5.4.2. Parabrahman in Human-Like Form

[Full title: Sākāra: Parabrahman as Having Form (2): Parabrahman in Human-Like Form]

Convincingly, it is not enough to know that Parabrahman has a definite and divine form.^[1] It is necessary to know what that eternal form is like, for even objects such as pots and pans and creatures such as cows and horses have ‘a form’. So, what does Parabrahman look like? This enticingly simple yet bold question is at the heart of many spiritual discussions and disputes. Svāminārāyaṇa is unambiguous in his description: Parabrahman is in human-like shape (manuṣyākāra form). Svāminārāyaṇa points out a fully normal human form by mentioning that Parabrahman possesses two-arms (dvibhuja).

He declares in Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā III/38:

“The form of Parabrahman in Akṣaradhāma and the form of the muktas-the attendants of Parabrahman -are all real, divine, and extremely luminous. Also, the form of that Parabrahman and those muktas is two-armed like that of a human.” (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā III/38, p.664)^[2]

He collects more detail about that form that before the bliss of the form of that Parabrahman, the sensorial pleasures of this realm and the higher realms pale into insignificance. Such is the form of Parabrahman and that form always has two arms.^[3] As if in answer to our very own question above, Svāminārāyaṇa points out anticipating a follow-up question about other extraordinary forms of Parabrahman, he quickly clarifies that but by Parabrahman’s own wish, He may appear to have four arms, or sometimes to have eight arms, or He may even be seen as having a thousand arms.^[4]

Moreover, in Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/13, Svāminārāyaṇa discloses the most vivid sketch of all the aspects regarding the human form of Parabrahman.

“The form is dark, but due to the intensity of the light, it appears to be rather fair, not dark. The form has two arms and two legs, not four, eight or a thousand arms, and its appearance is very captivating. The form is extremely serene. It appears like a human in shape and is youthful. Sometimes that form in the divine light is seen standing, sometimes sitting, at other times, it is seen walking around.” (Vac.Ga. 2/13, pp. 418-419)

In this way, this human-shaped form is eternal; Parabrahman looks like a human when he manifests on earth, just as he does in Akṣaradhāma, even at the time of final dissolution.^[5] The ancient Indian texts also describe the extremely luminous form of Parabrahman present within the extremely luminous divine light of his abode.^[6]

In the Brahmasūtra, the Bhāṣyakāra carries a longer aforementioned discussion^[7] of the subject matter of Chāndogya-upaniṣad XII mantra 1/6/7 and concludes with the exact translation of Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/13 and 1/37:

“itthamiha paramātmaiva sākṛtikatvena nirūpitaḥ | sākṛtiko'pi na yena kenacidapyākāreṇā'pi tu divyakaracaraṇādikaraṇayutapuruṣākāra eveti ‘puruṣaḥ’ ityanena siddhāntitam | sa ca punardvibhujacaraṇa eva | caturbhujāditvaṃ tu dvibhujacaraṇasya sata eva tasya nimittaviśeṣanibandhanaṃ svaiśvaryayogajanitaṃ na sarvakālikam | sa ca sadā kiśoramūrtirghanaśyāmo'pi divyatejo'tiśayāddhiraṇmayatvena varṇitaḥ | sa cedṛgvidho'yaṃ svadivyā'kṣaradhāgni divyasiṃhāsanarūḍhaḥ sanneva tadrūpamajahadeva svasaṅkalpamātrataḥ kṛpayā mānuṣādirūpeṇā''virbhavatītīhāmuṣyasarvatrasākṛtikaḥ | pralayā'vasthayāmapi kālā'spṛṣṭo'yaṃ naikakoṭyakṣaramuktairīkṣyamāṇo virājata iti darśanena dṛśyākārasiddhiḥ |”^[8] (Brahmasūtra 1/1/21, p. 46)

“In this way, Parabrahman is defined as having a definite form. This form or shape is not other shaped like but that form always has two arms. The form is dark, but due to the intensity of the light, it appears to be rather fair, not dark. The form has two arms and two legs, not four, eight or a thousand arms, and its appearance is very captivating. The form is extremely serene. It appears like a human in shape and is youthful. Even at the time of the final dissolution, unaffected from the kaal, He remains surrounded by the countless liberated souls, who are indulged in the constant darshan of Parabrahman in divine Akṣaradhāma, from where Parabrahman takes birth on the earth by His own wish.”

The Chāndogya-upaniṣad XII also confirms that human-shaped Parabrahman:

“tadapi divyadvikaradvicaraṇādiyutapuruṣākārameveti puruṣa ityanenoktamato na nirākāraḥ sa kadāpi kutrāpīti jñeyam |” (Chāndogya-upaniṣad XII 1/6/7, p.39)

“That form of Parabrahman has two hands, two legs, and a perfect divine human form. In this manner, he would never be considered as formless either in this world or in his abode.”

As far as the shape or form of Parabrahman is concerned, we have to discuss two more aspects which are very important to understand the nature of Parabrahman. They are saguṇa and nīrguṇa forms. Svāminārāyaṇa describes this in Vacanāmṛta Kāriyānī 8 as Parabrahman’s ‘original form’ (mūla svarūp) and these two forms. In this discourse, he first expounds Parabrahman’s nīrguṇa form as being ‘subtler than that which is subtle’, because he indwells and ensouls all of the material elements and spiritual beings, including Akṣarabrahman. He then portrays Parabrahman’s saguṇa aspect as being tremendously vast.

He states:

“Before the vastness of Parabrahman Puruṣottama Bhagavān, countless millions of brahmāndas, which are encircled by the eight barriers (i.e., earth, water, etc.), appear extremely minute, like mere atoms. Those brahmāndas do not become smaller, but before the vastness of Parabrahman, they appear small. In this way, the extreme vastness of the form of Parabrahman is the saguṇa aspect of Parabrahman.” (Vacanāmṛta Kāriyānī 8, p.267)

Here, we can anticipate a natural question that, then, in his nīrguṇa form, Parabrahman is subtler than the extremely subtle, and in His saguṇa form, He is vaster than the extremely vast. What, then, is the original form of Parabrahman -who assumes both of these forms–like?

Svāminārāyaṇa resumes:

“The answer to that is that the manifest form of Parabrahman visible in a human form is the eternal and original form of Parabrahman. His nīrguṇa and saguṇa aspects are the special, divine powers of that form.”

The Upaniṣads also explain Parabrahman as:

“Smaller than the smallest, larger than the largest.” (Svetāśvatara-upaniṣad 3/20, Katha-upaniṣad 2/20),

The Bhāṣyakāra asserts this fact:

saguṇaṃ nirguṇaṃ ceti paraṃ brahma nirūpitam |
saguṇaṃ tu guṇaughatvānmahattvāt sarvatastathā || Svāminārāyaṇa Siddhāntasudhā Kārikā 209 ||
nirguṇamapi tajjñeyaṃ śūnyatvānmāyikairguṇaiḥ |
sūkṣmā'tisūkṣmatāyāśca yajjñānāmmucyate'śubhāt || 210 ||

“In His nīrguṇa form, Parabrahman is subtler than the extremely subtle, and in his saguṇa form, He is vaster than the extremely vast. In another meaning, when Parabrahman is called saguṇa means He is with all divine qualities. On the other hand, He is called nīrguṇa that reflects that He is beyond all the māyic qualities.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vacanāmṛta Pancālā 7 217

[2]:

Vacanāmṛta Vartāl 2

[3]:

Vacanamrut Loyā 18

[4]:

Vacanamrut Loyā 18, In addition, Svāminārāyaṇa mentions in several other sermons the ‘holy feet’ (caraṇārvinda', or simply ‘caraṇa’) of God (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā I/71, Gadh. 1/74, Loyā.13, Loyā.17, Gadh. 3/4, Gadh. 3/7, Gadh. 3/9, Gadh. 3/11, Gadh. 3/13), often as being worshipped in Akṣaradhāma by countless millions of liberated souls (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā III/31; also Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/25, Gadh. 3/39). Svāminārāyaṇa also cites descriptions from the Upaniṣads that describe Parabrahman as 'seeing', and thereby argues that God has eyes and indeed all sense organs (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā I/45, Pan.7). Together, these statements create a strong, clear image of Parabrahman as having a fully formed human shape, with two arms, feet, eyes and other sense organs, etc.

[5]:

Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā I/37

[6]:

Aitareya-upaniṣad 1/1, Brhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad 1/2/5, Chāndogya-upaniṣad XII 6/2/3, Brahmasūtra1/1/5

[7]:

Antasdharmādhikaraṇa; see Brahmasūtras-Svāminārāyaṇa-bhāṣya 1/1/21, pp. 45-6. See also MuU-Svāminārāyaṇa-bhāṣya 3/1/3, pp. 283-284 and Svāminārāyaṇa-bhāṣya 2/3/6, pp. 116-119 where Purusa' denotes Parabrahman, and also Īśa-upaniṣad-Svāminārāyaṇa-bhāṣya 16, p. 24 for elaboration of ‘rūpam'.

[8]:

uktaṃ ca sṛṣṭiprakaraṇe 'ātmaivadamagra āsīt puruṣavidhaḥ '(bṛ. 1/ 4/ 1) ityadi | itthaṃ sākṛtikatvaniścaye nirākāratvoktayo'sya svetarasamastavailakṣaṇyapratipādanatātparyakatvena prākṛtā''kāraniṣedhamātraṃ bruvantīti vijñeyam | yaccoktaṃ 'tasya yathā kapyāsam' (chā. 1/ 6/ 7) iti jaghanyopamānaśrutiriti tadasya vaktureva jaghanyadhītvamiti kiṃ khaṇḍanena | etanmantrārthaśca tadbhāṣyādavagantavyaḥ | tathā cā'tra 'ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāda '(tai. nā. 1/ 8), 'yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukmavarṇam' (mu. 3/ 1/ 3) ityadyāstatsākṛtikatvaparāḥ śrutayo yojyāḥ | evaṃ 'eṣo'ntarāditye hiraṇmayaḥ puruṣaḥ' (chā. 1/ 6/ 6) iti paramātmaiveti siddham || 1/ 1/ 21 ||