na vā prakaraṇabhedātparovarīyastvādivat ..3.3.8..

SUTRA III. 3. 8.

 

न वा प्रकरणभेदात्परोवरीयस्त्वादिवत्॥३.३.८॥

na vā prakaraṇabhedātparovarīyastvādivat ..3.3.8..

 

.. Na, (the combination is) not (to be done). .. Va, certainly, … Prakarana, devotion: literally, Pra — excellent, Karana — work… Bhedat, according to the difference, according to specialization. … Parovariyastvadivat, as in the case of the attributes of «Higher than the high and better than the best».

 

8. There should certainly be no combination of the qualities (in the meditation of the Ekantins), because the Bhakti (of the Ekantins) is different (from that of the Svanishtha) as in the case of the attribute of the ‘Higher than the high’ (given to the Udgitha as Akasha, is not combined in the meditation on the Udgitha as the Golden Person). — 369.

 

COMMENTARY

 

The word ‘Va’ in the Sutra means ‘certainly’. Those who are [exclusively devoted to a particular form — who are Ekantins with regard to that form — do not combine in their meditation the Gunas mentioned with regard to forms other than their own. Thus the exclusive worshippers of the Krishna form, do not combine in their meditation the form sacred to the worshippers of Man-Lion — the flowing mane, the gaping jaw, the terrible teeth, etc! Similarly, the exclusive worshippers of Nri-simha, the Man-Lion, do not meditate on the lute, the cane, the sweetness, etc., of Shri Krishna, so dear to the hearts of the Krishna-devoted. «Why is it so? Prakarana-bhedat. Because the devotional temperaments differ. The word Prakarana means «the most excellent act — and devotion alone is that excellent act». The devotion of an Ekantin is of a higher kind than that of a Svanishtha — it is more deep and absorbing. The author shows this by an illustration. «As in the case of Parovariyas». As the Ekantin worshippers of the Golden Person in the Sun do not combine in the object of their meditation the Gunas of Parovariyas, etc., which the worshippers of the Udgitha as Akasha see in their object of meditation. That which is beyond the beyond and is better than the best is called Parovariyas. It is the name of the Udgitha as Akasha. The condition of Parovariyas is Parovariyastvam.

Note: In the First Prapathaka of the Chhandogya Upanishad is taught the meditation on the Udgitha. The word Udgitha is applied there both to the Golden Person and to the Causal Brahman or Akasha. In the Udgitha meditation on the Akasha is described the Gunas of Parovariyas — beyond the beyond and better than the best. But those who meditate on the Udgitha as the Golden Person (and not as the Akasha or the Causal Brahman), do not combine in their meditation the Gunas of Beyond-the-beyond and — Better-than-the-best peculiarly taught regarding the Causal Brahman. Because the worshippers of the Golden Person are exclusively devoted to the attributes mentioned regarding that Person. The Golden Person or the Person of Joy (for Hiranmaya means both Joy and Gold) is thus described in the Chandogya Upanishad (I., 6. 6 to 7):

«Now that Being who is seen in the Sun, as full of intense joy, with joy as beard, joy as hair, joy altogether to the very tips of his nails. His two eyes are like fresh red lotus, His name is ‘Ut’, for He has risen above (Udita) all sins».

The Akasha Udgitha is described in I., 9. 1:

Then Shalavatya asked, «What is the goal of Brahma?» The Akasha, replied Pravahana. For all these beings take their rise from the Akasha, and have their setting in the Akasha. The Akasha is greater than these, the Akasha is their great Refuge. He indeed is the Parovariyas: He the Udgitha, He the Infinite, He who meditates on the Udgitha as the Parovariyas becomes the beloved of the Parovariyas».

Thus the worshippers of the Udgitha as Hiranmaya Purusha do not meditate on those qualities which the worshippers of the Udgitha as Akasha (the All-luminous) contemplate. There is no combination of qualities, though both worship the Udgitha.

But, says an objector, both the Ekantins and the Svanishthas — the exclusivists and the universalists — are called «the worshippers of Brahman» — and since they have got a common name, therefore, the Ekantins also, like the Svanishthas, must meditate on all the attributes of Brahman, whenever they may be found. Just as the meditation on the Gayatri is universally prescribed for all those who are Brahmanas and share in having the common designation of Brahmana.

This objection is raised in the first half of the next Sutra, and answered in the subsequent portion thereof.