Brahma Sutra

Brahma Sutra

The three basic texts of Vedanta are the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Brahma-Sutra. Together they are referred to as the Prasthana-traya, triple canon of Vedanta. The Upanishads constitute the revealed texts (sruti-prasthana); they mark the summits of the Veda which is Sruti (the heard, the revealed). They are the pristine springs of Vedantic metaphysics; Vedanta is the name given to them because they are the end (aim as well as concluding parts) of the Veda (Veda + anta). The Bhagavad-Gita comes next only to the Upanishads. It is given a status which is almost equal to that of the Upanishads. As embodying the teachings of Sri Krishna and as constituting the cream of the Epic Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-Gita occupies a unique place in the Vedantic tradition. A popular verse compares the Upanishads to the cows, the Bhagavad-Gita to the milk, Sri Krishna to the milkman, Arjuna, the Pandava hero, to the calf and the wise people to the partakers of the milk. Sri Sankara describes the Bhagavad-Gita as the quintessence of the teaching of the entire Veda (samasta-vedartha-sarasangraha-bhutam). As this text forms a part of the Mahabharata which is a Smriti (the remembered, ie., secondary text based on the Veda), it is called Smriti-prasthana. The third of the canonical texts is the Brahma-Sutra which is regarded as Nyaya-prasthana, because it sets forth the teachings of Vedanta in a logical order. This work is known by other names also: Vedanta-sutra, since it is the aphoristic text on Vedanta; Sariraka-sutra, since it is concerned with the nature and destiny of the embodied soul; Bhikshu-Sutra, since those who are most competent to study it are the sannyasins; Uttara-mimamsa-Sutra, since it is an inquiry into the final sections of the Veda.

The author of the Brahma-Sutra is Badarayana whom Indian tradition identifies with Vyasa, the arranger or compiler of the Veda.

In the Brahma-Sutra, Badarayana-Vyasa strings together the leading concepts of Vedanta in an ordered manner. The Sutra is an exquisite garland made out of Upanishad-blossoms. It is divided into four chapters (adhyayas); each chapter consists of four parts (padas); each part has a number of sections (adhikaranas); and each section has one or more aphorisms (sutras). According to Sankara, the number of sections is 192. The total number of aphorisms is 555.

View of the subject dealt with in the Brahma Sutras:

1. Adhikarana I: Sutra 1 gives a hint that the book is meant for those who are endowed with a real desire for attaining the knowledge of Brahman.
2. Adhikarana II: Sutra 2 defines Brahman as that whence the world originates etc.
3. Adhikarana III: Sutra 3 declares that Brahman is the source of the Vedas and that Brahman is known only by the study of Sruti and by no other means of knowledge.
4. Adhikarana IV: Sutra 4 proves Brahman to be the uniform topic of all Vedanta texts.
5. Adhikarana V: Sutras 5 to 11 show that none but Brahman is admitted by Sruti to be the cause of the world. They prove by various cogent and convincing arguments that the Brahman which the Vedantic texts proclaim as the cause of the universe is an intelligent principle, and cannot be identified with the non-intelligent or insentient Pradhana from which the world originates, as declared by the Sankhyas.
6. Adhikarana VI: Sutras 12 to 19 raise the question whether the ‘Anandamaya’ in Taittiriya Upanishad II-5 is merely the individual soul or the Supreme Self. The Sutras show that Brahman is All-Bliss and that by the term ‘Anandamaya’ in Sruti is meant neither the individual soul, nor the Pradhana of Sankhyas. The Sutras prove that they all describe none but Brahman.
7. Adhikarana VII: Sutras 20 and 21, show that the golden person seen within the sun and the person seen within the eye mentioned in Chh. Up. I-6 are not some individual soul of high eminence, but the highest Brahman or the Supreme Self.
8. Adhikarana VIII: Sutra 22 shows that the ether (Akasa) from which according to Chh. Up. I-9 all beings originate, is not the elemental ether but the Supreme Brahman.
9. Adhikarana IX: Sutra 23 shows that Prana, also mentioned in Chh. Up. I-11-15 is the Supreme Brahman.
10. Adhikarana X: Sutras 24 to 27 teach that the light spoken of in Chh. Up. III-13-7 is not the ordinary physical light but the Supreme Brahman.
11. Adhikarana XI: Sutras 28 to 31 decide that the Prana mentioned in Kau. Up. III-2 is Brahman.

[Download]

brahma