The Six Systems of Philosophy in India - 4. Swami Krishnananda.

-

 ========================================================================


========================================================================

Saturday, October 15,  2022. 06:00.
(Spoken on May 8, 1997)
Post-4.

=========================================================================


The Brahma Sutras have four chapters, and the total number of sutras is five hundred and fifty-five. What does the First Chapter of the Brahma Sutras deal with? There are many statements in the Upanishads whose meaning is difficult to make out. They can mean one thing or another thing. The specification of the true meaning of a particular statement in the Upanishad is necessary so that we may not mistake its import. The First Chapter of the Brahma Sutras engages itself entirely in interpreting the true import and meaning of certain knotty passages in the ten major Upanishads. There are minor Upanishads also, totalling one hundred and eight or so, but the Brahma Sutras is concerned only with ten: Isa Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Prasna Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Aitareya Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad, Chhandogya Upanishad, and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. These are the principle foundations of philosophical metaphysics in India. It is a very difficult subject. Many people do not go into the Chhangogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, and confine themselves only to the lesser Upanishads. But the Brahma Sutras goes into the depths of these knotty passages occurring in the Upanishads. The First Chapter is not a commentary on the Upanishads. It is only the interpretation and explanation of the true meaning of certain unintelligible portions, statements, in the Upanishads.


The Second Chapter of the Brahma Sutras is entirely devoted to the refutation of contrary doctrines. There are schools of thought which do not believe in God, and such schools are refuted by proper argument. The logic of Nyaya, the physics of Vaisheshika, the dualism of Samkhya, the ritualism of Purva Mimamsa, and even the atomism of Jainism and the schools of Buddhism are dealt with elaborately, and every theme that is propounded by these godless schools is set aside as not in conformity with the ultimate nature of things. Generally, only the Second Chapter of the Brahma Sutras is prescribed in colleges and universities because it is intricate, highly argumentative, and intellectual in its nature. We shall not go into these things, as our purpose is mainly spiritual edification. We shall confine ourselves to the subject of the building up of our true self, the various efforts that we have to make in freeing ourselves from the bondage of samsara, and finding out ways and means of the salvation of the soul.


The Third Chapter deals with a very interesting aspect of the subject, namely, which passages of the Upanishads can be combined for the purpose of meditation. The Third Chapter deals with meditational processes according to the Upanishads. Every statement in the Upanishads is a prescription for meditation. In all the ten Upanishads, several such statements are made, and many of them of a similar nature and import can be brought together for the purpose of meditation. Which point of the Upanishad can be combined with which other point for the purpose of meditation is the subject of the Third Chapter.


The Fourth Chapter is the most important for us, as it deals with the cause of bondage and the release from bondage.


Thus, the Brahma Sutras is a pinnacle of Indian philosophic thought, which deals with and tackles every existent school of thought in India. It points out their inadequacies, rejects them wholesale, and substitutes for all these thoughts a more comprehensive vision of life, integrated in its nature, complete in every aspect, and wholesome in every means. The question is about our own selves. The Brahma Mimamsa, or Uttara Mimamsa, is also sometimes called Sharika Mimamsa. A sharika is a being who has embodied physicality. Whoever has a body is a sharika. Inasmuch as it studies the nature of the embodied soul, it also is called Sharika Mimamsa. As it is concerned with the establishment of the Supreme Absolute, it is called Brahma Mimamsa because it is posterior to the Karma Mimamsa. Mimamsa which is Purva is called Uttara Mimamsa. Varieties of names are given to this wonderful, spiritual, metaphysical textbook called the Brahma Sutras.

END.


=========================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Aim of Human Existence – Post - 9 : Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================ Wednesday, 24 Jan 2024.  05:30. Article: Philosophy: The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 (Spoken at a Conference in Delhi on Sept. 21, 1980) Post-9. ================================================================ The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 -1 No success in any field of life can be achieved without tapas. Tapas is the guarantee for success in any walk of life, in any direction of any activity. We have been told that creation originated with the tapas of the Creator. The Nasadiya Sukta of the Veda tells us that the Supreme Creator performed tapas when He willed this vast creation, and the whole of His creation is vibrant with various degrees and manifestations of this supreme tapas. In this sense, we may say that the whole creation is only tapas, and the activities of nature in its generality and of people in its particularity are all engendered by a force which can be best described as tapas. I for one cannot
Read more

The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6 : Swami Krishnananda

-
Image
26/11/2018 The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6. : Swami Krishnananda (Talk given on Janmashtami, Sri Krishna's birthday.) A powerful interest that dominates a man's life polarises his mind, which then acts like a magnet and continually draws out from his stored-up experiences and also from new experiences whatever is relevant and useful to the end in view. Deep interest invigorates the mind, awakens its dormant powers and is the key to super excellence, invention and discovery. Hard work is another condition of superiority. The aspirant must master the knowledge and technique pertaining to his particular job; in fact, he must be a keen and lifelong learner, ready to pick up new ideas and new ways wherever he can find them. He must cultivate the habits of thoroughness, accuracy and reliability; he must take pains to check, revise and polish his work until it acquires as perfect a finish as possible within the limits of time available. Inspirat
Read more

The story of Deerga Tapasi who had two sons, Punya and Papa :

-
Image
To, All Members, Maharshi then read out from the Tamil version of 'Yoga Vasishta' the story of Deerga Tapasi who had two sons, Punya and Papa. After the death of the parents the younger one mourned the loss and the elder brother consoled him as follows : “Why do you mourn the loss of our parents? I shall tell you where they are; they are only within ourselves and are ourselves. For the life-current has passed through innumerable incarnations, births and deaths, pleasures and pains, etc., just as the water current in a river flows over rocks, pits, sands, elevations and depressions on its way, but still the current is unaffected. Again the pleasures and pains, births and deaths, are like undulations on the surface of seeming water in the mirage of the ego. The only reality is the Self from where the ego appears, and runs through thoughts which manifest themselves as the universe and in which the mothers and fathers, friends and relatives appear and disappear.
Read more