7.5
panca-tattva--eka-vastu, nahi kichu bheda
rasa asvadite tabu vividha vibheda
SYNONYMS
panca-tattva—the five subjects; eka-vastu—they are one in five; nahi—there is not; kichu—anything; bheda—difference; rasa—mellows; asvadite—to taste; tabu—yet; vividha—varieties; vibheda—differences.
Spiritually there are no differences between these five tattvas, for on the transcendental platform everything is absolute.
Yet there are also varieties in the spiritual world, and in order to taste these spiritual varieties one should distinguish between them.
PURPORT
In his Anubhasya commentary Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura describes the Panca-tattva as follows: The supreme energetic, the Personality of Godhead, manifesting in five kinds of pastimes, appears as the Panca-tattva.
Actually there is no difference between them because they are situated on the absolute platform, but they manifest different spiritual varieties as a challenge to impersonalists to taste different kinds of spiritual humors (rasas).
In the Vedas it is said, parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate: “The varieties of energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are differently known.” From this statement of the Vedas one can understand that there are eternal varieties of humors, or tastes, in the spiritual world.
Sri Gauranga, Sri Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Sri Gadadhara and Srivasa are all on the same platform, but in spiritually distinguishing between them one should understand that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the form of a devotee, Nityananda Prabhu appears in the form of a devotee’s spiritual master, Advaita Prabhu is the form of a bhakta (devotee) incarnation, Gadadhara Prabhu is the energy of a bhakta, and Srivasa is a pure devotee.
Thus there are spiritual distinctions between them.
The bhakta-rupa (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu), the bhakta-svarupa (Sri Nityananda Prabhu) and the bhakta-avatara (Sri Advaita Prabhu) are described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, His immediate manifestation and His plenary expansion, and They all belong to the Visnu category.
Although the spiritual and marginal energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu, they are predominated subjects, whereas Lord Visnu is the predominator.
As such, although they are on the same platform, they have appeared differently in order to facilitate tasting of transcendental mellows.
Actually, however, there is no possibility of one being different from the other, for the worshiper and the worshipable cannot be separated at any stage.
On the absolute platform, one cannot be understood without the other.