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TEXT 89
acarya kahe,--"vastu-visaye haya vastu-jnana
vastu-tattva-jnana haya krpate pramana
SYNONYMS
acarya kaheGopinatha Acarya replied; vastu-visayein the matter of the summum bonum; hayathere is; vastu-jnanaknowledge of the Supreme; vastu-tattvaof the Absolute Truth; jnanaknowledge; hayais; krpateof the mercy; pramanathe evidence.
TRANSLATION
Gopinatha Acarya replied, "Knowledge of the summum bonum, the Absolute Truth, is evidence of the mercy of the Supreme Lord."
PURPORT
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya informed his brother-in-law, Gopinatha Acarya, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead may not have shown mercy to me, but what is the proof of His having shown it to you? Kindly let us know about this." in reply to this, Gopinatha Acarya said that the summum bonum, the Absolute Truth, and His different potencies are identical. Therefore one can understand the substance of the Absolute Truth by the manifestation of His different potencies. The summum bonum includes all potencies in one unit. The Absolute Truth combined with different characteristics is the original substance (vastu): parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate.
Thus the Vedas state that the Absolute Truth has different potencies. When one understands the characteristics of the potencies of the Absolute Truth, one is aware of the Absolute Truth. On the material platform as well, one can understand the substance by the manifestation of its symptoms. For example, when there is heat, it is to be understood that there is fire. The heat of the fire is perceived directly. The fire may not be visible, but one can search out the fire by feeling heat. Similarly, if one can perceive the characteristics of the Absolute Truth, we can know that he has understood the substance of the Absolute Truth by the mercy of the Lord.
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.25) it is said, naham prakasah sarvasya The Supreme Personality of Godhead reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah: "The Lord reveals Himself to a devotee when He is completely satisfied by the devotee's service." Thus one cannot understand the Supreme Lord without His mercy. The Absolute Truth cannot be understood by speculation, and this is the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita.
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