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dhaharADHikaraNam-1-3-5





suhthra-13 dhahara uttharEbhyah-1-3-5



The small AkAsa is Brahman because of the subsequent texts.



In Chandhogya the following passage refers to the space inside the
heart, 'aTHa yadhidham asmin brahmapurE dhaharam pundarikam vEsma,
dhaharO asminnanthara AkAsah thasmin yadhanthah, thadhanvEshtavyam;
thadhvAvavijinjnAsithavyam,'(chan.8-1-1) The meaning is, in this city of
Brahman there is a mansion in the form of lotus and within that is the
small AkAsa ; what is within that small AkAsa is to be sought after and
to be understood. Now the doubt is whether the small AkAsa within the
lotus of the heart is the element Akasa or the individual self or
Brahman. It is claimed to be the element AkAsa because of the well known
implication of the word to it only.



This view is refuted by the suthra because of what is denoted by a 
subsequent passage 'Esha AtmA apahatha pApma vijarO vimrthyur vishOkO
vijiGhathso apipAsah sathyakamah sathya sankalpah ' (Chan.8-7-1), the
self which is free from evil,old age,death.sorrow,hunger and thirst
whose desire is of truth and whose resolve is of truth,' is mentioned as
that to be sought and known. These attributes,  which are also found in
the dhaharAkAsa, (Chan.8-1-5) prove that it is Brahman.



Moreover the comparison 'yAvan vA ayam AkAsah thAvAn  EshO antharhrdhaya
AkAsah,' this AkAsa within the heart is as large as the other AkAsa
,meaning the bhoothAkasa, does not make sense if the dharAkasa is the
same as bhoothAkAsa.But an objection is raised that  the supreme self is
described as 'jyAyAn prthivya jyAyan anthrikshAth, (Chan.3-14-3) as
being larger that the earth and sky and hence it could not be compared
to the AkAsa in size. Ramanuja answers as follows:



The comparison to akAsa is given in order to dismiss the idea of
smallness on account of the dhaharAkAsa being situated inside the heart,
as in the expression 'ishuvath gacchathi savithA,' the sun moves like an
arrow, to indicate the fastness of movement, though in fact the sun
moves faster.



Another argument forwarded to show that the dhaharAkasa is not Brahman.
It is not dhaharAkAsa which is intended to be sought and understood but
only what is inside it.So dhaharAkaSA is distinguished from that inside
it. This objection is ruled out for the following reason. The sarira of
the meditator is indicated as the city in which Brahman dwells and the
dhaharAKASa denotes  the omniscient, omnipotent Lord, who comes to dwell
in it out of love for the devout upAsaka, with all hIs auspicious
attributes, which is the object of meditation. That is, the Brahman who
is the dhaharAkAsa is to be meditated and understood along with his
attributes.



But the opponent questions the interpretation that, the dharAkASa is
Brahman and 'thath' in 'thasmin yadhantha' indicates the attributes of
Brahman,and  both being the object of meditation is indicated by
'thadhanvEshtavyam', to which Ramanuja replies thus:

The dharAkAsa is said to be as large as the bhoothAkAsa and then the
earth,sky,sun,moon and the stars etc are said to be in it. Then it is
said that all desires realised and not realised are there in it to be
enjoyed and the dhaharAkAsa, though being inside the heart and thus
inside the body, is not affected by old age etc. The text further
denotes that the dhaharAkAsa is Brahman by the sentence 'Ethath
sathyambrahma param,' meaning , this city is the reality which is the
cause of all, and the qualities of Brahman have been attrbuted to it by
'Esha AthmA apahatha pApmA, the self free from evil,'  confirming that
it is Brahman by 'sathyakAmah sathya sankalpah, of true wish and
infallible will, and the declaration that those who do not know these
qualities of Brahman enumerated in the passage attain perishable results
while those who know  realise their goal and have their wishes
fulfilled.



Therefore the dharakasa is Brahman while and the qualities abiding
inside are both to be meditted and known.





suthra-14-gathisabdhAbhyAm;thaTHAhi dhrshtam;lingam cha-1-3-14



DhaharAkAsa is Brahman on account of the mention of 'going into Brahman'
and the word brahmalOka. This is also seen from the other texts and
there is an indicatory sign.



The Chandhogya passage 'thadhyaTHA hiraNyaniDHim nihitham akshEthrajnA
uparyupari sancharanthah na vindhEyuh, EvamEva imAh prajAh
ahrahargacchanthyah Etham brahmalOkam na vindhanthi; anrthEna hi
prathyooDAh,'(Chan.8-3-2) which means, as the people who do not know the
field,(akshEtrajnA) walk over and over and do not know the gold treasure
buried underneath, so do all the beings go tio brahmaloka everyday but
do not know it because they are covered with untruth. Here the word
Etham denotes dhaharAkAsa and all beings are said to enter into it
everyday in sleep but do not know it as such. So by the gathi, going and
sabda ,the word brahmalOka, the dhaharAkAsa is understood as
Brahman.This is sustantiated by other texts also.



In chandhogya 'EVAMeva khalu somya imAh sarvAh prajAh sathi sampadhya na
vidhuh,sathi sampatsyAmahe ithi' (Chan.VI-9-2)and 'satha Agaccha na
vidhuh satha acchAmaha ithi' (Chan.VI-10-2)The two texts mean, all this
beings having gone to braHmaloka ( in their sleep) do not know it and
having returned from it do not know that also.Similarly the word
brahmaloka is used in the sense of the abode of Brahman in the texts
like 'Esha brahma lokah samrAt ithi ho vacha,' (Brhd.IV 3-32) this is
the world of Brahman. The mention of all beings getting merged in
Brahman in the state of deep sleep as in pralaya, is the sufficient
inferential sign of the dhaharAkasa being Brahman and so is the word
brahmalOka denoting that of Brahman. Even if the other texts do not
mention it, the moving about of all beings to the world of Brahman
everyday and not knowing it, is itself the sign of dhaharAkASa being
Brahman only.



suthra-15-DHrthEscha mahimnah asya asmin upalabDHEh-1-3-15



because of the mention  supporting the world by dhaharAkAsa, the glory
which is of Brrahman only.

'sa sEthuhrviDhoothirEsham lOkAnAm asambhedhAya'(Chan.8-4-1) This is a
bridge, limiting the worlds so that they do not mingle with each other.
This quality of being a support to the worlds denote that the
dhaharAkAsa is Brahman. In BrhadAraNyaka also we find the passage, 'Esha
sarvEsvarah Esha bhoothADhipathih Esha bhoothapAlah Esha sEthuh
viDHaraNa EshAm lOkAnAm asamBhEdhAya,' He is the LOrd of all, master of
all beings and ruler of all,and He is the bridge and limit so that these
worlds do not get mixed up.(Brhd.4-4-22) and 'Ethasya vA aksharasya
prasAsanE gArgi suryAchandramasou viDhrthou thishTathah,'(Brhd.3-8-9) by
the rule of this imperishable one, Gargi, the sun and the moon are held
in their position.Since this power of Brahman is also seen in
dhaharAkAsa it is Brahman only.



suthra-16-prasiddhEscha-1-3-16



Also because of the wellknown meaning .



'kO vA hyEVAnyAth, kah prANyAth, yadhEsha AkAsahAnandhO na syAth,who
could breath in and who will breath out if this bliss is not the AkASa.'
(Taitt.II-7) and  sarvANi ha imAni bhoothAni AkAsAdhEva
samuthpadhyanthe.(Chan.1-9-1) all these beings come from AkASa only.'
>From this it is clear that the term AkAsa is used to denote Brahman. the
qualities like free from evil etc. emphasise this meaning of AkAsa
excluding any reference to the bhoothAkasa.



suthra-17-itharaparAmarsAth sa ithi cheth, na, asambhavath-1-3-17



If itis said to be the individual self due to the mention of it
susequently, it is not, because of the impossibility of such assumption.



The opponent quoting the passage aTHa sa Esha samprasAdhah asmAth
sarirAth samutthAya param jyothirupa sampadhya svena rupeNa
abhinishpadhyathe,Esha Athma, ithi hOvAcha Ethath amrtham abhayam
Ethahth brahma,(Chan.8-3-4) This individual self having risen from the
body attains the supreme light and its true self.This self is immortal,
fearless and this is Brahman.' So the dhaharAkAsa may refer to the
individual self.



This view is refuted on the grounds that the qualitiies like apahatha
pApmathva, being free from evil do not apply to the individual self.





suthra-18-uttharAth chEth Avirbhoothasvarupasthu-

1-3-18



If it is said that the later passage ascribed to prajApathi speaks of
individual soul only, it is only with reference to the real state of the
soul



'Esha AtmA apahatha pApma vijarO vimrthyurvishOkO vijiGhathso apipAsah
sathyakamah sathya sankalpah ' (Chan.8-7-1), the self which is free from
evil,old age,death.sorrow,hunger and thirst whose desire is of truth and
resolve is of truth,' is mentioned as that to be sought and known. in
the passage where PrajApathi gives instruction to Indra, who approached
PrajApathi with the intention of knowing the true nature of the self
that is to be enquired into.After describing the embodied soul in
waking, dream and deep sleep states Prajapathi says 'na ha vai
sasirirasya priyApriyayoh apahathirasthi asariram vA va santham na
priyApriyE sprsathah,(Chan.8-12-1) there is no freedom from joy and
sorrow till one is in embodiment and once the soul rises above and frees
himself from the body, joy and sorrow touch him not. And further states
that the soul rising above attains the light and and its own nature.
aTHa sa Esha samprasAdhah asmAth sarirAth samutthAya param jyothirupa
sampadhya svena rupeNa abhinishpadhyathe. (Chan.8-12-3)



Here the light is denoted as the Supreme being and attaining which the
jiva is said to enjoy freedom in Brahmaloka while  in the stage of
samsara the jiva is like a horse tied to the yoke.So the entire chapter
has been devoted to the explanation of the true nature of the individual
self.Therefore the qualities like apahatha pApma etc may well denote the
self and since the same qualities are shown in the text about
dhaharAkAsa it may as well be the individual self.



This is refuted by the words 'Avirbhootha svarupasthu' in the suthra
which Ramanuja explains thus:

'Poorvam anrtha thirOhitha apahatha PapmathvAdhi guNakasvasvarupah
paschAth vimuktha karma bandDHah sarirAth samutTHithah
paramjyothirupasampannah Avirbhoothasvarupah san apahathapApamathvAdhi
gunavisishtah  thathra prajApathi vAkye abhiDheeyathe, dhaharavAkyE thu
athirOhitha svabhAva apahatha pApmathvAdhivisishta Eva dhaharAkasah
pratheeyathE.'



That is, the qualities like freedom from evil etc. is attributed to the
soul in the state of release, when its svarupa is no longer concealed by
avidhya-karma, according to the passage referring to PrajApathi while
the same qualities are mentioned with respect to dhaharAkAsa which is
not under avidhya. So it mens only Brahman. Moreover the description of
dhaharAkAsa as the sEthu,bridge that supports the worlds and as sathya
will not be appropriate in the case of individual jiva even in the state
of release. This fact is proved later in the suthra
'jagathvyApAravarjam'(BS.4-4-17)





suthra19-anyArTHascha parAmarsah-1-3-19



The reference to the individual is for different reason.



The passage,'aTHa sa Esha samprasAdhah asmAth sarirAth samutthAya param
jyothirupa sampadhya svena rupeNa abhinishpadhyathe,' in Chandhogya
chapter8,section3,  with respect to dhaharAkAsa is identical to the one
in chapter 8,section 12 that deals with the instruction of prajapathi.
Both describe the soul rising and attaining the light and its true
nature.But the latter is for the sake of meditation on the dhaharAkAsa
and not to show that the individual soul is dhaharAkaAsa,



suktha20-alpasruthErithi chEth- thadhukatham-

1-3-20



If it is argued that the dharAkAsa is the bhoothAkAsa because of the
smallness mentioned, the reply to this has already been given in
suthra1-2-7 as 'nichAyyathvAth' that is, brahman is denoted as  small
for the sake of meditation.Therefore, says Ramanuja, what  the
dhaharAkAsa refers to is only 'anAghrAtha avidyA dhoshaganDHah
svAbhAvika nirathisayajnAnbalaaisvaryaviryashakthi thEjafprabhrthi
aparimitha udhAraguNasAgarah purushOtthama Eva.' the supreme purusha,
who is untouched by defects of avidhya and who is the ocean of unlimited
great qualities like knowlege, strength, sovereignity, prowess, power
and radiance etc.The self denoted by the passage in section on
Prajapathi is only the individual self.



suthra-21-anukrthEsthasya cha-1-3-21



Due to the mention of attaining the lieknessof that.

AS the individual self is id to attain the supreme light by meditating
on the dharAkasa it should be different.This is supported by the passage
in Mundakopanishad 'yadhA pasyah pasyathErukmavarnam karthAram isam
purusham brahma yonim; ThadhA vidhvAn puNyapApam viDHooya niranjanah
paramam samyam upaithi, when the seer sees the radiant being, who is the
creator, the Lord and Supreme purusha,he sheds all his merit and demerit
and becomes like the pure Supreme self.(Mund.3-1-3)





suthra-22-api smaryathE-1-3-22



The smrthi also states this.



In the gita the Lord says 'idham jnAnam upAsrithya mama sAdharmyam
AgathAh, those who acquire this knowledge become like Me.'(BG.14-2) Thus
ends the dhaharADhikaraNam.





PramithADHikaraNam-1-3-6



suthra-23-sabdhAdhEva pramithah-1-3-23



>From the word (Lord) mentioned in the text, measured ('by the size of
the thumb.')



In the KatOpanishad  there is this text, 'angushTa mAthrah purushah
maDHya Athmani thishTathi, eesAno bhoothabavyasya,na thathO
vijigupsathE,' This being of thumbsize stands in the middle of the self
as the Lord of past and future and  therefore there  is no fear.'
(KaTa.II-4) And 'angushTa mAthrah purushah jyOthiriva adhoomakah eesAnO
bhoothabavyasya,(KaTa.I-13) this thumbsized being is like light without
smoke and the Lord of past and future.' The same purusha is spoken as
'angushtamAthrah purushO antharAthmasadhA janAnAm hrdhaye
sannivishtah'(KaTa.2-6-17)the innerself situated in th heart of all
people.

This person of the size of a thumb is the individual self ,says the
poorvapakshin. The reason given for this is that there is mention about
the jiva as being of the size of a thumb in the scriptural texts..In
svetasvatara upanishad the individual self is referred as
such.'prANADHipah sancharathi svakarmabhih; angushTa maAthrah
ravithulyarupah sankalpa ahamkAra samanvitho yah,'(Svet.5-7,8) The lord
of prANa,of the size of a thumb,  brilliant as the sun, moves with his
actions,and is endowed with will and ego.Further nowhere is any mention
of Brahman as angushTamAthra, thumbsized.



This argument is refuted because there is the word in the passage quoted
,namely, eesAnO bhoothabhavasya, Lord of past and future which applies
only to Brahman, and not to jiva who is under the control of his karma.





SUTHRA-24-HRDHYAPeKSHAYaTHU MANUSHYadhIKaRATHVaTH-1-3-24



With reference to the heart( for upAsana for which) human beings alone
are qualified (and not other creatures.)



Brahman is meditated as being in the heart, which is of the size of
thumb, and therefore brahman is said to be angushTamAthRA which is not
inappropriate.Man alone is capable of meditation and hence Brahman being
described as angushTamAthra means that he is seen in the heart as such.
Other creatures like horse , snake etc. though also have heart of
thumbsize are excluded for this reason.The status of Brahman being
angushTamathra ia discussed in a later suthra.







































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