2.12

tanhara angera suddha kirana-mandala

upanisat kahe tanre brahma sunirmala

SYNONYMS

tanhara-His; angera-of the body; suddha-pure; kirana-of rays; mandala-realm; upanisat-the Upanisads; kahe-say; tanre-unto that; brahma-Brahman; su-nirmala-transcendental.

What the Upanisads call the transcendental, impersonal Brahman is the realm of the glowing effulgence of the same Supreme Person.

PURPORT

Three mantras of the Mundaka Upanisad (2.2.9-11) give information regarding the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

They state:

hiranmaye pare kose

virajam brahma niskalam

tac chubhram jyotisam jyotis

tad yad atma-vido viduh

na tatra suryo bhati na candra-tarakam

nema vidyuto bhanti kuto ’yam agnih

tam eva bhantam anubhati sarvam

tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati

brahmaivedam amrtam purastad brahma

pascad brahma daksinatas cottarena

adhas cordhvam ca prasrtam brahmai-

vedam visvam idam varistham “In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence, which is free from material contamination.

That effulgent white light is understood by transcendentalists to be the light of all lights.

In that realm there is no need of sunshine, moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination.

Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination.

That Brahman is in front and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below.