ubhaya-linGa-adhikaraNam.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Arvind Rajagopalan,

 

Thank you for this succinct introduction material. I have a vested interest in

reading the entire write-up on this 'adhikaraNam'. Would you please circulate

the rest of it also on the internet ?

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan,

T.S. Sundara Rajan

in Srirangam.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 20:21:01 -0700 (PDT)

Arvind Rajagopalan <rwind_raj

Schrodinger's cat and Brahma sutras.

 

Dear Bhagavathas,

 

I thought of sharing my father's email explaining

Ubhaya-linga-adhikaranam, the dual nature of Brahman

put in terms for a novice like me to understand.

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

Aravindan

**********************************************

rajagop_s

 

As I told you, I am now translating a particularly

important Adhikarana in the second Pada of the third

Adhyaya of Brahma Sutras. As you may know, BS is

divided into four Adhyayas, each of it is subdivided

into four Padas. Each Pada is again divided into a

number of Adhikaranas. Each Adhikarana handles a topic,

and can contain one or many Sutras .

 

The one I am going to say about is called Ubhaya-linga-adhikaranam. It talks

about the dual nature of Brahmam.

 

The reference taken by the two commentators, Sankara

and Ramanuja to explain the Sutras of this Adhikarana

is from Brahadharanyaka Upanishad, the longest

Upanishad which finds a place in Sukla Yajur Veda's

Brahmana portion..

 

First I will give a simple translation of the portion

of the Upanishad and then give the translation of the

main Sutra. I hope it interests you. Incidentally this

is the portion that contains the famous Neti, Neti

- 'Not This, Not This' statement, which is taken by

Advaities as Halwa for proving their belief in non

dualistic Nirguna Brahmam

 

Brahadaranyaka Upanishad 2-3-1to6.

 

There are two identifications for Brahmam - Formed

and Unformed.

 

(Lingam in Sanskrit means identification mark or

distinct characteristic.

Formed is what is manifest as the world we see.

Unformed means unmanifest or Brahman in the Sukshma

state at the time of pralaya.)

 

Changing and Changeless, Moving and Motionless, Existing and True.

Formed B-is different from Air and Space. It is Changing and Motionless -the

Sun which gives warmth is the basis for It.

 

Air and Space are Formless Brahmam. It is changeless and Moving. The Person

who is near the Sun is the basis for It.

(the 'soul' of Sun is the basis)

This Person is in our right eye.

He is like Saffron coloured robe, White woollen blanket, Rainbow coloured

insect, White lotus, Lightning. He who knows Him becomes famous.

 

The Vedas say - (He is) not this not this, since there is nothing above Him. Not

this, Not this. His designation is Truth of Truth. Prana only is True. He is its

Truth.

 

[What are given in brackets are mine. Is it very confusing? Now I give the

translation of BS 3 2 21.Sankara and Ramanuja differ in finding the meaning to

this Sutra which I will try to explain to you . Now the translation.]

 

'What have been rejected as Neti, Neti, are only the forms of Brahmam told in

the Vedas earlier. After saying Neti Neti the Vedas are going to tell again

about Brahmam's qualities' Not this, not this only indicates towards the

inexhaustible,

infinite Gunas of B, says Ramanuja. It only means to

say much more than this, much more than this.

 

Sankara says Neti, Neti indicates Brahmam is neither the

formed nor the unformed ones said earlier. What is said earlier should be used

as directions to reach B and not as B itself. If on the highway you see a

direction board saying Chennai 325 km with an arrow sign, you don't take the

board as Chennai - you take it only as a direction-giver, nothing more nothing

less.

The trouble with this approach is, we end up in a vacuum about B. The whole

purpose of our investigation into Brahmam becomes a pointless exercise.

 

Further in the following Sutras it is said B can be realised

through meditation and that a sincere person can realise B Remember BS starts

with a statement 'Let us investigate into B' So we ask Sankara What is this

realisation, if B is a vacuum!

 

Read the above carefully, you will realise the similarity between Sankara's

philosophy and the Schrodinger's cat's

status inside the box according to quantum mechanics. Saying that something is

in an indeterminate state is the same as telling I don't know. Sankara gets into

this state when he attempts to describe B.