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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]



 
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