pañca-tattva — eka-vastu, nÄhi kichu bheda
rasa ÄsvÄdite tabu vividha vibheda
1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LCC(1)
pañca-tattva - the five subjects; eka-vastu - they are one in five; nÄhi - there is not; kichu - anything; bheda - difference; rasa - mellows; ÄsvÄdite - 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.
In his AnubhÄá¹£ya commentary ÅšrÄ« BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura describes the Pañca-tattva as follows: The supreme energetic, the Personality of Godhead, manifesting in order to enjoy five kinds of pastimes, appears as the members of the Pañca-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 the impersonalists to taste different kinds of spiritual humors (rasas). In the Vedas it is said, parÄsya Å›aktir vividhaiva Å›rÅ«yate: “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. ÅšrÄ« GaurÄá¹…ga, ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda, ÅšrÄ« Advaita, ÅšrÄ« GadÄdhara and ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura are all on the same platform, but in spiritually distinguishing between them one should understand that ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is the form of a devotee, NityÄnanda Prabhu appears in the form of a devotee’s spiritual master, Advaita Prabhu is the form of a bhakta (devotee) incarnation, GadÄdhara Prabhu is the energy of a bhakta, and ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura is a pure devotee. Thus there are spiritual distinctions between them. The bhakta-rÅ«pa (ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu), the bhakta-svarÅ«pa (ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu) and the bhakta-avatÄra (ÅšrÄ« Advaita Prabhu) are described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, His immediate manifestation and His plenary expansion, and They all belong to the Viṣṇu category. Although the spiritual and marginal energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, they are predominated subjects, whereas Lord Viṣṇu 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.
