The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48
Religion
The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja: Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48
Vedanta
Nor is there any force in the objection that as the Self of bliss is
said to be 'sârira,' i.e. embodied-viz. in the clause 'of him the
embodied Self is the same' (Taitt. Up. II, 5, 6)--it cannot be different
from the individual soul. For throughout this section the recurring
clause 'of him the embodied Self is the same as of the preceding one,'
refers to the highest Self, calling that the 'embodied' one. The clause
'From that same Self sprang ether' (II, 1) designates the highest
Brahman-which is different from the individual soul and is introduced as
the highest cause of all things created--as the 'Self'; whence we
conclude that all things different from it--from ether up to the Self of
food constitute its body. The Subâla-upanishad moreover states quite
directly that all beings constitute the body of the highest Self: 'He of
whom the earth is the body, of whom water is the body, of whom fire is
the body, of whom wind is the body, of whom ether is the body, of whom
the Imperishable is the body, of whom Death is the body, he the inner
Self of all, the divine one, the one god Nârâyana.' From this it follows
that what constitutes the embodied Self of the Self of food is nothing
else but the highest Self referred to in the clause 'From that same Self
sprang ether.' When, then, the text further on says with regard to the
Self of breath, 'of him the embodied Self is the same as of the
preceding one' (II, 3), the meaning can only be that what constitutes
the embodied Self of the 'preceding' Self of food, viz. the highest Self
which is the universal cause, is also the embodied Self of the Self
consisting of breath. The same reasoning holds good with regard to the
Self consisting of mind and the Self consisting of knowledge. In the
case, finally, of the Self consisting of bliss, the expression 'the
same' (esha eva) is meant to convey that that Self has its Self in
nothing different from itself. For when, after having understood that
the highest Self is the embodied Self of the vijñânamaya also, we are
told that the embodied Self of that vijñânamaya is also the embodied
Self of the ânandamaya, we understand that of the ânandamaya--which we
know to be the highest Self on the ground of 'multiplication'--its own
Self is the Self. The final purport of the whole section thus is that
everything different from the highest Self, whether of intelligent or
non-intelligent nature, constitutes its body, while that Self alone is
the non-conditioned embodied Self. For this very reason competent
persons designate this doctrine which has the highest Brahman for its
subject-matter as the 'sârîraka,' i. e. the doctrine of the 'embodied'
Self.--We have thus arrived at the conclusion that the Self of bliss is
something different from the individual Self, viz. the highest Self.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account