Gita 12.03 To say that the Absolute is indescribable is to describe it

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Bhagavad Gita 12.3 this was a part of a two word sequence which comprises the answer to Arjuna's question asked in 12.1 Arjuna's question was Arjuna had asked which is better those who worship the impersonal absolute or those who worship your personal manifestation and in Krishna's answer in 12.2 he stated that those who worship him are better those who worship his personal manifestation are most intimately united with him and now he talks about the other category of people and he says that he is now describing in this verse and next verse the impersonal aspect of the absolute truth those who worship what in person and Krishna has multiple attributes of that Akshara it's a standard attribute Akshara and Akshara fallible and infallible that which deteriorates that which falls, that which does not fall that which cannot be described so usually if any description requires a describer and describers have some kind of specific attributes whenever we describe a person we describe something something specific, some attribute of that person but the impersonal conception holds that the ultimate that all attributes come from the personal aspect of reality come from the material level which is illusory and at the transmaterial level therefore there are no attributes so Anirudhesh that which is indescribable Akshara is that which is unmanifest that which is all-pervading Sarvatra is everywhere Gama is that which goes Sarvatra Gama can also mean it's all-pervading basically and I will come back a little bit to it later Achintam that's inconceivable Anirudhesham refers more to verbal description Achintam refers to mental conception that which cannot be described in the tongue and that which cannot be perceived that which cannot be described in words and that which cannot be conceived by the mind that which is fixed Achalam is that which doesn't move that which is fixed, that which is the reality that is the truth now in Sripadamanujacharya his commentary observes that these attributes are very similar to the attributes of the soul described in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita in fact in that chapter there are several places where the words that I use are identical Sarvatra Gama that the there Prabhupada explains Sarvatra Gama to mean that the soul is capable of going everywhere Sarvatra Gama in that connection the point is that the Bhagavad Gita talks about the soul in similar terms in 2.2425 where the soul is being described through negation Achaloyam Sanatanaham Sarvagatahasthan Sarvatra Gama Sarvagatah Achalam Anirudheshya is not used over there specifically but the tone is similar at one level the description of the soul applies or the characteristics of the soul apply to generic spiritual reality because the soul is an infinitesimal part of spiritual reality and so what applies to the soul also applies to the impersonal Brahman which is what is being described over here of course Sri Jigoswami Sri Abhidevidya Bhushan Jigoswami Sandarbha Abhidevidya Bhushan Govinda Bhashya they raise the point that actually that actually the soul is that even the impersonal Brahman the absolute truth cannot be entirely undescribable because scriptures do describe it and this means that there has to be some level of accuracy to it, that there has to be some level of description otherwise how would the scriptures describe it at all. So to mention any statement about it is to describe it in some way.

Even saying that it is beyond description is also a describer. So Anirdesha is also a describer in that sense. That it is indescribable is also describer.

So in that sense nothing can be entirely beyond description and the important point here is to consider whether the impersonal is also the impersonal absolute, whether the definition of that absolute or the definition or the equation of that with the absolute truth, whether that withstands logical or scriptural scrutiny. Certainly the impersonal absolute is the absolute but is it the complete absolute truth or is there more to the absolute truth beyond the impersonal aspect also. And as far as the Bhagavad Gita is concerned, Bhagavad Gita will speak later in the 14th chapter that I am the foundation of the Brahman and here in this specific verse Krishna is describing the attributes of the impersonal absolute so that they can, so that he can further describe the destination of those who worship this aspect of the absolute truth.

And so I was talking about Ramanujacharya and Ramanujacharya says this refers to the soul. That actually there is the conception of having three aspects of the absolute truth, Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagawan where the word Brahman refers to the impersonal aspect. This is a Gaudiya Vaishnav categorization and analysis of the absolute truth.

The term Brahman is simply used in the scriptures to refer to the absolute truth, not necessarily to refer to the impersonal aspect of the absolute truth. So Ramanujacharya is saying that this section refers not to impersonal worship, it refers simply to the question of whether by meditating on the Atma without and by simply worshiping the Atma, means making it the object of realization, whether one can attain perfection without having to, without worshiping the Supreme. So just by focusing on Atma, not on the Paramatma, can one attain self-realization? That is another reading of this section.

Thank you.