Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.84.32-33
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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anubhūtiḥ
—
awareness
anu + √bhū (to be after, become). Bhagavān's consciousness, technical term for divine cit. Gauḍīyas read His anubhūti as svarūpa-jñāna — He is fully self-aware always, regardless of the līlā He is enacting.
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advitīyam
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without a second
a- (not) + dvitīya (second). Famous Upaniṣadic term (Chāndogya 6.2.1 — ekam evādvitīyam). Gauḍīyas read this not in Advaitin merging-monism but as the Vaiṣṇava reading: Bhagavān is one without a second, and yet His energies and His devotees are eternally distinct from and dependent on Him.
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sūryam iva
—
like the sun
The standard image of an uncovered cause behind apparent coverings. Gauḍīyas note that this image runs through SB and the Upaniṣads, and was deployed by Caitanya in His teachings to Rūpa Gosvāmī (CC Madhya 19) on acintya-bhedābheda.
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vibhavaiḥ
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with His expansions
From vi + √bhū (to be powerful, expand). The prāṇa and elements are Bhagavān's own vibhavas — His expansions, not foreign agents. Gauḍīyas read this as a doctrinal anti-dualism: even what seems to cover Him is His own.
Things of this world are inevitably destroyed by one means or another. Time itself causes the eventual decay of every created being — a fruit, for instance, which may grow ripe but then must either rot or be eaten. Some things, like lightning, destroy themselves as soon as they are manifested, while others are destroyed suddenly by external agents, as a clay pot is by a hammer. Even in living bodies and other things whose existence continues for some time, there is a constant flux of various qualities that are destroyed and replaced by others. In contrast to all of this, the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s awareness is never disrupted by anything. Only out of ignorance could one imagine Him to be an ordinary human being subject to material conditions. Mortal beings are covered by their entanglement in fruitive activities and their consequent happiness and distress, but the Supreme Lord cannot be covered by what are in fact His own expansions. Analogously, the immense sun is the source of the relatively insignificant phenomena of clouds, snow and eclipses, and so it cannot be covered by them, though the ordinary observer may think that it is.
"O most worshippable persons, knowers of brahman, not only Vasudeva is subject to this criticism. Almost all of the people here do not know that Krsna is the supreme lord." This is explained in two verses. The materialistic people (anya) think of Krsna, whose knowledge cannot be destroyed, who is covered by the pranas etc, as one like themselves. (the verb is found in the second verse.) His knowledge cannot be destroyed by time which causes destruction or creation of the universe as with the growth and decay of karkatika fruit,; by his own nature, like lightening which disappears on its own; by means other than himself like a hammer which destroys a clay pot; or by the mode of ignorance, which destroys the universe. He repeats the same idea to strengthen his statement in this verse. His knowledge is not destroyed by suffering such as attachment (klesa), karmas (the cause of suffering), the immediate results of karma in the form of happiness and distress (paripaka), or by the flow of the three modes (guna). But ignorant men think that the Lord, who appeared to be covered (but never controlled) by his own products (sva vibhavaih) of the subtle body made of prana, mind, intelligence, to be a person like themselves, as the sun is covered by its own products in the form of clouds, fog (hima), or by rahu (uparaga) during an eclipse, The sun is the cause of the cloud, because the cloud is made of water and light is the cause of water. Water is the cause of fog. The sun is the cause of rahu because rahu is composed of a portion of darkness in the form of bad habits of evil jivas, and perception of darkness depends on the eye (caused by the sun). According to the Puranas, the sun is the cause of the clouds because fire element is the cause of clouds, and water.
Awareness and manifesting power (anubhūtiḥ) of the Lord as the doer and object of action are not destroyed by creation and destruction of the universe (asya), by time (which causes destruction of the universe), by itself (like lightning which appears and disappears on its own), by something else like the blow of a hammer to a pot, or by qualities being destroyed and changing to other qualities, as in a body. The awareness and powers are eternally existent. The next verse states the opposite condition of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa is without a second (advitīyam) since he alone is Svayam Bhagavān. The descriptive terms are in order of increasing excellence in human terms. Yet ordinary people think he is covered by prāṇas and suffering because of suffering and prāṇas in their associates. Because they suffer, they think Kṛṣṇa is similar to themselves, since everyone thinks in terms of themselves. The sun is king of the planets but seems to be covered by Rāhu. The Lord’s powers are never affected since he does not suffer like the persons present at that place. He is the completely independent (īśvaram) because his knowledge is dependent on himself. He is Kṛṣṇa, without compare (advitīyam) because he alone manifests everything else. Another person thinks the Lord has limited knowledge because of his vibhava (his various forms) and his senses (prāṇa) and his limbs (ādibhiḥ), just as the sun is covered by clouds, snow or an eclipse. The meaning is this. The sun appears to be limited in form by clouds or the eclipse. That is suitable since the cloud is a transformation of vapors of water pulled up by rays of the sun. Snow is also a conglomeration of particles of water pulled up by the sun. Rāhu, the cause of the eclipse, is the form of darkness which dependent on the sun. The Lord’s eyes and other senses are not like that, but are part of his svarūpa or vibhava. Therefore these senses and limbs cannot cover the Lord’s knowledge. Similarly the sun cannot be covered by warmth etc. produced from his svarūpa. Rather the sun is revealed by them. His svarūpa is not covered by time or place, and his knowledge is not covered since his eyes and limbs are also similar to his svarūpa. However, low people will think the opposite. It is said na cāntar na bahir yasya: he has no interior or exterior. SB 10.9.13 nātaḥ paraṁ parama yad bhavataḥ svarūpam ānanda-mātram avikalpam aviddha-varcaḥ Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is the cause of all causes. He is past, present and future, and he is the movable and immovable. (SB 3.9.3) yo ’nādṛto naraka-bhāgbhir asat-prasaṅgaiḥ: those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect your personal form because of speculating on material topics. SB 3.9.4 ye tu tvadīya-caraṇāmbuja-kośa-gandhaṁ jighranti karṇa-vivaraiḥ śruti-vāta-nītam bhaktyā gṛhīta-caraṇaḥ parayā ca teṣāṁ nāpaiṣi nātha hṛdayāmburuhāt sva-puṁsām O master! You do not give up the lotus hearts of your devotees who smell through their ears the fragrance of your lotus bud feet brought by the wind of the Vedas, and take your lotus feet as the greatest treasure through prema-bhakti. SB 3.9.5
One should not think that Vasudeva does not know the glory of the Lord. A material person does not know about the Lord. The Lord is not disturbed even (vai) by creation, maintenance (ādinā) and destruction though they are huge endeavors (for other people). The Lord has unrestricted knowledge, and has no equal (advitīyam). The series of descriptive terms indicate successively greater reasons for not condering him human. However persons other than Vasudeva, material persons, think the Lord is covered by karmas and suffering, by prāṇas and senses (ādibhiḥ) because of their ripened suffering (sva-vibhavaiḥ). Because they experience pain they think the Lord also experiences pain. Or a person endowed with sufferings and karma (kleśa-karma-paripāka-guṇa-pravāhair), thinks the Lord is covered. But Vasudeva knows the highest manifestation of the Lord but of affection, he forgets. This is the Lord’s mercy. pitarāv upalabdhārthau viditvā puruṣottamaḥ mā bhūd iti nijāṁ māyāṁ tatāna jana-mohinīm Understanding that his parents were becoming aware of his powers, the Supreme Lord thought that this should not be allowed to happen. Thus he expanded his Yogamāyā, which bewilders his devotees. SB 10.45.1 This will be clear later.
The sun is the sun whether covered by cloud, snow, or eclipse. The covering is not in the sun — it is in the line of sight of the watcher. Bhagavān's awareness is not affected by time or the universe's tides or even by His own self-expansions; only the watcher imagines Him covered by prāṇa and the elements.
Even as Kṛṣṇa multiplies into many forms to dance with each gopī (SB 10.33), He is not divided — He is one, fully present in each, and yet His own awareness is undisturbed by the variety.
Gauḍīyas read the rāsa-līlā as the operative case of this verse: the Person does not crack; the watcher's eye does.
My note
Source: vedabase.io