BRAHMA SUTRAS : CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA : Section 1: Janmadyadhikaranam: Topic 2 (Sutra 2) - 1. SWAMI SIVANANDA.
01/08/2019.
CHAPTER ONE: SAMANVAYA ADHYAYA
Contents Contents of Samanvaya Adhyaya
Section 1 (Sutras 1-31)
Janmadyadhikaranam: Topic 2 (Sutra 2)-1.
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The definition of Brahman.
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Janmadyasya yatah I.1.2 (2)
(Brahman is that) from which the origin etc., (i.e. the origin, sustenance and dissolution) of this (world proceed).
Janmadi: origin etc.; Asya: of this (world); Yatah: from which.
Answer to the enquiry of Brahman is briefly given in this Sutra. It is stated that Brahman who is eternally pure, wise and free (Nitya, Buddha, Mukta Svabhava) is the only cause, stay and final resort of this world. Brahman who is the originator, preserver and absorber of this vast world must have unlimited powers and characteristics. Hence He is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Who but the Omnipotent and Omniscient Brahman could create, rule and destroy it? Certainly mere atoms or chance cannot do this work. Existence cannot come out of non-existence (Ex nihilo nihil fit). The origin of the world cannot proceed from a non-intelligent Pradhana or Prakriti. It cannot proceed from its own nature or Svabhava spontaneously without a cause, because special places, times and causes are needed for the production of effects.
Brahman must have some characteristics. You can attain knowledge of Brahman through reflection on its attributes. Otherwise it is not possible to have such knowledge. Inference or reasoning is an instrument of right knowledge if it does not contradict the Vedanta texts.
In the ascertainment of Truth or the Ultimate Reality or the first cause the scriptures alone are authoritative because they are infallible, they contain the direct intuitive experiences of Rishis or Seers who attained Brahma Sakshatkara or Self-realisation. You cannot depend on intellect or reasons because a man of strong intellect can overthrow a man of weak intellect. Brahman is not an object of the senses. It is beyond the reach of the senses and the intellect.
To be Continued ..
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