Guest guest Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 14. The refutation of the advaita view that the cause alone is real. Na ethath evam, It is not so. ekavijnaanena sarva vijnaana prathijnaanam, sarvasya miThyaathve sarvasya jnaathavyasya abhaavaath na sethsyathi; If everything is unreal, nothing deserves to be known. Then the statement that by knowing one everything is known is not tenable. sathyamiThyaathvayoH ekathaaprasakthiH vaa; Or it would that the real is identical with unreal. api thu ekavijnaanena sarvavijnaana prathijnaa sarvasya thadhaathmakathvena eva sathyathve siDhyathi Only when all the entities are real by having the One, Brahman as their inner self and hence the unity being that of the body and the self, the statement that the knowledge of one leads to the knowledge of all becomes true. Then Ramanuja explains the real implication of the passage quoted. 15. The question put to Svetha kethu in the passage referred. ayam arThaH. Svethakethum prathi aaha- sthabDho asyutha thamaadhesam apraakshya ithi paripoorna iva llakshyase thaan aachaaryaan prathi thamaadhesamprshtavaan asi ithi aadhesaH praSaasanam “ ethasya vaa aksharasya prasaasane gaargi sooryaachandhramasou viDhrthaH thishTathaH†ithyaadhibhiH ekaarThayaathi. thaThaa cha maanavam vachaH praSaasithaaram sarveshaam ithyaadhi. ayam arThaH. This is the meaning. Svethakethum prathi aaha- The father Uddhalaka AaruNi asked his son who returned from his gurukulam sthabDho asi utha thamaadhesam apraakshya ithi “You look arrogant. Did you ask about that knowledge? paripoorna iva llakshyase You look as though you have reached perfection.( meaning that you are really not so) thaan aachaaryaan prathi thamaadhesam prshtavaan asi ithi Have you asked your acharya about that knowledge. aadhesaH praSaasanam aadhesa means advice, or precept or rule. praSaasanam means command or enjoining. Ramanuja means that the word aadhesa in the Upanishadic text (chand.6.1.3) means praSaasnam,enjoining as vedic declaration are commands which enjoin the precepts leading to salvation. “ ethasya vaa aksharasya prasaasane gaargi sooryaachandhramasou viDhrthaH thishTathaH†(Brhd.5.8.9) ithyaadhibhiH ekaarThayaath. The praSaasanam referred to, meaning ekavijnaanena sarva vijnaanam as mentioned earlier has the same implication as the text elsewhere which is as follows. “ following the command of the imperishable Brahman the Sun and the Moon stand apart as ordainedâ€, meaning that the sun , Moon and all other heavenly bodies are functioning within their orbits as ordained by Brahman. thaThaa cha maanavam vachaH “praSaasithaaram sarveshaam†ithyaadhi Likewise the words of Manu “the one who commands all†(Manu-12.122) How does the passages quoted conform with the passage in chandhogya which is taken here for consideration? Ramanuja explains further. athra api ekam eva ithi jagadhupadhanathaam prathipaadhya adhvitheeyapadhena aDhishtaathranthara nivaaraNaath asyaiva adhishtaathrthvam api prathipaadhyathe, athaH tham praSaasithaaram jagadhupaadhanabhoothamapi prshtavaan asi, yena Sruthena mathena vijnaathena aSrutham amatham avijnaatham Srutham matham vijnaatham bhavathi ithyuktham syaath In accordance with the texts quoted which show the Brahman as the who commands all, this passage from Chandhogya also confirms that the one who commands all is the sole cause of the world. athra api ekam eva ithi jagadhupadhanathaam prathipaadhya adhvitheeyapadhena aDhishtaathranthara nivaaraNaath asya eva adhshtaathrthvam api prathipaadhyathe Here also by the words ‘one only,’ it is propounded that the Brahman is the material cause and by the words, ‘without a second,’ the existence of the efficient cause other than Brahman is denied. Hence the Brahman itself is shown to be the efficient cause. In the passage referred to, the father asks the son, tham aadheSam utha appraakshyaH did you ask for that knowledge, yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham mathamavijnaatham vijnaatham ithi. By which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of becomes thought of what is unknown becomes known.†Then he explains it as yaTHaa soumya ekena mrthpindena sarvam mrnmayam vijnaatham syaath Dear one, Just as knowing the lump of clay all things made of clay becomes known, vaachaarambhaNam vikaaraH naamaDheyam mrtthikethyeva sathyam all modifications are in name only and the clay alone is real. By this, Ramanuja says that the Brahman is established as the material cause as the clay which when known all its effects become known. But this does not make the effects unreal by the claim mrtthikethyeva sathyam, clay alone is real. That we shall see later. Then the father continues to say, evam somya sa aadheSo bhavathi ithi That teaching goes like this. And he , being asked by his son to tell him what was the aadheSa, embarks on what came to known as sadhvidhya of the Upanishads. He says, Sadheva soumya idham agra aaseeth. ekam eva adhvitheeyam. My dear in the beginning, agre, this universe, idham existed. aaseeth, as Being, sath, one only, ekam eva, without a second, adhvitheeyam. This is the passage referred to by Ramanuja in this section. Hence the question of the father is , athaH tham praSaasithaaram jagadhupaadhanabhoothamapi prshtavaan asi, Therefore have you enquired about that one who commands all and is the material cause of the universe. yena Sruthena mathena vijnaathena aSrutham amatham avijnaatham Srutham matham vijnaatham bhavathi ithyuktham syaath By hearing about which, thinking about which, understanding which all that which are not heard, not thought of and not understood become heard, thought of and understood. Then Ramanuja proceeds to explain the term ‘sath’ meaning Brahman who is the material and efficient cause of the world which is the effect, both cause and the effect being real. 16.Brahman as the sole cause nikhilaajagudhudhayavibhava vilayaadhikaarNabhootham-sathyasankalpathvaadhiaprimitha guNa udhaarasaagaram kim brahama thvayaaSrutham ithi haardho bhaaavaH thasya nikhilakaaraNathayaa kaaraNam eva naanaasamsThaana viSesha samsThitham kaaryam ithi uchyatha ithi karaNa bhootha sookshma chidachith vasthu Sareeraka brahmavijna anena kaaryabhootham akhilam jagath vijnaatham bhavathi ithi hrdhi niDhaaya yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnaatham vijnaatham syaath ithi prshtavaan pithaa The implication of the question, yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi etc., is explained by Ramanuja thus: nikhila jagadhudhaya vibhava vilayaadhi kaarNabhootham-sathyasankalpathvaadhi aparimitha guNa udhaarasaagaram kim brahma thvayaaSrutham ithi haardho bhaaavaH The idea in the mind of the father in asking the question was whether the son has heard about Brahman cause of origination , sustenance and annihilation of the universe and who is the ocean of limitless and generous qualities such as infallible will etc. The real meaning of the question yena Srutham etc. is this: The real nature of Brahman being beyond comprehension, it has to be heard through the instruction of the guru which is Srutham, that all the universe is ensouled by Brahman who is the material as well as efficient cause. Then through contemplation, matham, the truth of this becomes established in the mind, and the Brahman as the material and efficient cause of the universe is understood, vijnaatham. When the Brahman is understood to be the sole cause of the origination, sustenance and annihilation of the universe of sentient and insentient beings, His qualities such as sathya sankalpathva etc. are understood. The omnipotence, sarva Sakthithva, is denoted by Brahman being the material cause, just like the mud or gold having the power to become all the objects made of mud or gold respectively. The omniscience sarvajnathva is known from Brahman being the efficient cause of all. To have the efficiency of creating everything Brahman must be all-knowing. Sathya kaamathva and sathya sankalpathva mean unfailing wish and infallible will respectively.This is denoted in the passage taken for consideration, where the words “it willed to become many†‘thath aikshatha bahusyaam prajaayayaa,’ occur later. thasya nikhilakaaraNathayaa kaaraNam eva naanaasamsThaana viSesha samsThitham kaaryam ithi uchyatha ithi The Brahman being the sole cause of all, the cause it self comes to be known as the effect by assuming various forms. karaNa bhootha sookshma chidachith vasthu Sareeraka brahmavijnaanena kaaryabhootham akhilam jagath vijnaatham bhavathi ithi hrdhi niDhaaya Hence by knowing the Brahman the cause of all beings sentient and u insentient which are His body and which remain in Him in their subtle form in the causal state, the knowledge of the effect , namely the whole universe becomes known. Having this in his mind, yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnaatham vijnaatham syaath ithi prshtavaan pithaa the father asked whether the son had asked his guru about that by which what is unheard becomes heard, what is un-thought of becomes thought of what is unknown becomes known. thadhethath sakalasya vasthujaathasya ekakaaraNathvam pithrhrdhinihitham ajaanan puthraH parasparavilakshaNeshu vasthushu anyasya vijaanena thadhanyavijaanasya aghatamaanthaam budDhvaa parichodhayathi kaTham nu bhagavthaH tha aadheSaH ithi. The son without knowing notion of one cause for all beings in the mind of his father , considering the impropriety of acquiring the knowledge of one fro that of the other when the two are mutually exclusive, questions the father what could be the meaning of that instruction, (that by knowing one everything becomes known) To Svethakethu who was ignorant of the knowledge of Brahman the world with imperfections and the Brahman who is blemishless seem to be totally different from each other. Hence he fails to understand the statement of his father ‘by knowing which everything else becomes known ,’ with reference to Brahman. punaH thadheva hrdhi nihitham jnaanaanandha amalathvaikasvaroopam aparicchedhyamaahaathmyam sathyasankalpathvamiSraiH anavaDhika athiSaya asankhyeya kalyaaNa guNa gaNaiH jushtam Again the father spoke, having in mind the idea of Brahman as follows: Brahman is the embodiment of knowledge, purity and bliss, His glory cannot be defined, and Brahman is endowed with countless and wonderful auspicious qualities such as infallible will etc. avikaarasvaroopam param brahma eva naamaroopavibhaaga anarha sookshma chidhachith vasthu sareeram The Supreme Brahman alone who is immutable and in the causal state the sentient and insentient forming its body in their subtle form, svaleelaayai svasankalpena anantha vichithra sThira thrasa roopam jagath samsThaanam svaamSena avasThitham ithi by His own will and for His own pleasure supports the amazing world of innumerable movable and immovable beings by apart of Him. 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