the following opinion held by the devotees of the Lord:
"The word "Vasudeva" means 'the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than the greatest'. The scriptural statement 'sankarsano jivah' means, 'Lord Sankarsana gives life (jivayati) to the individual spirit souls'. These words do not mean that Lord Sankarsana is Himself an individual spirit soul (jiva). Rather, Lord Sankarsana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. This is confirmed by the words 'mamobhe sasvati tanu'. Therefore the conclusion is that Lord Sankarsana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the creator of the individual spirit souls."
