tÄá¹…hÄra aá¹…gera Å›uddha kiraṇa-maṇá¸ala
upaniá¹£at kahe tÄá¹…re brahma sunirmala
tÄá¹…hÄra - His; aá¹…gera - of the body; Å›uddha - pure; kiraṇa - of rays; maṇá¸ala - realm; upaniá¹£at - the Upaniá¹£ads; kahe - say; tÄá¹…re - unto that; brahma - Brahman; su-nirmala - transcendental.
What the Upaniá¹£ads call the transcendental, impersonal Brahman is the realm of the glowing effulgence of the same Supreme Person.
Three mantras of the Muṇá¸aka Upaniá¹£ad (2.2.9-11) give information regarding the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They state:
hiraṇmaye pare kośe virajaṠbrahma niṣkalam
tac chubhraá¹ jyotiá¹£Äá¹ jyotis tad yad Ätma-vido viduḥ
na tatra sÅ«ryo bhÄti na candra-tÄrakaá¹
nemÄ vidyuto bhÄnti kuto ’yam agniḥ
tam eva bhÄntam anubhÄti sarvaá¹
tasya bhÄsÄ sarvam idaá¹ vibhÄti
brahmaivedam amá¹›taá¹ purastÄd brahma
paÅ›cÄd brahma daká¹£iṇataÅ› cottareṇa
adhaÅ› cordhvaá¹ ca prasá¹›taá¹ brahmai-
vedaá¹ viÅ›vam idaá¹ variá¹£á¹ham
“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. In other words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and spiritual skies.â€
