THE FOUR ORIGINS
THE FOUR ORIGINSAt the beginning of creation the Supreme Personality of Godhead poured to the Material World the essence of everything through the transparent medium of Lord Brahma the first disciple and the first Guru. As the first disciple Brahma received the seeds of all Knowledge from the Source of all Knowledge, the Lord Himself.
As a guru Lord Brahma started the chain of disciplic Succession and the main Sampradaya out of Four Sampradayas.
The symbolic Four Heades of Brahma is interesting, as other Brahmas in other Universes possess even much more heads with some meaning of it. The number Four correlate with the Four Verses of Chatur Slokas Brahma received from his master, the Lord. This number Four is significant in many aspects we recognise within this World we are presently existing like Chatur Vyucha, Four representatives of the Lord responsible for four divisions in a whole spectrum of Four symbols. This begins with Four states of consciousness: ignorance, passion, goodness and transcendence, and Sankarsan, Pradyumna, Anirudha and Vasudeva adequately, etc.. The number Four is the inherent attribute of this one Universe we are living.
The Four Original Verses spoken by the Lord are the sutras, condensed codes in which all secrets Vijnana of the whole Knowledge are hidden. This secrets were later expanded by Vyasadeva to the Vedas and further summarised in Srimad Bhagavatam as the most important secrets of all secrets, of the whole Transcendental Knowledge.
We can find the Four Verses in the Second Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam Chapter 9 verses 32-35. The verse 31of this Chapter however is giving inside to the following Verses.
This verse is a some kind of an introduction to the next Four Verses which the Lord presents in descending way starting from describing Himself, discovering His own nature,
Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura in his book 'Sri Krsna Samhita' gives some glimpse to that verses and further he is explaining them in that book.
He starts with the Verse 31
'jnanam parama-guhyam me' "Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is Very Confidential"
'yavan aham' "I myself in My eternal form"
and this two statements he summarises as
DIRECT PERCEPTION OF THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
Which we can see as Prayojana, achieving the Goal.
This Vrey Confidential Knowledge is the extract of all knowledge, it is the topmost achievement, direct realization, meeting the Lord through that realization.
In 32 Verse, the first from Chatur Slokas, we have the aspect of Vijnana as the crucial necessity to receive realizations, and perception of God: 'tattva-vijnanam astu te mad-anugrahat', the 'tattva-vijnanam' the factual realization, let it be awakened within you (Brahma) out of My causeless mercy. And what should be awakened? "All of Me, namely My actual eternal form and My transcendental existence, colour, qualities and activities".
Here is the connection to the CC 2.26.109 'by my causeless mercy, by enlightened in truth about My personality, manifestations, qualities and pastimes'
Bhaktivinoda Thakura goes further:
aham evasam evagre nanyad yat sad-asat puram
pascad aham yad etac ca yo 'vasisyeta so 'smy aham
"Brahma, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead." (1) Verse 33
In this verse very important is the point "there was nothing but Myself" before. Here we can see the actual reality of God, God in His form as Radha Krsna, Two in One, God's position as the Source of all.
Next Bhaktivinoda is saying about
INDIRECT PERCEPTION OF THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
'yad vijnana-samanvitam' "It has to be realized" What?
'yatha-bhavo' "My transcendental existence"
Here is the Abhidheya, process sugested and stressed.
rte 'rtham yat pratiyeta na pratiyeta catmani
tad vidyad atmano mayam yathabhaso yatha tamah
"O Brahma, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness."(2) Verse 34
Here the Abhidheya process continues, one must realise that everything has connection with the Supreme Lord and this transformation of our perception is the actual process of self realization. Converting everything whatever was experienced in this Material World to the reality connected with God. Everything gross and subtle on each and every level of consciousness up to the most subtle attachments to our understanding of God, or manufacturing our own ideas of God, our relationship with Him and desire to "possess" Him instead of naturally submissively serve the Divine Couple.
Then Bhaktivinoda goes to the next level, down in descending process:
THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LIVING ENTITIES AND THE SUPREME LORD, KNOWN AS THE SCIENCE OF LOVE
'sarahasyam' "With devotional service"
'yad-rupa-guna-karmakah' "My color, qualities, and activities"
Here we have the continuation of the Abhidheya process with the aspects of Sambandha, revelation of relationship.
Everybody desire love, this propensity is used to grab anyone from the external marerial madness to the transcendental eternal bliss or love. This is like an anchor one is thowing to that Spiritual Realm and from that moment one is sold to the Lord and to a new form of love. Whatever demand, task or so one will come, whatever new realization of a factual relationship with the Lord, maybe unexpected, all is accepted through that anchor of loving service attitude.
The culmination of the whole process of self realization is Bhakti-yoga the mood of servitude to the Lord, the Divine Couple with devotion.
The next Verse 35 describes:
yatha mahanti bhutani bhutesuccavacesv anu
pravistany apravistani tatha tesu na tesv aham
"O Brahma, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything." (3) Verse 35
So here we have the philosophy of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, simultanous oneness and difference. The Supreme Lord is everything and at the same time He is not, as He is an independent God.
Further Bhaktivinoda is explaining:
THE CONFIDENTIAL SCIENCE OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE
'tad-angam ca' "The necessary paraphernalia for that process"
'tathaiva tattva-vijnanam' "By factual realization"
Here we are continuing the elaboration on the process of devotional service and the Confidential Science of it explained in this 35th Verse. That Confidential science says that the Lord's presence in each and every relationship with each and every individual is and is not. The Lord is within it and at the same time He is not. He is above everything.
And now Bhaktivinoda Thakura goes beyond the Four Verses, to the next one, Verse 36, concluding:
etavad eva jijnasam tattva-jijnasunatmanah
anvaya-vyatirekabhyam yat syat sarvatra sarvada
"A person who is searching after the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it, up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly." (4) Verse 36
'grhana gaditam maya' "You may take it up carefully"
'astu te mad-anugrahat' "Let it be awakened within you out of My causeless mercy"
Bhaktivinoda Thakura divides the first verse of the Chatur Slokas to each next verse, suggesting the most essential aspect of that first verse and it's power of containing all within it by describing that Supreme Person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Divine Couple Radha Krsna.
Cont....