bhoomADHikaraNam-1-3-2 suthra-7-samprasAdhAth aDHyupadhEsAth-1-3-7 Bhooman is Brahman because of the instruction about it is there in addition to that of Brahman. There is this text in Chandhogya, 'yathra nAnyath pasyathi nAnyath srunOthi nAnyath vijAnAthithadhbhoomA, yathra anyath pasyathi anyath srunOthi anyath vijAnAthi thadhalpam.' (Chan.VII-23-24) which means ,where one sees nothing else hears nothing else knows nothing else it is great and where one sees,hears and knows something else it is small. Here the word bhooman means large or great, eventhough it is derived from the word bahu meaning many,because it is used as an antonym to the word alpam meaning small. Now a doubt is raised as to whether this entity describes as bhooman is the individual self or Brahman. The poorvapakshin says that it is the individual self.The context is this.Sage Narada approached sanatkumara and asked him to help him to cross over his state of grief and the latter taught him several truths. He began with nama and goes higher and higher,as Narada asked him whether there is anything higher, and ends his discourse with prANa.There is nothing mentioned higher nor it is further questioned by Narada. So the discourse on the self being terminated at this stage the individual self which is accompanied with the prANa is what is implied as the greatest by the word bhooman. The poorvapakshi further argues that prANA is referred to as father and mother and any harm done to one with prANa, is mentioned as an act to be condemned. Even the example of spokes of the wheel should not be misconstrued to denote Brahman because as all insentient beings are connected to the sentient soul for its enjoyment and the individual soul being the one with prANa, it is what is denoted as bhooma. Moreover the next section refers to the one who places prANA above all else is an athivAdhin, eloquent. He is then said to be speaking surpassingly with truth 'Eshathu vA athivadhathi sa sathyEna athivadhathi.' (Chan.7-16) Then, the passage on bhooman occurs and hence it is the individual self that is expressed as bhooman. This view is refuted by the suthra saying that it is only the Supreme self and not jiva because The instruction is given about the bhooman in addition to the individual soul which is termed as samprasAdha, serenity, as known from 'aTHa ya Esha samprasAdhO asmAth sarirAth samutthAya paramjyothirupasampadhya svEna rupENa prathinishpadhyatha Esha AthmA, (Chan.8-3-4) this serene and happy being rises up from this body and reaches the supreme light and appears in its true form. The athivAdin mentioned in the pasage on prANa is different from the one in the subsequent passage, which mentions the one who realises the truth as the athivAdhin. It is well known that the Truth is Brahman from the text 'sathyam jnAnam anantham brahma.' As the every successive entity mentioned starting from nAma till prAna are different from the preceding one, here also the truth is different from prANa and is the same as bhooman. It is clear that from the text, 'Esha thu vA athivadhathi ya satyEna athivadhathi, but he really speaks surpassingly who speaks surpassingly with truth.,' that, the athivAdhin regarding prANA is different from the one regarding the truth. Narada then wants to become the athivAdhin of truth. Hence Brahman is introduced as a fresh topic and later it is mentioned that Brahman is bliss 'yo vai bhooma thath sukham nAlpE sukhamasthi.' (Chan.7-23) confirming bhooman to be Brahman as the word bhooman is explained as the infinite. Then the passage quoted at the outset occurs thereby establishing the denotation of bhooman as Brahman because Brahman alone is the infinite bliss. Ramanuja explains the passage thus: The one who experiences the unlimited exquisite bliss in Brahman does not see anything else, because eveything is the manifestation of the glory of Brahman.He sees nothing apart from Brahman whose Lordly power is due to His divine attributes and glory, and enjoys bliss unalloyed with sorrow because Brahman is essentially blissful. To the objection as to how this world consisting of pleasure mixed with pain can be perceived as one of pure joy, Ramanuja answers that, because the individual self sees the world different from Brahman he experiences pain and pleasure due to his knowledge being obscured by his karma. Once he is freed from the nescience he sees the world as nothing but the manifestation of the Lord whose nature is of infinite joy and who possesses infinite auspicious qualities. Ramanuja illustrates this by two examples. A man affected with bile finds the taste of water unpleasant or moderately pleasant according to the extent of bile he suffers from. The same water tastes good for a healthy person. Similarly a boy who does not know that a plaything can amuse him he has no liking for it but when he finds that it gives him pleasure he likes it. So too the world, which is a plaything for the Lord and has Him as its inner self, is seen as an object of joy by the enlightened one. The concluding sections of the passage on bhooman has this text 'sa vA Esha Evam pasyan evam manvAnah Evam vijAnan ATHMarathih Athmakreedah AthmamiThunah AthmAnandhah sa svarAt bhavathi thasya sarvEshu lokEshu kAmachAro bhavathi.' (Chan.7-25-2)He who sees thus, thinks thus, knows thus, loves the self, revels in the self, united with the self and delights in the self. He is the sovereign who is free to move in all the worlds.The word svarat denotes that he is not bound by karma like the normal kings. Also he who sees this does not see death, illness or grief. He who sees this, sees everything and obtains everything. 'na pasyo mrithyum pasyathi na rOgam nOha duhkhathAm sarvam ha pasyah pasyathi sarvam ApnOthi sarvasah,' (Chan.7-26-2) therefore the subject of the passage on bhooman being different from pRAna, bhooman is only Brahman. suthra-8-DharmOpapatthEscha-1-3-8 The attributes mentioned are suitable only to Brahman. They are, immortality,'Ethadhamrtham,' supported by its own glory. 'sva mahimni" being the self of all,'sa Eva idham sarvam,' being the cause of everything, 'Athma Eva idham sarvam.' These qualities apply only to the supreme self and hence the bhooman is Brahman. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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