Brahma SUtras on Brahman as being different its form

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SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmaNE namaha

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN SatakOpa-

SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESIkAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNa.

 

This posting is on the difference between Brahman and its form,

as enshrined in Brahma sUtras.

 

Third pAda of third adhyAya discusses the nature of various

upAsanAs ie. Brahma VidyAs. It gives the clarifications on

what all attributes of Brahman are essentail for meditation

in all Brahma VidyAs, and what are specific to certain Brahma

VidyAs etc.

 

In the Aananda adhikaraNa, Sage BAdarAyana (alias VyAsa)

states " aanandAdaya pradhAnasya " (3.3.11), which implies

that " Bliss etc qualities are a must for meditation in

all upAsanas " . The qualities are the Satyatvam, jn~yAnatvam,

aanandatvam and anantatvam (all four from TaittirIya Up -

Aananda Vidya, which the current adhikaraNa is discussing about).

amalatvam (from Mundaka Up - akshara Vidya) as a quality of

Brahman to be meditated upon in addition to the above is stated

in the sUtra 3.3.33 - aksharadhi adhikaraNa. The present context

in Aananda adhikaraNa is on TaittirIya Upanishad.

 

Now, the question arises as to why not other qualities

of Brahman mentioned in TaittirIya Upanishad for Aananda vidya,

like the following is not included for meditation :

 

" tasya priyam-yEva Siraha | mOdO dakshiNa-pakshaha |

pramOda uttara pakshaha | aananda aatmA | bramha puccham

pratishThA | " (II.5)

 

ie. " Priya <pleasure in seeing a thing> is his head, MOda

<pleasure in obtaining> is his right wing <hand>, pramOda

<pleasure in enjoying> is his left wing <hand>, aananda

<extreme pleasure> is his trunk and Brahma is the tail <leg>

that supports them all "

 

Sage BAdarAyana answers this doubt in the next sUtra (3.3.12):

 

" priya-Sirastvataadyapraptihi upacayApacayau hi bhEdE "

 

ie. " Having Priya as the head etc donot come in

<for meditation>; for with difference <of organs>, there

would be thickness and thinness <of Brahman> " .

 

Bhagavad RAmAnuja in SrI BhAshyam says that the Upanishad

only makes up the representation of Brahman in a human form.

The argument is that, if Brahman <divyAtma svaroopam>

is made up of different organs/members such as head, wings

and tail, then some would be large and some small; some would

be thick and some thin, and this would be in conflict with the

passages like Taittriya Upanishad text occuring earlier,

defining Brahman viz. " Satyam <eternal and unchanging>, jn~yAnam,

anantam <all pervading> Brahma " . In other words, the unchanging

and all-pervading characteristics of Brahman <divyAtma

swaroopam> will be violated if Brahman by itself is a

combination of different organs as in this case. It will also

violate texts which say that Brahman is neither thin nor thick:

" astUlam anaNu ahrasvam adIrgam ..... " (BruhadAranyaka Up.

3.8.8) ie. " Brahman is neither gross nor subtle, neither short

nor long ..... " . This pramAnam is given in SrutaprakASika

explaining the term " etc " used by BhAshyakAra wrt the pramAnas

which would get violated.

 

In VEdAnta Deepam, BhAshyakAra makes the point that, understanding

of Brahman in this way will make Brahman be liable to change in

size and form, which will contradict Upanishad texts like

" Satyam jn~yAnam anantam Brahma " , advocating all-pervasiveness

and unchangability.

 

Also, those texts that advocate the " partless " nature of Brahman

will be violated.

 

This sUtra certainly rejects the identity of Brahman with

a body composed of many organs and establishes that, the

essential nature of Brahman is only characterized by Satyatvam,

jn~yAtvam etc and they only needs to be meditated upon as the

essential characteristics of Brahman. Brahman certainly has an

eternal divine form with many organs and also takes up many

such forms in various avatAras. But, that divine body is not

verily the Brahman.

 

In the sUtra 3.3.14, Sage BAdarAyana gives the reason for

such description of Brahman in Upanishads :

 

" aadhyAnAya prayOjanAbhAvAt " ie. " For meditaion, since there

is no other purpose " . BhAshyakAra comments that, various

varieties of Joy are being represented as various organs of

Brahman, to comprehend Brahman as " bliss " (aanandamaya). It

is for this specific Brahma Vidya.

 

In the next sUtra (3.3.15), Sage BAdarAyana adds a reason for

not taking these attributes (Priya as head etc) for meditation

in all the upAsans : " aatma-SabdAcca " ie. " On account of the

term aatma <being used> " { TaittirIya Upanishad : " anyo(a)ntara

aatmA(A)nandamayaha }. BhAshyakAra comments that, aatma

cannot have parts like head, trunk etc and its having Joy for

its head etc should thus only be a representation for the

sake of comprehending Brahman as " bliss " .

 

Again its very clear that, Brahman being an aatma can't be

made up of parts like head, hands etc.

-------------------------

 

A upAsaka should also meditate upon the arcirAdi mAraga. There

are other upAsana-specific forms and upAsana-specific auspicious

qualities of Brhman that needs to be added in the meditation

of Brahman, in accordance with the upAsana adopted by a

bhakti yOgi.

---------------------------

 

To just give a sample of the references in Brahma sUtras

listed in the previous posting :

 

1. SUtra 1.2.7 belonging to SarvatraprasiddhyadhikaraNa is :

 

" armakaukastvAttadvyapadESAcca nEti cEnna nicAyyattvAdEvam

vyOmavacca "

 

" If it is said - 'No, because Brahman is stated to dwell in

a very small place and to be of very small size', the reply

is 'No ! Because He has to be so meditated upon ; in Himself

He is like ether <whole space of universe ie. all-pervading> " .

 

This adhikaraNa is an enquiry into a passage in ChAndOgya

Upanishad. The message from this sUtra is that, though Brahman

in its essentail nature is all pervading, it is prescribed to

be meditated upon _as though_ in a very small place and size,

since a finite being can't meditate upon an infinite easily.

 

 

2. SUtra 1.2.30 belonging to VaiSvAnara-adhikaraNa is

 

" abhivyaktErityASmaratyaha " => " For the purpose of

(meditator) forming a vivid image / implying definiteness.

Thus opines ASmarathya <a Sage>.

 

Bhagavad RAmAnuja says that, this sUtra answers the

question " Why the highest aatma, who is unlimited, is

to be meditated upon in a limited form ? " .

 

Then BhAshyakArar says that the next sUtra answers the

question as to Why the Highest Brahman is represented like a

man having head and limbs in the VaiSvAnara Vidya.

 

That sUtra 1.2.31 is " anusmrutEhE BAdarihi " ie.

" For meditation; BAdarAyana <alias VyAsa> thinks " .

 

Thus, its only for the sake of meditation.

 

note : ChAndOgya Up personifies Brahman ie.VaiSvAnara as

one with head, eyes, breath, trunk, chest, feet etc,

as representing tEjas, earth, components of a yaj~nya

etc.

 

 

3. Dahara adhikaraNa on Dahara Vidya.

 

ChAndOgya Upanishad instructs one to perform meditation

upon the one who is in a very small place of the body.

To clarify that, this is only for the purpose of meditation,

Sage VyAsa says :

 

" alpaSrutEhE iti chEt tat uktam " (1.3.20)

 

" How <ParamAtma> described as small (dahara) ? - Answered

already " .

 

In VEdAnta Deepam, Bhagavad RAmAnuja (ie. BhAshyakAra)

comments :

 

" Objection : Since jIvAtma is like a point of an awl, it can

be described as small. How can the ParamAtma be described as

small when He is all-pervading - greatest of all ?

 

Reply : This has already been discussed in the <First adhyAya>

second pAda, first adhikaraNa, seventh sUtra (1.2.7). Its so

said, only for the purpose of meditation. "

 

The gist of the sUtra is also give above.

 

 

4. In the next adhikaraNa viz. PramitadhikaraNa, a kaThopanishad

text is discussed, which says " Purusha, the controller of the

past and the future dwells in the heart of the meditator's

body, in a form of the size of the thumb .... " (4.12).

 

To the question as to why the limitless Brahman is said to

be of the size of the thumb, Sage BAdarAyana says

 

" Hrudi apEkshayA tu manushyAdhikAratvAt " (1.3.24)

 

implying :

 

" Because He is present in the heart, the mention of the

size is in consideration of human heart's size - He is

present in the heart for meditation to be performed by men " .

 

------------------

 

Regarding the divine body of Brahman :

 

The all-pervading ParaBrahman SrIman nArAyaNa takes/has form,

and makes His devotees meditate, reciprocate lovingly etc in a

finite media. This act of great compassion by the infinite Lord,

only magnifies His glories. The Suddha Sattva material comprising

His divine body is also jn~yAnAnanda-maya, similar to His

essential characteristic, which is also jn~yAnAnanda.

It is in this light Sastras say that, Brahman and its

form are same in nature. Brahman, a chEtana, feels

the sense of " I " (ie.pratyaktvam) and has dbj. But, an

achEtana like Suddha Sattvam does not posses pratyaktvam

(ie. feeling of the " I " ness) and doesn't have dbj.

 

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan.

krishNArpaNam.

 

Attachment: vcard [not shown]

[Guest guest]

SrI Anand Karalapakkam wrote:

 

> This posting is on the difference between Brahman and its form,

> as enshrined in Brahma sUtras.

..........

..........

 

> ------------------

>

> Regarding the divine body of Brahman :

>

> The all-pervading ParaBrahman SrIman nArAyaNa takes/has form,

> and makes His devotees meditate, reciprocate lovingly etc in a

> finite media. This act of great compassion by the infinite Lord,

> only magnifies His glories. The Suddha Sattva material comprising

> His divine body is also jn~yAnAnanda-maya, similar to His

> essential characteristic, which is also jn~yAnAnanda.

> It is in this light Sastras say that, Brahman and its

> form are same in nature. Brahman, a chEtana, feels

> the sense of " I " (ie.pratyaktvam) and has dbj. But, an

> achEtana like Suddha Sattvam does not posses pratyaktvam

> (ie. feeling of the " I " ness) and doesn't have dbj.

 

Dear bhAgavatottamas: I realize that my statements may be redundant,

especially in the wake of recent discussions on this subject and also

the corresponding questions addressed to Srimad Azhagiyasingar after

HH Jeer's most recent telephone upanyasam. However it is very obvious

to me (a person who is not knowledgeable about upanishad and brahmasutra)

that based on the premises of monotheism and the infinitude of paramatma,

it would be futile to seek Perumal in one single form, be it vibhava, archa

or as in SrIvaikunTham. These manifestations are for meditative purposes

and are not in themselves, the all-pervading brahman of the upanishads.

Taking the " forms " to be paramatma would make idol worshippers of vedantins,

while in fact the opposite is true (svamoortarchana) - we worship God as

enshrined in the image, not the image itself as God!! Srimad Azhagiyasingar

reiterated this fact in response to a question as to whether the thirumEni

of PerumAL in paramapadam could itself be treated as PerumAL, and about how

we should view archavataras in this regard, etc.

 

Personally, if someone approached me with proof to the contrary, I would

rather give up my religion than become an idol worshipper. I've always

believed that veda/upanishads and the teachings of our Acharyas expounded

universal truths and weren't confined to idol worship. So far, I haven't

been disappointed - my respect for Srivaishnavism and for the principles

of ramanujar have only enriched my life and fueled my desire to learn more.

 

aDiyEn

-Srinath Chakravarty

email: xsrinath

[Guest guest]

> Kindly forgive me if this cause any offense, but

> kindly consider what Sri Ramanuja said about archa

> avatharam, namely, no one should consider archa

> thirumeni as just a peace of stone. adiyEn is

> sure your use of " idol worshipper " is nuanced,

> but a simply statement like this can be misunderstood.

> It is true that we need to think of the paramathma

> who pervades the thirumeni as different from the

> thirumeni, but just the fact the paramatma has

> pervaded the archa thirumeni makes the " idol "

> immensely worshippable.

 

SrI Dileepan:

 

I agree with your statements; one cannot be so simplistic

about this. As a matter of fact, the same is true for

salagramams. And to go a step further, for all our

aradhana moorthis, perumal padams, etc. Meditation on

the indwelling paramatma is considered a prerequisite

in Srivaishnavism as far as images, archas etc. are

concerned - if not it amounts to idol/anya worship

because we then fail to recognize the presence of

Sriman Narayana in these manifestations. For example,

while performing sandhyavandanam - we must meditate

upon agni, vayu, varuna and indra as the manifestations

of Sriman Narayana's powers; also during ramayana parayanam,

if/when aditya hridayam is recited we should meditate upon

Sriman Narayana as pervading the sooryamandala, etc.

 

It is a difficult line to draw, since chanting and

namasankirtanam of the divine names of PerumAL presupposes

such recognition. Let's just say, that the chances of

someone worshipping archa/other thirumeni and *not* thinking

of Sriman Narayana are next to impossible given the complete

focus on bhakti and Vaishnavism in our sampradayam.

 

Thanks very much for your response and also for addressing

my questions to Srimad Azhagiyasingar after the upanyasam.

I am fortunate to have access to these teleupanyasams and

to shishyALs like yourself.

 

namo narayana

 

aDiyEn,

-Srinath

[Guest guest]

Dear BhAgawatas,

 

I found this statement in SrImAn Srinath

Chakravarthy's mail relating to the topic " Brahman and

its forms " :

 

> the corresponding questions addressed to Srimad

> Azhagiyasingar after

> HH Jeer's most recent telephone upanyasam.

 

I get the impression that some questions on exactly

this topic of the Lord and His thirumEni were asked to

SrImad Azhagiyasingar *after* the most recent

tele-upanyAsam concluded. Could someone be so kind as

to post the questions and the answers that HH

presented.

 

thanks in advance.

-aDiyEn, muraLi kaDAmbi

 

 

 

 

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