Brahma Sutras : 1. INTRODUCTION - 1 : Swami Sivananda

-

26/10/2018
1. INTRODUCTION - 1.

Hari Om! Salutations to Sri Vyasa, the Avatara of Vishnu, the wise Badarayana and Sri Krishna Dvaipayana.

Vedas consist of three portions viz., the Karma Kanda which deals with sacrifices or ceremonial rites, the Upasana Kanda which treats of Upasana (worship) and the Jnana Kanda which deals with knowledge of Brahman. Karma Kanda represents the feet of a man, Upasana Kanda the heart, and the Jnana Kanda the head. Just as the head is the most important portion of a man, so also the Upanishads which treat of the knowledge portion of the Vedas is the head of the Vedas. Hence it is said to be the Siras (head) of Vedas.

Mimamsa means the investigation or enquiry into the connected meaning of the sacred texts. Of this Mimamsa two branches have been recognised, the Purva Mimamsa (earlier) and the Uttara Mimamsa (the latter). The former systematises the Karma Kanda – the portion of the Veda which pertains to action and sacrifices and which comprises Samhitas and the Brahmanas; the latter systematises the Jnana Kanda i.e., that part of the Vedas which includes the Aranyaka portion of the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Jaimini is the author of the Purva Mimamsa. Sri Vyasa (Badarayana or Krishna Dvaipayana) the Guru of Jaimini is the author of the Brahma Sutras otherwise known as Vedanta Sutras. The study of Brahma Sutras is a synthetic study of the Upanishads. It treats of the Vedanta philosophy.

The Vedas are eternal. They were not written by any individual. They came out from the breath of Hiranyagarbha (Lord Brahma). Vedanta is the end or gist of the Vedas. It deals with the knowledge portion. Vedanta is not mere speculation. It is the authentic record of transcendental experiences or direct and actual realisation of the great Hindu Rishis or seers. Brahma Sutras is the Science of the Soul.

Sutras are concise aphorisms. They give the essence of the arguments on a topic. Maximum of thought is compressed or condensed into these Sutras in as few words as possible. It is easy to remember them. Great intellectual people only, with realisation, can compose Sutras. They are clues or aids to memory. They cannot be understood without a lucid commentary (Bhashya). The commentary also is in need of further elaborate explanation. Thus the interpretations of the Sutras gave rise to various kinds of literary writings such as Vrittis (gloss) and Karikas.

The different Acharyas (founders of different schools of thought) have given their own interpretations of the Sutras to establish their own doctrines. The Bhashya of Sri Sankara on Brahma Sutras is known as Sariraka Bhashya. His school of thought is Kevala Advaita. The Bhashya of Sri Ramanuja who founded the Visishtadvaita School is called Sri Bhashya. The commentary of Sri Nimbarkacharya is known as Vedanta- parijata-saurabha. Sri Vallabhacharya expounded his system of philosophy of Suddhadvaita (pure monism) and his commentary on the Brahma Sutras is known as Anu Bhashya.

To be continued ...


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brahma Sutras - 12. Swami Sivananda

-
Image
======================================================================= ======================================================================= 25/11/2019. Brahma Sutras - 12. Swami Sivananda CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA Section 1 : (Sutras 1-31) Section 1: Sastrayonitvadhikaranam : Topic 3 (Sutra 3) Brahman is realisable only through the scriptures. Sastrayonitvat I.1.3 (3) ----------------------------- The scripture being the source of right knowledge. ================================= Sastra: the scripture; Yonitvat: being the source of or the means of the right knowledge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POST-12. ====================================================================== The Omniscience of Brahman follows from His being the source of scripture. The aphorism clearly points out that the Srutis alone are proof about Brahman. As Brahman is the cause of the world we
Read more

BRAHMA SUTRAS : CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA : Section 1: Jijnasadhikaranam: Topic 1 (Sutra 1) - SWAMI SIVANANDA

-
Image
14/06/2019 CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA Contents  Contents of Samanvaya Adhyaya Section 1 (Sutras 1-31) Section 1: Jijnasadhikaranam: Topic 1 (Sutra 1) The enquiry into Brahman and its pre-requisites. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Athato Brahmajijnasa I.1.1 (1) Now, therefore, the enquiry into Brahman. Atha: now, then, afterwards; Atah: therefore; Brahmajijnasa: a desire for the knowledge of Brahman (the enquiry into the real nature of Brahman). Sutra literally means a string. It serves the purpose of stringing together the flowers of the Vedanta passages. The word Atha is not used to introduce a new subject that is going to be taken up. It is here to be taken as denoting immediate consecution. The enquiry of Brahman specially depends upon some antecedent conditions. The enquirer should be endowed with certain spiritual requisites or qualifications. Then only the enquiry is
Read more

Brahma Sutras : CHAPTER ONE : SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA- Section 1: Introduction-2. : Swami Sivananda

-
Image
20/05/2019 CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA - Section 1 (Sutras 1-31) Section 1: Introduction-2 1.Synopsis This section gives a bird's-eye view of the subject dealt with in the Brahma Sutras namely the nature of the Supreme Brahman or the Highest Self, of the individual soul and the universe and their inter-relations and gives hints on meditation on Brahman. Adhikarana I: Sutra 1 gives a hint that the book is meant for those who are endowed with a real desire for attaining the knowledge of Brahman. Adhikarana II: Sutra 2 defines Brahman as that whence the world originates etc. Adhikarana III: Sutra 3 declares that Brahman is the source of the Vedas and that Brahman is known only by the study of Sruti and by no other means of knowledge. Adhikarana IV: Sutra 4 proves Brahman to be the uniform topic of all Vedanta texts. Adhikarana V: Sutras 5 to 11 show that none but Brahman is admitted by Sruti to be the cause of the world. They prove by various cogent
Read more