Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.20.19
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
aham-matyā
—
by the conception of 'I'
Compound: aham (I) + mati (conception). Ahaṅkāra in its functional form — the working notion of self. Gauḍīyas distinguish śuddha-ahaṁ (kṛṣṇa-dāso 'smi) from material ahaṁ (this body is me). The cloud here is the second.
-
uḍupaḥ
—
the moon
Uḍu-pa — lord of the stars. The moon as governor of the night sky. In Vraja-poetry the moon is also Kṛṣṇa's face (mukha-candra); the simile is layered.
-
sva-jyotsnā
—
with its own moonlight
Compound: sva (own) + jyotsnā (moonlight). The clouds shine 'with the moon's own light' that they then conceal. A miniature of how māyā works — borrowing light from the spirit and then hiding the spirit.
-
puruṣaḥ
—
the spirit-soul
Puruṣa here = the jīva (spirit-soul), as distinct from verse 18 where puruṣa is paramount Bhagavān. The same word; Gauḍīyas always read by context. Both are puruṣa; one is svatantra, the other paratantra.
-
channaḥ
—
covered
Past participle of √chad — to cover. The standing term for the jīva's predicament. Bhakti uncovers; jñāna at best identifies the cover; karma rearranges its drapery.
The analogy given here is excellent. During the rainy season we cannot see the moon in the sky, because the moon is covered by clouds. These clouds, however, are radiant with the glow of the moon’s own rays. Similarly, in our conditioned, material existence we cannot directly perceive the soul, because our consciousness is covered by the false ego, which is the false identification with the material world and the material body. Yet it is the soul’s own consciousness that illumines the false ego. As the Gītā describes, the energy of the soul is consciousness, and when this consciousness manifests through the screen of false ego, it appears as dull, material consciousness, in which there is no direct vision of the soul or God. In the material world, even great philosophers ultimately resort to hazy ambiguities when speaking about the Absolute Truth, just as the cloudy sky manifests only in a dull and indirect way the iridescent light of the moon. In material life, our false ego is often enthusiastic, hopeful and apparently aware of various material affairs, and such consciousness encourages us to push on in material existence. But in truth we are merely experiencing the dull reflection of our original, pure consciousness, which is Kṛṣṇa consciousness — direct perception of the soul and God. Not realizing that the false ego merely hampers and dulls our real, spiritual consciousness, which is fully enlightened and blissful, we mistakenly think that material consciousness is full of knowledge and happiness. This is comparable to thinking that the luminous clouds are lighting up the night sky, while in fact it is the moonshine that illumines the sky, and the clouds that merely dull and hamper the moonshine. The clouds appear luminous because they are filtering and impeding the brilliant rays of the moon. Similarly, at times material consciousness appears pleasurable or enlightened because it is screening or filtering the original, blissful and enlightened consciousness coming directly from the soul. If we can understand the ingenious analogy given in this verse, we can easily advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The moon does not shine, being covered by the mist which is itself illuminated by the moon, just as the Lord (purusa) is not visible, being hidden by his avidya sakti , which arises from himself. This is a good example for the jnanis.
The moon, covered by clouds which are revealed by the cool light of the moon, did not shine.
The clouds are lit by the moonlight, not the moon directly. The ahamkāra is lit by the light of the soul. This defeats the atheists’ proposal that the jīva is just prāṇa. The clouds are increased (rājitaiḥ) by the cool rays of the moon. This is the cause of the moon being covered. Similarly the jīva gets covered by ahaṁkāra. But the ahaṁkāra is revealed by the consciousness of the jīva. Or the moon covered by clouds does not shine by illumination of its rays. Since even the rays are covered, the moon cannot shine properly. Similarly the jīva, being covered by ahaṁkāra, does not shine (does not reveal its true nature), though illumined by its own consciousness.
- Where is my ego currently shining with borrowed soul-light and getting credit?
- How might I direct the shine back to its true source?
The moon shines, the clouds shine because they catch its light, and yet the moon itself is hidden by them — like the pure ātmā illumining the false ego which then hides it. Gauḍīyas read the verse precisely: the jīva is a tiny moon, the false ego the cloud, and Kṛṣṇa the still-larger sun beyond both. The cloud cannot self-illumine; only by borrowed light does it shine at all.
My note
Source: vedabase.io