Notes on BSB I-i-1-1F

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Notes on BSB I-i-1-1F

 

sadaashiva samaarambhaa.n sha~Nkaraachaarya madhyamam.h |

asmadaachaarya paryantaa.n vande guruparamparaam.h ||

 

I prostrate to the lineage of teachers starting from Lord Shiva who is ever

auspicious and with Bhagavaan Shankara in the middle and all the way up to

my own teacher.

 

vaatsalya ruupa.n triguNairatiitaM

aananda saandram amalairnidhaanam.h .|

shrii chinmayaananda guro praNiitaM

sadaa bhaje.aha.n tava paada pa~Nkajam.h ||

 

Who is the very embodiment of motherly affection who is beyond the three

guNa-s, who is full with bliss, and who is the very source of purity who is

the best among the teachers, Shree Chinmayaananda, to his lotus feet I

(sadaa) always prostrate.

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samanvaya adhyaaya - I

spashhTa brahma li~Nga vaakya samanvaya paada- i

jij~naasaa adhikaraNa 1

suutra 1: athaato brahma jij~naasaa

 

 

Next word is brahma-jij~naasaa. The word meaning is Brahman inquiry. It

should mean 'brahma j~naanaaya vedanta vichaaraH', that is Vedantic inquiry

for brahma j~naanam. brahma-jij~naasaa is a compound word with three parts -

brahma, jij~naa, saa. The word brahma means brahman which will be defined

later as jagat kaaraNam brahma, the cause for the world. Brahman has got

different meanings in the shaastra - in Geeta it says - karma brahma

udbhavam viddhi brahma-akshara-samudbhavam - there it is translated as the

Veda. In taittiriiya Upanishad [i:v:1] it says - 'maha iti tad brahma, sa

aatmaa |' - there brahma is translated as OM-kaara. In kaThopanishad

[i:ii:25]- yasya brahma cha kshatra.n cha ubhe bavata odanaH| - there the

word brahma was translated as braahmaNa. Sometimes brahma is translated as

hiranyagarbha also [muNDaka I:1]- sa brahma-vidyaam sarva-vidyaa

pratishhThaam - here brahma vidyaa is vidyaa given by hiranyagarbha. When it

says [taitt. II:i:1]'brahmavid aapnoti param' - there brahma means 'satyam,

j~naanam, anantam brahma' - who is the jagat kaaraNam. Thus according to

context the word brahma is translated to mean different meanings. The

definition used here for brahma is explained more elaborately in the second

suutra by vyaasaachaarya. Based on that suutra we come to conclusion that in

brahma-jij~naasaa, brahman stands for jagat kaaraNam brahma, the one who is

the cause for the creation of the universe. The second part of the word is

jij~naa - Shankara says it means j~naanam - what kind of j~naanam it is? -

it is avagati paryantam j~naanam - avagati means dR^iDha aparoksha j~naanam,

firm and direct knowledge of the reality.

 

The last part is 'saa' - it is a suffix - san pratyayaH - it literally means

ichchhaa or desire (direct meaning). In Sanskrit when we add the 'san'

pratyaya, it conveys the meaning of a desire. Thus jij~naasaa - is desire to

know - just as mumukshaa, desire for liberation, pipaThishaa, desire to

learn, etc. Hence Shankara says desire is the vaachyaartha of the 'san'

pratyaya, here we have to take lakshyaartha or implied meaning. The implied

meaning is inquiry or vichaaraH. Thus ichchhaa or desire is the vaachyaartha

and vichaaraH or inquiry is lakshyaartha. What is the connection between

desire and inquiry? Inquiry is always the result of a desire for knowledge.

That is 'ichchha janya vichaara lakshaNa' - that is the inquiry born out of

desire to know. The words brahma jij~naasaa means brahma j~naana ichchhaa -

which means 'brahma j~naana vichaaraH'. Hence if we can combine all this, we

have brahma jij~naasaa meaning 'dR^iDha aparoksha brahma j~naanaaya vedaanta

vichaaraH (kartavyaH) - to gain the direct abiding knowledge of brahman,

Vedanta vichaara should be done.

 

The question can be raised as to why one should add Vedanta vichaara -

Vyasaachaarya suutra imply just vichaara - he did not specify Vedanta

vichaara. Why cannot I make 'self-inquiry' without worrying about Vedanta? -

How do you do if asked, they respond that the 'self-inquiry' - it is very

simple and is a straight path ' All I have to do is to close my eyes and ask

myself- who am I? and thus find out who I am. There are some who claim that

'who am I inquiry?' is different from Vedantic inquiry. And people claim

that 'who am I inquiry?' can be done sitting in a corner without having a

guru or study of Vedanta - it is a straight path or direct path. All I have

to do is dwell deep into my heart and ask the question - who am I, who am I

.... etc., and one day I will realize. Since we don't know who we are other

than what we know of ourselves as ' I am sa.nsaarii, I am limited, I am

duHkhii, I am ignorant, etc. etc. These are the only answers that will come

out in the 'who am I inquiry since we do not know any better of who we are.

Hence 'self-inquiry' does not mean one self doing the inquiry -it is the

inquiry of 'the self' with help of Guru and shaastra or Vedanta. Self

inquiry does not mean oneself inquiry or independent inquiry - it is

shhashhThii tatpurushha - it is the inquiry of the self with the help of

guru and shaashtra. Because Vedanta alone is the pramaaNam for brahman.

Hence brahma vichaara or aatma vichaara is through Vedanta vichaara.

 

Hence the final meaning for 'brahma jij~naasaa' means 'brahma j~naanaaya

vedanta vichaaraH' inquiry into Vedanta for gaining brahma j~naanam. Any

knowledge can takes place only through the operation of a pramaaNam (means

of knowledge), pramaaNa janyaa pramaa. We have already mentioned the six

means of knowledge that involves pratyaksha, anumaana, etc. Now vicharaH is

not accepted as one of the six pramaaNa-s. Mere inquiry or independent

thinking, mere sitting in meditation are not accepted as one of the six

pramaaNa-s. If a person goes on inquiring without any of the six means of

pramaaNam, it will lead only to a speculative system of philosophy, it can

lead to various hypotheses, but can never lead to knowledge. Hence if

inquiry should lead to a knowledge, it should involve a pramaaNam, a valid

means of knowledge. In the case of brahman, we have got only one relevant

and useful pramaaNam, which is shabdta pramaaNam, vedanta shabda pramaaNam.

Hence without bringing in the upanishad shabda pramaaNam if inquiry is done

it will only lead to speculations only. Therefore brahman inquiry involves a

shabda pramaaNam, that is Vedanta or upanishad pramaaNam. Vyaasaachaarya

does not use the word 'vedanta vichaaraH', we have to supply the word

vedanta vichaara kartavyaH|| In fact, Vyasaaachaarya, himself tells in the

third suutra that Vedanta alone is the pramaaNam for brahman and also uses

Vedanta for the inquiry of brahman. Hence brahma jij~naasaa means brahma

j~naanaaya vedanta vichaaraH. This is the final meaning.

 

Why are we interested in brahma j~naanam? We are interested in brahma

j~naanam since we are interested in moksha or sa.nsaara nivR^ittiH, removal

of sa.nsaara. We have analyzed why brahma j~naanam removes sa.nsaara. While

inquiring into ataH shabda we have inquired why karma cannot give moksha and

why j~naanam alone gives moksha. Since sa.nsaara is adhyastaH or

superimposed, it can be removed by j~naanam. Now a question arises. Any

superimposition goes by knowledge, like our good old snake. When we say the

superimposed snake is removed by knowledge, the question is what knowledge

will remove the snake. The snake is not removed by the knowledge of

chemistry or knowledge of physics. The snake is removed only by the

knowledge of rope which is the adhishhThaanam of the snake. From this we get

a rule - adhyaasa is removed only by adhishhThaana j~naanam. Any

superimposition is removed by the knowledge of its adhishhTaanam. Applying

this logic, we have 'sa.nsaaraH swa adhishhTana j~naana nivartyaH,

adhyastatvaat, rujju sarpavat|' sa.nsaara can be removed by the knowledge of

its adhishhTaanam, because sa.nsaara is superimposed like our snake. While

writing adhyaasa bhaashhyam Shankaraachaarya pointed out that the entire

sa.nsaara or jiivatvam is superimposed on the adhishhTaanamm which is aatma.

Thus in adhyaasabhaashyam we have learned that the adhishhTaanam of

sa.nsaara is aatma. The entire jiivatvam is superimposed upon aatma. If we

have to remove sa.nsaara, it is removed by the swa adhishhTana j~naanam.

This implies that aatmaj~naanam alone will remove sa.nsaara. Hence for the

removal of sa.nsaara one needs aatma j~naanam and therefore inquiry should

be about aatman.

 

Therefore a puurvapakshi argues that we should be conducting aatmaa

vichaaraH where as Vyaasaachaarya writes athaato brahmagij~naasa. It should

have been 'athaato aatma jij~naasaa' - aatma vichaaraH karthavyaH. From

which we gain aatma j~naanam which removes the samaaraH. It is like inquiry

into the shell when we have to remove the snake in the rope-snake adhyaasa.

Hence why are you introducing brahman inquiry when we want to inquire into

the aatma j~naanam? - asks a puurvapakshi.

 

One answer is brahman is the same as the aatma. Hence brahman inquiry is

aatman inquiry. That is why in taittiriiya Upanishad it says, tat

vijij~naasasva in that place brahma vichaara is mentioned. In

bR^ihadaaraNyaka - aatmaa vaa are shrotavyo, manthavyo, nidhidhyaaitavyaH,

there atmaa vichaara is mentioned. Thus Upanishads loosely use the two words

indicating that brahman and aatman are one and the same. Hence the first

suutra itself indirectly reveals brahma-aatma aikyam. This is the first

answer to show that brahma vichaara is the same as the aatma vichaara since

brahman and aatma are one and the same. In addition there is a declaration

in the Upanishhad as one of the mahavaakya-s. - ayam atmaa brahma - this

aatma is brahman. Thus equating the two.

 

The answer can also be presented in a different way also. When we say

brahman inquiry, one should not think that Brahman is a new substance to be

revealed by the scriptures. This is the biggest mistake a seeker commits.

When the scriptures introduce Brahman, we think Brahman is some new

substance to be known. That is why even after studying scriptures for years

and years together we look for Brahman in meditation. Some say I have

understood Brahman but I have not come across face-to-face with Brahman in

Meditation. We should very clearly understand that inquiry of Brahman does

not mean inquiry of something other than oneself as a new substance

unfamiliar. Brahman is not a new substance. The word Brahman indicates a new

status of mine which is already available called 'aham', I am. This can be

stated as 'aham, aham, aham iti, siddha ruupasya aatmanaH brahmatvam eva

brahma shabdena uchyate|' Hence when we say brahman knowledge, it is the

knowledge of brahmatvam status of mine - my paraprakR^iti - now I am lost in

aparaa prakR^iti - It is my own supreme status, currently I am lost in the

notion of inferior status due to superimposed limitations that do not belong

to me. Therefore 'brahma vichaaraH' should be translated as 'aatmanaH

brahmatva vichaaraH'. Brahman inquiry is to be understood as inquiry into

the Brahman (limitlessness) status of aatma, one's own self. If Brahman

status or brahmatvam is the new status of mine to be discovered, what is the

old status of mine? Jiivatvam is my present status. By discovering the

brahmatvam status, I discard my jiivatvam status, since that status is not

natural to me. This is similar to discarding sarpatvam ( snakeness ) status

of the object by learning its the rajjutvam (ropeness) status. Similarly

brahman inquiry means inquiry of ones own true nature, aatman inquiry.

 

Therefore athaataH brahma jij~naasaa is equal to athaataH aatma jij~naasaa

or athaataH aatmanaH brahmatva gij~naasa. This is the meaning of the word

'brahma gij~naasa'. Through this word, Vyaasaacharya indirectly reveals the

subject matter of Brahmasuutra, a requirement of the anubandha

chautashhTayam. Now connecting all these we have the first word atha

indirectly revealed 'adhikaari', who is a qualified student, the word 'ataH'

indirectly revealed prayojanam, the word brahma gij~naasa' indirectly

revealed vishhayaH. Thus three of the four anubandha chatushhTa are pointed

out.

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End of Notes on BSB I-i-1-1F

 

Next the conclusion of this adhikaraNa.

 

 

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