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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00210 Apr 2006

 
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7.Lord Narayana-Brahman of Visishtadvaita.



                    The theory of causality depends on the theory of
Reality. The Reality, that is Brahaman of Visishtadvaita is Lord
Narayana. Ramanuja proves this by  quoting various passages such as
those in Mahopanishad and Subalopanishad which declare that Narayana
alone existed in the beginning and everything is the sarira of Him, the
indweller of all. Ramanuja in his Sribhashya, claims that Narayana is
the Paramakaarana, the ultimate cause and says that the words 'sat',
'Brahman' and 'Aathman,' used in various contexts in the Upanishads
denote Narayana only. Narayana is savisesha, not saguna,  as the words
satyam jnanam anantham refer to His svarupa and therefore inseparable
from Him. Besides He is ananthakalyanagunavisishta, possessing
innumerable auspicious qualities



                  Ramanuja proceeds to define Brahman and examines the
terms satyam, jnanam and anantham which constitute the definition of
Brahaman. The term satyam differentiates Brahman from cit and acit 
which are, though real , conditoned by adjuncts like time, place, entity
etc while Brahman has the nirupaadhika satthaa, unconditioned 
existence.. In contrast to the cit and acit which change their names and
forms and thus have conditioned existence, the word Satyam is used with
reference to Brahman to denote that it is immutable.



                    In Visishtadvaita there are three reals, Isvara, jiva
and jagat. The world is real because it originated from Brahman and is
sustained by Brahman as its eternal self. Ramanuja calls Brahman '
satyasya satyam,' whcih means that Brahman is the reality behind all the
reals. The scriptural authority for this happens to be none other than
the text in Brhadhaaranyaka Upanishad which is quoted by the
non-dualists to negate the world as unreal. The text goes loke
this.'nethi nethi nahyethasmaath  ithi nethyanyathparam asthi;atha
naamadheyam satyasyasatyam ithi.'  It negates everything as being
non-brahman, which is the suprme truth and hence Brahman is called
'satyasya satyam.'



               According to Ramanuja what is negated by the declaration
'nethi netni' is not all specifications or qualities in Brahman but only
the parimithathva or limitedness of qualities. The  term 'satyasya
satyam' to define Brhman indicates that Brahman is the real essence of
everything and does not mean that everything except Brahman is unreal.
Brahman is the absolute reality, from which the world of cit and acit
derives its existence and which, is the indwelling Self of everything.
Brahadhaaranyaka text enumerates everything from earth to the sentient
self and declares that Brahman is the athman of all.





               Berahman defined as jnanam, saya Ramanuja, indicates its
nature as that of unlimited and eternal knowledge. Brahman is not
pureconsciousness as in advaita but only svsrupanirupakadharma like
satya. Brahman is jnaasraya and jnansvarupa and this jnana is self
luminous as per the texts of Upanishads 'jyothishaam jyothih, light of
the lights,' and 'thameva bhaanthm anubhaathi sarvam thasya bhaasaa
sarvamidham vibhaathi, only through light of Brahman  everything else
shines, or becomes known,'ekavijnanena sarvavijnanam.' This luminosity
of Brahmanis is the infinite jnana.Brahman and jnana are inseparable
like the lamp and its luminosity. While Brahman recals everythng through
its jnana no other jnana is required to reveal Brahman as otherwise it
becomes an object of knowledge and the omniscience would be lost.



              Jnana is not only the essential attribute of Brahman but
also eternal for the very reason that Brahman is eternal. Jnana in
Visishtadvaita is not identical with Brahman as claimed by advaita nor
it is a guna of the self, as professed by Nyaya-vaiseshika, but an
essential attribute inseparable from Brahman,being its
svarupanirupakadharma.



            The term anantha is also a svarupanirupaka dharma of  Brahman
which diffefentiates Brahman from cit and acit . The latter are finite ,
desakalaparicchinna, limited by place, time and entity but Brahman is
anantha, infinite, desa kalaparicchinnarahitha. A pot for instance is
desa paricchinna when we say that it is here and not there. Similarly it
is kalaparicchinna  since it was not here yesterday but prescent only
today. Vasthu paricchinnathva , limitation by entity means being limited
by the form as when we say that the pot is not the cloth. Brahman is
free from all the three conditioning, being ever existent, all pervading
and advithiya, without a second.























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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