By Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Sri Vedanta-sutra commentary
I love handsome and dark Lord Krsna, who shows, even to they
who have only the dim reflection of devotional service, the path
that leads to Him.
Many Paths or One?
Introduction by Baladeva Vidyabhusana
In this pada will be described the nature of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and the path that leads to the realm of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Chändogya Upaniñad
(4.15.5-6) it is said:
." "Whether his final rites are performed or not, the
yogi goes to the light. From the light he goes to the day. From
the day he goes to bright fortnight. From the bright fortnight he
goes to the six months when the sun travels in the north. From
the six months when the sun travels in the north he goes to
year. From the year he goes to the sun. From the sun he goes to
the moon. From the moon he goes to lightning. From there a divine
person leads him to Brahman. This is the path to the Lord, the
path to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They who travel this
path do not return to the world of human beings
In this passage light is the first stage on this path.
However, in the Kauñétaké Upaniñad (1.3) it is said:
"He travels on the path of the heavenly planets. He
goes to Agniloka. He goes to Väyuloka. He goes to Varuëaloka.
He goes to Indraloka. He goes to Prajäpatiloka. He goes to
Brahmaloka."
Here Agniloka is the first stage. In the Båhad-äraëyaka
Upaniñad (5.10) it is said
"Leaving this world, the soul goes to Väyuloka.
There he passes through the opening of a chariot-wheel. Then the
soul ascends to the sun."
Here Väyuloka is the first stage on the path. In the
Muëòaka Upaniñad (2.11) it is said:
"Passing through the doorway of the sun, the soul is
cleansed of all impurities."
Here the sun is the first stage on the path. In other
scriptures other accounts are also seen.
Saàçaya (doubt): Is only one path to the world of the
Supreme described here, or are many different paths, beginning
with the path that begins with light, described here in these
passages of the Upaniñads?
Pürvapakña (the opponent speaks): Because these paths are
all different there must be many different paths.
Siddhänta (conclusion): In the following words the author
of the sütras gives His conclusion.
Sütra 1
arcir-ädinä tat prathiteù
arciù - light; ädinä - beginning with; tat - that;
prathiteù - because of being well known.
It begins with light, for that is well known.
Purport
The enlightened souls travels to the world of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead on a path that begins with light. Why is
that? The sütra expains, "tat prathiteù" (for
that is well known). In the Chändogya Upaniñad (5.10.1) it is
said:
"This they know: They who perform austerities and worship the Lord with faith travel on the path that begins with
light."
This passage is taken from the chapter describing the
knowledge of the five fires (païcägni-vidyä). Therefore the
path that begins with light is traveled even by they who study
the fire and other vidyäs. In the Brahma-tarka it is said:
"Two 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."
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.
