God's Impersonal Brahman Is The Effulgence of the Supreme Lord
When inquiring into the nature of the Absolute Truth, many philosophers and spiritual seekers arrive at the conclusion that God is an infinite, formless light. They conceive of the ultimate reality as a void of spiritual energy into which all individual existence eventually merges. While this spiritual light certainly exists, the Vedic literatures explain that it is only a partial understanding of the Absolute. This glowing effulgence is known as the impersonal Brahman. Śrīla Prabhupāda meticulously explains that this impersonal feature is not the ultimate source, but rather the glowing rays emanating from the transcendental body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By understanding the true position of the impersonal Brahman, the incompleteness of merging into it, and the higher destination awaiting pure devotees, we can elevate our spiritual realization from a passive appreciation of light to dynamic, loving devotion to the Supreme Person.
The Effulgence of the Supreme Body
The impersonal Brahman is frequently misunderstood as the original state of the Absolute Truth. Śrīla Prabhupāda firmly corrects this Māyāvādī misconception, clarifying that God is eternally a person, and the Brahman effulgence is completely dependent on Him, acting merely as the illumination of His transcendental form.
- According to this verse, the impersonal Brahman, which is the glowing effulgence of the body of the Supreme Lord, may be called the immediate cause, but the cause of all causes, or the remote cause, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Mayavada philosophy says that the Lord is originally impersonal but assumes a human form and many other forms when He descends. Actually, however, He is originally like a human being, and the impersonal Brahman consists of the rays of His body.
- The impersonal glowing effulgence known as impersonal Brahman is the outer space of the Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky.
- That the impersonal Brahman is dependent on the Supreme Personality is stated in the Hayasirsa-pancaratra and in every other Upanisad or Vedic scripture.
The First Step of Realization
Understanding the Absolute Truth is a progressive journey. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that realizing the impersonal Brahman is only the first step. Because the Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ānanda (full of eternity, knowledge, and bliss), Brahman realization only grants access to the sat (eternity) portion, leaving the realization fundamentally incomplete.
- Spiritual knowledge means fully understanding the Absolute Truth in three features - impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and the all-powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The Absolute Truth is one, but some accept Him as impersonal Brahman, some as the Supersoul existing everywhere, and some as Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The central point is the Absolute Truth.
- The Personality of Godhead is the complete form of sac-cid-ananda (full life, knowledge and bliss). By realization of the sat portion of the Complete Whole (unlimited existence), one realizes the impersonal Brahman aspect of the Lord.
- Although the first realization of the Supreme Absolute Truth is impersonal Brahman, one should not remain satisfied with experiencing the impersonal effulgence of the Supreme Lord.
The Incompleteness of Impersonalism
Because it denies the Lord's form, qualities, and pastimes, the impersonal conception is ultimately hazardous to spiritual growth. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that one cannot render devotional service to a formless light, making the path of impersonal meditation a dry, troublesome, and ultimately unfulfilling endeavor.
- Partial realization of the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman denies the complete opulences of the Lord. This is a hazardous understanding of the Absolute Truth.
- Since impersonalists cannot understand the source of the Brahman energy, they mistakenly choose to think this impersonal Brahman the ultimate or absolute goal.
- Devotional service cannot be rendered to the impersonal Brahman feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whenever the word bhajasva appears, meaning "engage yourself in devotional service," there must be the servant, service and the served.
- Meditation on the impersonal Brahman is a troublesome business for the meditator, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (BG 12.5): kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam.
The Destination of Demons
The ultimate goal of impersonalists is to merge into the Brahman effulgence (sāyujya-mukti). However, Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals a profound secret: this exact same destination is automatically awarded to atheists and demons who are killed by the Supreme Lord. Therefore, pure devotees reject this liberation entirely.
- The highest perfection of transcendental realization is to take pleasure in hearing and describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord and not in merging into His impersonal Brahman existence, for which the impersonalist monist aspires.
- The personified Vedas continued, "In other words, both the yogis and the great, wise philosophical speculators ultimately attain the impersonal Brahman effulgence, which is automatically attained by the demons who are regular enemies of the Lord."
- This same goal (merge into the Supreme Brahman) is attained by atheists who deny the existence of God. If such atheists are killed by an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they also merge into the Brahman existence of the Supreme Lord.
- The Lord is so kind, however, that even though they are His enemies, they are still allowed to enter into the spiritual kingdom and remain in the impersonal brahma-jyoti, the undifferentiated light of the absolute.
Conclusion
A rigorous study of the Vedic literatures effectively cures the spiritual seeker of the illusion that God is ultimately formless. As Śrīla Prabhupāda clearly explains, the Absolute Truth is realized in three progressive phases: impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān. The impersonal Brahman is simply the glowing brahmajyoti effulgence that radiates from the transcendental body of the Supreme Lord. It is not the ultimate cause of creation; rather, it is completely dependent on the personal form of God. By realizing only the impersonal Brahman, a spiritualist achieves only the sat (eternal existence) portion of the Lord’s complete sac-cid-ānanda nature, leaving out His absolute knowledge and absolute bliss. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that remaining satisfied with this partial realization is a hazardous misunderstanding. Because there is no personality in the Brahman effulgence, there can be no exchange of love, no master, and no servant. Therefore, meditation on the impersonal feature is dry and troublesome. The most striking revelation regarding the impersonal Brahman is its accessibility to the enemies of God. The same formless existence that impersonal philosophers and yogīs strive for lifetimes to attain is effortlessly awarded to the atheists and demons who are killed by the Supreme Lord's own hands. Because the Lord is supremely merciful, even His enemies are granted entrance into His spiritual light. However, recognizing that merging into this light halts the dynamic exchange of spiritual love, pure devotees of the Lord completely reject the desire to merge into the impersonal Brahman, aspiring only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead eternally in His spiritual planets.
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