vedartha sangraha of Ramanuja- 19. identity through Sareera Sareeribhava

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19.Identity through sareerasareeribhava.

 

ethath uktham bhavathi.jeevaathmaa thu brahmaNaH Sareerathayaa

prakaarathvaath brahmaathmakaH. "yasyaathmaa Sareeram" ithi

Sruthyanthathvaath.evambhoothasya jeevasya Sareerathayaa prakaarabhoothaani dhevamanushyaadhi

samsThaanaani vasthooni ithi brahmaathmakaani thaani sarvaaNi.athaH dhevaH

manushyaH yakshaH raakshasaH paSuH mrgaH pakshee vrkshaH lathaa kaashTam Silaa

thrNam ghataH pataH ithyaadhayaH sarvam prakrthi prathyaya yogena

abhichaayakathayaa prasidDhaaH sabdhaaH sarvam prakrthi prathyaya yogena sarvam

prakrthi prathyaya yogena abhichaayakathayaa prasidDhaaH sabdhaaH loke thath

thath vaachyathayaa pratheeyamaana thath thath samsThaanavasthumukhena thadhabhimaani

jeeva thadhantharyaami paramaathmaparyanthasanghaathayaiva vaachakaaH ithi

 

Ramanuja shows that the connotation of all terms

have ultimate import in Brahman in this passage.

 

ethath uktham bhavathi.jeevaathmaa thu brahmaNaH

Sareerathayaa prakaarathvaath brahmaathmakaH. "yasyaathmaa Sareeram" ithi

Sruthyanthathvaath.

 

This needs to be said: the individual self being

the body of Brahman and hence forms the mode of Brahman.This is affirmed by

sruthi vakya, "yasya aathmaa Sareeram" (Subala Up.. 6) meaning, that of

which the indidual self is the body.

 

evambhoothasya jeevasya Sareerathayaa

prakaarabhoothaani dhevamanushyaadhi samsThaanaani vasthooni ithi

 

For the individual self, which is the body or the

mode of Brahman, the entities like deva

, human etc.are the modes in turn.

 

dhevamanushyaadhi includes all beings sentient and insentient which have a form, that

is , a body.

 

brahmaathmakaani thaani sarvaaNi,

 

Hence the self of all having Brahman as the

inner self, it follows that all the entities have Brahman as the inner self,

that is they are ensouled by Brahman.

 

athaH dhevaH manushyaH yakshaH raakshasaH paSuH

mrgaH pakshee vrkshaH lathaa kaashTam Silaa thrNam ghataH pataH ithyaadhayaH

 

Therefore deva, human, yaksha, raakshasa, cow,

animal,bird, tree,creeper, log, stone, grass, pot and cloth etc.,

 

sarvam

prakrthi prathyaya yogena abhichaayakathayaa prasidDhaaH sabdhaaH loke

 

all these being known words with roots and suffixes

in the world,

 

thath thath vaachyathayaa pratheeyamaana thath

thath samsThaana vasthumukhena

 

which denote the corresponding entity to which they

stand for,

 

thadhabhimaani jeeva thadhantharyaami

paramaathmaparyanthasanghaathayaiva vaachakaaH ithi

 

in reality denote the self embodied in them and

through that they have connotation to the Supreme Self which is the inner self

of the individual self.

 

As a prelude to the affirmation that the sentemce `thath thvam asi' which

implies the unity of the individual self with Brahman through the sareera

sareeri bhava, Ramanuja has indicated above that all words denote Brahman only

through the entites whch they stand for.

 

In simple words the above passage means as follows:

 

When we say , for example, a cow, it means not the

form of cow alone but the word cow has deeper connotations, to the life with in

and beyond that, the soul, without which the cow ceases to exist. Similarly a

man called Devadatta, means not only the body for the simple reason that even

after he dies the body is there and it is not called as Devadatta but only as a

dead body. Now carrying the connotation further, the name Devadatta neither

means his position in the world , his appearance, his relations to others etc.

because he will continue to exist even when these are no more or when they

change. Hence the real connotation of Devadatta is of the soul within, which is

the cause of his existence as Devadatta. Now

man continues to exist even

after he dies , not as Devadatta but as a soul. Now we pass on to the man or a

human being to whom the name is only a sign like denoting a field by the crane

that sits on it. From the human being to whom the soul gives the existence we

go further in to the innerself of the individual self, that is Brahman. Hence

all entities, a deva, a man, a cow, an animal etc down to the insentient

entities like stone or pot or cloth, the ultimate principle that gives it the

existence is Brahman.

 

 

evam samasthasya chaidhachidhaathmaka prapanchasya

sadhupaadhaanathaa sannimitthathaa sanniyaamyathaa sacCheshathaadhi sarvam cha

"sanmoolaaH soumya imaaH sarvaaH prajaaH sadhaayathanathaaH sathprathishTaaH"

ithyaadhinaa visthareNa prathipaadhya kaarya kaaraNa bhaavaadhi mukhena "ethath

aathmyam idham sarvam thathsathyam" ithi krthsansya jagathaH brahmaathmakathvameva

"sathyam" ithi prathipaadhya krthsnasya jagathaH sa eva aathmaa krthsnam cha

jagath thasya Sareeram.thasmaath "thvam" sabdhavaachyam api jeevaprakaaram

brahmaiva ithisarvasya brahmaathmakathvam prathijnaatjham"thath thvam asi" ithi

jeevaviSeshe upasamhrtham.

 

Now Ramanuja proves the implication of `thath thvam asi' on the basis of Brahman

being the innerself of all.

 

evam samasthasya chaidhachidhaathmaka prapanchasya

sadhupaadhaanathaa sannimitthathaa sanniyaamyathaa sacCheshathaadhi sarvam cha

"sanmoolaaH soumya imaaH sarvaaH prajaaH sadhaayathanathaaH sathprathishTaaH"

ithyaadhinaa visthareNa prathipaadhya,

 

The Brahman being the material and efficient cause

has been shown by means of the analogy of clay and also by the statement `sath

only existed in the beginning , one only ,without a second. Here Ramanuja

examines the subsequent text in the Upanishad, and says,

 

`By the text, sanmoolaaH soumya imaaH sarvaaH

prajaaH sadhaayathanathaaH sathprathishTaaH,(Chand. 6.8.4-6) meaning, "all

these are rooted in the sath, which is the first cause, abide in sath and are

supported by sath," it has been explained in detail that Brahman is the

material and efficient cause of all sentient and insentient beings of this

world , they are controlled by Brahman to whom they are subservient.'

 

The parallel idea can be found in the text from

Thaithireeya Upanishad Yatho vaa imaani

bhoothaani jaayanthe yena jathaani jeevanthi yasmin abhisamvisanthi

thathvijinjaasava thath brahma, (Thait.3.1.1)

know that to be Brahman from which all beings arise, by which everything is

sustained and into which everything merges again.

 

kaarya kaaraNa bhaavaadhi mukhena "ethath aathmyam

idham sarvam thath sathyam" ithi krthsansya jagathaH brahmaathmakathvameva "sathyam"

ithi prathipaadhya,

 

Ramanuja further says,

 

` From the principle of causality it follows that

the whole world is real due to being ensouled by Brahman through the text, "ethath

aathmyam idham sarvam thath sathyam,(Chand.6.8.6) all this is ensouled by

Brahman , this is the truth."

 

The text quoted here is that preceding the text, thath

thavam asi, `that thou art.' Through various examples the father shows to

the son that all the world is ensouled by Brahman and concludes by saying `that

thou art.'

 

krthsnasya jagathaH sa eva aathmaa krthsnam cha

jagath thasya Sareeram.

 

Hence Brhaman is the self of the whole world and

the whole world is the body of Brahman,

 

thasmaath "thvam" sabdhavaachyam api jeevaprakaaram

brahmaiva ithi sarvasya brahmaathmakathvam prathijnaatjham

 

Therefore the entity denoted by thvam, `you,'

is Brahman only which has the individual slef as its mode and thus all beings

are shown to be ensouled by Brahman.

 

 

"thath thvam

asi" ithi jeevaviSeshe upasamhrtham

 

By the statement `that thou art,' the conclusion for

the particular self, (Svethakethu) that he is Brahman, his innerself, in

relation as the body of Brahman is drawn accordingly.

 

Ramanuja explains this further in the forthcoming

passages.