Vedarthasangraha of Ramanuja - 29- Import of the srutitexts.4.Other texts

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4. Other texts

 

anyaScha SruthayaH brahmaNaH nimitthakaaranathaam anujnaaya, thasya

upaadhaanathaadhi kaTham ithi parichodhya, sarvaSakthimathvaath

upaadhaanakaaraNam,thadhithara aSesha upakaraNam brahmaiva ithi pariharanthi.

"Kimsvidh vanam? Ka u sa vrksha aaseeth?yatho dhyaavaaprThivee

nishtathakshuH, maneeshino manasaa prcChathe dhu thath,yath aDhyathishth

bhavanaani Dhaarayan," -" brahma vanam brahma sa vrksha aaseeth yathaH

dhyaavaaprThivyaa nishtathakshuH maneeshiNaH manasaa vibraveemi vaH

brahmaaDhyathishTath bhuvanaani Dhaarayan" ithi. Saamaanyatho dhrshtena

viroDham aaSankya brahmaNa h sarvavilakshaNathvena parihaar ukthaH.

 

Ramanuja now

takes up another text.

 

He says,

 

anyaScha SruthayaH brahmaNaH nimitthakaaranathaam anujnaaya, thasya

upaadhaanathaadhi kaTham ithi parichodhya, sarvaSakthimathvaath

upaadhaanakaaraNam,thadhithara aSesha upakaraNam brahmaiva ithi pariharanthi

 

Therefore other

sruthis mention Brahman as the efficient cause and examines further how Brahman

can be the material cause as well and conclude that it is so due to the

omnipotence of Brahman and therefore Brahman alone is the material and

efficient cause and all other accessories in creating the world.

 

The question is

given by the text,

 

"Kimsvidh vanam? Ka u sa vrksha aaseeth?yatho dhyaavaaprThivee

nishtathakshuH, maneeshino manasaa prcChathe dhu thath,yath aDhyathishtath

bhuvanaani Dhaarayan," (Rg.10.6.13)

Who was woods,

what was the tree, from which the heaven and earth were formed? You wise ones,

ask yourself in your mind, where did He stand supporting the worlds?

 

The answer is

given as

 

-" brahma vanam brahma sa vrksha aaseeth yathaH dhyaavaaprThivyaa

nishtathakshuH maneeshiNaH manasaa vibraveemi vaH brahmaaDhyathishTath

bhuvanaani Dhaarayan" ithi.

 

Brahman was the

woods, Brahman was the tree from which heaven and earth were formed. Oh wise

ones, I tell you, He stood in Brahman supporting the worlds.

 

Saamaanyatho dhrshtena viroDham aaSankya brahmaNaH sarvavilakshaNathvena

parihaara ukthaH.

 

Thus the incompatibility of material cause and efficient

cause being one and the same being questioned on the basis of common knowledge

to the contrary, it is confirmed that

Brahman is the material as well as the efficient cause based on the

peculiariaty and the all powerful nature of Brahman.

 

The woods denote

the substartum and the tree denotes the material cause. The clay is the

substartum of a pot but not all the clay is transformed into a pot. Similarly

the woods stand for all the clay which is Brahman and the tree stands for the

portion of clay which becomes the pot. This is obvious from the sruti and

smrthi which say that Brhaman fashioned the world from an infinitesmal part of

Him. `Paadh asya viSvaahoothaani,' the whole universe is but a part of

Him, says the sruti and in Gita the Lord

says `vishatbhyaaham idham krthsnam ekaamSena sThitho jagath.'(BG.10.42),

"Pervading all this I stand supporting the whole universe by a part of Me."

 

Thus the answersis

given as Brahman is the woods and the tree out ofwhich the whole Universe is

created, thus maiking Brhamanthe

material cause. The next questiio is that ,where does He stand and how

does He support the worlds. For this the answer is give as that He stood in

Brahman supporting the world. The text ekameva adhvitheeyam negates any

auxiliary causes other than Brahman but there should be something which

supports the material and other causes where the whole creation was brought

about. But the text sath alone existed in the beginning hegates even the base

of support such as the ground on which the pots are made. Hence the answer is

Brahman supported by Himself and supported all else too.

 

Ramanuja riverts

to the passage in sadhvidya now to prove his point.

 

athaH " sadheva soumya idham agra aaseeth

"ithyathraapi, agra

ithyaadhyaneka viSeshaaH brahmaNaH prathipaadhithaaH .bhavadhbhimatha visesha

nisheDhavaadhee kopi Sabdhah na dhrSyathe. prthyutha jagathbrahmaNoH

kaaryakaaraNa bhaava jnaapanaaya "agra"

ithi kaalaviSesha thadhbhaavaH, "aaseeth"ithi kriyaaviSeshaH

jagadhupaadhaanathaa jagannimitthathaa cha nimitthaupaadhaanayoH bhedha

nirasanena thasyaiva brahmaNaH sarvasakthiyogaScha ithi aprajaathaaH saharasaH

visesha eva prathipaadhithaaH.

 

He says,

 

athaH " sadheva soumya idham agra aaseeth" ithyathraapi, agra ithyaadhyaneka viSeshaaH brahmaNaH

prathipaadhithaaH.

 

Therefore as explained earlier even in the text `Sath alone existed mydear

, in the beginning,' there are many differentiations, such as the term agre which denotes a particular time,

attributed to Brahman.

bhavadhbhimatha visesha nisheDhavaadhee kopi Sabdhah na dhrSyathe

 

There is no term negating the differentiations is seen

anywhere.

 

 

prthyutha jagathbrahmaNoH kaaryakaaraNa bhaava jnaapanaaya "agra" ithi kaalaviSesha

thadhbhaavaH, "aaseeth"ithi kriyaaviSeshaH.

 

On the other

hand, says Ramanuja, the terms agra and aaseeth are to denote

the cause and effect relationship of Brahman and the world. agra denotes a specific period of time, namely, before creation and aaseeth refers to the

world which existed as Brahman before creation. Thus the kaalaviSesha and

kriyaaviSesha, differentiations due to time and action are denoted by the two

terms.

 

jagadhupaadhaanathaa jagannimitthathaa cha nimitthaupaadhaanayoH bhedha

nirasanena thasyaiva brahmaNaH sarvasakthiyogaScha ithi aprajaathaaH saharasaH

visesha eva prathipaadhithaaH.

 

Being the material

cause and the efficient cause are the attributes described of Brahman, and by

negating the difference between the two the omnipotence of Brhaman is

established.Thus a number of differentiation alone could be predicated to

Brahman by the texts mentioned.

 

Next Ramanuja

examines the theory of causation.