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 4.3.1
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of S奴tra 4.3.1:
啶呧ぐ啷嵿啶苦ぐ啷�-啶嗋う啶苦え啶� 啶むい啷� 啶啶班ぅ啶苦い啷囙
arcir-腻诲颈苍腻 tat 辫谤补迟丑颈迟别岣�
补谤肠颈岣� 鈥� light; 腻诲颈苍腻 鈥� beginning with; tat 鈥� that; 辫谤补迟丑颈迟别岣� 鈥� because of being well known.
鈥淚t begins with light, for that is well known.鈥� (1)
S奴tra pagination:
础诲丑测腻测补 4:
The Results of Transcendental Knowledge;
笔腻诲补 3:
How a Person with Transcendental Knowledge Leaves his Material Body;
础诲丑颈办补谤补峁嘺 1:
Many Paths or One?.
Baladeva Vidy膩bh奴峁峁嘺鈥檚 commentary (Govinda-bh膩峁a)
The enlightened souls travels to the world of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on a path that begins with light. Why is that? The 蝉奴迟谤补 explains, tat 辫谤补迟丑颈迟别岣�: 鈥淔or that is well known.鈥�
In the Ch膩ndogya Upani峁d [5.10.1] it is said:
啶むう啷� 啶� 啶囙い啷嵿ぅ啶 啶掂た啶︵啶班 啶 啶氞啶 鈥樴ぐ啶｀啶 啶多啶班う啷嵿ぇ啶距 啶むお 啶囙い啷嵿く啷� 啶夃お啶距じ啶む 啶む 啶呧ぐ啷嵿啶苦し啶
tad ya ittham vidur ye ceme 鈥榬a峁噛e 艣raddh膩峁� tapa ity up膩sate te arci峁m
鈥淭his they know: Those who perform austerities and worship the Lord with faith travel on the path that begins with light.鈥�
This passage is taken from the chapter describing the knowledge of the five fires [辫补帽肠腻驳苍颈-惫颈诲测腻].
Therefore the path that begins with light is traveled even by they who study the fire and other 惫颈诲测腻s. In the Brahma-tarka it is said:
啶︵啶掂ぞ啶掂 啶忇さ 啶ぞ啶班啶椸 啶啶班ぅ啶苦い啶距さ啷�
啶呧ぐ啷嵿啶苦ぐ啷�-啶嗋う啶苦ぐ啷� 啶掂た啶ざ啷嵿啶苦い啶距ぎ啷�
啶о啶ぞ啶︵た啶� 啶曕ぐ啷嵿ぎ啶苦ぃ啶距 啶氞啶�
啶膏ぐ啷嵿さ-啶掂啶�-啶掂た啶ㄠた啶班啶｀く啶距い啷�dv膩v eva m膩rgau prathit膩v
arcir-膩dir vipa艣cit膩m
dh奴m膩di岣� karmi峁嚹佱箖 caiva
蝉补谤惫补-惫别诲补-惫颈苍颈谤峁嘺测腻迟鈥淭wo paths are famous. The path beginning with light is traveled by they who are enlightened with transcendental knowledge, and the path beginning with smoke is traveled by they who perform Vedic rituals. That is the conclusion of all the Vedas.鈥�
This being so, it is understood that the scriptures describe a single path for the enlightened souls, and therefore the differences in the descriptions should be reconciled in the same was they were in the case of the attributes of the Lord. This is so because the knowledge to be described here is one, even though the scriptural texts seem to give different explanations. The conclusion, then, is that the path begins with light. Any other interpretation breaks the real meaning of the Vedic texts.