Guest guest Posted July 27, 2001 Report Share Posted July 27, 2001 Dear SrI MAlOlan CadAmbi, I answer your question in a detailed manner as follows. Your question is very simple. The answer to that is also simple. But unfortunately, this verse of ChandOgya upanishad's sat-vidyA " tat tvam asi " has been misinterpreted by many. Please read the following passages to get to know the outline about tat tvam asi. Identical to this verse " tat tvam asi " & " aham brahmAsmi " etc, one can find tiru-vAi-mOzhi 2-9-9 as follows: yAnE ennai aRyki lAdE yAnE enRana dEen RirundEn yAnE neeen udaimaiyum neeyE vAnE Ettumen vAnava rERe swAmi nammAzwAr says " yAnE nee " meaning " I (jeeva) verily am you (paramAtma VishNu) " . This has been explained in sAra-sAram by swAmi SrIman nigamAnta mahA dESika as follows. 'ippadangaLilE sOpAna kramattAlE jIvanukku sattA anubandhigaLAna AadhEyatva, vidhEyatva SeshatvangaL sidhdikkayAlE " yAnE nee " ityAdigaLil sAmAnAdhikaraNyam SarIrAtma-bhAva-nibandhanamendRu sidhditadu. ittAlE kudrushti matangaL kazhindana " These SrI sUktis are almost in the end of tiru-mantrAdhikAram in sAra-sAram. According to our AachArya, the meaning verses like tat-tvam-asi etc are clearly present in the meaning of the SrImath AshtAksharam. The jeeva is aprutak-sidhda-viSeshaNam of Brahman SrIman nArAyaNa. The jeeva is the SarIram of Brahman SrIman nArAyaNa. To under stand the concept of SarIra-Aatmas, one has to first understand the prutak-sidhdi-anarha AadhAra-AadhEya bhAvam. Then, prutak-sidhdi-anarha niyantru-niyAmya bhAvam. Finally, prutak-sidhdi-anarha Seshi-Sesha bhAvam. " tat-tvam-asi " finally means " You (Jeeva) are a SrI VaishNava dAsa: " . " aham-brahmAsmi " means " I (Jeeva) am a SrI VaishNava dAsa: " . Your questions are answered. For details, please follow the dialogue between udAlaka and swEthakEtu as follows: The Chandokya Upanishad's Sat-Vidhya is the subject of discussion now. It has the famous verse " Tat Tvam Asi " . Advaita has its own interpretation for this on the other hand Visistadvaita ascertains its purport. First of all let us get to know the Sat Vidhya which is outlined as follows: The Chandokya Upanishad's dialogue is narrated - Aruna's son is Uddalaka. Uddalaka's son is Swethaketu. Uddalaka addressed his son " Swetaketo! Do the prescribed study of Veda under the guidance of qualified preceptor! " Swetaketu obeyed his father's order and completed the prescribed study of Veda and returned back to his house after years. Swethaketu thought that he has mastered everything. On seeing his son, Uddalaka understood that his son is yet to know the Brahman. Uddalaka therefore wanted him to get knowledge about the Brahman. In order to invoke his interest regarding the Brahman, Uddalaka questioned Swetaketu as follows: " Utha tamaadesam apraakshya: yenaasrutam srutham bhavathi amatham matham avignyaatham vignyaatham - O son! Do you know that " Adesa " , by knowing which all things which were not heard becomes heard (known), all that which were not contemplated becomes contemplated and all unknown becomes known? " Swethaketu should have got shocked on being questioned like this and doubted the question's logic itself. He did not know the answer any way. He asked his father " Katham Tu Bhagava: Sa: - How is that revered Sir? " His father first made it clear to his son that the question is logical and then answered it in detail. He quoted examples - " Yatha Somya ekena mruth pindena sarvam mrunmayam vignyaatham isyaath " - By knowing the material cause " Clay " , things (like pot which are effects) made of clay becomes to be known " . He actually pointed out the oneness of cause (material cause - Upaadaana Kaaranam) and the effect (Kaaryam). To make him understand that Pot and Clay are same (but only different forms), he said " Vaacha-Arambhanam Vikaaro Namadheyam mruthikethyeva satyam " . Though we think the pot is different from clay, it is in fact the clay itself in a changed mode, which has got a shape, called as pot. His father quoted few more examples in this regard. Swethakethu requested his father to kindly teach him that " Adesa " , knowing which everything becomes known! The verses of the Upanishad " Yenaasrutam Srutam Bhavathi... " etc., and the example of clay quoted by the Upanishad beyond doubt establishes that the Brahman is the material cause (upAdAna kAraNam) of the universe. Here an important aspect has to be noted. Just the mere existence of clay (cause) is not enough for imparting the knowledge of things made of clay like pot (effect). Therefore the term " Yena " here has to be understood as " By knowing which " . This enlightens us by imparting knowledge about the fact that Brahman is absolutely with infinite auspicious/divine characteristics/attributes that are peerless. " Uthatam Aadesam Apraakshaya: " is summarised as follows: Udaalaka asked his son Swethakethu " Have you known the Brahman who is having absolutely infinite auspicious/divine attributes like omniscience (sarvagnyatvam), omnipotence (sarvasakthitvam) and omnipresence (sarvavyaapakatvam) and is the only material cause of the universe? " What is the meaning of the term " Aadesa " ? Its meaning is given as per the lexicons and linguistic/grammatical rules of Sanskrit as " Aadisyathe AnEna Ithi Aadesa: " . The Sanskrit term " Aadesa " originates from prefix " Aa " joining with the root of verb " Disch " . (Please note that the pronunciations and their letter-representations in English are little varied; knowledge in Sanskrit language easily helps in comprehending these concepts). This root of verb has the meaning " to control " (Niyamanam). As the Brahman controls the entire universe, the Brahman is denoted by the word " Aadesa: " - This is a very important point to note here. Only if the meaning of " Aadesa " term is ascertained here, the purport of the Bruhadaranyaka Upanishad's verses " Ethasya Vaa Aksharasya prasaasane Gaargi Sooryachandramasow vidhrutow tishtatha: " and the words of Manu (in Manu Smruthi) who explained the verses as " Prasaasitaaram sarveshaam " can be comprehended accurately. " Ethasya Vaa Aksharasya prasaasane Gaargi Sooryachandramasow vidhrutow tishtatha: " states that " The heavenly bodies like sun, moon etc., are supported by the command of Brahman " (Brahman is the controller of everything). The " Prasaasitaaram sarveshaam " of Manu Smruthi explains the same purport of the Upanishad as " Everything/Everyone is controlled by Brahman " . The meaning of the term " Prasaasane " (in Bruhadaaranyaka Upanishad verse) and that of the term " Prasaasitha " (in Manu Smruthi verse) is the same for the term " Aadesa " in Chaandokya Upanishad's Sat Vidya. In the terms " Prasaasane " and " Prasaasitha " , the prefix is " Pra " but the root with which it joins is the same as it is in " Aadesa " . The meaning here is therefore same. Therefore " Aadesa: " denotes " Brahman " who controls the entire universe (all chit and achit entities). Further to ascertain this meaning of the term " Aadesa: " , the Upanishad is carefully studied. The Upanishad has clearly stated that " Ekameva Adveeteeyam " This " Eva " in the terms " Ekameva " stresses that the Brahman is the only material cause of the universe. Further the term " Adveeteeyam " states clearly that no one other than Purushotthama: (Brahman) controls the entire universe. Therefore the Upanishad declares that " controlling the entire universe " is the unique characteristic of Brahman by using the term " Aadesa: " to denote Brahman - Shreeman NarayaNa: who is Pundareekaaksha:. I used the term Pundareekaaksha: (Brahman has divine lotus-like beautiful eyes which are celebrated not only by this Upanishad but also by all smurthis, itihaasaas, puranas and aagamaas) specifically just to make it very clear that the Vedanta's philosophy is Visistadvaita Shree Vaishnavam and only Visistadvaita Shree Vaishnavam. (Refer " Antas TathDharmOpadesath " Brahma Sutra here for an interesting and establishing aspect). The upadesam (teaching) was started by his father - " Sat Eva Somya edmagre aaseeth ekameya adveteeyam " . " O Somya (who is fit to drink the Soma juice (prepared in Soma yagnya)) the universe which you see now with manifold forms and names was not like this before its creation but was present subtle (difficult to distinguish) form of " Sat " . Nothing is its support other than Sat. The " Sat " wished " Tat Ikshatha Bahusyaam Prayaayethi " . That is, the " Sat " wished that " I become the multitudinous (expanded-StUla) chit and achit tatvas ie., the universe " . The " Sat " became many, as it wished. This is " Sat's " first Sankalpam (Wish). The " Sat " wished again - " SOyam Devataykshatha Hanthaaham Imaa: Tisra: Devataa: Anena JevEna Aatmanaa Anupravisya Nama Roope iVyaakaravaaNi " that is the Sat wished " by having the representative divinities of Tejas (light), Ap (Water) and Annam (Prutvi-matter) as Sareeram (body/mode), I enter into them as soul and give manifold names and forms to them " . It became as it wished. The Brahman (Sat) is therefore declared as the " Cause " (Kaaranam) of the universe. By the first sankalpam, the Brahman did the " Samashti Srushti " and by the second sankalpam he did the " Vyashti Srushti " . " Samashti Srushti " means creating the universe in its amass form and " Vyashti Srushti " means creating the universe in its clearly diversified form. Further the Sat Vidyaa continues as follows " Sath Moolaa: Somya Imaa: Prajaa: " meaning the Brahman is the cause for all these chit tatvas (not only achit tatvas) also. All the chit and achit tatvaas where in the subtle form (sUkshma - without form, name and identifications) as body/mode of Brahman before creation as " Sat " in such a way that it was hard to differentiate them with individual name, form and species identification. All these things (all the chit and achit entities) have no independent nature, existence and its continuance and actions without the support, control and lordship of Brahman. The Brahman controls all these chit and achit entities and their creation is purely dependent on Brahman. They all have the Brahman as " soul " and they all form the body of Brahman. Their continuance and destruction are also dependent on Brahman. After these teachings, Uddaalaka concluded his sermon " Ithadaatmiyam Idam Sarvam Tat Satyam Sa Aatmaa Tat Tvam Asi Swethaketho " meaning, " The universe composed of innumerable chit and achit entities are pervaded by the " Sat " (Brahman) and has the Brahman as its Aatmaa (soul). The Sat is the universe therefore because of this inseparable body-soul relationship. (Similarly) You (Swethaketu) are also the same Brahman (as you (a Jeevaatman) are also pervaded by the same Brahman and you are having the Brahman as your Soul (aatma) and you are the body/mode of the same Brahman). The verse " Tat Tvam Asi " leads to a debate as the Advaitins tell their own personal idea as its meaning, which is different from the " Sareera-Aatma " bhaavam as discussed above. Up to this, the Upanishad has stated the following: 1. Knowing one entity, everything becomes known (is the Prathignya (oath)), which is the Brahman who is the material cause (Upaadaana Kaaranam). The brahma swarUpam is nirvikAram (unchanging nature) though the brahman is known as upAdAna kAraNam. This has been recently discussed in the net. 2. The instrumental (efficient) cause of the universe is also the Brahman as he " Wished " to create the universe 3. The body-soul relationship (Sareera-Aatma- Bhaavam) between the universe and the Brahman. 4. As the Brahman is the soul of the entire universe, the Brahman himself is denoted as the universe and in the very same meaning, denotes a Jeevaatman (here Swetaketu) (Tvam) as Brahman (Tat) - " Tat Tvam Asi " Bhagavath rAmAnuja clearly explains the verse " tat tvam asi " very clearly as follows: A Concept called " sAmAnAdhikaraNyam " which is a technical grammatical concept, has to be comprehended to know the verse " Tat Tvam Asi " clearly. " sAmAnAdhikaranayam " means " co-ordinate predication " . It means that co-ordinate predicate terms are used to identify the substantive. The great grammarian of Sanskrit has defined this concept " SAmAnAdhikaraNyam " as follows: " Bhinna Pravruththi NimiththAnAm sAbdAnAm Ekasmin Arthe Vruththi: - SAmAnAdhikaraNyam " . The meaning of this is as follows: An entity is signified/denoted by several terms, each term denoting that entity based on each of its various inseparable attributes. That is different words possessing different grounds of meanings denoting a single entity is what is called " SAmAnAdhikaraNyam " The reader may find this bit confusing. Let me explain it using an example. Please consider in Sanskrit the terms " nIla: ghata: " meaning " Dark Pot " . Here the term " nIla: " is denoting the entity by that entity's inseparable attribute " Darkness/Blackness " . The Term " ghata: " again denotes the same entity by its nature of having narrow neck and broad spherical body. Therefore the " nIla: " term denotes the entity on the ground of meaning " Darkness " " nIla Roopam " which is an attribute/mode of the entity. Similarly the " ghata: " term denotes the same entity (Pot) on the ground of the entity's mode of being narrow-necked with broad spherical body. The verse of the Veda " Tat Tvam Asi " is understood clearly using the concept of " SAmAnAdhikaraNyam " as follows: The term " Tat " (that) denotes the Brahman on the grounds of " being the only cause of the universe " , who is having infinite divine characteristics and untouched by all impurities. The term " Tvam " (you) denotes the same Brahman on the grounds of having the jIvAtman (Chit) as his attribute/mode/body. Therefore the Sareera-Aatma Bhaavam (Body-Soul relationship) between the Universe and the Brahman is clearly told by the Upanishad. Bhagavath Ramanuja Yatiraja says :- atha: sarvasya chidachidvastunO brahmasarIratvAth, sarvasarIram sarvaprakAram sarvairsabdai: brahmaivAbhidhIyatha ithi, " tat " " tvam " ithi sAmAnAdhikaraNyEna jIvasarIrathayA jIvaprakAram brahmaivAbhihitam | Evamabhihite sathi ayamarthO jgnyAyate " tvam " ithi ya: pOrvam dehasyAdhishtAtrutayA pratIth: sa: paramAthmasarIrathayA paramAthmaprakArabhUtha: paramAthmaparyantha: pruthak stithi pravruthi anarha: atha: " tvam " ithi sabda: tathprakAravisishtam thdantaryAmiNamEvAchashtE - ithi | anEna jIvEnAthmanAnupravisya nAmarUpe vyAkaravANi " ithi brahmAthmakathayaiva jIvasya sarIriNa: swanAmaBhakthvAth | Following the definition of sAmAnAdikaraNya, please follow the divine words of Bhagavath Ramanuja Yatiraja as follows which were outlined so far. " tat tvam " ithi samAnAdhikaraNa pravrththayO: dvyayOrapi padayO: brahmaiva vAchyam | tatra " tat " padam .. jagat kAraNa bhUtham .. sarva kalyANa guNakaram .. niravadyam .. nirvikAramAchashtE " tvam " ithi cha - tadEva brahma jIvAntaryAmi rUpENa swasarIra jIva prakAra visishtamAchashtE tadEvam pravruthi nimiththa bhEdena Ekasmin brahmaNyEva " tat tvam " ithi dyayO: padayO: vruthiruktthA | brahmaNO niravadyatvam nirvikAratvam sarvakalyaNaguNAkaratvam jagat kAraNatvam cha abhAdhitam As told clearly above, the Brahman has all the chit and achit entities as his body & as inseparable attribute and the Brahman being the AtmA of all, all words (sabdams) denote the Brahman. The sarIra-AtmA relationship establishes the sAmAnAdhikaraNyam. The term " Tvam " which denotes the jIvAtman through his body, finally denotes the ParamAtman (Brahman) because the jIvAtman is the body and inseparable attribute (apruthak siddha viseshaNam) of ParamAtman. The jIvAtman being the body and inseparable attribute of Brahman, has no independent swarUpam, stithi and pravruthis. The jIvAtman is totally dependant on Brahman. The " anena jIvEna " verse makes it clear that the jIvAtman gets his name etc., only because of having the Brahman as his AtmA. Therefore to stress again that swarUpa-iykyam is not the purport here, the sAmAnAdhikaraNyam is explained. The terms " tat " and " tvam " though are two different words, denote/mean the same entity that is Brahman as follows. The terms " tat " and " tvam " denote only the Brahman but the way in which each term denotes the Brahman is different. The term " tat " denotes the Brahman who is the only cause of the universe, untouched by impurities and having infinite divine attributes and is always unchanging in nature. The term " tvam " also denotes the same Brahman who has the jIvAtman as his body/attribute - the Brahman is the antaryAmi-antarAtma of the jIvAtman. Thus the two terms denote the Brahman by different attributes which the Brahman has as told above. The sAmAnAdhikaraNyam is thus clearly explained. When the purport of the verse is ascertained like this, there is no contradiction with all the sruthi verses. The characteristics of Brahman like being the only cause of the universe, untouched by impurities, having infinite divine attributes, unchanging nature (nirvikAratvam) are unaffected. There are many many arguments and counter arguments in this context. To know all these, one has to do structured of various ancillaries Sastras first and then study the SrI bhAshya. SwAmi dESika's NyAya sidhdAnjanam's Iswara parichchEdam, para-matha-bhangam, tatva-mukta-kalApam, Sata-dhUshaNi etc have abundant irrefutable points, which establish ViSishTAdvaita as the purport of tat tvam asi after refuting all the pUrva-pakshams. All these things must be learnt only in kAlakshEpams. I have not studied Sata-dhUshaNi. Recently I got a copy of the book (along with commentary only). I attempted a self-study. To be frank, I could not understand anything from it. I was left with no option other than resorting to kAlakshEpam again at the sannadhi of a SrI VaishNava vidwAn. Similarly paramArtha bhUshaNam. Without sound knowledge in tarkam, vyAkaraNam, mImAmsa etc, these grantams cannot be studied - according to me. There are lots of grammatical and complicated technical aspects related with comprehension of these verses exactly in the appropriate way. I had exclusively written articles about this Sat vidyA prakaraNam titled " Experiencing bhagavath rAmAnuja yatirAja's divine works " following VedArtha sangraham of swAmi empermAnAr. Part 4 to Part 11 in that series discusses this with few pUrva-pakshams. You can get them from the archives of mAlOlan net. Those articles are just for one more level of comprehension. No compromise reg. kAlaskhepams! Thanks & Regards M.S.HARI rAmAnuja dAsan (mshari) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.