Sūtra 1.3.41

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Sūtra 1.3.41:

आकाशो ‘र्थान्तरत्वादि-व्यपदेशात्

ākāśo ‘rthāntaratvādi-vyapadeśāt

ākāśaḥ – sky; artha – meaning; antaratva – difference; ādi – beginning with; vyapadeśāt – because of the description.

“The “sky” here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the “sky” described here is different from the liberated jīva, and for other reasons also.” (41)

Sūtra pagination:
Adhyāya 1:
  The subject matter of all Vedic literatures is Brahman;
Pāda 3:
  Scriptural Texts that may Seem to Describe the Jīva or some other Topic, but in Truth Describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead.;
Adhikaraṇa 10:
  The ‘Akāśa’ is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary (Govinda-bhāṣya)

The “sky” here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not the liberated jīva. Why? The sūtra says arthāntaratvādi-vyapadeśāt [because the “sky” described here is different from the liberated jīva, and for other reasons also]. The meaning is this: Because the liberated jīva cannot be the creator of names and forms, the “sky” here must be something other than him. When the jīva is not liberated but bound to the material world, he attains various names and forms by the force of his previous karma. By himself he has no power to create these names and forms. When the jīva is liberated he takes no part in the affairs of the material world, as will be described in a later Sūtra [4.4.17]. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is described in the śruti as the creator of the material world. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad therefore says anenajīvenātmanānupraviśya nāma-rūpe vyākaravāṇi: “With the jīvas I will now enter the material world. Now I will create a variety of names and forms.” For all these reasons the “sky” here should be understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The word ādi [and for other reasons also] in the sūtra refers to the phrase brahma [expanded without limit] in the passage of the Upaniṣad. This phrase cannot describe the liberated jīva, although it may very naturally describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way the word “sky” refers to a sky that is all-pervading. Because this description can properly refer only to the Supreme, the “sky” here is proved to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

An objector may say, “So be it. Still, it cannot be held that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is different from the liberated jīva. This is said because of the overwhelming evidence of scripture.

For example, in the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad it is said:

कतम आत्मेति यो ‘यं विज्ञानमयः पुरुषः प्राणेषु हृद्य्-अन्तर्-ज्योतिः स समानः सन्न् उभौ लोकाव् अनुसञ्चरति

katama ātmeti yo ‘yaṃ vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ prāṇeṣu hṛdy-antar-jyotiḥ sa samānaḥ sann ubhau lokāv anusañcarati

“Who is the Self? He is a person full of knowledge who stays in the life-breath. He is the splendor in the heart. Remaining always the same, he wanders in the two worlds.”

Describing the conditioned jīva in this way, the text continues:

स वा अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म विज्ञानमयः

sa vā ayam ātmā brahma vijñānamayaḥ

“This Self is the omniscient Brahman.”

In this way it says that the jīva is Brahman.

It further says:

अथाकामयमानः

athākāmayamānaḥ

“He becomes free from all desires.”

This described the liberated jīva’s condition. Then it says:

ब्रह्मैव सन् ब्रह्माप्येति

brahmaiva san brahmāpyeti

“Being Brahman, he attains Brahman.”

In this way it is conclusively stated that he is identical with Brahman.

Then, at the end it says:

अभयं वै ब्रह्म भवति य एव वेद

abhayaṃ vai brahma bhavati ya eva veda

“He who knows this becomes the fearless Brahman.”

The result of hearing the passage is given here. The statement, in some passages, that the jīva and Brahman are different are like the sky within a pot and the great sky beyond it. When he is liberated, the jīva becomes the Supreme just as when the pot is broken the sky in the pot becomes the same as the great sky beyond. Because the jīva is thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is the creator of the universes and everything else that the Supreme is. In this way there is no difference between the liberated jīva and the Supreme Brahman.”

Siddhānta [Vedic conclusion]:To refute this, he says: