Brahma Sutras (Govinda Bhashya)
by Kusakratha das Brahmacari | 2010 | 343,161 words | ISBN-10: 8175050063
This is the English translation of the Brahma-sutras including the Govinda Bhashya commentary of Baladeva Vidyabhushana鈥攁n Indian spiritual teacher (Acharya) of the Gaudiya branch of Vaishnavam from the 18th century. This Govinda Bhasya aims to apply Vedantic principles to address universal human concerns, such as suffering and death, rather than m...
S奴tra 3.2.19
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of S奴tra 3.2.19:
啶呧ぎ啷嵿が啷佮さ啶︵啷嵿ぐ啶灌ぃ啶距い啷嵿い啷� 啶� 啶むぅ啶距い啷嵿い啷嵿さ啶
ambuvad补驳谤补丑补峁嚹乼tu na 迟补迟丑腻迟迟惫补尘
ambuvat 鈥� like the reflection of the sun on water; 补驳谤补丑补峁嚹乼 鈥� in the absence of perception; tu 鈥� but; na 鈥� not; 迟补迟丑腻迟迟惫补尘 鈥� that state.
鈥淭丑别 箩墨惫补 is not a reflection of the Supreme, like the sun reflected in water, because it is not so perceived.鈥� (19)
S奴tra pagination:
础诲丑测腻测补 3:
Devotional Service;
笔腻诲补 2:
Glories and Virtues of the Lord;
础诲丑颈办补谤补峁嘺 10:
The J墨va is not a Reflection of God.
Baladeva Vidy膩bh奴峁峁嘺鈥檚 commentary (Govinda-bh膩峁a)
The similarity of the sun and water does not hold here. The sun is at a distance from the water, and so it is possible for its reflection to exist in the water; but the Supreme Self is all-pervading, so so no object can be at a distance from Him. Thus the term 鈥榬eflection鈥� is meaningless when applied to the Supreme. So the similarity of the sun reflected in water does not apply to the Self and the 箩墨惫补. Therefore the 箩墨惫补 cannot be a reflection of the Supreme Self.
The 艢谤耻迟颈 also says, 鈥淗e is colorless, reflectionless.鈥� [Pra艣na Upani峁d 4.10] On the other hand, the 箩墨惫补 is an intelligent entity like the Supreme Self. The 艢谤耻迟颈 says, nityo nity膩n膩峁� cetana艣 cetan膩n膩m: 鈥淗e is the chief eternal among the eternals; the chief conscious entity among all conscious entities.鈥� [Ka峁環a Upani峁d 2.2.13]
This refutes the illustration taken from the reflection of space found in some commentaries. Space has no reflection; the so-called reflection of space seen in water is actually a reflection caused by the rays of the sun in particular limited portions of the sky. The 鈥榬eflection of space鈥� is a wrong notion of the ignorant, otherwise one would also see the reflections of the directions, such as north, east, etc. Nor are the sound and its echo a proper illustration, because an echo is simply the reflection of the original sound, and that the Lord and the 箩墨惫补 are different was already proved above.