Brahmasutras (1-4)

notes, summary

01 INTRODUCTION

• Sutra - small statement with lot of ideas packed in it. Aphorism.
• Audio/oral tradition, not visual. Writing was not there and even when it came, it was not used very much.
• A huge book can be compressed into few sutras which are memorized. Sutra method has been devised because of memory.
• Sutra method - putting all the ideas in metrical verse form. Poetry form. It is easier to remember a verse form. There is a rhythm and you can tune and sing it.
• Brahmasutra: 555 sutras take about 10 pages when written down. When expanded you can write books and books. It’s like an atom bomb.
• Task 1: Extracting the vedantic teaching through upanishadic interpretation.
• Task 2: Defending the teaching by answering charges of other philosophies.
• Task 3: Offense: “What right you have to talk about logical defects when your system is full of logical loopholes?”
• Qualification 1: readiness for hair-splitting. Once the question of interpretation comes hair-splitting of words, sentences and ideas is involved. Thus this book might appear too dry.
• Qualification 2: study of at least 10 upanishads.
• We do not require Brahmasutra (BS) for jnanam and moksha. Any competent teacher teaches BG and upanishads only based on BS. Therefore study of BG and upanishads is indirect study of BS and therefore enough for jnanam and moksha.
• BS is considered as one of the three basic texts of vedantic teaching. BG - smrti prasthanam, upanishads - shruti prasthanam, BS - nyaya prasthanam.
• BS is not required for a student, but very important for a teacher.

02 INTRODUCTION

• Intellect, intelligence, power of reasoning is the extra faculty because of which human being is different from all other animals. If you take it from the human being, it is as good as an animal.
• Ability to judge, form opinions, have goals, develop plans and work for the achievement thereof. Thus every human being is a thinker, whatever be the level of thinking.
• Every serious thinker will have to analyze six topics and form a clear conclusion.
  1. jivah - what is a living being?
  2. jagat - what is this world?
  3. isvara
  4. bandhah - why human suffering? Why misery, bondage, samsara?
  5. moksah/mukti - freedom from bondage
  6. sadhanam - means by which one goes from bondage to liberation
• A consistent view/teaching regarding these topics is called darshanam. The one who founds such a philosophy is called darshanikah.
• There are six nAstika darshanani and six astika darshanani. nastikas - veda pramanam nasti:
  1. carvaka - materialists. No dharma, no heaven, no hell, no punarjanma, no veda, no atma … only sense pleasures as the ultimate goal. Modern science is very close to materialistic philosophy. Founder brhaspatih released this philosophy to destroy the asuras, as they will not accept the veda. brhaspatih prathama sishya was carvakah. He got this name because his speech is so convincing: enjoy life! Who has seen sukshma, karana sharirams? I’ve seen no such thing. caru - beautiful, vac - speech. It is so wild, uncivilized that it is not dealt with in BS.
  2. jaina darshanam. Supposed to be given by 24 acaryas, beginning with rshabadevah and ending with vartamana mahavirah (also known as jinah - one who has conquered himself, therefore jainism).
  3. four branches of buddhism. Buddha - enlightened, wise. He did not systematically teach a system of philosophy. He gave stray statements to people who approached him. Therefore initially Buddhism was not a well-developed system. Three early scriptures - tripitaka. Sanskrit -> Pali (r got lost in the names): abidharma -> abhidamma. One original Buddhism gave later birth to four branches: sautrantika, vaybhasika, yogacara, madhyamika.
• Six astika darshanams:
  1. Sanhkya darshanam of kapila muni.
  2. Yoga darshanam of patanjali.
  3. Nyaya darshanam of gautama.
  4. Vaysheshika darshanam of kanAda.
  5. Purvamimamsa darshanam by jaimini rishi. Based on veda purva bhaga - karmakandah.
  6. Uttaramimamsa darshanam of vyasa. Importance is on veda uttara or anta bhagah. veda purva is not thrown away but supporting the vega antah.
• They are all astikas because they accept veda pramanam but not all of them accept isvara (1, 4, 5).
• First four accept veda pramana but give more importance to tarka (reasoning). Therefore them and all nastikas are called tarkikah.
• All these astika darshanams are in sutra form. Uttaramimamsa sutrani is also known as brahma sutrani or vedanta sutrani or shariraka (=atma) sutrani or vyasa/badarayana sutrani.
• Brahmasutras, being dense and short statements, have given birth to more than ten interpretations. Tree are very popular:
  1. nirvishesha advaitam as revealed by shankaracarya bhasyam.
  2. vishistadvaitam through shribhasyam by ramanujacharya.
  3. dvaitam based on the commentary by madhvacarya called anubhasyam.

03 SANTI MANTRAS

• If the teacher doesn’t do homework, he cannot communicate properly. If the student doesn’t do homework, he cannot listen/grasp fully. The more homework both of them do, the more is the amount of grasping (vIryam).
• Teacher needs compassion, sishya needs confidence into the teacher.
• gopayati - to hide, to guard, to protect
• Mantra 4 by trishanku 1, 2: I’m as great as the Lord, I enliven, invigorate all the creation. I’m as glorious as the Lord. I’ve got the greatest wealth in the world which is brahmajnanam. om aham vRkSaya rerivA; kIrtih pRSTham gireviva; Urdhvapavitro vAjinIva svamRtamasmi; draviNagm savarcasam; sumedhA amRto’kSitah; iti triSaNkorvedAnuvacanam; om zAntih zAntih zAntih
• Mantra 10 from svetaasvatara upanishad of krishna yajurveda: I’m surrendering to the Lord (sharanagatih). It is your job to rescue me from samsara. If I require a guru, you provide. If the guru is not competent, you make him competent. If I’m not, you make me competent. All responsibility is yours - beautiful surrender attitude. Jnana yoga is preceded by sharanagatih and it ends in sharanagatih only.
• Hiranyagarbha (Brahmaji) is also a disciple of Ishvara because he gets vedas from Ishvara alone. The only difference - he doesn’t require the systematic teaching. Doing tapas he gathers this wisdom in the form of intuition.

04 DHYANA SLOKAS

• Narayana (Bhagavan Vishnu) is the first acarya. He created Brahmaji who became the first disciple.
• Hiranyagarbha or Brahmaji is called Padmabhuvam since he appeared out of lotus according to puranas. Padmat sambhavati (spring up). By sheer meditation he was able to grasp the teaching. Vedic wisdom arose for Brahmaji. Vishnu served not as visible guru but as ashariri guru.
• Third acarya is Vashista who is disciple of Brahma. Each one happens to be both putra and sishya.
• vartikam is a critical commentary in verse form.
• Narayana parampara is aviccinna (continuous) because I’m able to learn it even now.
• Alayam - temple, abode. sruti-smruti-purananam alayam kuranalayam (abode of compassion).
• shankara {sham+kara} - making auspicious
• First shankara refers to lord Shiva. That Shiva alone has taken birth as Shankaracarya.
• Vyasa - avatar of keshava (Vishnu). sUtrabASyakRtau - Vishnu (as Vyasa) wrote BS and commentary was written by Shiva (as Shankara). Another conclusions. All the other darshanani were created by human intellect, only vedanta darshanam available in BS is not a product Vyasacarya’s intellect but it is the teaching extracted from upanishads. Thus Vyasa is not the founder of vedanta darshanam, only codification, systemization and giving supportive logic is Vyasa’s. Vedanta darshanam did exist even before Vyasa, starting with Narayana, unlike the other darshanani.
• shivasya hrdayam vishnu vischnosca hrdayam shivah. Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same. Narayana is Sadashiva.
• Lord Shiva appears in three forms. Isvara (prameyam - subject matter). Guruh (pramanam - the teaching). Jivatma (sishya - pramata - the knower).
• Vyomavatvyaptadehaya. One who’s real nature is allpervading caytanyam like the akasha.

05 OUTLINE OF BRAHMASUTRAS

• Shankaracarya: even if you give any credit to me, all credit belongs to the previous acaryas who have done the work. What a humility.
• In the beginning, the two sounds OM and atha (now) came from Brahmaji and therefore they are auspicious.
• In BS there are four adhyaya - chapter. Each chapter is subdivided into four sections - four padas. Each section is divided into topics known as adhikaranam (total of 191). The number of adhikaranams is not uniform among sections. Mots of the topics are taken from the upanishads. Each adhikaranam is subdivided into a certain number of sutras (total 555).
• Broadly four topics are discussed. Samanvaya - consistency. Vyasa presents consistency as the proof (hetu) that brahman is the central theme of the upanishads. Other darshanams, esp. sankhya and purvamimamsa do not accept this but say theme of Vedanta is karma.
• 2nd chapter deals with avirodha - non contradiction. Vyasa establishes that brahmavidya doesn’t have any contradictions. Three types of contradictions: internal within the Veda itself, no contradiction with smrti, no contradiction with logic. Heavily logic based.
• 3rd chapter deals with sadhana. Preparatory disciplines for gaining brahmavidya.
• 4th chapter, the smallest, is called phalaadhyaya. Deals with moksha. Krama mukti and satyomukti.
• Vedantic statements are like flowers but are not arranged, it is a wild growth. BS serves as a thread for stringing the upanishadic ideas who are like beads (191 beads/flowers). Thus presenting a beautiful vedantic sastra garland - a systematic philosophy (darshanam).
• Condition for enquiry - doubt. No need to enquire into the obvious.

06 TWO TYPES OF INFERENCE

• If perception can’t be used directly, inference is used. If the inference is to be valid, it has to be based on observed data. Suppose one doesn’t collect any data, that is imagination, speculation, wishful thinking.
• Components of inference (anumana):
  • paksha - locus of discussion. Matter of dispute. It has to be visible or known. There is visible and invisible part. We’re proving the invisible part. E.g. parvataha.
  • sadhyam - conclusion. Always apratyaksam (not known). E.g. agniman.
  • hetu - reason. E.g. dhumavat. Always pratyaksam.
  • drsthanta - example. E.g. yatra maha nase. I don’t say smoke invariably co-exists with fire. We only say the fire invariably is where smoke is there. Yatra yatra dumah tatra tatra agnih. Oposite we can’t say (e.g. body has fire - 38C yet no smoke).
• Whole logic is studied only to intellectually see the finer distinctions.
• E.g. vyapti jnanam = knowledge of invariable co-existence (e.g. of fire along with smoke). vyapti (invariable co-oexistence) has always two factors. vyapyam (smoke) and vyapakam (agni).
• The vyapam in the vyaptivakyam alone becomes the hetu in the anumanavyakam. The vyapakam alone becomes becomes sadhyam. Therefore either yaytra yatra vyapyam tatra tatra vyapkam. Or yatra yatra hetutu tatra tatra sadhyam. Only if vyaptivakyam is valid, then alone the anunamana vyakyam will be valid. The only means of validating the vyaptivakyam is perception.
• A scientist is using only this method alone. Inference is based on observed data alone.
• The conclusion that we arrive at will only about that objects from where data has been collected. Data (hetu) and conclusion (sadhyam) will with the same object (paksha). If I collect some data from my blood therefore I’m healthy/sick, not my mother.
• Science is collecting data on the world. All observed data deal with anatma. Therefore if scientific reasoning is used, all the scientific conclusions will be about anatma. Therefore entire scientific reasoning is called laukika anumanam. Therefore scientific reasoning has no access to atma vidya. Tarka can never prove anything in regard to atma.
• Both laukika and sastriya anumana involve data collection. Difference is with regard to the source of data: observation vs. sastram. Because we as astikas accept sastram as another valid means of collecting data.
• A scientist might question the conclusion but no scientist questions the observations. The whole science is based on the assumption that observation is valid, truth.
• In the sastric anumanam the reason (hetu) be based on sastram, in the scientific on observation. For sastriya anumanam the student must be astika.
• Laukika anumanam is never used for establishing Vedanta. It cannot prove nor disprove vedantic teaching. Some nastika philosophers wrongly use laukika anumanam to disprove vedanta - wrong field. Vedantin uses scientific reasoning to show the fallacy of scientific reasoning used by other philosophers to disprove Vedanta. We use logic not to prove that vedanta is logical but to prove that it is not illogical.

07 ADHYASABHASYAM

• Both anumanani are dependant on data and do not question the validity of the data.
• Each of them has got different field, perception (anatma) vs sastra (atma). Neither of them can prove or disprove the other. We only use laukika anumanam to prove its fallacious application in establishing the illogicality of Vedanta.
• Vedanta is not logical nor illogical, it is supralogical. Don’t use logic to prove or disprove vedanta.
• Other philosophies like buddhism arrive at the truth of atma or the truth of the world using laukika anumana. We want to establish that truth can never be established by using laukika anumana. Thus we use laukika anumana to disprove all their conclusions.
• Mohammed Ali: You might be the greatest but I’m the latest. Tarka can give only working knowledge of the truth. But it cannot tell me what exactly is truth. That’s why the conclusions are changed always when new data comes.
• Use science, which is glorious, for functional knowledge. Never try to use logic or the science to know what is the truth. The truth is apaurusheya.
• To expect everything to fall within science and logic is to show shortsightedness. There are things which are outside the scope of science. By using scientific logic you can never cross the samshaya (doubt) sagara. 27 theories on creation. Previously I was confused, now I’m confounded.
• Adhyasabhasyam - introduction to BS. Adhyasa - error, mistake.
• Establishing that all human suffering is because of a mistake.
• Only when the error is gone the error-caused problem is gone.
• Any error is because of ignorance.
• When the rope in front is not visible clearly, it is mistaken as snake. 5 bhutas are mistaken as Brahman in the same way.
• In total ignorance there is no error (ignorance is bliss). Example: sleeper. In total knowledge there is no error (knowledge is also bliss). Example: wise person.
• Error happens only in partial darkness and partial light. Thus there is partial knowledge. I know there is something (samanya jnanam - partial knowledge). Samanya amsha - thingness (“Is"ness) of the rope. But I don’t know what it is. Samanya amsha is anavrta amsha, not covered by darkness. It is satya amsha. It’s particular part, the ropeness is covered, which is the specific feature. “Ropeness” - vishesha amsha (specific feature). It is covered - avrta amsha.
• “There is” part = samanya amsha = anavrta amsha = satya amsha.
• Rope part = vishesha amsha, avrta amsha.
• In the place where the real vishesha amsha is covered I replace with another mithya vishesha amsha which is called snake.
• In every error there is a satya amsha and a particular unreal, specific feature - vishesha amsha, because the real feature is covered.
• The correction is not in samanya amsha. It doesn’t require any. Correction takes place only in vishesha amsha.
• I’m is real. Samsari - mithya vishesha amsha. Real vishesha amsha - asamsari brahma, anandah. I’m sat, cit is evident. What is covered is ananda, ananta, asamsaritva, limitless, purnah amsha.
• Epistemology - study of knowledge and error.
• khyadivada - erroneous discussion of errors.

08 ADHYASABHASYAM

• Self-error is corrected only by self-knowledge.
• Three errors/knots:
  1. anyatha grahaman. Mistake - miss the real and wrongly take something else. That is from the standpoint of the rope.
  2. adhyasa - superimposition. From the standpoint of the snake.
  3. satya anRta mithuni karanam - mixing of real and unreal.
• Aim of BS: unknot sthula, sukshma, karana sharira knots.
• Mistake is saying “there is (real part) a snake (unreal part)”, not being aware that there are two entities.
• Long snake or curved snake - satya amsha because the attributes belong to the real rope.
• Frightening, poisonous snake - anRta amsha because the attributes belong to the snake.
• I’m so and so. Conscious existent being is satya amsha. Person is anRta amsha.
• Six topics of Adhyasa Bhasyam:
  1. adhyasa lakshanam - definition of error: Perception of object on wrong locus. A person can never superimpose a snake if he has not seen a snake. Mixing of real and unreal. Example: “I’m the body” - seeing the immortal, all-pervasive I, who is not the body, as the mortal, limited body -> error.
  2. adhyasa shankha - objection to the theory of error from other philosophers. They say superimposition requires four conditions: a) perception - it has to be in-front of me and evident b) ignorance regarding the fact that it is the rope c) there should be a similarity d) pruva anubhava samskara - it must have been experienced before.
  3. adhyasa shankha samadhanam - answering
  4. adhyasa sambhavana - possibility
  5. adhyasa pramanam - proof
  6. adhyasa apasamhara - conclusion
• Vedantin’s counter to 2):
  • a) pratyaksha-vishayatvam: For a mistake to take place the object should be known/evident. It need not be in-front, need not be pratyaksa-vishaya. Atma is evident enough. Even though it is not pratyaksha, not object, but evident as the subject. Thus first condition is prakasha manatvam (knowable), not vishayatvam.
  • b) ajna tattvam (partial covering): aham asmi - sat chit is evident but not that aham ananda ananta brahman asmi. Atmavid shokam tarati is not evident to a samsari.
  • c) sadrshyam: similarity between the rope and snake. It is a general condition but there are exceptions to it. atma anatma adhyasa comes under this condition thus the rule is not required. Atma anatma are in fact diagonally opposite. Example: blue akasha. Sky looks like a vessel turned upside down. Akasha is nirupam. It is falsely superimposed. For space, there is no comparison with anything. Same for ocean.

09 ADHYASABHASYAM

• 2. d) samskara: False snake is possible only if there is experience of real snake. Thus without the experience of real anatma how can I have the samskara? Previous experience of a snake is required but it must not be a real snake. I can have an experience of a false snake which can create another false snake. Example: experience of a snake in a snake movie. First false adhyasa when? anadi avidya vasanaya. Thus real anatma is not there, unreal anatma has been there from beginning-less time.
• This was just a provisional answer. The real answer: adhyasa between atma anatma is primarily based on veda pramanam. Rope snake example is not for proving adhyasa. Adhyasa is derived from sruti pramana.
• Rope snake is just to show corollaries - secondary ideas. It is not meant to prove the adhyasa, proof is in the veda.
• This adhyasa should no be questioned by these astika purvapaksis because they themselves have already accepted the adhyasa in their systems. All talk about an atma and based on veda pramana they accept that I the atma is nityah. When you say “I’m a human being” the meaning of “I” is referring to the body. Similarly for “I’m mortal”. Thus they accept this knowledge is an error, as deha-atma buddhi error. Sthula sharira adhyasa is accepted by all the astika systems. 2nd chapter of BS deals with nastikas. If dehatma-buddhi is not accepted as error, you’re at the carvaka level. In vedic times carvakas were criminals.
• All astika darshanani say - atma is all-pervading, formless, part-less, niravayam and shtula is limited, with parts. There is no similarity - sadrshyam.
• Similarly rope-snake adhyasa cannot be questioned because it is based on anubhava. How does it happen? Each philosopher has his explanation - kyativada. Advaitin: anirvacaniya. Sankaracarya says “whatever”. You all accept the adhyasa, one is based on sruti, the other on anubhava.
• The quarrel is only in the extent of adhyasa. Tarquika: I’m anityam, karta, bhokta. Nyaya: anityam is superimposed, I’m karta and bhoka. Sankhya: aham anitya, aham karta are errors, bhokta is fact. Advaitin: all three are adhyastam: anityatvam, kartrtvam, bhoktrtvam.

• 5. laukika pramanam works only in anatma prapanca. Once we come to atma it has to be sastriya pramanam. Then either anumana or arthapatti pramanam.
• Arthapatti - postulation of an idea to explain a particular fact. Example: I get up and see a lot of water (proven fact) all over the street. Thus I postulate last night it must have heavily rained.
• Kathopanishad I - II - 19: If the slayer things “I slay”, and if the slain thinks, “I’m slain” then both of them do not know well. This slays not nor is This slain. -> I’m not bhokta, I’m not karta.
• Gita 5 - 15: Atma doesn’t take neither the punyam nor papam of anyone. There is also another statement in the sruti which says atma is nirvikara (changeless). Experience, karta and bhokta require change. Thus atma cannot be neither. Thus thinking “I’m a kartka/bohkta” is an error.

10 ADHYASABHASYAM

• Arthapatti - without postulating an idea the fact cannot be explain. Even though the idea is postulated it becomes valid knowledge. Example: wet road. No doubt, it is based on perception. Postulation of the idea that in the night it must have rained. There was no experience of that.
• What is experienced need not be postulated.
• Derived knowledge by arthapatti is called arthapatti prama. If it is based not on pratyaksha but on sruti it is called sruthyarta pramanam.
• Adhyasa is not directly mentioned in shruti. It is valid knowledge postulated on shruti pramanam. Example sruti says “I’m immortal”. Thus “I’m mortal” is adhyasa - error.
• Sruti says atma is akarta -> atma is karta must be adhyasa. Same for bhokta. E.g. see Kathopanishad I - II - 19.
• I’m knower is another adhyasa. I’m consciousness is not superimposed. Atma is jnanam not jnata. See Mandukya Upanishad 7. Atma is not waking knower (visva), dream knower (taijasa), sleep knower (prajna). Why? Atma is nirvikarah. See BG 2 - 24.
• kartrvam, bhoktrtvam, knowing all of these require change because they are process. In sanskrit any ta, in english any er suffix indicate modification.
• Any karta has to be associated with a karanam, with an instrument. Same for bhokta, same for pramata. They all have sanga with the instrument. Sruti says clearly atma is asangah. If it is asangah, can it be a pramata? Thus if atma is akarta, then kartrtvam must be an error, etc.
• Atma means I. I mistake myself as the knower, enjoyer, knower.
• Parichedatvam. I’m limited, here. “Here”-ness is parichedah (limitation) and that is also adhyasa. See Kathopanishad I - III - 15. Limitlessness alone is called brahmatvam. Limitation is jivatvam. Jivatam is error. Aham brahma asmi is a fact, aham jivosmi is an error called adhyasa.
• Atma bahutvam is accepted by all other philosophies. Anekatvam is also an error. See Svetasvataupanishad 6 / 11 or Isavasya 7.
• Another method to prove adhyasa is anumanam - inference - based on co-existence of two things. Yatra yatra dhumah tatra tatra agnih. Shankaracarya: any TX proves adhyasah. Yatra tatra vyavaharatvam tatra tatra adhyasthavatvam. Because atma cannot do any TX. Because atma is different from the body.
• If the cow goes after the grass it is because it thinks I’m this body, which is hungry and grass will remove the hunger. This vyavahara is called pravrti (going after) vyavahara. It cannot happen without dehaadhyasa. Human being is not much different from cow in this aspect. He goes after nice food, goes away from fire… All human activities are based on adhyasa. Life is getting and getting rid of.
• In our transactions are two things involved. Atma and anatma. But we are not aware and in our vision there is one single mixed-up entity. Aham janami. It looks like there is one single entity - Knower = chetana tattvam + jadam (vrttih) part. Chetana atma does not have modifiction. Acetana vrtti doesn’t have consciousness. In every TX sat cit amsha belongs to atma, changing amsha belongs to anatma, thus all TX base on adhyasa. See atma bodha 25 and 36.

• 6. conclusion of adhyasa bhasyam. Adhyasa is dangerous, harmful to entire humanity because it alone brings anityatvam. Adhyasa:
  • -> constant insecurity,
  • -> constant fear of death,
  • -> security seeking through money, corruption becomes rampant,
  • -> problem for future too: karma -> punya/papa -> punarapi jananam/maranam
• Adhyasah eva samsarasya karanam. Jnanam = adhyasa nivrtti. See BG 2 / 55: When a man completely casts off all the desires of the mind and is satisfied in the Self by the Self, then he is said to be one of steady wisdom. BG 3 /18: For him there is no interest whatever in what is done, or what is not done, nor does he depend upon any being for any object.

Class 11 / 14827 - 1st sutra: athato brahma jijnasa

• The entire samsara is due to this basic error alone. Because of which we enter into different types of activities because of the notion I’m karta/bhokta. Not only laukika but even vaidika karmas are based on this error alone.
• Because of this drstha adrstha phalam alone there is the punarapi jananam punarapi maranam cycle. Thus root cause of all problems of life is adhaysa.
• Various levels of adhyasa: 1) Primary error. I’m a pramata. Because of mixing up of atma and antahkaranam. 2) through the mind the error flows down to the sense organs -> secondary errors like “I’m blind/dumb/deaf”, which is a problem of sense organs. 3) antahkarana adhyasa -> indriya adhyasa -> sharira adhyasa. Aham strI, purushah, vrddah, sthulah, krshah, tarunah …
• Ahamkara adhyasa -> mamakara adhyasah. I belong to them, they belong to me.
• One has to work for the removal of this adhyasa. Adhyasa itself is the product of ignorance. Self-error is born out of self-ignorance. It is not physics-, dance- nor music ignorance. Any other knowledge we gain we are not able to remove self-ignorance. Narada with a huge list of degrees approaches sanatkumara, he’s aware he’s both learned and successful but still in grasp of grief. Sanatkumara: tarati shokam atmavid.
• Self-error is not because of total ignorance of self. But because of partial ignorance of the self. Sat is known. Cit is known. That’s why I say aham asmi.
• When we say brahmajnanam we are not going to know a new thing called brahman. Brahmajnanam means knowing the brahman status of mine.
• When the real status is not known, a false status is taken up - jivatvam.
• Correction is knowing my brahman status and displacing the jiva status. For this purpose alone begin all the Upanishads. All other sastram take our inferior status as a fact, having taken it as a fact they are prescribing methods for improving the status. One of the methods is acquiring money, power. Assuming that inferior status is a fact karma kanda says go to heaven and become Indra.
• Vedanta is not for image building but for the negation of superimposed low-image.

• 1st chapter: samanvaya (consistency) anvayah. 1st topic: jijnasa adhikaranam. 1st sutra: athato brahmajijnasa - hence (it is to be undertaken) thereafter a deliberation on Brahman.
• 1st sutra is introduction into brahmavidya.
• Introduction is like a door of the house. It is not inside nor inside. So is introduction - a connecting link, neither inside nor inside. Like 1st chapter of BG. Not part of the sastram yet required.
• anubandah - an appendix, a pre-appendix
• Sastram beginns with the 2nd sutra only.
• An introduction to any sastram should present four factors - anubandha catustayam:
  1. adhikari - audience in mind, target group. The competent, eligible student for brahmavidya. For BS it is sadhana chatustaya sampatti: shreya preya viveka (discrimination), vairagya (dispassion - considering all other pursuits to be secondary), shatka sampatti (sixfold inner discipline), mumuksutvam (desire for moksha)
  2. vishayah - the subject matter: brahman. Not a new thing but a new status of the listener atma. My own higher status.
  3. prayojanam - negation of abrahman status of mine which is my misconception. Brahmatvam knowledge will displace jivatvam misconception. brahmatva jnanena abrahmatva nivrtih prajoyanam. mokshah - freedom from the sense of limitation, smallness, inadequacy, want. 4 . sambandha - relationship between the textbook (BS) and the subject matter (content. Revealer (BS) - revealed (Brahman) relationship.
• Passion: seeing the means as the end. Dispassion, maturity: seeing the means as means (to moksha). Foolishness: not seeing the means as means.
• shatka sampatti:
  1. kshama - mind control
  2. dama - sense control
  3. uparama - reduction of extroverted-ness (withdrawal)
  4. titiksha - capacity to ignore discomforts
  5. sraddha - faith in guru (incl. scriptures (Vedanta) and God)
  6. samadhana - commitment on one goal

Class 12 / 14828

• upodghAta - introduction
• A topic can be considered as a subject matter of a book only if the topic is discussed as the central theme of the book. Example: dietary discipline in Gita is not its subject matter.
• Anubandha catustayam is not the direct but implied meaning of the first sutram - arthika artah (indirect meaning).
• srautah artah - direct meaning: therefore brahman enquiry should be done.
• Vyasa’s aim is to extract the philosophy of the upanishads not propounding a new system. Therefore, whenever Vyasa writes an sutra he has in mind a particular portion of the upanishads, therefore to understand the right meaning, we should always know what is the upanishadic portion kept in mind by him. That upanishadic statement is called vishaya vakyam. Without bhasyam we can never know the vishaya vakyam of many sutras.
• Taitriya 3 - 1 - 3: oh Brighu, conduct brahma enquiry to get peace, security, happiness, to get rid of boredom.
• Chandogya 8 - 7 - 1: you have to know the self
• Brhadaranyaka 2 - 4 - 5: nobody loves anybody, everybody loves oneself alone. Self alone is object of love. Self alone is loved by all. Whatever is the object of love is of the nature of ananda. In the crisis we drop everything, even children.
• Marriage is like a tennis game. You start with love and fight like hell later.
• Discovering ananda requires self-discovery. Therefore Yagnavalkya tells Maitreyi atman enquiry should be done.
• kartavya - should be done.
• This enquiry can’t be done independently because brahman is not an object in-front. You have to necessarily take the help of the upanishad-microscope. Thus we replace the word brahman enquiry and replace it with vedanta sastra vicara.
• Naya: paksha: vedanta sastra. sadhyam: enquired. hetu: anubandha catustayam. drsthanta: dharma sastravat.
• vypati: yatra yatra anubandha chatustaya vatvam, tatra tatra arambaniyatvam. Whatever sastra has anubandha chatustayam, all those satra are worth studying. Because we get the benefit of moksha out of it.
• Implied meaning: vedanta sastram has anubandha catustayam. Direct meaning: vedanta sastra should be studied.

Class 13 / 14829

• atha - two fold function: sound (shabda) and word (padam). Every word has two status. Prameyam when it is listened and pramanam if you understand the language.
• prayema - object of any pramanam.
• The very sound “atha” as vibration produces auspiciousness. When it also functions as a word it is artha bhodaka - it gives meaning. Every text should begin with mangalam, if it does not, we should not read it. Therefore there is a tradition of writing a mangala shloka. Vyasa is writing BS in sutra form thus he has no opportunity to write a mangala shloka. So he uses the word “aath”.
• Words “om” and “atha” are mangala shabda. Because Brahmaji started the wonderful creation after uttering these two words.
• “atha” has many meanings - prajonana, mangala… Here Shankaracarya chooses after analysis “anantaram” - thereafter, immediately after. It indicates immediacy. After what? After qualification. Any study should be after yogyata siddhi anantaram. For studying vedanta it means sadhana catustayam.
• Thus atha means here sadhana catustaya anantaram. How do we know this is the meaning? a) logic. From observation we come to know that whoever has sadhana catustayam is able to get the benefit of vedantic study - moksha. On the other hand a student without sadhana catustayam doesn’t derive the benefit even if he does sravana manana nididhiasanam for a million of janmas. b) sruti. Mundako upanishad 1.2.12: learning from kicks in life what is permanent and not (viveka). Wanting the permanent (vairagyam) and going to a guru for studying (mumukshutvam). Or Yamadharmaraja tempting Naciketas to choose between sreyas and preyas. Kathopanishad 1.1.25 Samadi shatka sampatti is emphasized in Brhadaranyaka.
• If we are lacking the qualification vedanta becomes an academic time-pass. We’ve got a lot of time and want some intellectual gymnastic … It will be more information than transformation of the person.
• If I have to grasp Vedanta like Naciketas, I should be after moksha like him and throw away dharma/artha/kama. Dropping them like kaka vistha - crow droppings. We just immediately wipe them out and don’t claim it is a great achievement.
• Just like purushasuktam occurs in RG veda, yajurveda, samaveda so brhadaranyaka has two versions.
• Purva pakshi: The very word purva mimamsa indicates that it should come first (before uttara mimamsa). Thus you should translate “atha” as purva mimamsa anantaram. Shankaracarya refutes that after purva mimamsa alone one should come to uttarama mimasa.
• 1. vyabicara dosha (lack of consistency). Even after a thorough study of purva mimamsa a person might not have sadhana catustaya sampatti. Thus unqualified person might enter Vedanta, esp. thinking that after purva uttara should come automatically.

Class 14 / 14830

• There are rare cases where person is born with sadhana catustaya sampati in a reasonable measure. They do not require purva mimamsa, why should they waste time with rituals? Thus sadhana catustaya sampati is compulsory for all, not karma khaNDa.
• In Shankaracarya’s time there was the idea prevalent that pure knowledge cannot give moksha. That jnana must be combined karma - jnana karma samudcayena (combination) mokshah by jnana karma samudcaya vadi. Thus Sankaracarya gives 3 more reasons:
• 2. karma khanda jnana khanda vishaya bheda. The subject matter of these two is diagonally opposite, therefore cannot be combined. Combination is possible only when subjects are similar. But: sadhyam vs. siddham. Anamta vs atma. Extroverted dependence on the world vs introverted self-dependence. anitya phalam vs nitya phalam. Full of sangha vs neti neti. Avidya vs vidya. Preyas vs sreyas …
• 3. prajoyana bheda - benefit is also different. Anitya phalam which falls within samsara, vs anitya phalam which is moksha. South is presided by Yamadharmaraja who has kala (mrtyu) in his hand. North is presided by Soma Devata with amruta in hand. Karmakhanda is going southwards, jnanakhanda is going northwards.
• 4. pravrti bheda - functional difference. karmakanda always incites a person into action, achievement oriented. First tempts for phalam and then gives the ritual to achieve it. Jnanakanda doesn’t tempt by providing various goals, it says whatever you want to accomplish is your very nature. In you, brahmananda, all others anandas are included. The one who has discovered brahman has accomplished everything in life. Having known that I’m that purnah (and akarta) what temptation will he have? It makes a person so contented that he doesn’t want to accomplish anything.
• Scriptural refutation of purva paksi’s view: Sankaracarya wants to establish that karmakhanda and jnanakhanda are not in krama (sequence). So he says there is no vedic reference for this.
• If many rituals have to be done simultaneously they have to be done by many people since one person can do only one at a time. Thus simultaneity requires many performers. Whereas where many rituals have to be done by one persons they will have to be done one after the other. Ekakartatvam is the condition for krama.
• Three conditions (any of these) indicates ekakartrtatvam:
  • eka pradhana sheshatvam - if many rituals are subsidiary (part) to one main ritual, which one person wants to perform. Example washing the hands and eating the food.
  • sheshasheshitvam - one main, one subsidiary ritual.
  • adhikrta adhikaratvam - two main rituals. A person is qualified if he has done one rituals he becomes qualified to do the other.

Class 15 / 14831

• Gist of the previous technical discussion: there is no veda pramanam to prove that purva mimamsa is compulsory for the study of vedanta.
• Brhadaranyaka 4.4.22: That great, birthless Self which is identified with the intellect and is in the midst of the organs, lies in the ether that is within the heart. It is the controller of all, the lord of all, the ruler of all. It does not become better through good work nor worse through bad work. It is the Lord of all, It is the ruler of all beings, It is the protector of all beings. It is the bank that serves as the boundary to keep the different worlds apart. The Brahmanas seek to know It through the study of the Vedas, sacrifices, charity, and austerity consisting in a dispassionate enjoyment of sense-objects. Knowing It alone one becomes a sage. Desiring this world (the Self) alone, monks renounce their homes . This is (the reason for it); The ancient sages, it is said, did not desire children ( thinking ), “What shall we achieve through children, we who have attained this Self, this world ( result ). “They, it is said , renounced their desire for progeny, for wealth and for the worlds, and lived a mendicant life. That which is the desire for progeny is the desire for wealth, and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for the worlds, for both these are but desires. This self is That which has been described as “Not this, not this”. It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered — It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. (It is but proper) that the sage is never overtaken by these two thoughts, “I did an evil act for this” , and “I did a good act for this”.
• If purva mimamsa is not compulsory then what is compulsory? Sadhana catustaya smapatti. It doesn’t matter in which janma it was acquired.
• Thus “atha” here directly means “sadhana catustaya sampati anantaram”, indirectly “adhikari”.
• atah shabda vicara: atah - therefore. The word “therefore” indicates that there must be some reason for brahman enquiry to be conducted. Sankaracarya gives two reasons:
  1. karma cannot give moksha.
  2. jnanam alone gives moksha
• Sruti pramanam, see e.g.: Kaivalya Upanishad. Yukti: samsara nivrti can happen only through jnanam, because samsara is superimposed. How do you destroy rope-snake? Samsara is adhyasa because of atma-anatma aviveka there is jivatmabuddhi, paricheda buddhi, I’m husband etc. Anubhava: any superimposed problem, like rope-snake, can go only by knowledge. Sruti: Mandukya: 2 - K - 32
• Indirectly “atah” signifies prayojanam. Atah shabda vicara is over.
• Now brahmajijnasa. Final meaning is “brahman enquiry”. There are three parts: brahma, jijna, sa.
  • “brahma” here means saytam jnanam anantam brahman jagat karanam based on the 2nd sutra.
  • “jijna” here means jnanam. vrdha aparoksha jnanam of brahman.
  • “sa” - direct meaning: iccha, desire. In sanskrit “sa” pratyaya conveys the meaning of desire (desiderative usage). Indirect meaning (lakshyartha), which is to be taken here is “enquiry”.
• Self-enquiry should not be understood as independent enquiry, but with the help of guru and sastra. Vedanta alone is the pramanam for brahman.

Class 16 / 14832

• Brahmajnana iccha = brahmajnana vedanta vicara.
• Q: Why do you introduce Vedanta here? A: Any knowledge can be obtained only by the operation of appropriate pramanam.
• Mere enquiry, mere independent thinking, mere sitting in meditation are not accepted as one of the six pramanams.
• If a person goes into enquiring into brahman without using any pramanam, it will lead only to speculation, hypothesis. Never to knowledge. Here only upnishad shabda pramanam is the pramanam, as Vyasa says in the 3rd sutra.
• Any adhyasa is removed by ts adhisthana jnanam. yatra yatra adhyastattvam tatra tatra sva adhisthana jnanam nirvartyatvam.
• Atma is adhisthanam of samsara. Purvapakshi: we should be conducting atma jijnasa, how com Vyasa writes brahman? Brahman is the same as atman. See Taittriya 3 - 1 - 3.
• Brahman is not a new substance to be revealed by the scriptures. This is the biggest mistake a seeker commits. It is a new status of the already available substance called aham. My para prakrti. Now I’m lost in apara prakrti.
• Old vs. new status: jeevatam/abrahmatvam vs. brahmatvam, samsaritvam vs. mokshatvam.
• 4th word supplied by us “kartavyah” - should be done. It should be understood as srotavyah, mantavyah, niddidhyasitavyah.
• -tavyah indicates imperative mood in sanskrit grammar.
• Final meaning: sadhana catustaya sampatti anantram brahmajnanaya vedanta sravana manana niddidhiasanani kartavyani yasmat brahma jnanaya eva moksha, na tu karmanah. After acquiring the four-fold qualification one should do sravana, manana, niddidhiasanam for the sake of brahmajnanam because it alone gives moksha, not karma.
• What to do depends on the status of the student. There is no universal advise.
• Example illumination: wire connection (sadhana catustaya sampatti) + fixing the bulb (vedanta).
• Technical format used in sutra literature. 5 stages for each adhikaranam (topic):
  • adhikaranam: jijnasa adhikaranam
  • viSaya (subject matter, domain): vedanta sastram
  • vizayah (samshayah, doubt): should we study or not? Purva pakshi: it is not worth studying, it doesn’t have anubandha catustyam, unlike darma-/tarkasastram.
  • siddhantah (our conclusion): adhikaris are there but don’t say not there, see BG 7 / 3. Brahman is there because it is yourself. Many have attained moksha, therefore there is prayojanam.
  • sangatih (connection of this topic with the previous topic): not there. Only the later sutras will have.
• Purvapakshi - anybody opposed to us vedantins, e.g. sankhya philosopher.

Class 17 / 14833 - 2nd sutra: janmadasya yatah

• 2nd sutra is the beginning of the sastram. Just like in Gita.
• 2nd sutra is in the 2nd adhikaranam again with one sutra only. Janmadhi adhikaranam. Topic is brahma lakshanam - definition of brahman. Therefore this sutra is called brahmalaksanasutram.
• Any object is established only through lakshanam and pramanam. Only if it is established, siddham, only then you can make further enquiry about it.
• Analysis presupposes siddhi, the existence or the knowledge of the vastu.
• Brahman is not unknown. It is known through veda pramana. The very word brahman indicates the existence of an entity. The very word tells me it is big - infinitely. Bhr-dhatu indicates expansion or bigness. Here it is not adjective but noun, thus it is the bigness it self. Since there is no other word to condition the “big” it is unconditionally big, infinite.
• In scriptures, adjectives are converted to noun to indicate absolute not relative.
• Yet I’ve experienced only limited, time and space bound objects thus to remove the doubt of its existence the sastra tells me it is “I” myself.
• Doubting existence of Brahman is doubting self existence.
• Doubter cannot be doubted. Nobody says “I’m not there”. Therefore there is no doubt regarding self existence, which is the same brahman existence.
• Purvapakshi: if brahman is already known, why make enquiry? Who am I is not clear… I don’t have a clear knowledge of myself, because different philosophers have different contentions.
  • Carvaka: I’m the body, mind is not a substance but electrical phenomenon of the brain. Fused brain means the fellow is dead.
  • Buddhist: mind is atma.
  • Naiyayika: body and mind are not atma. There is a self beyond these. That atmas are many, each individual has one, so that we don’t have quarrel. Example: soccer match. 22 people fighting for a ball. Just give a ball to everybody and there is no fight. Each atma is infinite atma, karta and bhokta.
  • Sankhya and Yoga philosopher: many atmas, all are all-pervading. But atmas are not karta, only bhokta. Body and mind do action, the atma enjoys.
  • Vedanta: atma ekah, sarvagatah, akarta, abhokta. Regarding atma there are so many confusions thus enquiry is required. Because brahman is neither completely known nor unknown, but vaguely/unclearly known.
• Lakshanam (definition) is of two types:
  • svarupa - object is defined through its intrinsic feature. Examples: Awareness. Moon’s brightness is always experienced when you see it thus it is its intrinsic feature. It is that intrinsic feature which reveals or define an object.
  • tatastha (that which remains on the bank of the river; aloof; away) - object defined through its incidental, temporary feature not intrinsic to the object. Examples: Jagat karanam brahman. The house with a crow sitting on it among several same looking ones. vyavartakam - that which specifies, pinpoints.
• tatah - bank of a river
• sthaha - remaining
• 2nd sutra is presenting the tatastha lakshanam of brahman.
• Context helps in adhyahara (inference). Here: janmadasya yatah (tat brahma bavati) - brahman is that from which the origin, sustenance, resolution of the world takes place. In simple sanskrit: jagat sristhi sthiti laya karanam brahma.

Class 18 / 14834

• janmadhi - sristhi stithi layah (bangam)
• asya - of this
• yatah - cosmos / universe / world
• Final meaning: “brahman is that cause from which cause the origin etc. of the universe takes place.”
• Once we prove the existence of brahman through lakshanam thereafter we can talk about enquiry into brahman. Brahma vicara (1st sutra talks about) is impossible without brahma siddhi (2nd sutra talks about).
• In BS no idea is Vyasa’s, he’s only analysing upanishads’ sutras. Here he’s got Taittriya 3 - 1 - 3.
• janmadhi = janma (birth) + adhi (etc.)
• Objection 1: Every objects in the creation goes through janmadi shatkam (in book called nirukta by Yaska). Therefore purva puskhi suggests it should be interpreted as janmadi shatkam.
• Niruktam - science of etymology. See mundaka 1 - 1 - 5. Yaska cannot talk about the origin of akasha, vayu … because he himself came later. Therefore his discussion is confined to bhautika prapanca, i.e. objects within the creation like a tree, wall etc. Therefore since the context is bhutabautika prapanca his discussion is irrelevant in the discussion of jagat karanam brahman.
• Answer 1: All smrti grantas are purusheya grantas but enjoying apaurusheya status because they are based on shruti paranam. Thus Shankara’s comment based on sruti vakyam has original validity, Yaska’s vakyam has borrowed validity.
• Answer 2: Purpose of BS is analysis of vedanta vakyani. Thus the very name indicates the stated purpose. Yaska’s statement is from nirukta, not vedanta.
• Objection 2: You say that sristhi stithi laya are a cyclic process. Thus you cannot say which one is the beginning. But the word adhi in Sanskrit literally means “beginning with”. Etcetera is only secondary meaning.
• Answer 1: Talking about any object in creation presupposes the destruction. Only existing thing can have destruction. Existence presupposes the origin of a thing. Born (sristi) is (stiti) gone (laya) Thus you’d only say janma adhi.
• Answer 2: Vyasa is writing a sutra keeping sruti vyakyam in the mind. When using these three words, shruti starts with janma. So does Gita.
• asya - “of this”. Vyasa has not specified any specific noun so you should include all the existing nouns. He uses “this” and not “that”. According to grammar “this” is for something that is accessible in front. Final meaning asya - of this pratyaksha prapanca.
• yatah - yasmAt karanat - from which all these take place. Karanam is two fold: nimitta and upadana. The maker and the material. Both are required for any karyam to take place.
• Since we’re referring to sristhi sthiti and laya the word karanam must refer to upadana karanam.

Class 19 / 14835

• Normally nimitta karana is responsible only for creation, nor for maintenance and destruction. Therefore intelligent cause is defined as sristhi matra karanam. Material cause is defined as sristhi, sthithi, laya karanam.
• janmadhi refers to sristhi, sthithi, laya, therefore yatah refers to sristhi, sthiti, laya karanam and therefore primarily it conveys upadana karanam, since there is no separate nimitta karanam we have to include nimitta karana.
• If we are talking about the cause which is beyond desha kala, that karanam should be ekam eva advitiyam. If it has to be one, then we can say it should itself serve as upadana karanam and as there is no second thing also as nimitta karanam.
• Final meaning of the word yatah: from which material and intelligent cause the world has sristhi sthitit layam, that abinna nimita upadana karanam is brahman.
• ananda is svarupam lakshanam of brahman, jagat karanatvam is tatastha of brahman.
• Therefore “yatah” further means “ananda svarupam”. It reveals both, tatastha and svarupa lakshanam of brahman. Primarily tatastha.
• We supplied two more words: tat brahman. Shankara adds one more feature: once we know the intelligent cause the amount of intelligence can be inferred from the nature of the product. As the product is so must be the producer or his intelligence. If you see the nature of the world, its greatness, wonders, vibhuti then you can definitively conclude that Isvara is sarvajnah and sarvashaktiman.
• When brahman is seen as the karanam he gets the name Isvara.
• Adjectives describing Ishvara’s glory:
  1. intelligent creator: Well designed universe, not accidental one. It can’t be explained as simple evolution by accident. If you have to design a simple clock, so much intelligence is required. How can you say the universe is accidental? Chetana karta - intelligent being is required.
  2. jivabinna: This universe consists of countless jivas who are kartas and bhotkas, having countless experiences, imagine the amount of knowledge required to run this master show. Infinite intelligence - sarvajnatvam - is required. By this Shankara indicates that jivas themselves fall within the creation as products and therefore the creator must be a non-jiva. He must be omniscient. Ghatasya karta ghatajnahah. Sarvasyakarta sarvajnah.
  3. wonderful universe: We find there is no accidents in the creation. Every event is an incident cause by specific time (kala), place (desha) and reason (nimitta). That’s why the world is a cosmos, not a chaos. There are certain events that need to be designed so that one and the same event gives punya phalam of one jiva and a papa phalam of another jiva.
  4. omnipotence: A scientist can know how the brain functions, but he cannot create a brain. We might have the knowledge of function, but not the power to create it. **Ishvara has omnipotence to implement the knowledge.
• What we call accident is an incident for which we do not know the reason.
• Bhagavan implements many things which are inconceivable.
• Full definition of brahman: yasmat abinna nimitta upadana karanat ananda svarupat sarvajnat sarvashaktat prapancasya sristhi sthiti laya sambhavanti tat brahman.
• Nayayika: 2nd sutra gives pramanam for brahman also. It defines brahman or Isvara as jagat karanam -> world is karyam of Isvara. Invisible Isvara can be inferred from the visible karya prapanca. Like the invisible father can be inferred from the visible solid son who’s in front of me. Thus anumanam is the pramanam for Isvara, popularly known in tarka sastra as karya lingaka anumanam. Thus nayayika’s conclusion is sastra is not required for proving Isvara, logic itself will do.
• Vedantin: no. Isvara cannot be established through pure logic, without the help of sastra. Sastra is primary, tarka or anumanam is secondary.

Class 20 / 14836

• Without a specifying definition and without a revealing pramanam a thing cannot be established.
• Shankara: if the 2nd sutra is providing anumana pramanam for Isvara, these BS cannot be called vedanta sutras at all. Shankara doesn’t propound a philosophy by using his reasoning power. He is using reasoning to understand the vedic teaching and derive a systematic philosophy out of the vedanta. If you say 2nd sutra is providing anumana pramanam for Isvara, then the importance will go to anumanam and it will not be a sastra based system.
• BS - garland of vedanta darshanam. Flowers are vedanta vakyas. Tarka just as the invisible thread, is only hiding behind the flowers just to keep them in orderly form. Thus 2nd sutram is not independent anumanam, but to analyze vedanta vakyas. Lakshana sutra, not pramana sutra.
• Sub-commentators: Nayayikas believe that Isvara can be logically established. Vedantins: Isvara can be established through shastra alone, not through logic. Isvara can be assimilated through logic. Logic serves as the funnel for the Isvara which is coming from the sastra bottle.
• Nayayika arrives at Isvara through three logical statements:
  1. jagat sakartrkam karyatvat ghatavat - world must have a creator, because it is a product. Just like a pot. Vyapti (generalization): yat yat karyam tat tat sakatrkam - whatever is product must have a creator.
  2. jagat karta isvarah jivabinnatvethih cetanatvat. Example: vyatirekena kulalavat (unlike a pot-maker). The creator must be Isvara alone, because I know there is a creator and I also know that no jiva has created this world. Whatever is conscious being other than jiva, it must be Isvara.
  3. isvarah sarvajnah sarvakarttvat vyatirekena kulavat. Ishvara has to be omniscient who is creator of everything unlike a pot maker who is only gatajnah (alpajnah). Yatra sarvakarttvam tatra sarvajnatvam abibhavati yoyat karta tatajnah.
• So we don’t need veda but pure logic to establish Isvara. Which makes modern day scientists happy.
• Vedantins: all three reasons are faulty. You can sell this reasons to not logical people but not to vedantin, he’s more logical than nayayaika. Counter argumentation:
  1. Anumanam requires vyaptijnanam. Vyapti is gathered from pratyaksham (observation) alone. A vyapti arrived at through observation will be acceptable if there is no vyabicara (exception). Wherever there is smoke, there is fire is accepted because there is no exception. Turned around the statement will not hold true. Only in the case of artificial product you’re able to prove a creator through perception. For any natural product, e.g. tree (product) in amazon jungle, you cannot prove a creator through perception.
  2. Vyapti: wherever a conscious being is involved other than jiva, it must be Isvara only. Thus in your vyapti you’re talking about a conscious being other than jiva. Vyapti has to be always proved through perception - how can talk about a conscious being other than jiva proved through perception?
  3. Isvara is creator because he’s creator of everything. Nayayika’s axiom, as he depends on perception and inference heavily: every knowledge is born out of mind - yat jnanam tat manojanyam. This contradicts another statement he’s made is Isvara doesn’t have mind, as he’s asamsari.
• If sastram is not there, every system of philosophy will have wonderful statements when it is taken in an isolated matter. All logically will have a very big problem if you want to tie all the statements together and consistent. Even modern science will be full of fallacies if you try to tie up the matter, the consciousness, the creation. Science is wonderful because it doesn’t want to analyse consciousness. Science is allergic to consciousness. Therefore each system of science is trying to take away from itself. Psychologist are not able to explain so they give it on to neurologist. Neuroscientist are not able to explain therefore they give it to quantum physics.

Class 21 / 14837

• Isvara cannot be established by anumanam. Isvara established purely by anumanam can be negated by anumanam. This is what the sub-commentators have done (in purnanandiya vyakyanam), to prove that Isvara cannot be logically established.
• Once the topic of truth, once the topic of God comes, never rely on logic. Yet tarka is very important for understanding Vedanta. Use tarka as a subservient means in understanding Vedanta. Use it as a funnel to pour vedantic teaching. Logic blessed by shruti alone is accepted.
• dustarka - independent tarka without the support of sruti. Never do that.
• In karma khandam tarka is not very important. It has got a limited role alone. In karma khanda performance or procedures of doing are important. In karmakhanda knowledge doesn’t produce the result.
• Misconception of many people: I learn the procedure and thereafter I have to follow the procedure and one day moksha will be produced. Shankara: Vedanta doesn’t deal with a future event to be created or processed. We are not learning any procedure, technique, method through Vedanta. We don’t want to implement anything after Vedantic study. Vedanta is dealing with the accomplished fact of moksha. Whole vedantic sadhana is a process of understanding, there is nothing to implement after understanding.
• In Vedanta understanding is an end in itself.
• Whatever obstructs understanding should be knocked off and one of the main obstructions comes from intellect in the form of samshaya (doubt). Therefore tarka or mananam is very important, to remove the intellectual obstacles. Tarka serves as a broomsticks when the vedantic teaching is entering the head.
• The whole vedantic struggle is the clear vision of the teaching. Sruti, yukti and anubhava are all important. Our samsara is in the form of mental anubhava: lack of peace, inadequacy, smallness… Therefore the understanding is complete, when the samsara bhava goes away. Therefore the benefit, as opposed to karma khanda, is here and now.
• Two extremes. One is nayayika, he gives too much importance to tarka and sruti is not given its place. In purva mimamsaka sruti is important tarka is rejected. In vedanta surti is given importance, yukti also is given importance.
• Conclusion of 2nd sutra:
  1. adhikaranam: janmadhi adhikaranam
  2. viSaya: brahma lakshanam
  3. vizayah: Asti va nasti va? Purva pakshi: no definition. Definition is given through the unique feature of the object. How can featureless brahman have an unique feature? Even though brahman is really featureless we can define brahman trhough superimposed features, through mithya features. Through the superimposed feature of snake I can define rope as the adhisthanam. Similarly, through the superimposed jagat brahman can defined as jagat karanam.
  4. siddhanta: asti
  5. connection (akshepa sangatih): we prove the existence of brahman by giving the lakshanam.

Class 22 / 14838

• 2nd sutra is the foundation sutra of the entire vedanta sastram.
• Svarupa lakshanam: defining through intrinsic, innate features. satyam jananam anantam brahman.
• Tatastha lakshanam: indirect definition through some extraneous feature which is not internal part. Jagat karanam brahman. Jagat adhisthanam brahman. Brahman is revealed through jagat.
• Why did Vyasa choose tatastha do define brahman? In the case of brahman, at least initially, tatastha lakshanam is easier to understand than svarupa lakshanam. In tatastha we’re taking the external features which are clearly visible. Through the known to the unknown.
• Satyam is not visible, jnanam is not experiencable, anantam is not known to me. Therefore svarupa lakshanam will be useful after using tatasta lakshanam.
• In the upanishad sometimes brahman is presented as the material cause of the universe. But sometimes maya or prakrti is the material cause (e.g. svetaasvatara upanishad 4 / 5, 10). BG 13 says: prakrti and purusha are two beginningless principles and creation has come out of prakrti.
• Cetana brahma karanatvam uktam na tu acetana prakrti karanatvam. Why did Vyasa choose cetana brahman as material cause?
• 1. Vyasa wants to clearly differentiate vedantic teaching from sankhya philosophy. In most of BS Vyasa wants to separate himself from Sankhya - main opponent. Sankhya is very close to Vedanta.
  • Purusha and Prakrti are commons word in both but definition is different.
  • The very word Sankhya is used to indicate vedantic teaching. BG Chapter 2 - title is “Sankhya yoga”. They might appear to be the same but Vyasa wants to show they are different. Sankhya says prakrti is the material cause of the universe. Vyasa to differentiate says brahman is the material cause.
• 2. In all of the systems of philosophy one of the basic questions is about the material origin of the universe. Even in science: unified theory - TOE - theory of everything. They want to arrive at one basic stuff for matter. Even energy they are not able to accept because the energies are many. Most of the philosophies arrive at a basic material cause and you find all of them are acetana material cause. Material cause is the matter.
  • For Sankhya and Yoga it is the acetana prakrtih. Consciousness is a parallel reality.
  • Nyaya and Vaysheshika: basic material cause is atom - paramanu vada. Very close to our science. And paramanu is acetanam.
  • Skandas in Buddhism, astikaya in Jainism … acetana karana vada.
  • Modern science assumes matter alone as fundamental. According to Big Bang theory life, thus consciousness, is of very recent origin. And consciousness has originated from matter. Acetana karana vada.
  • In Nyaya Vaisheshika: 9 types of matter - like elements and one of these is atma. Consciousness comes and goes in the atma.
  • Uniqueness of Vedanta teaching is cetana karana vada, where the spirit excels matter. Consciousness is not equal to matter, not subservient to matter, but superior to matter. The fundamental substance, basic stuff, basic content. If you crush the universe (stone, mike, taperecorder) in a mixie, the sarah will be caitanyam, in other philosophies matter. Matter crushed is caitanyam, caitanyam diluted is matter.
• 3. In the upanishads brahman alone is predominantly shown as the material cause, only in few places prakrti is presented as the material cause.
• 4. Both cetana brahman and acetana prakrti as presented as material cause. Is this not contradictory? If one is correct, the other must be wrong.
  • Both statements are correct. Purusha is upadana karanam is correct. Prakrti is upadana karanam is also correct.
  • According to the upanishads prarkti does not exist independent of purusha.
  • Since maya is nonseparate from brahman, whatever is attributed to maya, can be attributed to brahman also. Saying prakrti is the karanam is as good as saying brahman is the karanam. Prakrti is based on brahman. Prakrti borrows the very existence from brahman.
  • In Vedanta prakrti is parinami upadana karanam, brahman is vivarta upadana karanam - that which lends existence to parinami upadana karanam.
  • In Sankhya philosophy prakrti is independent of purusha. This is the basic difference between Sankhya and Vedanta. Therefore prakrti’s actions cannot be attributed to purusha.
  • Brahman lends existence to prakrti and through prakrti it lends existence to whole creation.
• 5. eka vijnaneya sarva vijnanam - by knowing one, one can know everything else. See Mundaka I - I - 3. Upadana karanena vijnanena sarva karya vijnanam bhavati - by knowing one material cause, all products are known. Because products do not exists separate from the material cause.

Class 23 / 14839 - 3rd sutra: sastrayonitvat

• Uniqueness of Vedanta is that it presents consciousness as the very material cause of the universe.
• In Sankhya prakrti and purusha are totally different. You cannot interchange them. In Vedanta prakrti and purusha can be interchanged because ultimately there is no prakrti separate from purusha. Thus prakrti karana vada is as good as brahman karana vada.
• ekajnah sarvajnah bhavati is impossible in Sankhya because prakrti is the karanam and prapanca is the karyam. In Sankhya philosphy eka karana prakrti vijnanena karya prapanca vijnanam bhavati brahma vijnanam naiva bhavati, because purusha is neither karanam nor karyam in Sankhya philosphy.
• 3rd sutra: sastrayonitvat. Also happens to be one adhikaranam: satra yoni.
• This sutra is an example for visvatomukatvam - having many faces / facets / interpretations.
• This sutra confirms the omniscience of brahman which is indirectly revealed in the 2nd sutra. brahma sarvajnatvam drdhayati.
• 2nd sutra - brahman is sarva karanam. From this direct meaning we can derive an indirect meaning. Ghatasya karta, gatajnah -> sarvasya karta, sarvajnah. Karta means one with jnanam. Brahman is nimitta karanam of verything - omniscient. Knowledge always belongs to the nimitta karanam, karta. This indirectly expressed omniscient is confirmed in the 3rd sutra by pointing out that brahman is the creator of vedas also.
• sastrayoni = vedakarta
• 2nd sutra - brahman is nimitta karanam of artha prapancha (objective universe), in 3rd sutra of shabda prapanca (veda shabdanam abhikarta).
• Shankaracarya: Veda contains all knowledge. There is no branch of science which is not in the Veda. Veda consists of para vidya as well as apara vidya. Veda itself is considered sarvajnah.
• Vedas which are available now are only an insignificant portion. Much of the Vedas is lost in time. Samaveda had 1000 branches. Now only 2 or 3 are left. Even since Shankaracarya lived (~ 1200 years ago) many of his quotations we can’t find in the current Vedas.
• Vypati: The author of a work always know more than is content of the work. You can never express everything that you know in verbal form. Expressed portion < known portion - yah yasya grantasya karta sah tatah adhikajnanavan. Brahma sarvajnam veda karttvat.
• It is accepted Vedas are anadi, apaurusheyam. Not created by anyone. So how can you say brahman has created them? It does not mean brahman intellectually invented the Vedas. Vedah is creation of no intellect. This vedic teaching was already there in potential form. Brahman only brought this teaching to manifestation. Exactly like the creation.
• Job of brahman is not producing the world, but only manifesting. Same for veda sastram. It was not created by him, it is anadi, in him.
• Nyaya: bhagavan creates vedas. Vedanta: bhagavan manifested already existent Vedas.
• 3d sutra is based on Brhadaranyaka 2 - 4 - 10 (maitreyi brahmanam). Examples:
  • sristhi: agni (smoke coming out of fire w. wet fuel)
  • sthiti: dundubi (drum beat)
  • laya: samudra (all rivers merge into ocean)
  • In all others sristhi statements in upanishads the brahman is said to be creator of the world. Here also of the vedas. Creation (manifestation) of the universe and the Vedas is like breathing for brahman. Effortless, not even aware.
• Word analysis: sastram + yoni. Sastra means entire Vedah (purva and anta bhaga). shatanat (commandment, teaching) trayate (protects) iti sastram. In purva bhaga we get commandments and punishments. In veda antah bhaga there are no commandments, only revelation of the fact - you’re already free, brahman. You need not work for one thing. Moksha. For all other things you need to work. Through commanding and teaching Vedah protects from samsara. yoni (in this context): nimitta karanam, karta, author.
• 5 factors:
  • viSaya: brahman
  • samshaya: brahman vedasya karta va na va?
  • purva paksha: na vedasya karta. Why? vedasya anaditvat, vedasya nityatvat, it need not be created at all. What is created is anityam. If veda is nityam, how can it be said to be created?
  • siddhanta: Veda is anadi, yet we talk about the beginning because it has got a state of manifestation and unmanifestation exactly like the world. That’s why say the whole Veda in unmanifested state is omkara. Taitriya 1 - 4 - 1: by churning the vedas brahjami took the butter, the essence - omkara. Shabda is akasha guna (property), veda was in akasha and that akaksha was in brahman. akasha is brahman.
  • sangatih: akshepa sangatih - this adhikaranam answers an object raised based on the previous adhikaranam. In the previous adhikaranam brahman is said to be sarvakaranam. Based on that objection is raised: sarvakaranam but the vedas.
• Saram: brahman’s omniscience is reinforced by way of negating the objection raised by purva mimamsaka.

Class 24 / 14840

• brahman is omniscient because he’s the author of the vedas. Veda deals with all the topics under the sun, thus is as good as sarvajnam. And the author must know even much more.
• Vyasa doesn’t accept anumanam as pramanam for brahman. Veda clearly says brahman cannot be known through tarka (Kathopanishad 1 - 2 - 9), i.e. logic, inference. Veda sastram alone is pramanam for brahman. This is conveyed through the 3d sutra.
• Sastrayonitvat means sastravishayatvat. Brahman cannot be the subject matter of logic, it is the subject matter of Vedanta alone. It is beyond logic. Like punya. Punya is also subject matter of sastra alone. That’s why it is called adrstha vishayah.
• 1st interpretation. Sastrayoni - author of the vedas. Vishaya vakyam - sruti statement, based on which this topic is discussed: Brhandaranyaka 2 - 4 - 10.
• 2nd interpretation. Sastrayoni - subject matter of the vedas. Vishaya vakyam: Brhadaranyaka 3 - 9 - 26: tam tu aupanishadam purusham priccami. Part of the debate between Yagnavalkya and Shakalya. Yagnavalkya asks about nirguna brahman (purusha). He uses the adjective aupanishadam - upanishadam eka vedyam - that which can be known only through upanishads.
• Shakala lost his head. It burst - his ego was deflated.
• 2nd meaning of yoni - pramanam, 1st was karta.
• Grammatical difference: Poet and king example (lokanatah). Master of the world vs. one for whom the world is the master.
  • 1st interpretation is tatpurusha samasa: sastrasya karta
  • 2nd interpretation is bahuvrihi samasa: sastram yonih pramanam yasya (sastra is the means of knowledge). Brahman is that for which sastram is the pramanam. Therefore it is not available for anumanam.
• 5 factor presentation of adhikaranam:
  1. viSaya: cetana jagat karanam brahman
  2. samshaya: doubt (always remember pendulum). It will always have two or more opinions. anumana vedyam va na va. Is brahman knowable through anumanam or not? Logic means science. Thus can consciousness be studied by any material science?
  3. purva pakshi: brahman is within the scope of science because it is the cause of the universe, just like clay which is the cause of pot.
  4. siddanta (always Vyasa): brahman can be known through sastra alone. Like dharma. Definition of Veda by Sayanacarya: Veda is that which gives the knowledge of such a subject matter, which is not available for any other means of knowledge.
  5. sangatih: connection between 2nd and 3rd sutra. eka palatatva sangatih. Both adhikaranam have a common goal, phalam, which is brahma siddhi. First Vaysa has to establish brahman (brahma siddhi), only then one can enquire into that brahman - 1st sutra (one should enquire into brahman).
• If one has not the definition of moon, he will not be able to say what whether there is moon or not even if he sees the moon. He’s got the pramanam but not laskaham. If lakshanam is there but not pramanam (blind person), you also cannot talk about the moon. Brahma siddhi: lakshanam (2nd sutra) + pramanam (3rd sutra).
• Brahman has to be enquired into, that brahman is the cause of the universe and brahman can be enquired into through vedanta pramana alone. Therefore do vedanta vicara.
• Shantimantra: Because brahman is not available for science let me not reject brahman, let me accept the sastra and through it let me know brahman.

Class 25 / 14841 - 4th sutra: tattu samanvayat

• brahman is nimitta + upadana karanam knowable through shastra pramanam not available for any other means of knowledge.
• 4th sutra, which is also the entire 4th adhikaranam: tattu samanvayat. Name of the adhikaranam: samanvayadhikaranam.
• General analysis: this is the key sutra based on which entire 1st chapter (134 sutras in total) of BS is developed. The following 130 sutras are elaboration of this sutra alone. Based on this sutra 1st chapter is called samanvayAdhyAya.
• 2nd sutra is the foundation of entire BS (Chapters 1 -4).
• One of the two meanings of 3rd sutra: sastra vishayatvat - brahman is the central theme of vedanta shastram. How do we know this is the central theme?
• A sastram can have only one central theme. If there are more it is a defect - vakya bheda dosha.
• Author is not around to clarify what is the central theme, hence contradiction.
• samanvaya - condition to prove what is the central teaching, consistency, importance.
• Whichever team has six factors of proof - shad lingyani, that team enjoys importance, thus becomes the central theme. Vyasa: brahman is the central theme of vedanta sastram, because it enjoys importance, consistency, harmony. brahman is vedanta sastra vishaya (central theme) because it enjoys importance just like dharma in purva bhaga of the veda.
• Previous three sutras had concrete upanishad vakyani as vishaya vakyani. 4th sutra has the entire vedanta sastram as vishaya vakyam.
• Word analysis: tat - tu - samvayat.
• tat - that. It stands for the noun which has been discussed in the previous three sutras: brahman. Thus tat stands for: vicaryam jagat karanam veda kartr sarvajnam sarvashakti brahman sastra vishayah.
• anuvrtti method - pulling words from previous sentences to save words. Example: Rama went to temple. Krishna also.
• samanvayat - because brahman enjoys consistency, importance. It is proved by six lingas:
  1. upakrama upasamharau - identity, oneness of the beginning and the end.
  2. abhyasa - repetition. Whatever is repeated, is the central theme. You repeat something for stress or emphasis.
  3. apUrvata - whatever enjoys “newness”, is a new topic. Whatever is newly thought must be important, not what is already known.
  4. pahlam - fruitfulness, benefit. Nobody gives importance to what is fruitless.
  5. arhtavAda - stuttih, stotram. Glorification.
  6. upapatti - reason, logic. Whatever is not logical, reasonable, rational cannot be the central theme.
• Shad lingaih tatparya niryayah mimamsa (analysis). From sutra 5 to 134 Vyasa uses shad lingas to prove that brahman alone is the central theme.
• Lingam - indicator, mark, clue, proof, sign.
• Standard example for study is 6th chapter of chandogya: tat tvam asi prakaranam:
  • upakrama upasamharau: confirmed, beginning and end speak about brahman. Example: TV news having highlights in the beginning and main points in the end.
  • abhyasa: over the 6th chapter 9 times “tat tvam asi” gets repeated.
  • apUrvata: new is pramanantara avedyam - not known through any other pramanam, instrument of knowledge. Even karma khandam does not reveal brahman, it reveals karma (surprise suprise).

Class 26 / 14842

• continuing:
  • apUrvata: I need not come and teach you what you already know. Chandogya example: salt in water. It is pervaded by something other than water which is not perceptible. The extra something makes the water salty, the extra something makes the body alive and sentient. Brahman is the salt of life. Further:
    • Brahman is the unique prameyam for vedanta. Vedanta is the unique pramanam for brahman. Therefore they are made for each other. 4th sutra established the 3rd sutra.
  • phalam: we find “brahmavit apnoti param”.
  • arthavAdah: glorification by “eka vijnanena sarva vijnanam bhavati”. Kathopanishad: one who is in duality will travel from death to death. One who dies without getting brahmajnanam is an unfortunate person. Whereas one who dies after brahmajnanam he alone is brahmanah. Brahmastutti is also arthavAda, anyaninda is also arthavada.
  • upapatti: Upanishad wants to show that it is not illogical, not dogmatic, not blind belief. It has got the support of the logic also. Upanishad: brahma satyam jagat mithya. Entire prapancha is a product and no product has an independent existence. For mandah students: vacarambhanam vikaro nama dheyam mrtikA eva satyam. For a pot clay alone is satyam. Pot is mere nama rupa.
• Therefore, Vedanta is pramanam for brahman.
• Analysis of the most important word of the sutra: tu - alone (in this context).
• avadhAranam - emphasis. Any time you emphasize you are indirectly negating. Every emphasis involves negation - vyAvRttiA. Shankaracarya: by using the word “tu” Vyasa is negating all other interpretations, all other purvapakshis, who claim that the subject matter is not brahman but something else.
• There are six astika darshanam. Thus there are five purva paksas, we reduce them to three:
  • sankhya - yoga:
    • have common philosophy, are practically the same
    • yoga concentrates on practice: discipline of ashtanga yoga
    • sankhya concentrates on theory
  • nyaya - vaysheshika: again, are essentially the same.
  • purva mimamsa:
    • analysed by Jaimini maharshi who was disciple of Vyasa.
    • rituals, useful for material benefit.
    • Useful for gaining chitta-suddhi. That’s why it’s called dharma sastram. Thus not really a purva paksha. But we emphasize that purva mimamsa cannot give moksha.
    • Famous commentary by Shabara - Shabara bashyam - where he admits it cannot give moksha. Later commentaries changed this into only purva mimamsa can give moksha. Then later to “vedanta is useless”.
• Vyasa looks at sankhya yoga as the most powerful purvapaksha.
• Rest of 1st chapter, sutra no. 5 to 134 is a commentary on “tu”. Even in the 2nd chapter he goes on refuting sankhya. Vyasya look at nyaya - vaisheshika as weak opponent.

Class 27 / 14843

• 4th word need to be supplied for completion of 4th sutra: sastrayoni. Full reading: tat tu sastrayonit samanvayat - that brahman is subject matter of vedanta because it has got importance.
• Vishistaadvaitam and dvaitam are two commentaries on BS, they cannot become purva paksha. Vishishtaadvaita, dvaita and advaita are “children” of Vyasa. All three are one and the same Vedanta darshanam only, all three are Vedantins. Dispute among these three is an internal dispute - yAdavIya kalaham.
• Shankaracarya deals with nyaya - vaisheshika reasonable elaborately in 2nd chapter.
• Main source of purva mimamsa sastram are the sutras of Jamini. Famous Shaabara bashyam is accepted and quoted by Shankara. Both are seen as complimentary to Vedanta, because dharma alone gives sadhana catustaya sampatti. Purva mimamsa became purva paksha only with commentaries to Shaabara bashyam by Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakarah. Thus we’ve got two types of purva mimamsa bhAtta mimamsa and prAbhatara mimamsa.
• BS classes are not compulsory for all. Those who want to know more about the purva paksha and those who want to know how vedanta refutes they alone need to come to BS. Otherwise Gita and Upanishads are more than sufficient.
• Common views to both bhAtta matam and prabhatara matam:
  • All the vedic statements can be broadly classified into two: a) siddha bodhaka vakyani - statements of facts. b) karya bodhaka vakyani - statements of commandments. Statements of facts will give knowledge alone. Statements of action (commandments) will lead to action.
  • siddha bhodaka vakyani do not give any benefit to us. Jnanam does not help us to accomplish anything. Knowing itself is not an accomplishment, thus jnanam is useless. If I know there is a heaven, I only feel more miserable. Purusharta is either sukha prapti or dukha nivrtti, jnanam does not give any benefit. Karya bodhana vakyani gets you to do something and only by that we get some purusharta or the other. Let any amount of vedantic study take place, students always ask the question: Swamiji what should I do hereafter? Swamiji give me a practical lifestyle, so that I can do. Give me a daily routine. Every student asks for doing something because he feels he’s not benefited from the study.
  • PM (purva mimamsaka) agree that Veda is a pramanam. If bauddhas are driven out of India, the credit goes to PM. pramanam - anadhigata (unrevealed) abhAdita (unnegated) artha bhodakam (revelear):
    • If Veda reveals whatever is revealed by science then Veda becomes apramanam. To enjoy the status of pramanam it has to reveal something which is beyond the scope of science, logic and all the sense organs.
    • abhAditam: something not contradicted by other pramanam. It should not contradict logic neither. It should be something beyond logic, yet not illogical. It should not contradict science, senses, anything.
    • PM adds one more condition, which is not used but is accepted by Vedantis: phalavat - useful. Thus for PM siddha bodhaka vakyani are not pramanams for PM because they don’t fulfill the 3rd condition (utility). This idea based on a jaimini sutra: AmnAyasya (vedah) kriyArthatvad (statements of injunctions being important) Anarthakyam (invalid) atadarthAnAm (siddha bhodkAnam).

Class 28 / 14844

• Brahman is the subject matter of Vedanta. Anybody against this view is “purva pakshi”.
• All the siddha bodhaka vakyani give us knowledge of facts. Purva pakshi: Any knowledge of facts does not give me any benefit - kevala jnanam nishprayojanam. Knowing that there is a ritual will not get me anywhere, the performance of the ritual will take me anywhere.
• Purva pakshi: pramanam is a pramanam only when it reveals something useful.
• What benefit do I get by knowing brahman is satyam jnanam anantam? That the five elements where created? That there are panca koshas in me? Purva pakshi: vedosharah vedanta - it is like a barren land in a country. Entire veda (karma khanda and upasana khanda) is a greenery. usharah - desert.
• Purva pakshi: all siddha bodhaka vakyani are termed artha vada (eulogy -> useless)
• We accept God as the revealer of Vedas whereas PM does not. For PM Vedah enjoys the status of God. How came Veda? It is anadi. Therefore he accepts it as pramanam. For him siddha bodhaka part of Vedah has become apramanam. If you are accepting whole vedah as pramanam, how can you reject a part of it as apramanam? PM’s answer: they are directly not useful. All the siddha bodhaka vakyams will help in the implementation of karya bodhaka vakyams:
  • Vayu devata is a great devata because he does everything quickly - siddha bodhaka vakyam (sheshi). One should do the ritual offering oblations to the vayu devata - karya bodhaka vakyam (sheshi).
  • Shesha-sheshi sambadhah.
  • Therefore any vedantic statement will be independently useless, we should link it to karya bodhaka vakyam. Therefore vedanta should be put into practice - applied vedanta (PMs idea).
• PM: there is no such thing called brahman at all, it is only a bhrama. Therefore according to PM brahma nasti.
• Upanishad very clearly says brahman is not attainable nor knowable - adreshyam (not perceivable, not known), agrAhyam (cannot be grasped). PM: therefore brahman is not directly a purusharta because it is not attainable.
• Can I use Brahman as instrument? No, brahman is avyavaharyam - not available for any TX. It is neither means nor end.
• Since I’m already known, why should veda reveal something that is already evident? Whenever atma is talked about in vedanta, you should take it as encouraging statement. Glorification of yajamana.
• Up to here the two PM mattams agree.
• Baastha matam: all the jnana khandam vakyams should be connected to karma khanda ritual vakyams.
• Prabhakarah: there are so many siddha vakyas and so many karya vakyas. You cannot just connect any. Any siddha vakyam should be connected to the nearest karya vakyam. In the jnanakandha itself there are many upasana vakyams. Upasana are also karya bodhaka vakyams - manasa karma. Thus rather connect the siddha vakyams of the jnanakandha to upasana vakyams existing within jnana kandha itself.
• Therefore “aham brahman asmi” you have to repeat all over, practice as auto-suggestion, conditioning - as upasana.

Class 29 / 14845

• PM: brahman is nonexistent because it is utterly useless. It is neither a goal nor a means. All Vedanta vakyams are siddha bodhaka vakyams, statement of facts with no benefit, and are to be converted into karya bodhaka vakyam.
• PM: After studying Vedanta one feels very nice, one feels light. With that light mood one should do karma.
• PM: Aham brahma asmi is not a fact because brahman does not exist. Upasana is defined as seeing something upon something else. Final result: no use in jnanam, you have to do something. Either you have to do karma or upasana, action is the result of the Vedah.
• Shankara: what you say is perfectly valid, but there are many exceptions to the rule. Normally we find that knowledge does not give me any benefit. Yogaasana knowledge will not give me any benefit, I should implement that knowledge. Yet there are several cases where kevala jnanam gives benefit:
  • Wherever there is a problem caused by ignorance in that case mere knowledge alone can solve the problem. Yatra yatra ajnanat dukham va karyam va bhavati tatra tatra janat prayojanam bhavati.
  • Therefore siddha bodhaka vakyams produce knowledge which will give purusharta often. Where they don’t give prayojanam, in all such cases you have to join them karya bodhaka vakyam.
  • All Vedanta vakyams come under this exceptional case.
  • Vedanta itself makes it very clear. jnana matrena moksha bhavati. Example Isavasya: yasmin sarvani bhutami atmaiva-bhud vijanatah, tatra ko mohah kah shoka ekatva-manu-pasyatah - when, to the knower, all beings have become one in his own self, how shall he feel deluded thereafter? What grief can there be to him who sees oneness everywhere? Chandogya: tarati shokam atmavid.
• PM: after studying vedanta we have to use that knowledge to perform action.
• Shankaracarya:
  1. Vedanta jnanam cannot be connected to karma/upasana khanda. Previous point: need not be connected.
  2. Vedanta jnanam eliminates duality which is the basis for karma and upasana. All vaidika karmas require two basic qualifications: aham karta and varna ashrama status (king, brahmana, etc.) and duality. Vedanta negates these, so how can it be combined with karma and upasana?
  3. Vedanta positively condemns karma and upasana as bandha hetuh. After vedanta jnanam a person will lose purushartatva buddhi in karma/upasana.
• If brahman is neither sadhyam nor sadhanam, it means brahman is something different from your goal and your means. It is the very sadhaka. By negating the sadhyam/sadhanam status the upanishad says you the sadhaka are brahman.
• John: In my family, there are three persons. One is my wife, another is my child. Who is the third one? PM: Father? John: I’m the third one! PM: OK, this is important. PM repeats the same question to Shankara. Shankara: you are the third person. PM: no, it is John!
• Shankaracarya: Atma is well known as jivatma but not clearly understood as paramatma. Thus Vedah has to reveal atma as paramatma.

Class 30 / 14846

• Karma sambandha is not required, not intended, not possible. Three reasons:
  1. Vedanta is capable of giving the benefit by itself. Knowledge gives us the benefit even without connecting to any action. Sruti very clearly says the same.
  2. If Vedanta expects us to do some karma for usefulness of jnanam, Vedanta would glorify karma. But throughout Vedanta karma is criticised and condemned. There is no intention of karma sambandha.
  3. Vedanta negates all the conditions for karma.
• PM: brahman is non-existent as it is neither means nor end. Vedantin: No doubt, neither means nor end - it is the sadhaka - you / I myself. To say “brahman is nonexistent” is to say “I’m nonexistent” which is a contradiction because I have to be existent to say it. Nobody can negate the existence brahman because it is the very negator itself. Not only that he’s existent he’s useful also, because when I know I’m brahman that brahmajnanam negates my jivatvam status.
• PM: if brahman is self-evident why should Vedanta come and comment on what is already evident to me? Pramanam is meant to reveal something not known. Vedantin: even though atma is evident, it is not fully known - misunderstood as jivaatma. I know my sat chit rupam, I don’t know ananda svarupam. Vedanta is not required to give samanya (normal) jnanam, is is required to give vishesha (special) jnanam.
• Vedantin: final offensive argument. It is the other way around. In fact, karma kandam is apramanam:
  • Does it reveal something new? Punyam, papam, svarga loka … yes.
  • Is it saprayojanam? Yes.
  • Is it not negated by any other pramanam? Karma kandham is negated by jnana kandam. There is no plurality at all. What you call plurality is nothing but brahman. ajnana kale dvaitam, jnana kale advaitam. Karma kandha reveals invalid duality, which obtains at the time of ignorance, therefore it is apramanam. Thus jnana kandha is flower, karma kandha is thread and has to be associated with jnanakandam.
• As a means to come to jnana kandham karma kandham is useful. Sadhana catustaya sampatti pradhanena.
• Vedantin: karma kandha is not meant for dharma artha kama purusharta. We don’t consider them as purushartas at all. They are only exalted samsara. Example: A-class prison. We only tempt other people by saying it is purusharta. Karma kandha incl. upasana kandha is only to get vairagyam. Having got enough kicks in life one will get vairagyam. Sugarcoating for the very bitter vairagyam pill. The idea is go there, get whipped left and right so you feel like running away. If you do, it has worked.
• Therefore the first sutra is atah. Vairagya siddhi anantaram, atah brahma jijnasa. Mundaka: pariksya lokan karmacitan … Everything other than moksha is maha-samsara. If you don’t have vairagyam, tablet dosage is not enough. Therefore increase the dosage of karma kandha and continue the medicine. Brhadaranyaka 4 - 4 - 22: entire karma kandha is to get interest in Vedanta.
• Interest in Vedanta is directly proportionate to vayragyam towards samsara.
• Jnana kandha is impossible without karma kandha, karma kandha is incomplete without jnana kandha. Ritualist will easily understand Vedanta.
• Vrttikara matam is very close to PM. Vrttih - small commentary, like notes. Vrttikara - commentator. Vrttikara matam - the philosophy of one of the brahmasutra commentators. Shankara was not first commentator of BS.

Class 31 / 14847

• Word “tu” - negation of all purva pakshas.
• Vrttihkara (real name is unknown) differs from PM by saying that brahman is existent. He says, brahman is revealed by the upanishad. Yet he joins PM and says that mere brahma jnanam cannot give moksha. He says that after gaining brahma jnana one has to do brahma upasanam.
• Vrttikara: after learning we have to meditate upon that Brahman and through constant meditation we acquire enormous punyam and as a result of this one will attain moksha.
• Every word indicating jnanam has the meaning of upasanam also. The word Vedah has got two meanings. One is jnanam, another is upasanam.
• Vedantin: exception - problem of ignorance.
• Vrttikara: wherever the word jnanam comes, you’ve to translate as upasanam. Don’t take brahmajnanam under the category of exception, it comes under the regular rule kevala jnanena prajoyanam nasti. Look at all the vedantins who are academics but not muktas. From all these experiences it is very clear that brahmajnanam does not transform. Srutabrahmanah yatha purvam samsaritva darshat - samsara continues in those people who have learned Vedanta.
• Also, if brahmajnanam gives moksha upanishad should stop with shrotavyah and mantavyah. Yet we find that upanishad clearly prescribes niddidhiasanam (repeated dhyanam) thereafter. And what is repeated dhyanam other than upasanam?
• Sanskrit grammar: tavya suffix indicates a compulsory action.
• Gaudapada: every upasaka is an unfortunate one.
• We’re not criticising upasana totally. We’re criticising upasana presented as a means of moksa, which comes after brahma jnanam. Yet we glorify upasanam before brahma jnanam as a means of mental refinement.
• Ashariratahi moksah - moksha is freedom from sharira sambandah. Samsara is sashariratahi samsara.
• As long as sharira sambadah is there, sukha dukha opposites cannot be avoided. Even when priyam comes, we will not be very happy, because we have to worry that the priyam will go away. When apriyam comes, we’re worried. When priyam comes we’re worried about drsthi.
• Upasana - manasa karma. Where ever action is there, there will be tAratamyam - gradation. Qualitative and quantitative difference.
• Punya can only give different types of body depending on the type of punya. Punya can only improve your sashariratvam, it can never make you asharira. It can give exalted or inferior shariram. Therefore any amount of karma and upasana will keep you only in sashariratvam, where gradation, priya/apriya cannot be avoided. Four things are synonymous: karma, punyam, sashariratvam and samsarah. If you define moksha as upasana phalam then moksha will also involve punyam, sashariratvam -> will be within samsara only.
• na tu karmana na tu upasanena jnana matrena moskah
• Vrttikara: why can’t you say ashariratvam comes because of brahma upasana? Shankara: no.

Class 32 / 14848

• Vrttikara: other upasanas will give you better sashariratvam, brahma upasana will give you ashariratvam. Shankara: ashariratvam cannot be the result of any karma / upasana. ashariratvam is the very nature of atma.
• Nature: whatever is the nature of a thing is always there. Whatever is intrinsic in a thing is always there. If heat is the nature of fire fire is eternally hot. Any karma/upasana phalam is not available now but only later after the practice. Karmaphalam = sadhyam = something to be acquired in future. Asharita = nithya siddham. How can they be equated? Ashariratvam is not a goal to be accomplished but a fact to be recognised.
• kAjam - shariram.
• Purva pakshi: if advaitin defines ashariratvam as moksha he can never have jivanmukti because in jivanmukti he is sasharira.
• Shankara: jivanmukti is possible when we say moksha is ashariratvam. Jivanmukta is asharira. If others think he’s sasharira, it is others’ problem, not his.
• There is no time when atma is sashariram. It is ashariram all the time:
  • It is the very nature of myself.
  • Atmanah asangatvat. It cannot have any relationship with anything. Akashavat - like space, which is along with every object but not connected to any.
  • Atmanah nitya akartrtvat. Sharira sambandah comes because of karmaphala. Karmaphala comes for a karta. Atma is nitya akarta.
• Atma cannot become sasharirah, but it is mistaken as sasharirah.
• Jnani never claims the pleasures and pains as his.
• 2nd definition of moksha: brahma bavah hi mokshah.
• From scriptures we come to know there is only one nitya vastu - brahman. Moksha is nityah, brahman is nityah. There is only one nitya thing -> mokshah prapti = brahman prapti.
• Any karma or upasana can produce only four types of karmaphalam:
  • Apti - reaching (travel). Impossible for brahman: sarvagatatvA. All-pervasiveness and travel are contradiction.
  • utpatih - production. Brahman is nitya -> no question of production.
  • vikara - change, conversion, modification. Can jivatma gradually modify into brahman? Brahman is not the end product of a process because brahmanah avikaryatvat.
  • samskarah - purification. Brahmanah nitya suddhatvAt - there is no question of removal of impurities (shuddha - pure, absolute).

Class 33 / 14849

• If moksah is the result of any action, it will certainly have a beginning. Because any result has a beginning, because the result is accomplished by following a sadhana. And whatever has a beginning will certainly have an end. Therefore upasana phala rupa moksha will be anitya moksah.
• All philosophers commonly agree that moksah has to be nitya. The very purpose of moksha shastra is to go out of samsara represented by mortality.
• Chandogya 8 - 2 - 1: whatever is acquired through karma is destroyed here, whatever is acquired through punya in the other loka, that is also anitya.
• Nitya moksha upasana phalam bhavitum na arhati. Upasana phalasya anityatvat. Phalam - phalgutaya lIyate - that which becomes rotten and gets destroyed in time.
• Upasana cannot be the theme of Vedanta. Analysis of shad lingani proved that Vedanta talks about owning up a moksha which is here and now. Vedanta doesn’t talk about accomplishing something new in future.
• Mahavakya “tat tvam asi” clearly shows by using present tense that moksha is here and now. If it is not here and now, it can never be anywhere at any time.
• Brhadaranyaka: by putra get manushya loka again, by karma get pitru loka (svargA), by upasana get deva loka. Sanyasi doesn’t want neither. He seeks moksha. Having renounced upasana phalam and going in search of moksha, moksha cannot commander upasana phalam. Therefore vedanta doesn’t deal with karma phalam, does not deal with upasana phalam.
• Shankara: All the karmas and upasanas should be analyzed in the veda purva or veda anta? All karmas and upasanas should be analyzed in the veda purva, because both produce dharma or punyam and therefore everything connected with dharma should be analysed in the purva bhaga. If vedanta deals also with upasana it should be part of purva bhaga, not a separate shastram.
• Vedanta has nothing to do with dharma. Vedata deals with an atma which is anyatra dharmAt, anyatra adharmAt, anyatra asmAt krtAkrtAt.
• Brahma upasana itself is not possible. Brahma is not available for upasana. Upanishad clearly says you yourself is brahman, which means brahman is not an object at all. It is the very nature of the upasaka. How can the upasaka brahman become upasya brahman? Subject can never be the object. Subject is eternally the subject. Object is eternally the object. They cannot be interchanged.
• It is illogical to talk of upasana of brahman. Student asks for brahman, the teacher very clearly says: whatever you meditate upon is not brahman (Kena 1 - 4, 7).
• Vrttikara: if brahma upasanam is not possible because brahman is not an object then brahma jnanam is also not possible because it would make brahman an object of knowledge. Thus sastram cannot be pramanam.
• Shankara: yes, brahma jnanam is not possible. In fact brahma jnanam is not required. In the form of consciousness brahman is all the time evident. Nothing need reveal consciousness because consciousness reveals everything else.
• So why to go to guru if I’m is self-evident? Our problem is not knowing brahman or atman, our problem is the misconception of atman which requires a correction. The self-evident I is mistaken.
• Two things are evident when I say I: I the self-evident consciousness and then the body mind complex evident because of the consciousness. When two things are shining very intimately, the properties of the body I’m throwing upon the consciousnesses out of sheer ignorance.
• Sastram is required not to reveal brahman, it is required to remove the superimposed limitations. This is in the form of a vrtti (thought) in the mind: aham brahma asmi.
• Dropping the limitations is an intellectual process which is called atmajnanam. I’m not seeing, experiencing anything new, I’m only dropping something. I’m not acquiring anything now. Such an atmajnanam can come only through sastram, therefore sastram is pramanam.

Class 34 / 14850

• Vrttikara: jnanam should be followed by action to be useful. Shankara: Nisheda (dont’s) vakyams are as valid vidhi (do’s) vakyam. What action is involved in nisheda vakyams?
• Vrttikara: if brahma jnanam gives moksha, all students should be mukti purushas. But when we ask them, they always start with “but, if, …”. Therefore sravanam is important, but thereafter upasana has to be done.
• Shankara: I never says a listener of Vedanta will be free. We say “a knower of Vedanta is definitively free”. One who has understood Vedanta:
  • I’m free: eternal fact vs. information.
  • Birthless, ashariri, ajaha vs. upanishad saying I’m birthless.
  • Point blank answers vs. doubt. If I know I’m atma and atma is always free where is the question of doubt?
• Listeners are many, knowers are few. Knower is one for whom “I’m free” is a fact. Listener is one for whom “I’m free” is information contained in the upanishad. Samsaris can be listeners but they cannot be knowers.
• Jnanam and bandha (samsara) never go together. Therefore after jnanam no upasana is required.
• PM: Why should Vedanta presribe niddidhiasanam after study?
• Shankara: sravana, manana, niddidhiasanam are not practiced after jnanam. They are practiced for jnanam. Sravanam is the main sadhana which gives jnanam. As long as there are obstacles obstructing the jnanam for giving moksha, jnanam won’t do its job. Obstacle 1) doubt to jnanam giving moksha phalam 2) viparita bhavana - habitual notion that atma is something else inside me and I’m somebody else. Saying “I’m brahman” and complaining about problems at anatma level.
• Saprathibandhaka jnanam is as “good” as ajnanam. It is not ajnanam, but as bad as ajnanam.
• Mananam removes the doubt. Nididhyasanam removes the habitual notion.
• Doubt-free knowledge means four things:
  • what is right I should know as right
  • what is wrong I should know as wrong
  • why right is right (logically establish that)
  • why wrong is wrong
• Respecting a person is one thing. It is the duty of a gentleman. Accepting everything is the sign of a confused man.
• Nididhyasanam: Changing the thought-process. Reorientation of the way of thinking. Nididhyasanam does not give jnanam, does not give moksha, it removes the obstacle.
• Light can remove the darkness all the time. If there are obstacles, you’ve to remove them as well.
• After knowledge what should you do? Nothing.

Class 35 / 14851

• Nididhyasanam is not an upasanam after jnanam. Nididhyasanam is also part of the process of jnanam only.
• For Vrttikara upasana is a karma that comes after jnanam. Whereas in Vedanta niddidhyasanam is not a karma after jnanam, it is also a process of jnanam.
• Upasana being karma produces punyam. Nididhyasanam doesn’t produce punyam, which is adrstham, it only removes our habbitual dehatma buddhi.
• In upasana (in vrttikara matam) one expects moksha to happen in future. In Vedanta nididhyasanam is knocking of the expectation of moksha.
• Sravanam, mananam, nididhyasanam all put together give knowledge. Sravanam has a positive role of producing knowledge, mananam has negative role of removing doubt. Nididhyasa have negative role of removing samsaric habits.
• Karma belongs to veda purva. In jnana kanda there is no question of karma. Upasana comes under mental karma only. Vedanta sastra only gives jnanam, it doesn’t have an iota of karma.
• Vrttikara: isn’t jnanam also only a type of karma? It is in the form of mental vrtti just like upasana.
• Shankara: jnanam does not come under karma. Upasana comes under karma. Jnanam depends on the object of knowledge, vastu tantram. Karma depends on the subject of action, it is kartr tantram.
• The moment you become hearer, what you hear is not under your control. It depends on the object of hearer. Vrtti depends on what the speaker says. The moment you become a writer what you write depends on the subject.
• Jnanam is dependent on the type of pramanam you use. It is pramana tantram. Whereas karma, esp. sastric karma, is dependent codana tantram karma. As a pramata what type of world I should experience will depend upon the type of pramanam that I operate. Whereas karma is codana tantram. The sastra will determine the type of karma/upasana I do. Chandogya panca agni vidya: I choose to see female and male as agni. When I see man as man is it because of sastra vidhi? It is not codana tantram. Seeing man as fire is codana tantram. Seeing man as man is knowledge, seeing man as fire is upasana. Seeing stone as vishnu is upasanam.
• Karma can produce four types of result: reaching, production, modification or purification. Whereas jnanam does not produce any one of the four results. It only reveals a thing as it is.
• Suppose you come back after one month. You get the knowledge of dirty room. Knowledge will never purify the room. Jnanam cannot do any kind of purification, if you want to purify the mind - you need to do karma. Self-knowledge doesn’t produce anything.
• Jnanam doesn’t produce moksha, does not modify, purify nor reach anything. Jnanam reveals a fact that I’ve been always free.
• Before jnanam karma and upasana are required. They are not useful during nor after jnanam.
• Technical format sutra no. 4:
  • viSayah: vedanta sastram
  • vizayah: whether it is karma param or brahma param. Whether is it with some action to be done or just revealing brahman.
  • siddhanta: vedanta sastram brahma param. Vedanta doesn’t enjoin any action, it wants you to understand something. It is just a matter of recognition, clear understanding. If you have purification and concentration once you come to Vedanta you have nothing to do, you have something to know.
  • sangatih: akshepa (objection) sangatih - 4th adhikaranam is an answers to the objection given for the 3rd adhikaranam.