Some weeks ago, I humbly asked Srila Satyanarayana dasa Babaji about the nature of the jiva.
He told me to study Srila Jiva Goswamipada´s Paramatma Sandarbha and he adviced me strongly to focus on Anucchedas 19 – 47.

He sent me a sneak preview of these Anucchedas and honestly, I was blown away by what I then read very carefully.
His translation is very scholarly and masterfully done.
But what helped me most were his wonderful commentaries to each one of the abovementioned Anucchedas.

Everyone who really wants to KNOW the nature of the jiva, the spiritual soul, should read these Anucchedas and dive deeply into the nectar of Babaji Maharaja´s excellent commentaries which are a pleasure to read and also to understand.

I am eternally grateful for his tremendous work on these fabulous Sandarbhas and it is a magnificient service for all Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
Especially his elaborations on these Anucchedas 19 – 47 (The Ontology Of The Jiva) are extremely helpful in understanding our spiritual nature.

He most kindly gave me the permission to publish these Anucchedas together with his full commentaries on my blog.

I have no words except “Thank you from the core of my heart”.

For sure, the readers will benefit immensely from this most wonderful work.

Dandavats.
Jay Sri Radhe
– Tarun Govinda das

“After completing the deliberation on Paramātmā and His various manifestations, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī turns his attention to the jīva in Anucchedas 19–47.
He begins with a detailed analysis of the intrinsic characteristics of the pure self, the ātmā, who is under the jurisdiction of Paramātmā.
For this, he builds upon the description of the jīva given by Jāmātṛ Muni, a teacher in the line of Śrī Rāmānujācārya. In the course of his discussion, he specifically refutes
the concept of ātmā entertained by the radical nondualists, the Advaitavāda School of Śrī Śaṅkarācāya. He shows that their view, summed up as absolute idealism, is not supported by Bhāgavata Purāṇa or the Vedas.
Rather, the true Vedāntic position is that of´inconceivable oneness within distinction (acintya-bheda-abheda). This understanding is essential to the path of bhakti-yoga, the prescribed method in Bhāgavata Purāṇa, which will be described in Bhakti Sandarbha, the fifth book in the series.”
(Srila Satyanarayana das Babaji)

The Anucchedas are listed and categorized as below:

Svarūpa-lakṣaṇa of the Jīva —Twenty-one
Intrinsic Qualities

[19] Introduction to Jīva-tattva

[20] The Jīva Is Not Inert

[21] The Jīva Is Free of Modifications

[22] The Jīva Is Not Mere Consciousness

[23] The Jīva Has Potencies in addition to Jñāna

[24] The Jīva’s Potency Is Intrinsic — I

[25] The Jīva’s Potency Is Intrinsic — II

[26] The Jīva’s Potency Is Intrinsic — III

[27] The Jīva Is Conscious of Itself

[27.1] The Jīva Is Self-Aware

[27.2] The Jīva Is Self-Luminous

[28] The Jīva Is Uniform, Self-Situated, Conscious, Pervasive, and of the Nature of Consciousness and Bliss

[29] The Jīva Is the Referent of “I” — I

[30] The Jīva Is the Referent of “I” — II

[31] The Jīva Is the Referent of “I” — III

[32] A Distinct Jīva in Each Body

[33] The Jīva Is Atomic in Size

[34] The Śrutis Argue for the Atomicity

[35] The Jīva Is Eternal, Unblemished, and Endowed with Knowership and Agency

[36] Experiential Capacity Is Rooted in the Jīva

[37] The Jīva Is an Integrated Partof Paramātmā

Oneness and Distinction of the Jīva and Paramātmā

[38] The Individuated Jīva Is a Part
of Paramātmā

[39] The Śrutis Confirm the Jīva as Part
of Paramātmā

[40] The Oneness of the Jīva and Paramātmā

[41] The Interpenetration of Cause and Effect

[42] Inseparability and Nondistinction
of the Jīva and Paramātmā

[43] The Jīva Is Distinct from Paramātmā

[44] The Logic of the Distinction between
the Jīva and Paramātmā

Additional Characteristics of the Jīva

[45] Ten Attributes of the Jīva

[46] Twelve Transcendental Attributes
of the Self

[47] Two Types of Jīvas
(Srila Satyanarayana das Babaji)

The first installment will be Anuccheda 19:

“Introduction to Jīva-tattva”

(soon to be published here)