Prameya-ratnavali A Necklace of Truths By Baladeva Vidyabhusana

1. Victory to Sri Govinda, Gopinatha (lord of the cowherder irls, the opi!, "adana opala (the into#icatin cowherder!. $ shall by his race present the concise nec%lace of truths (Prameya-ratnavali!. &. "ay our attraction always stay fi#ed in that (ultimate! truth who is pleased by even the semblance of devotion (bhakti!, the overseer of dharma, whose name delivers the world, whose form is eternal 'oy, non-dual, and consciousness (nityananda, advaita, caitanya!. (. "ay the ascetic named )nandatirtha, a bastion of 'oy, whom the wise praise as a lifeboat in the ocean of transmi ration, be victorious. *. +he faultless chain of teachers is to be meditated on by the wise, by which sin lemindedness is achieved and by that the pleasure of ,ari (-rsna! arises. *a. As said in the Padma Purana: "antras that are without a tradition (of transmission! are considered fruitless. +herefore, in the ) e of -ali there will be four founders of traditions. Sri, Brahma, /udra, and Sana%a, who are earth-purifyin devotees of Visnu. +hose four shall certainly appear in the ) e of -ali from Puruottama (0a annatha! in 1rissa. *b. Sri (2a%smi! accepted /amanu'a3 the four-faced one (Brahma! (accepted! "adhvacarya3 /udra (accepted! Visnusvamin3 and the four Sanas (accepted! 4imbaditya. *c. Among them our own succession of teachers is thus: 5e praise in succession Sri -rsna, Brahma, 6evarsi (4arada!, Badarayana (Vyasa!, "adhva, Padmanabha, 4rhari, "adhava, )%sobhya, 0ayatirtha, 0nanasindhu, 6ayanidhi, Vidyanidhi, /a'endra, 0ayadharman, and also Purusottama, Brahmanya, and Vyasatirtha. +hen we worship with devotion 2a%smipati, "adhavendra, his disciples -- $svara (Puri!, )dvaita, and 4ityananda, world teachers all -- and the deity (himself!, the disciple of $svara, Sri 7aitanya, by whom, throu h the ift of love for -rsna, the world has been saved. Now the truths are indicated: 8. The moon-like Krsnacaitanya, Hari himself, teaches thus:

"adhva tau ht that Visnu is supreme and the sub'ect of all sacred te#ts, the world and difference are real, livin bein s are servants at the feet of ,ari, there is a hierarchy amon them, liberation is the attainment of the feet of Visnu, untainted worship of him is (its! cause, and the means of correct %nowled e are the three headed by direct perception.

Among those (truths), Visnu s su!remacy as (stated) in the Gopala-tapani Upanisad: +herefore, -rsna alone is the supreme deity. 1ne should meditate on him, savor him, worship him, offer (thin s! to him. (8a! And in the Svetasvatara Upanisad ("#""-"$): )fter %nowin the deity, all fetters are destroyed. 5ith the witherin of afflictions, birth and death are destroyed. 9rom meditation on him, at the end of the body (one reaches! the third (abode!, which is full of all opulence and is whole, and one has all desires fulfilled. (8b! +his one is to be %nown, the eternal situated in the self. 4othin at all beyond that is to be %nown. (8c! And in the Bhagavad-gita (%#%): +here is nothin hi her than me, 1 6hanan'aya ()r'una!: (8d! ;. -rsna is considered supreme most because of bein the cause (of all!, the round of <ualities li%e all-pervasiveness, consciousness, 'oy, etc., the possessor of the eternal 2a%smi, and so forth. Among those, (his) &eing the cause of all as the Svetasvatara ('#(-') says: +hat one deity, the 2ord who is to be worshiped, alone oversees the natures (effects! and the causes (of the world!. (;a! )nd who, the cause of the universe, matures nature and transforms all thin s to be ripened. (;b! (His) all-!er)asi)eness, consciousness, and *oy as (stated) in the Katha Upanisad ((#(): +hin%in (;c! of the reat and all-pervadin self (atman!, the wise man does not lament.

=. ,is havin a form of consciousness and 'oy is understood by means of that word >self> (atman! ?in the previous citation@ because of its derivation as the oal of the liberated. So say those who %now it. The Va*asaneyin (+a*na)alkya in the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad, ,#$-) said: Brahman is consciousness and 'oy, the resort ?of the %nower of Brahman@. (=a! And in the Gopala-tapani Upanisad: +hat one Govinda (-rsna! is the embodiment of (eternal! e#istence, consciousness, and 'oy. (=b! A. +he possession of form of him (-rsna! who is consciousness and 'oy is to be iver of results to the iver, the hi hest

rasped li%e a musical mode (raga! and also, because of his lorification with words li%e >solidified consciousness (vijnana-ghana!,> his possession of form (is established!. By this it is shown tan entially that there is no difference between him and his body. The all-!er)asi)eness of e)en one who has form as (stated) in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (.#,): +he one stands in heaven erect li%e a tree. By that person is all this pervaded. (Aa! B. 9rom the statement that thou h he is situated in the heavens he pervades everythin , he (both! has form and is all-pervadin and he is also that because he can be visible simultaneously to many meditators. And in the Tenth /anto (of the Bhagavata Purana "0#,#"(): ,im of whom there is no inner or outer, no before and after, who is the before and after, the outer and inner of the universe, who is the universe, thin%in him her son, thou h he is the unmanifest, beyond sensory e#perience, in human form, the cowherd woman tied him to a wooden mortar li%e an ordinary boy. (Ba! And in the Bhagavad-gita (,#(-'): $ spread throu h all this universe with my unmanifest form. )ll bein s are in me, but $ am not situated in them and also bein s are not in me. See my odly manner. (Bb! 1C. 5hat is meant by the word yoga (>manner> in the previous verse! is that there is unlimited ener y in the lord which is the resolver of contradictions. +his is the opinion of the wise. By >etc.> (in verse ;! is meant omniscience as in the Mundaka U anisad (1.1.B, &.&.(!. 1Ca. ,e who is all-%nowin , all comprehendin . (1! )nd bein 'oyful in the Taittiriya U anisad (&.B.1!. 1Cb. 1ne who %nows the 'oy of Brahman has no fear of anythin . (&! )nd his bein the 2ord, the friend, the iver of %nowled e, and the liberator as in the !vetasvatara U anisad ((.1=!. 1Cc. (,e is! the 2ord of all, the controller, the resort of all, the friend. 1Cd. 9rom him ancient wisdom is manifested (*.1A!. 1Ce. (,e is! the cause of liberation from, maintenance of, and bonda e to the cycle of transmi ration (;.1;!. )nd (his! sweetness in the "o ala- urva-ta ani U anisad (18!.

1Cf. ("editatin on! the lord who has lotus-li%e eyes, (s%in! the color of a cloud, clothes the color of li htenin , two arms, the posture of %nowled e, a arland of forest flowers, (one becomes liberated from transmi ration!. ((!

11. +he characteristics are not different from the one characteriDed, (but! there is the appearance of difference because of visesa, since even amon the learned there are notions such as >time always e#ists>. (*! So is it said in the Narada- ancaratra. 11a. (,e! has a faultless fi ure, full of <ualities, and is self-reliant, devoid of body and <ualities made of unconsciousness (matter!, is possessed of hands, feet, face, and abdomen that consist of pure 'oy and is in all ways free of internal distinctions. (8! 4ow, that he is always connected with 2a%smi in the #isnu Purana (1.A.18!. 11b. She is indeed eternal, the mother of the world, that inseparable Sri ( oddess of wealth! of Visnu. 0ust as Visnu is all-pervadin , so indeed is she, 1 best of the twice born. 1&. Visnu has three ener ies. +he one amon them who is praised as the hi hest is that Sri, who is not different from him. So said the master ("ahaprabhu! to his reat disciples. $n this, VisnuEs three ener ies, as in the !vetasvatara U anisad (;.A! 1&a. >+he hi her innate ener y of this one is heard of as manifold. %nowled e, stren th, and activity.> 1&b. >+he master of the primordial matter (ener y! and of the %nower of the field (the livin bein !, the lord of the una.> (;.1;! )nd in the #isnu Purana (;.(.;1C!. 1&c. >VisnuEs ener y is accepted as the hi her as well as the not hi her, called the E%nower of the fieldE, ?and@ another, a third ener y, called i norance and %arma.> +hat the >hi her> is the Sri who is non-different from Visnu is stated there as well (1.B.**-*8!. 1&d. >"ay that ,ari be pleased with us, the pure one whose ener y does not fall within the power of time which is made up of %ala, %astha, nimesa, and so forth. (;! ,e, thou h pure, is said metaphorically to be the lord of Sri ( arama! (=!3 may that Visnu be pleased with us, who is the self of all embodied bein s.> +hat this >hi her> is threefold is also stated there as well (1.1&.;B!. 1&e. >+he ma%er of 'oy, the ma%er of bein , the ma%er of awareness are one in you, the refu e of all. +he mi#ed one which causes pleasure and pain is not in you who are free of the una.> 1(. +hou h Visnu is one and 2a%smi, inseparable from him, is also one, they are said to be many throu h their many self-accomplished arbs. (A! 1n VisnuEs bein many while bein only one, as in the "o ala-ta ani U aniad (1.&C!. 1(a. +he one, the controller, the all-pervadin is -rsna, the worshipable, who thou h

one appears as many. +hose steadfast ones who worship him on the altar have endurin happiness, not the others. +hen that of 2a%smi, for instance. 1(b. >+he hi her innate ener y of this one is heard of as manifold.> (See 1&c! 1*. )lthou h the fullness is the same in all ?the divine forms@, still there can be a hierarchy created by the manifestation or non-manifestation of his ener y. (B! +hus the fullness of Visnu in all ?forms@, as in the #ajasaneyaka($rhad Aranyaka., 8.1.1!. 1*a. >+hat is full3 this is full. 9rom the full the full arises. +a%in full, the full alone remains.> )nd in the #araha Purana. 1*b. >)ll the bodies of that supreme self are eternal and everlastin , free of loss or ain, never born of nature, full of the hi hest 'oy, and always fully aware. )ll are full of all <ualities and free of all flaws.> 4ow that of Sri, as in the #isnu Purana. 1*c. >+hus as the "aster of the Fniverse, the od of ods, 0anardana, ma%es descents, so does his companion Sri. )nd a ain, when ,ari became the son of )diti, she was born from the lotus. (1C! )nd when /ama, the descendent of Bhr u, was born this one became the earth. (11! 5hen he was /ama, she became Sita3 in -rsnaEs birth she was /u%mini. )nd in the other descents of Visnu, she was his companion. 5hen he is a od she has a oddessE body and when he is a man, she is woman. She fashions her own body accordin to the body of Visnu.> 18. +he opinion of the learned is that because of the oneness here (i.e. amon these descents! there should be innate fullness (in them!. GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Notes 1. +he two words sarva-jna and sarva-vit both meanin all-%nowin . 1ne commentator says that the first means %nowin everythin in eneral and the second means %nowin all thin s in particular. &. +he 'oy referred to here is 'oy as a <uality as opposed to the 'oy which is the very nature of -rsna described previously. So, -rsna is by nature 'oy that is characteriDed by bein 'oyful. )pparently, it is one thin to be made of 'oy and another to be 'oyful in the same way that it is one thin to be made of consciousness and another to be conscious. (. Sweetness is defined by one of the commentators as the performin of actions in a human form that can be accomplished only by supreme power. )s an e#ample he ives -rsnaEs suc%in on the breast of the witch Putana li%e an ordinary child and yet suc%in out her life. *. +he <uestion addressed here is whether all the characteristics discussed so far are different from Visnu or non-different from him. $f they are different from him then all of away the full of the

they do not accord with some statements of revealed scripture ( %atha U&, &.1.1*, for instance! and if they are non-different then the non-<ualified absolute which is denied in this tradition is supported. +he answer is that all the characteristics are really not different from Visnu, but appear to be so throu h the action of visesa. #isesa means >distinction> or >peculiar attribute>. ,ere it is defined by both commentators as the surro ate of difference, but not (real! difference. +his idea different from the cate ory of the same name in 4yaya ($ndian 2o ic! that serves to distin uish eternal substances and atomic particles from each other. $n 4yaya a visesa is what ma%es two atomic particles that are otherwise indistin uishable different. ,ere, however, a visesa causes the perception of difference where there is no difference. +he e#amples are >time always is> and >e#istence e#ists>. By attributin time to time or e#istence to e#istence the statements create the appearance of difference between the sub'ect and predicate where in fact there is no difference. 8. +here are three %inds of difference. +he first is difference amon thin s of the same type (sajatiya! li%e the difference between man o and 'ac%-fruit. +he second is difference between thin s of different types ( vijatiya! li%e the difference between man o and stone. 2astly, there is internal (sva-gata! difference li%e the difference between the flowers and fruit of the man o tree. $n VisnuEs case there is no internal difference between him and his body or him and his <ualities. ;. +hese are some of the units into which time is divided. +his statement implies that since VisnusEs ener y does not fall under the power of time because it is not different from him3 it is eternal as he is eternal. =. +he problem posed and answered by this statement is that if Visnu is said to be pure, that is unmi#ed or undivided, then how can he be called the lord of SriH $f Visnu and Sri are non-different, how can one of them be said to be the lord of the otherH +he author of the #isnu Purana says that such statements are to be ta%en metaphorically only. +he Purana, then, supports the non-difference of Visnu and Sri and is thus cited by the author of this te#t as the authority for his assertion of that non-difference. A. $n the Narada- ancaratra it is said. >0ust as a 'ewel by parts is possessed of blue, yellow, and so forth and thus assumes different forms, so does the lord throu h different meditations>. +he 'ewel here is the Vaidurya 'ewel which has <ualities of blue, yellow, and so forth. +hus thou h the hi hest truth is one, it manifests as dual, as the hi hest male and as the hi hest female. (%antimala on 1.1(! B. )ll of the various forms or descents (avatara! of Visnu and 2a%smi are full or complete. 4evertheless, they differ in terms of the how much or how many of the <ualities they manifest. 1C. +he >son of )diti> means the Vamana or >dwarf> descent of Visnu. ,is consort, born out of a lotus, was %nown as Padma. )ditya is also a name for the sun and VamanaEs three steps have been reco niDed as the course of the sun by some scholars. +he sunEs romantic relationship with the lotus flower (lotus flowers blossom durin the day! has been stuff of Sans%rit poetry for centuries. 11. +he son of Bhr u is Parasurama, the a#e wieldin /ama, who accordin to the myth unburdened the earth of the members of warrior class twenty-one times. ,is consort in that birth was 6harani (2a%smi in the form of the earth! accordin to the commentary Prabha.

+ranslated by 4eal 6elmonico (4itai 6as!