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
The remainder of the Upanishad ('Manifest, near,' &c.
) teaches how this highest Brahman, which is imperishable and higher
than the soul, which itself is higher than the Unevolved; which dwells
in the highest Heaven; and which is of the nature of supreme bliss, is
to be meditated upon as within the hollow of the heart; how this
meditation has the character of devout faith (bhakti); and how the
devotee, freeing himself from Nescience, obtains for his reward
intuition of Brahman, which renders him like Brahman.
It thus clearly appears that 'on account of distinction and statement of
difference' the Upanishad does not treat of the Pradhâna and the soul.
For that the highest Brahman is different from those two is declared in
passages such as 'That heavenly Person is without body; he is both
without and within, not produced, without breath and without mind, pure,
higher than what is higher than the Imperishable' (II, 1, 2); for the
last words mean 'that imperishable highest Self possessing invisibility
and similar qualities, which is higher than the aggregate of individual
souls, which itself is higher than the non-evolved subtle elements.' The
term 'akshara' (imperishable) is to be etymologically explained either
as that which pervades (asnute) or that which does not pass away (a-
ksharati), and is on either of these explanations applicable to the
highest Self, either because that Self pervades all its effects or
because it is like the so-called Mahat (which is also called akshara),
free from all passing away or decaying.--Here terminates the adhikarana
of 'invisibility and so on.'
24. And on account of the description of its form.
'Fire is his head, his eyes the sun and the moon, the regions his ears,
his speech the Vedas disclosed, the wind his breath, his heart the
universe; from his feet came the earth; he is indeed the inner Self of
all things' (II, 1, 4)--the outward form here described can belong to
none but the highest Self; that is, the inner Self of all beings. The
section therefore treats of the highest Self.
25. Vaisvânara (is the highest Self), on account of the distinctions
qualifying the common term.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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