Philosophy of Ramanuja-section2 continued

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Brahman as Sathyam.

 

Brahman is sathyam or real which does not mean that the other two,

namely, chit, the sentient and achit , the insentient denoted by jiva

and jagat, are unreal. They are real but they are conditioned.Achit or

matter, the effects of prkrthi, the premordial nature consisting of

three gunas, cotinues to change and hence it is conditioned by its form

and attributes. But it is real only as the state of existence alone

changes but not the substance.

 

 

 

This can be explained as follows:

 

The clay is made into a pot and hence it no more exists as clay. But it is real

and only the state of existence has changed. When the pot is broken, it becomes

potsherds still it is real but the form and

attributes has changed. So nothing in this world ceases to exist and

hence it is real.The insentient, achit includes everything except the

soul.In the final dissolution also the achit and chit do not cease to

exist but absorbed in Brahman and exist in unmanifest state..

 

 

The individual soul, jiva, denoted as chit is also not unreal but

conditioned real because its existence is conditioned by the body it

acquires due to karma.

 

Brahman is thus termed as satyasya satyam, real of the reals. It is the inner

self of all, changeless and infinite.It is satyasya satyam as everything

acquires reality only because of Brahman.

 

 

 

Brahman as jnana

 

Brahman is knowledge, not in the sense that it is knowledge itself but

in the sense of having knowledge as its svarupa like the heat and the

fire. Heat is the svarupa of fire without which it ceases to be

fire.Similarly the jnana is the svarupa of Brahman and it is infinite. It

differs from that of the jiva in as much as the knowledge of jiva

becomes contracted due to karma and attains it infinite state only in

mukthi.the knowledge of brahman is infinite and unconditioned and is

the source of all knowledge, by knowing which everything else becomes

known.. These will be explained later when we deal with the causation of

Brahman.

 

Brahman as anantha

 

Brahman is infinite. This is a determining quality which distinguishes

Brahman from jiva and jagat. Brahman is not conditioned by time, place

or entity. Conditioning by time is when we say that a thing exists now

but not later or earlier. A pot does not exist before its creation not after it

is destroyed.. Conditioning by place means a thing exists here and not

elsewhere. A pot is here but not there. Conditiong by entity is a thing being

limited in form, as saying this is a pot,that is a cloth etc.

 

Brahman on the other hand exists everywhere as there is nothing else other than

Brahman. So it is unconditioned by space. Brahman exists always and hence not

limited by time. As everything is Brahman it is not limited by entity either.

 

Thus the idea of Brahman as AdhAra affirms the reality of separate

entities of chit and achit but denies their separate reality other than Brahman.