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vedartha sangrah of Ramnanuja

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14. The refutation of the advaita view that the

cause alone is real.

 

Na ethath evam,

 

It is not so.

 

ekavijnaanena sarva

vijnaana prathijnaanam, sarvasya miThyaathve sarvasya jnaathavyasya abhaavaath

na sethsyathi;

 

If everything is unreal,

nothing deserves to be known. Then the statement that by knowing one everything

is known is not tenable.

 

sathyamiThyaathvayoH

ekathaaprasakthiH vaa;

 

Or it would that the real

is identical with unreal.

 

api thu ekavijnaanena

sarvavijnaana prathijnaa sarvasya thadhaathmakathvena eva sathyathve siDhyathi

 

Only when all the entities

are real by having the One, Brahman as their inner self and hence the unity

being that of the body and the self, the statement that the knowledge of one

leads to the knowledge of all becomes true.

 

Then Ramanuja explains the

real implication of the passage quoted.

 

15. The question put to

Svetha kethu in the passage referred.

 

ayam arThaH.

Svethakethum prathi aaha-

 

sthabDho asyutha

thamaadhesam apraakshya ithi paripoorna iva llakshyase thaan aachaaryaan prathi

thamaadhesamprshtavaan asi ithi aadhesaH praSaasanam

 

“ ethasya vaa aksharasya prasaasane gaargi

sooryaachandhramasou viDhrthaH thishTathaHâ€

ithyaadhibhiH

ekaarThayaathi.

thaThaa

cha maanavam vachaH praSaasithaaram

sarveshaam ithyaadhi.

 

ayam arThaH.

 

This is the meaning.

 

Svethakethum prathi

aaha-

 

The father Uddhalaka

AaruNi asked his son who returned from

his gurukulam

 

sthabDho asi utha

thamaadhesam apraakshya ithi

 

“You look arrogant. Did

you ask about that knowledge?

 

paripoorna iva

llakshyase

 

You look as though you

have reached perfection.( meaning that you are really not so)

 

thaan aachaaryaan prathi thamaadhesam prshtavaan

asi ithi

Have you asked your

acharya about that knowledge.

 

aadhesaH praSaasanam

 

aadhesa

means advice, or precept or rule. praSaasanam means command or enjoining.

Ramanuja means that the word aadhesa in the Upanishadic text (chand.6.1.3) means praSaasnam,enjoining

as vedic declaration are commands which enjoin the precepts leading to

salvation.

 

“ ethasya vaa aksharasya prasaasane gaargi

sooryaachandhramasou viDhrthaH thishTathaH†(Brhd.5.8.9)

ithyaadhibhiH

ekaarThayaath.

 

The

praSaasanam referred to, meaning ekavijnaanena sarva vijnaanam as mentioned

earlier has the same implication as the text elsewhere which is as follows. “

following the command of the imperishable Brahman the Sun and the Moon stand

apart as ordainedâ€, meaning that the sun , Moon and all other heavenly bodies

are functioning within their orbits as ordained by Brahman.

 

thaThaa

cha maanavam vachaH “praSaasithaaram

sarveshaam†ithyaadhi

 

Likewise

the words of Manu “the one who commands all†(Manu-12.122)

 

How

does the passages quoted conform with the passage in chandhogya which is taken

here for consideration? Ramanuja explains further.

 

athra

api ekam eva ithi jagadhupadhanathaam prathipaadhya adhvitheeyapadhena

aDhishtaathranthara nivaaraNaath asyaiva adhishtaathrthvam api

prathipaadhyathe, athaH tham praSaasithaaram jagadhupaadhanabhoothamapi

prshtavaan asi, yena Sruthena mathena vijnaathena aSrutham amatham

avijnaatham Srutham matham vijnaatham

bhavathi ithyuktham syaath

 

 

In

accordance with the texts quoted which show the Brahman as the who commands

all, this passage from Chandhogya also confirms that the one who commands all is the sole cause of the

world.

 

athra

api ekam eva ithi jagadhupadhanathaam prathipaadhya adhvitheeyapadhena

aDhishtaathranthara nivaaraNaath asya eva adhshtaathrthvam api prathipaadhyathe

 

 

Here

also by the words ‘one only,’ it is propounded that the Brahman is the material

cause and by the words, ‘without a second,’ the existence of the efficient

cause other than Brahman is denied. Hence the Brahman itself is shown to be the

efficient cause.

 

In

the passage referred to, the father asks the son,

 

tham aadheSam utha appraakshyaH

 

did

you ask for that knowledge,

 

yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham mathamavijnaatham

vijnaatham ithi.

 

By which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of becomes thought

of what is unknown becomes known.†Then he explains it as

yaTHaa soumya ekena mrthpindena

sarvam mrnmayam vijnaatham syaath

 

Dear one, Just as knowing the lump of clay all

things made of clay becomes known,

 

vaachaarambhaNam vikaaraH naamaDheyam

mrtthikethyeva sathyam

 

all

modifications are in name only and the clay alone is real.

 

By this, Ramanuja says that the Brahman is

established as the material cause as the clay which when known all its effects

become known. But this does not make the effects unreal by the claim mrtthikethyeva

sathyam, clay alone is real. That we shall see later.

 

 

Then

the father continues to say,

 

evam somya sa aadheSo bhavathi ithi

 

That teaching goes like this.

 

And he , being asked by his son to tell him what

was the aadheSa, embarks on what came to known as sadhvidhya of the Upanishads.

 

 

He says,

 

Sadheva

soumya idham agra

aaseeth. ekam eva adhvitheeyam.

 

My dear in the beginning, agre, this universe, idham

existed. aaseeth, as Being, sath,

one only, ekam eva, without a second, adhvitheeyam.

 

 

This is the passage referred to by Ramanuja

in this section.

 

Hence the question of the father is ,

 

athaH tham praSaasithaaram jagadhupaadhanabhoothamapi prshtavaan asi,

 

Therefore have you enquired about that one who

commands all and is the material cause of the universe.

 

yena

Sruthena mathena vijnaathena aSrutham amatham avijnaatham Srutham matham vijnaatham bhavathi ithyuktham

syaath

 

By hearing about which, thinking about which,

understanding which all that which are not heard, not thought of and not

understood become heard, thought of and understood.

 

Then Ramanuja proceeds to explain the term ‘sath’

meaning Brahman who is the material and efficient cause of the world which is

the effect, both cause and the effect being real.

 

16.Brahman as the sole cause

 

nikhilaajagudhudhayavibhava

vilayaadhikaarNabhootham-sathyasankalpathvaadhiaprimitha guNa udhaarasaagaram

kim brahama thvayaaSrutham ithi haardho bhaaavaH

thasya nikhilakaaraNathayaa kaaraNam eva

naanaasamsThaana viSesha samsThitham kaaryam ithi uchyatha ithi karaNa bhootha

sookshma chidachith vasthu Sareeraka brahmavijna anena kaaryabhootham akhilam

jagath vijnaatham bhavathi ithi hrdhi niDhaaya yena aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnaatham

vijnaatham syaath ithi prshtavaan pithaa

 

The implication of the question, yena

aSrutham Srutham bhavathi etc., is explained by Ramanuja

thus:

 

nikhila jagadhudhaya vibhava vilayaadhi

kaarNabhootham-sathyasankalpathvaadhi aparimitha guNa udhaarasaagaram kim

brahma thvayaaSrutham ithi haardho bhaaavaH

 

The idea in the mind of

the father in asking the question was whether the son has heard about Brahman

cause of origination , sustenance and annihilation of the universe and who is

the ocean of limitless and generous qualities such as infallible will etc.

 

The real meaning of the question yena

Srutham

etc. is this:

The real nature of

Brahman being beyond comprehension, it has to be heard through the instruction

of the guru which is Srutham, that all the universe is ensouled by Brahman who

is the material as well as efficient cause. Then through contemplation, matham, the truth of this

becomes established in the mind, and the Brahman as the material and efficient

cause of the universe is understood, vijnaatham.

 

When the Brahman is

understood to be the sole cause of the origination, sustenance and annihilation

of the universe of sentient and insentient beings, His qualities such as sathya

sankalpathva etc. are understood. The omnipotence, sarva Sakthithva, is denoted by Brahman

being the material cause, just like the mud or gold having the power to become

all the objects made of mud or gold respectively.

 

The omniscience sarvajnathva is known from Brahman

being the efficient cause of all. To have the efficiency of creating everything

Brahman must be all-knowing. Sathya kaamathva and sathya sankalpathva mean unfailing wish and

infallible will respectively.This is denoted in the passage taken for

consideration, where the words “it

willed to become many†‘thath aikshatha bahusyaam prajaayayaa,’ occur later.

 

thasya nikhilakaaraNathayaa kaaraNam eva

naanaasamsThaana viSesha samsThitham kaaryam ithi uchyatha ithi

 

The Brahman being the sole cause of all, the cause

it self comes to be known as the effect by assuming various forms.

 

karaNa bhootha sookshma chidachith vasthu Sareeraka

brahmavijnaanena kaaryabhootham akhilam jagath vijnaatham bhavathi ithi hrdhi

niDhaaya

 

Hence by knowing the Brahman the cause of all

beings sentient and u insentient which are His body and which remain in Him in

their subtle form in the causal state, the knowledge of the effect , namely the

whole universe becomes known. Having this in his mind,

 

yena

aSrutham Srutham bhavathi amatham matham

avijnaatham vijnaatham syaath ithi prshtavaan pithaa

 

the father asked whether the son had asked his guru

about that by which what is unheard

becomes heard, what is un-thought of

becomes thought of what is unknown becomes known.

 

thadhethath sakalasya vasthujaathasya

ekakaaraNathvam pithrhrdhinihitham ajaanan puthraH parasparavilakshaNeshu

vasthushu anyasya vijaanena thadhanyavijaanasya aghatamaanthaam budDhvaa

parichodhayathi kaTham nu bhagavthaH tha aadheSaH ithi.

 

 

The son without knowing notion of one cause for all

beings in the mind of his father , considering the impropriety

of acquiring the knowledge of one fro that of the other when the two are

mutually exclusive, questions the father what could be the meaning of that

instruction, (that by knowing one everything becomes known)

 

To Svethakethu who was ignorant of the knowledge of

Brahman the world with imperfections and the Brahman who is blemishless seem to be totally different from each other.

Hence he fails to understand the statement of his father ‘by knowing which

everything else becomes known ,’ with reference to Brahman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

punaH thadheva hrdhi nihitham jnaanaanandha

amalathvaikasvaroopam aparicchedhyamaahaathmyam sathyasankalpathvamiSraiH

anavaDhika athiSaya asankhyeya kalyaaNa guNa gaNaiH jushtam

 

Again the father spoke, having in mind the idea of Brahman as

follows:

Brahman is the embodiment of knowledge, purity and

bliss, His glory cannot be defined, and Brahman is endowed with countless and

wonderful auspicious qualities such as infallible will etc.

 

avikaarasvaroopam param brahma eva

naamaroopavibhaaga anarha sookshma chidhachith vasthu sareeram

 

The Supreme Brahman alone who is immutable and in

the causal state the sentient and insentient forming its body in their subtle

form,

 

svaleelaayai

svasankalpena anantha vichithra sThira thrasa roopam jagath samsThaanam

svaamSena avasThitham ithi

 

by His own will and

for His own pleasure supports the amazing world of innumerable movable

and immovable beings by apart of Him.

 

 

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